Brian and I tried a new Sunday breakfast spot this past weekend after Brian saw a segment on the Food Network about the Byways Café in the Pearl District of Portland.
Located at 12th and Glisan in the trendy Pearl District this small café feels like a blast from the past with vinyl booths, friendly servers, an authentic soda fountain and food served on old non-matching chinaware. A travel theme plays out in an eclectic assortment of memorabilia, including collectible suitcases and Viewmasters, which you can use to check out a variety of tourist destinations while you wait for your meal. Tableside display cases hold old postcards, snow globes, cups and vacation photos, a plate collection lines the back wall and old state pennants hang from the ceiling. The crowd was mixed: 20-somethings nursing weekend hangovers, young families and Pearlites converging outside to wait for a hearty and satisfying breakfast.
Expect to wait….as the place couldn’t hold more than 30. We waited about 40 minutes for a table anywhere (they have about 10 places at the counter in addition to the several booths and a few small tables) and ended up settling for the lone picnic table outside. Not our first choice, but hunger won out! Lucky for us, it was a brisk, fall-like morning.
This “greasy spoon” improves on the classics. From old-fashioned hash, a mix-mash of potatoes, spicy corned beef, melted cheese and hot peppers to an Amaretto-infused French toast (allow an extra 15 minutes to prepare) to about 10 different and inventive omelets with home fries…it took me longer to make a breakfast decision than at any other restaurant I have been to in ages! Oh and their coffee ROCKS!!!!
Brian had the Seattle scramble a mix of “garden” sausage, spinach, onions and tomatoes and I had the Sunrise Special, an egg (cooked however you like it) two strips of thick sliced bacon and three fluffy blueberry pancakes infused with cinnamon. Yum! Next time we go back, we'll remember not to take anyone with us (we wouldn't want to wait any longer for a bigger table) and hope to sit inside to take in all the memorabilia.
Hours
• Tue.-Fri. 7AM-3PM
• Sat. 7:30AM-4PM
• Sun. 7:30AM-2PM – Breakfast Only
**** (4 out of 5 stars)
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