Best Breakfast } Screen Door

Our second week of searching for Portland’s best breakfast took us to Screen Door located at SE 24th and Burnside.  Screen Door is a “Celebration of Southern Cuisine.” 

Screen Door is open for dinner seven days a week but only open for brunch on the weekend.

They don’t open until 9 a.m. as they technically serve brunch not breakfast.  When we arrived at 9 a.m. this is what greeted us – a line half way around the block.  I took this as a good sign.

By the time the doors opened and the first seating was full we were in the lobby area.  I asked a couple of regulars what the trick was and they said in order to make the first seating you need to arrive no later than 8:15 a.m.

We waited for almost an hour but I had brought a book so I didn’t mind.  It gave us plenty of time to look over the menu too.   In addition to their regular menu  they have daily specials which feature local and organic.

They are known for their biscuits and gravy and other Southern fare such as grits but we opted for just a plain biscuit which was buttery and flaky, just like a biscuit should be.

Jim ordered the egg scramble and I had a wonderful Praline Bacon Waffle – yummm!!  It was amazing!!

Probably their most famous item on the menu though is the fried chicken and sweet potato waffle.  We didn’t order it but couldn’t resist taking a photo.  The photo is not great because I had to go up to a complete stranger’s table and ask to take a photo of their food so I was in a hurry.  They were very gracious and didn’t think I was too crazy. 

Three large fried chicken breasts on a waffle – amazing!!

Service was friendly and prompt and once we were seated we had our food within 15 minutes.

The Screen Door serves a great breakfast and it is definitely worth the wait!  It is going to be a top contender for the Best Breakfast in Portland I think!  I can’t wait to try it for dinner.

Bliss Bakery } Valentine’s Day

Bliss Bakery is excited for Valentine’s Day.  This one in particular marks their official 1 year anniversary!  To celebrate they are offering you two very exclusive gifts for your sweet heart.  Option 1 is a 4 pack of cupcakes in a box, tied with ribbon.  A card, rose and balloon are included all for $20!  For $5 more you can have it delivered too!

Option 2 is a cupcake a week to your sweetie for only $110.  Remind your love that they are your valentine for more than just one day in February.  What makes this even better is that your monthly cupcakes will never be the same.  Bliss bakes cupcakes for every season!  The week leading up to Valentine’s come in and see all their adorable love themed cakes and treats.

4708 NW Bethany Blvd Portland

Bliss Bakery } Storytime

Bliss Bake Shop is best known for their delicious cupcakes, made entirely from scratch!  Located in the Bethany Village Shopping Center on the west-side Bliss was established one year ago by Sarah and Jennifer.  Aside from cupcakes that are not only yummy to eat, but to look at as well; Bliss offers several other services to the community.  Among them, story-time!  I had the opportunity of attending story-time recently and was incredibly impressed by the amount of thought and care that went into it.  Our friendly storyteller didn’t just choose a random book off the shelf.  She thoughtfully chose a picture book about the great Martin Luther King Jr. The craft she prepared carefully reflected Martin Luther King Jr.’s message that what matters is what is found on the inside of a person.  As a mom I enjoyed more than quality time and a cupcake with my toddler, I left feeling a little more hopeful in what mankind is capable of.

Come enjoy storytime for yourself every Wednesday from 10-10:30 am @ Bliss Bakery located at 4708 NW Bethany Blvd Portland.

Also, watch for Wednesday’s feature about Bliss for Valentine’s Day!

Piccolo Mondo Toys

You may know Piccolo Mondo Toys for it’s wide variety of toys and games for your child, or next party gift.  But did you also know that Piccolo Mondo is the perfect place for Family Fun?

I was in the market for a new family game and asked a friend what she recommended.  What she recommended was heading over to Piccolo Mondo for family game night and checking out a game or two to try at home.  That’s right, I said “check-out” like the library!  It’s absolutely free to try it before you buy it at Piccolo Mondo!  We had a fabulous time with some age appropriate game on a rainy day and you can too.

Located in the Bethany Village shopping center at 4768 NW Bethany BLVD., #C5 Portland, OR 97229

Portland Children’s Museum

The Portland Children’s Museum is one of the local “go to” places for families.  Located off of HWY 26 at Washington Park, the museum is located right next to the zoo.

Santa left a membership in our stockings last year and we loved popping up there on any given rainy day.  My children love everything about the museum but are especially fond of their special exhibits and of course the water exploration area!  I love all the entertaining storytellers and musicians that are part of the museums staff to interact and entertain the children.  I also love that I can go to the museum, play with my children and not have to clean up a mess when I’m done!

Aside from indoor child friendly exhibits the museum also offers a cafe, art classes, k-5 Opal school, field trips and a place to host birthday parties!  Membership is great, if you can swing it.  In my stay at home mommy opinion, it more than covers the cost in sanity if your children are the right ages.  But if you still aren’t convinced go and check it out for yourself.  Many local libraries offer a cultural pass, permitting individual families entry to several local institutions free of charge, once yearly.

For hours and more information on the museum, please visit them here.  Also check out TriMet for special offers and transportation to the museum.

Best Breakfast} Mother’s Bistro

One of my new year’s goals is to discover who serves the best breakfast in Portland. Most Saturday mornings my husband and I (and our teenager daughter when she gets up in time) are venturing out into Portland to find who serves the best breakfast in town!

Our first visit was to Mother’s Bistro in downtown Portland. They had just been closed for some floor refinishing so the place was packed the day we visited. Even though the restaurant was overflowing and there were a lot of people waiting we were seated within 5 minutes. I don’t know if it was because we were just a party of 3 or we were just lucky!

Just like the name implies, Mother’s uses recipes from mothers around the world. Chef Lisa Schroeder has recently come out with a cookbook too, “Mother’s Best”, featuring a collection of some of the most popular recipes from the restaurant.

Mother’s was selected “Restaurant of the Year’ by Portland’s Willamette Week. Voted ‘Best Brunch’, ‘Best Comfort Food’ and ‘Best Lunch Spot’ by Citysearch.

The restaurant is large and just seems to flow from room to room. I loved the chandeliers in the room we were in!

But the other room is just as pretty!

Service was fast and friendly and we enjoyed a yummy breakfast.

I had the waffles with gingered peach compote and my daughter had the blueberry pancakes which were huge – they filled the whole plate. My husband enjoyed one of their egg scrambles, a special of the day.

The lunch and dinner menu looked great too and we’ll be back to try it out! They even have a message for my college kids on their coffee mugs!

Mother’s is located in downtown Portland at 212 SW Stark, Portland, OR 97204. Check out their website for hours.

Mother’s Bistro is a place we will definitely revisit and hope you will too. We’d love to hear what some of your favorite breakfast spots in the Portland area are. Please leave a comment and let us know!

Food Carts} Mississippi Marketplace

If you have spent anytime in downtown Portland you may have noticed food carts popping up everywhere!  In fact there are over 450 food carts in Multnomah County!

Portland has been getting a lot of press about all their food carts, even being featured in Bon Appetit Magazine!

A new row of food carts has opened up over on N. Mississippi also – the Mississippi Marketplace. They have their own blog that keep you updated on what is going on.  They are located at 4233 N. Mississippi Ave., 7 a.m.-2 p.m. Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday; 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday-Sunday.

Over the holidays two of my kids and I decided to check out Mississippi Marketplace.   They took an abandoned street corner and turned it into a gourmet feast!

Two of the food carts at Mississippi Marketplace were rated among the Top Ten Food Carts in Portland! We decided we were all going to get something different so we could try lots of things.  January and February are a little slower for food carts so two of them weren’t open while we were there – just means we need to go back.

The great thing about the Mississippi Marketplace is that the eating area is covered so even if it is raining you can enjoy!

We enjoyed some yummy curried potatoes from the Ruby Dragon which serves up vegan fare and lots of gluten free options.

From The Big Egg we enjoyed the amazing Mississippi Monte Cristo Sandwich that they are famous for!

And then from the Southwestern Pizza Company we had an amazing thin crust pizza – my son loved it!

Cali chose the Gravy Bowl from the Native Bowl – a totally vegan option.  The gravy is compared to “crack” it is so addictive.  She loved it!

We look forward to going back and trying out a few of the other carts that weren’t open while we were there.

For a fun culinary adventure check out Mississippi Marketplace!