Podnah's

I can't remember ever having biscuits and gravy before, so I considered myself a Biscuits and Gravy virgin. That is until Podnah's. And the first time was truly great! Really, really good biscuits with yummy gravy on the side, which I appreciated because I could control the amount of gravy I got in each bite. The sausage was spicy and tasty and I didn't feel that it was greasy at all. Howard was kind enough to share his scrambled eggs with me, so I considered my breakfast just about perfect.

The only downfall was not having any decaf coffee AND no herbal teas that I could drink. I was about to settle for a cup of hot water, when the waitress suggested that I go the coffee shop next door and get my coffee. That turned out to be just fine. The Bean is a nice little shop with a very friendly proprietor who was happy to fix me a decaf Americano. We visited with the owner for a bit while he fixed my coffee, and by the time we got back to Podnah's, our order was almost ready. That made for a short wait.

From what I observed, it looks like Podnah's uses French Presses to make their coffee, and then puts the coffee in hot pots for the customers to serve themselves. Since I use a French Press at home, I'm sure I would have enjoyed their coffee had I been able to drink it.

Deducting a half point for the shortness of the menu, and another half point for not being able to accommodate my drink needs, I'd rate this place at four stars.

November 17, 2007 Podnah's Pit BBQ

Yum!

There are some foodies in my office; Jeff and/or Brendan have set as a goal to eat their way through the top 10 restaurants in Portland as rated by Portland Monthly magazine. They had lunch at Podnah's Pit BBQ in Northeast and raved about it. I looked on the web and found that they started opening for breakfast just about a month ago. So, it definitely sounded like a candidate.

When I looked at the menu on-line I knew I'd be happy but that the others might have a hard time getting something they like. But hey, we rotate picking and I figured I'd please myself and hope the others would find something they liked. The menu is very short.

• Biscuits and gravy
• Smoked trout hash
• 2 breakfast burritons (with or without sausage)
• Ham, eggs, and grits

I wanted someone to order the trout hash so I could at least see it; if someone has it, please post a comment.

I love good biscuits and gravy but rarely order it because it can be so easily ruined; a floury paste with a couple of chunks of greasy pork served over a hockey puck.

But Podnah's knows there biscuits and gravy: there were huge chunks of spicy sausage in a creamy, peppery gravy; no lumps; no grease. The gravy was served in a soup cup alongside two wonderful, light, flaky biscuits. I also had a couple of scrambled eggs on the side. Make no mistake: if you want biscuits in gravy in Portland, go to Podnah's.

The ambience is very VERY low key; it strikes me as what a southern barbecue joint would be. It is a small, narrow building with small old fashioned kitchen tables lining both sides. There were only a couple of spots for 4 people; we actually pushed a couple of small tables together. A few pictures are on the wall. Suffice it to say, if you are going to Podnah's you are going for the food.

There are a couple of small things that keep this from rating 5 stars in my book. They had NO decaffinated coffee. After we ordered, Dianne and Carla ducked out and went next store to get a coffee from a little coffee shop and brought it in. Also, we had to go fetch our own coffee from the back of the shop and the cups were little. But for a little breakfast joint that delivers the goods, this rates 4 1/2 stars.

Podnah's Pit BBQ

1469 NE Prescott St

Veritable Quandry

I enjoyed this restaurant very much. I also had the Eggs Benedict on the homemade english muffins. I generally don't get anything Benedict because I don't care for the sauce which is usually too lemony or tart for my taste. This sauce was just right and the english muffin was good. It was dense, as Howard mentioned, and not at all crispy, but still good.



The service was good and the company was delightful, as usual, with the added benefit of having Murray there, too. It was nice to get to meet Jeff's future father-in-law.



When we ate here a few years ago, I had the steel-cut oats for breakfast. It was so creamy and tasty with just the right amount of fruit, sugar, and cream. I loved it! I was glad to see it was still on the menu. I would have had it again, but it just wasn't an oatmeal kind of day for me.



I would give the VQ four stars for ambience, service, and quality of my breakfast.

November 10, 2007 - Veritable Quandry

We had a special visitor to our group this week. Carla and my son's, fiance's dad, Murray Slovick. He lives in New Jersey and came out for the weekend to visit his daughter's future in-laws. He is extremely charming and we had a blast.

We wanted to show him "Portland" and so wanted a real nice downtown experience. It was a toss up between Mother's Bistro and The Veritable Quandry. We've been to both before and enjoyed them both. The ambience, architecture, and location of VQ won out. So we headed there for breakfast.

Here's the regular 4; Murray was at the controls of his camera.

Ohmygosh; if I walk down the street with that expression, I bet people give me a wide berth.

So many choices, it was hard to decide. I opted for the local made sausage with currants, along with eggs and a potato cake. The sausage was delicious; the eggs were, well... eggs: fried over-medium. The potato cake was a little dense and maybe I was just full, but I didn't eat it all; it wasn't compelling.

Murray (and I think Herb) had the Eggs Benedict on a home made English muffin; they seemed pretty whelmed (not overwhelmed or underwhelmed, just whelmed) by the muffin - dense like the potato cake.

After breakfast, Herb and Dianne headed home, where I think Herb had to install a new toilet. Carla, Murray, and I walked on the Hawthorne bridge where I got a picture of Murray and Carla:

A pretty nice picture of the waterfront; too bad I only had my phone camera.

From there we took the tram up to OHSU, then explored Powell's, the Pearl, Pioneer Courthouse Square, where they were putting up the Christmas tree, and quick drive through Ladd's Addition in the Hawthorne area.

For dinner that night (I know, I know, this is a breakfast blog) we ate at Higgins, which is my favorite restaurant in Portland. If you are in Portland for a night, I recommend Higgins without reservation (well, actually you may want to make a reservation).

Next up is November 17; I have a couple of places in mind. I'll try to get a report out soon.

I've also made up a little breakfast blog card the size of a business card with the blog URL on it; maybe we'll get a little traction with this.

November 3 - No breakfast

Dianne was out of town visiting relatives, and Carla went out early morning walking with a friend. I slept in and I'm not sure what Herb did.

This week our son's fiance's dad is coming in from New Jersey to visit Carla and me. We are thinking about taking him to The Veritable Quandry in downtown Portland. We've been there in the fall of 2003 and it rated 4 stars. I don't have notes or details from the visit, but I remember liking the bread.

So, we should have a real report next week!