Alameda Cafe - April 15, 2006

It's best to live with no regrets; but I have a small one after dining at the Alameda Cafe. I wish I would have had one of the signature dishes rather than standard eggs, potatoes, bacon and toast. I had bacon on my mind as we drove to the east side of town. As I perused the menu I saw many tempting items, but if I wanted bacon, the sure bet was the "Power Breakfast" 2 eggs over medium (runny yolks/firm whites), bacon, rye toast and potatoes. A small bug; the toast and bacon were both a tad overdone.

Service was exquisite! Shelley (I got her name wrong earlier) is a management consultant who drives things on the weekends when the owner is out. She saw us come in with the camera, and immediately offered to take our picture. So, we finally get a picture for the blog with all 4 of us. The wait staff were attentive; coffee cups were continually filled with hot tasty java. It wasn't crazy busy, so we got to hang out for a while and shoot the breeze.

We also got a rare picture of all 4 of us at the table where you can get a glimpse of our meals (that's me [Bake] in the green shirt). I sure hope those guys behind A.H. aren't in the witness protection program!



On the way home we drove by a couple of future possibilities, so A.H. and I will probably be all about trying to beat each other out in the next few weeks. I bet we'll have a few visits to NE PDX in the next month or two.

What a nice breakfast place. Definitely 4 stars and probably would have been 5 if I had something else. It'll probably be a while until I have the standard eggs and bacon breakfast.

No Group Breakfast - April 1, 2006, April 8, 2006

It's not an April Fool's joke. We didn't go out on April 1. I had a conference in Orlando so we skipped.

Rick and A.H. took a piano to Rick's mom and dad's place in eastern Washington on April 8; so again, we didn't go out (at least as a group).

Carlita and I did go back to Black Bear Diner, because it is so close and she wanted to try the whole grain pancakes. I had french toast and a side of bacon. Like before the ambience and wait staff were wonderful. But, the French Toast left a lot to be desired. It was basically sourdough bread coated in scrambled eggs. Carlita loved the pancakes.

I hope we are back on track next week!

Stay beautiful!

Black Bear Diner

[Rick] As we were waiting for our breakfast, I mentioned that the place reminded me of the kind of diner at which one would stop while on the way to the Redwoods in California. I've never been to the Redwoods, but that's what I could imagine it to be. It turns out that I wasn't too far off. According to the information on the placemat, the original diner of the current chain is located in the Mt Shasta area. Since this restaurant is part of a chain, it lacks the quirkiness of some of the places we've been; but it was still a great place to eat. The staff was very attentive and friendly. The decor was very comfortable and relaxing. Our menu was printed on a 1957 "newspaper" for the Beaverton area, which was interesting to read.

I ordered the California Scramble, which was eggs scrambled with avacados, spinach, onions, and I think mushrooms. I don't remember any meat in it, but I didn't miss it either. I had the roasted red potatoes, which were good, and the biscuit was huge.

The place earned a 4-star rating from me, and I plan to go back. They offer a 7-grain pancake that I'd like to try. I'm wondering if they are as good as mine. Probably better.