Breakfast in Bridgetown

… another waffle cart! The Oregonian reports that former servers from Cameo Cafe NW (R.I.H.) have opened The Little Blue Waffle Wagon at 33rd and Division. The town has gone waffle crazy, for sure. On the other hand, I seem to recall having a mild crush on one of the servers at Cameo and flirting with her like mad once, so maybe I could be talked into a waffle run, after all.

I sent a short version of my Blossoming Lotus chapter over to LivePDX.com for my weekly blog entry.

Enjoy.

I signed up for a newsletter from Podnahs Pit BBQ, and they just sent out their first issue, with some exciting news:

By the way, that’s Austin, Texas, they’re talking about.

And what, you might wonder, is migas? Well, according to Wikipedia:

In Texas, migas (also known as migajas) is a traditional breakfast dish in Tex-Mex cuisine. Originally eaten during Lent, the meatless version consists of egg scrambled and sauteed together in butter or oil with torn strips of corn tortillas, diced onions, sliced chile peppers, diced freshtomatoes, and cheese, plus various spices and condiments (e.g. salsa, pico de gallo). Migas are typically served with refried beans, and corn or flour tortillas are used to enfold all of the ingredients into tacos.

A meaty version is also served, using the same ingredients as before, but adding a spicy chorizo to the mix. (The tortilla strips can also be deep-fried until crunchy.)

I guarantee you this: as soon as they start serving this treat, I’ll have some and report back!

My weekly (or thereabouts) blog entry is now up at LivePDX.com. It’s about Simpatica Catering and Dining Hall, which I think serves the best breakfast food in town. It might not be your style of place, and it isn’t even mine all the time, but the food rocks.

Read more here.

I am working on a piece on the Radio Room on Alberta Street for LivePDX.com, so I won’t give away too much here. But I’ll say this: When I saw it, and especially when I walked into it, I thought, “Really? This is where Alberta is headed?”

It’s a freaking palace of a place, with two levels, a big bar, four pages of cocktails, and serving brunch and dinner every day. We’ve all had our moments of thinking “Wow” about Alberta, those events that make us realize how it’s changing. Mine was the opening of Francis, which I happen to love, but when that place opened, you knew the Clown House wouldn’t be around much longer — and it wasn’t. NOT that there’s a direct connection, or that I resent Francis, because I don’t. But places like Francis, and Ciao Vita, and the Oyster House . . . and the Clown House . . don’t generally inhabit the same neighborhoods for long.

And now there’s the Radio Room. For now, I’ll just say this: If all they had was the food I ate, they wouldn’t last very long. They’re obviously in it for another crowd and another goal, but it remains to be seen if they can draw the kinds of crowds they’ll need on a consistent basis to make it for long at all.

I may have found my next neighborhood. I’m not looking to move, especially since I live in the coolest house in Portland. But I’m always looking around for where I might settle and even (dread) buy a house.

Well, last week I went to Kenton, up around Interstate and Denver. It’s got all the markings of the “next thing”: old but nice homes, walkable streets, parks, a Max station, and a little commercial strip of a few blocks with some empty places for businesses to set up. Cup and Saucer already has a location there, in fact.

Kenton still has that grass-roots feeling, as well, epitomized by the nonprofit breakfast-and-lunch joint called Po’Shines Cafe de la Soul. Here’s what their website has to say:

How are we non-profit? All of our profit goes back into the cafe and to our youth training program. As a part of the Teach me to Fish Organization we provide training and counseling to youth and young adults of our community who are in need of such services as job skills, life skills and GED preparedness. All of our regular employees volunteer there time, including our Chef and our Management Staff.

Our mission is simple: feed the community and feed it well.

And based on one trip, I’d also add that they are a friendly, community-oriented place. I had chicken and waffles that was

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