Beaterville

One of the joys of living in a new city (especially a big one) is dining at new restaurants. This especially holds true for someone like me, whose life tends to revolve around food. Thus far, Portland has provided many a tasty (and affordable) places to spend my money on food.

As of late, Old, Kesia, and I have been on the breakfast circuit. The following two restaurants/cafes rank as my favorite breakfast joints: Junior's Cafe (SE 12th Ave and SE Market St.) and Beaterville (on Killingsworth in North Portland).

Junior's is a small, 1950's-style diner. The coffee is excellent, they have the best scrambles (including those without eggs for weirdos like Old), it is a mellow environment, and the waitresses know us (as evidenced by them reminding us everytime that we can't pay with credit card, and that we should know by now). It is not extraordinary, but it is down-home, a bit funky, and has a good selection of egg (or potato) scrambles. Try the Greek scramble if you like feta.

Beaterville is a new one to the list. Oldie and I just went there on Saturday. Like Junior's, it is pretty small and has an odd, back to the future feel to it. However, Beaterville has much more character, as the walls are adorned in old hubcaps from cars, rearview mirrors, and exhaust pipes. Whereas I thought "beater" had to do with eggs, it actually refers to old broken down cars. What's more, the outside tables (which protrude from the walls) are made of old car hoods and their bumbers. The menu is pretty good too. Peep it when you get a chance.

Side note: if you are hungover and crave a greasy breakfast in a less than pretentious setting, the Burger Barn is the place to be. Cheap greasy and just as good as any expensive breakfast joint. Watch out for the two old mob bosses that run the place. They're more like the Odd Couple than real mafiosos, but it's fun to pretend.