Breakfast Anyone?

[MsRamsey]

I decided to skip Portage Bay (one of my favorite breakfast places) a couple of months ago and go to Jitterbug instead. The breakfast was terrible, and the place is filthy! Most of the tables and chairs were in disrepair--even my metal coffee creamer was broken. They need to close down for a couple of days and scrub down and paint the whole restaurant. Just a godawful place.

[bbqer]

I decided to skip Portage Bay (one of my favorite breakfast places) a couple of months ago and go to Jitterbug instead.  The breakfast was terrible, and the place is filthy!  Most of the tables and chairs were in disrepair--even my metal coffee creamer was broken.  They need to close down for a couple of days and scrub down and paint the whole restaurant.  Just a godawful place.

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Ms. Ramsey, Portage Bay Cafe is our favorite breakfast place. Besides the super pancake bar, they really do some incredible omelettes. And the coffee is always first rate as well.

[elswinger]

I had an excellent breakfast at The Rusty Pelican on 45th in Wallingford on Saturday. I had the Steak and Eggs, which came with country potatoes and a fluffy home-made biscuit.

[SeaGal]

I decided to skip Portage Bay (one of my favorite breakfast places) a couple of months ago and go to Jitterbug instead.  The breakfast was terrible, and the place is filthy!  Most of the tables and chairs were in disrepair--even my metal coffee creamer was broken.  They need to close down for a couple of days and scrub down and paint the whole restaurant.  Just a godawful place.

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Ms. Ramsey, Portage Bay Cafe is our favorite breakfast place. Besides the super pancake bar, they really do some incredible omelettes. And the coffee is always first rate as well.

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I also like Portage Bay. Just had brunch recently with a bunch of friends. They put us in the back room and let us sit and chat after our meal as long as we liked, with coffee and water refills. (We, of course, tipped well for this). The food was really good and the portions quite large. It was my first time there and I'll definitely go back for more.

Jan

Edited December 20, 2004 by SeaGal (log)

[kiliki]

I'm particularly taken with their transformation of the Firehouse.

I like that it's now a restaurant that the neighborhood will enjoy but I'm irked that they had to put "DRINK" in huge neon green letters up the outside of the firehouse tower. Don't we have historic preservation rules in that area to keep this kind of tacky stuff off?

Am I the only one that loves Vera's? Hardly ever a wait, great family (owners) and staff, comfy booths, tasty reliable better-than-diner food, terrific diner fries (for lunch), and when you go on Sunday, so convenient to the Ballard Farmers Market.

[ScorchedPalate]

Am I the only one that loves Vera's? Hardly ever a wait, great family (owners) and staff, comfy booths, tasty reliable better-than-diner food, terrific diner fries (for lunch), and when you go on Sunday, so convenient to the Ballard Farmers Market.

We ate at Vera's once and the food was so bad we got up and left. <shudder>

We had breakfast on Saturday at Hi-Spot (madrona, not to be confused with 5-Spot or Hi-Life!) and it was good, not spectacular.

~A

(edited for typo...)

Edited December 20, 2004 by ScorchedPalate (log)

[MsRamsey]

I never could get the names 5-Spot and 5-Point (bar/laundromat near Elephant Carwash) straight. I stand no chance with keeping straight 5-Spot, Hi-Spot, 5-Point, and Hi-Life.

Edited December 20, 2004 by MsRamsey (log)

[jrt]

Based on the discussion here, I tried to stop in at Portage Bay today, but the wait was absurdly long. Driving back downtown, we saw that Serafina has a Sunday brunch and stopped in there.

Started with some very reasonably priced and decent prosecco with a glass of their fresh-squeezed OJ as well as a bruschetta app. Wow, the bruschetta was fantastic... it was simply a bit of toasted bread with three bowls with different toppings in them. One was a mild feta with spicy roasted bell peppers, another was an expertly made green olive tapenade, and the last was a tuna and caper sort of mix. We were really happy with those...

The menu has a few interesting things on it (roasted rabbit, a duck dish), but we stayed pretty simple. The "French toast" was very tasty, though a bit uninspiring (is there an inspiring French toast? I don't know). I had the ham "basket" dish with polenta, mushrooms, and poached eggs with a glass of wine. All in all, one of the better breakfasts I've had in this city.

[tsquare]

Another Sunday breakfast at Lola's.

Service was friendly and quick, food was good (and hot upon arrival), price, not bad ($10-12). I am sorry to see the menu growing smaller - though the doughnuts and the octopus/pork belly are still both there. And yet, I've not ordered either! Oddly, my breakfast plate was adorned with a single thin slice of apple.

[BradS]

I couldn't agree more about the Hi-Spot, 5-Spot, Hi-Life confusion. Last weekend we went to whatever of these is on Queen Anne (5-Spot, I think) for the first time. I'd heard some mixed reviews of this and other Chow Foods places, and when the early-arriving huge piece of coffee cake turned out to be rather bland (lemon-poppyseed, but where was the lemon? And I was really hoping for a streusel topping), I was a little worried. But everything else was great. My wife (who liked the coffee cake, but she's wrong) ordered the New England style hash and loved it, especially the grated beets. I know nothing about this style of hash, but I had one taste and thought it was excellent. The 6-year-old's kid breakfast included fruit, bacon, a pancake, and a scrambled egg for only $4 or so. I ordered one of the daily specials, a fritatta that fit in with the current Little Italy theme. It featured pepperoni, smoked mozarella and spinach. I was a little dubious but nothing on the menu had sounded better. The fritatta quickly won me over. The buttery breakfast potatoes were impossible not to like, and despite my skepticism about the concept of focaccia toast, this was good too. Fresh-squeezed orange juice and a tasty latte rounded out the meal. Plus, they cheerfully poured me some excellent coffee when the latte ran out---always a sign of a great breakfast place. Excellent service overall, and much tolerance for our mess-making baby, who, incidentally, thought the coffee cake was superb. We'll definitely go back, as long as we can get there early. The place opens at 8:30, and by 9 the line was getting ridiculous. But what good breakfast place in Seattle isn't like this? The market is clearly not saturated.

[OnlyTheBest]

OK...I need help.

What about Breakfast in Tacoma/Gig Harbor?

Have a friend comming to visit....and i am still down here in Gig Harbor...not too sure there is anything here.... but what about Tacoma? Any suggestions?

I am sure she is going to want a NW style breakfast.....maybe salmon or oysters in some breakfast thing....omelet or benedict or the like..

If you dont have any suggestions for Tacoma then what about a place in the Seattle area that might have something like that.

Thanks alot

[skyflyer3]

OK...I need help.

What about Breakfast in Tacoma/Gig Harbor?

Have a friend comming to visit....and i am still down here in Gig Harbor...not too sure there is anything here.... but what about Tacoma?  Any suggestions?

I am sure she is going to want a NW style breakfast.....maybe salmon or oysters in some breakfast thing....omelet or benedict or the like..

If you dont have any suggestions for Tacoma then what about a place in the Seattle area that might have something like that.

              Thanks alot

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Portage Bay has NW style breakfasts. Really great ones, I might add - Dungeness Crab Benedict was on the menu a few weeks ago, although I went for the creme brulee brioche french toast with carmelized bananas and maple syrup (or something like that). Wow, did that ever rock my world.

I really, really want to know if there is a place in Bellevue that does good brunch/breakfast. I saw the Chace place rec, but is there anything else out there? Please? Bellevue, anyone?

[chuck]

Not sure how I missed this thread originally. I went through a going-out-for-breakfast phase that lasted a good couple of months last summer. Here goes.

The Maltby Cafe is one of the best meals I've ever had for two reasons. The first has nothing to do with the food. I had to drop a couple of friends off at the airport early on a Saturday morning and I wanted to go out for breakfast by myself afterward. At 6AM on a weekend apparently nothing between Sea-Tac and Belltown is open for another hour so I ended up looking farther afield. I was at the Maltby Cafe by about 6:30. At seven I fell in with the doors and the other people waiting in their cars in the lot. Cool time to be there after the easy drive and with the sun still rising. The second reason it was so great was the experience in the restaurant, which is in the basement of an old school, for the next hour or so. Great coffee, super friendly staff, and the morning paper. When I got my eggs benedict (about $9) I was floored by how delicious it was. Three eggs on three bisquits, tasty sauteed potatoes, cooked perfectly and well seasoned, and all washed down with more coffee. I took half of my meal with me when I left (and I started hungry) and one of their cinnamon rolls, which are about 2 pounds each and good, but a little heavy on the fake almond flavor. Drove back along Lake City Way and was back in Seattle 20 minutes later. If you consider that you might drive from one part of Seattle to another (especially if you end up on Capitol Hill) and then try to park you will actually spend less time in your car by driving 5 miles past Bothell on SR522. 25 minutes from downtown, twenty minutes back 'cause I knew exactly where I was going, and I was back in bed by 8:30. 425 483 3123.

Voula's Offshore Cafe on Northlake under the freeway bridge is also tops. They open for breakfast at six, but they put coffee on about five. If you get there early you can go in, sit down, pour yourself some coffee, and read the paper until the cook's ready. The food is really damned tasty and pretty cheap, the coffee makes the rounds of the room about once every two minutes, and everyone in there is most likely headed to their blue collar job after they finish. Parking right out front. 206 634 0183.

Stoneway Cafe in Wallingford down by Lake Union had really good food. The best bisquits and gravy I've had in a restaurant. Had to wait a bit because it is really small and I think we were there on a weekend. The coffee was a little thin, but better than a ton of other breakfast places that I've been to. The service is a little bit more business-like, but fast and efficient. Easy street parking. 206 547 9958.

Le Pichet serves a good breakfast, although not with the usual American menu items. A baguette, butter, and jam comes free if you order other stuff, I think. I had baked eggs over ham that were rich and delicious, but not served with anything to soak up the goodness. The coffee was the most impressive part. I thought it was espresso, but they kept filling my cup. Thick, bitter, and I spent the rest of the morning trying to overcome the shakes. Cool. Most of the food on the morning menu is similar to what I would consider eating during the rest of the day: pate, olives, cheese. I almost got a glass of pastis with my eggs but was a touch too hung over. Hard to park, but the best bet is on 2nd or 3rd. 206 256 1499.

The Sunlight Cafe in Roosevelt was okay when I was there. I don't have a whole lot of confidence in hippy cooking, but I stuck with the granola and yogurt and got drip coffee and everything turned out okay. Didn't try anything with brown rice in it, as it was morning. It lives up to it's name, so don't go if you had a drop of liquor the night before. If you are already feeling good about yourself, however, this will only help, sitting in there with all of those self-righteous kids in the beams of sunlight. Parking is fine. 206 522 9060.

Mae's Phinney Ridge Cafe was fine for a weekday morning when there wasn't a line, but my hashbrowns were burnt and the service was kind of weird. They have a pretty big menu and the rooms are kitschy cool. Sort of expensive and surprisingly hard to park within a couple of blocks. 206 782 1222.

The Hi-Spot sucked when I was there. No salt on anything, even the stuff that shouldn't be served without it, including their undercooked sauteed potatoes. Bad service, the food was uneven (the curry Hollandaise was really bad), and it was overpriced even if it had been good. Cool old house, though. 206 325 7905.

Let's talk about Chow Foods. I have tried Jitterbug, Atlas, 5-Spot, and Coastal Kitchen for breakfast (and other meals) over the last five or six years and every time I leave one of them I tell myself that I will not go back for that shit again. Haven't gone for a year or so, so I think it might finally be sticking. It's like an expensive, hip Denny's, and since they are still doing pretty well I don't think they are fixing anything that's wrong. I've thrown up after eating there (check out their King County Health Dept. record - yikes!), I've been served broken aioli (a little bit of creamy mass in the bottom of a ramekin and 3 tablespoons of oil on top of that), I've felt abused and frazzled by the service. Overcooked, undercooked, dry, cold food time after time. They have a few menu items with ingredients that have name recognition (I think they used Niman Ranch for pork a few years ago at the Jitterbug) but for the most part it's obvious that they use totally sub-par ingredients. And the wait on weekends at any of them is unbelievable. It's a factory. My theory is that it's the fallback option for a lot of people who are too lazy to think, but only because I try not to mull it over too much. They were smart to go into neighborhoods that grew around them, but I wish they'd stop expanding and focus on the places they have. Look up the phone numbers yourselves.

This is a summary of my experiences lately. I'd love to hear about more places.

[tighe]

The Maltby Cafe is one of the best meals I've ever had for two reasons.  The first has nothing to do with the food.  I had to drop a couple of friends off at the airport early on a Saturday morning and I wanted to go out for breakfast by myself afterward.  At 6AM on a weekend apparently nothing between Sea-Tac and Belltown is open for another hour so I ended up looking farther afield.  I was at the Maltby Cafe by about 6:30.  At seven I fell in with the doors and the other people waiting in their cars in the lot.  Cool time to be there after the easy drive and with the sun still rising.  The second reason it was so great was the experience in the restaurant, which is in the basement of an old school, for the next hour or so.  Great coffee, super friendly staff, and the morning paper.  When I got my eggs benedict (about $9) I was floored by how delicious it was.  Three eggs on three bisquits, tasty sauteed potatoes, cooked perfectly and well seasoned, and all washed down with more coffee.  I took half of my meal with me when I left (and I started hungry) and one of their cinnamon rolls, which are about 2 pounds each and good, but a little heavy on the fake almond flavor.  Drove back along Lake City Way and was back in Seattle 20 minutes later.  If you consider that you might drive from one part of Seattle to another (especially if you end up on Capitol Hill) and then try to park you will actually spend less time in your car by driving 5 miles past Bothell on SR522.  25 minutes from downtown, twenty minutes back 'cause I knew exactly where I was going, and I was back in bed by 8:30.   425 483 3123.

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If you find yourself needing breakfast near the airport again, Spencer's in the Hilton is actually quite good and opens at 6.

That said, the Maltby Cafe is by far my favorite place to go for breakfast. Everything is just so damn tasty. I wish I got out there more often.

Edited March 16, 2005 by tighe (log)

[wubette]

Breakfast Club on Lake City Way is always a good bet. They have huge pancakes both plain and "real" blueberry!

Their omelette combo's are creative, large and satisfying.

They close at 2 in the afternoon though so this is only good for early day breakfasters.

[Jambalyle]

Here are two places I try to frequent when I get up north...

1) Gordy's Smokehouse in North Bend (you did say Eastside ). If you are into breakfast meats, Gordy smokes his own. I also heard he opened a second place in Tukwila.

2) Salmon Bay Cafe in Ballard. Here is a link to an older article Seattle PI.com Food&Dining Section

Edited for stupid spelling mistake...

Edited March 23, 2005 by Jambalyle (log)

[pupcart]

Geraldine's Counter: We went to the fairly recently opened Geraldine's Counter in Columbia City for breakfast this morning. Maybe I was just hungry for something different than our usual round of breakfast haunts (Hi-Spot in Madrona, The Dish in Fre-lard, Etta's downtown, Cafe Flora in Madison Valley, Both Ways and Susan's 5100 in Seward Park), but I thought it the MOST delicious breakfast we have had in the Seattle area in recent memory.

Apparently the place is jammed on weekends, but there were several open tables, booths, and places at the counter to sit when we strolled in at 10:30 on a Friday morning. (They serve breakfast all day, I think their closing time is 3pm). We slid into a booth, ordered two cups of the drip Vita coffee, and although I like a strong cup of coffee, the aroma of this coffee was enough to give me a buzz and it needed a larger-than-usual splash of cream to tame it down for my palate.

After a lot of indecision on our parts, because everything sounded really tasty, we ordered a short stack of the "pancakes of the day" and an "Emerald Scramble" with a side of bacon. I can't tell you much about the Emerald Scramble because they mistakenly brought us the White Corn scramble, but what a GREAT mistake that turned out to be!

Pancakes: The special of the day were corncakes. They were served with real maple syrup, fresh blueberries, raspberries and strawberries. I like pancakes, but it is very difficult to find a place that can serve up pancakes that are cooked all the way through without being tough and rubbery. These pancakes were not only cooked perfectly, they were TASTY. The cornmeal was a little grainy, the cake light and fluffy and very flavorful. When I was in high school my boyfriend used to grind his own cornmeal, and that's the last time I had corncakes that approached how delicious Geraldine's pancakes were this morning. I hope they have corncakes on the menu the next time we return.

White Corn Scramble: Eggs scrambled very fluffily with havarti cheese, lots and lots of fresh white corn, and a bit of basil. Each bite was delicious. The scramble was served freshly grated hashbrowns (not greasy at all), wheat toast with raspberry jam, and fresh fruit. Yum.

Side of Bacon: Thickly sliced, grilled perfectly.

Our entire meal came to $20, $24 with a tip. The service was great, even with the mistaken order, I think we came out ahead on that error. When they brought the corn scramble out, we just couldn't bear to send it back, it looked too tasty.

Even though the place is rockin' noisy when it is only half full (acoustics of linoleum and bare walls and high ceilings are pretty intense) I have a feeling we will be back soon, one of the folks jamming in on a weekend. The lunch menu looked VERY tempting...

[malarkey]

I'd like to second the thumbs-up on Geraldine's Counter. We had breakfast there this morning. Delicious!! We got the White Corn Scramble, the Corn Beef Hash and some of the chicken sausage, yum yum- All items sound great and are tempting. I'll need to have the pancakes next time around...

We walked in about 1:30ish (lazy sunday morning!) and had no trouble getting a table.

[malarkey]

OK... so we went again this Sunday This time had the pancakes.. YUM! They are outstanding!! My only quibble is I don't think they are using real maple syrup. It could be they ran out and had to sub, or are cutting it with something else, but it didn't have that maple flavor that I know and adore.

Given that the pancakes were still orgasmic despite the absence of real maple syrup, that's sayin' something about the high art of these cakes!

[Mr. Lucky]

I'd like to second the thumbs-up on Geraldine's Counter. We had breakfast there this morning. Delicious!!

Please note that I do not work at Geraldine's, I don't know the owner(s), nor do I know the staff.

Ditto on Geraldine's Counter. I am not a breakfast person normally and confess to happily having breakfast at Geraldine's four times already. Usually, I don't like eggs of any sort and love, really love, the eggs at Geraldine's. I don't know what they do, but their omelets are excellent -light, flavorful, and not too "eggy". I substitue the toast for the biscuit. If you're a biscuit fan don't hesitate to make the substitution. Their biscuites are flaky and tasty and only require a dab of jam. As much as I love butter, these biscuits need none!

My favorite breakfast food is french toast. I rarely order it at a restaurant as it's almost always disappointing. French toast is something best done in one's kitchen (try the Cook's Illustrated recipe -it's superb). True to form, Geraldine's makes excellent french toast.

I've only had lunch at Geraldine's once. I had the grilled cheese sandwich and it was delicious too.

As much as I hate to see the lines grow at Geraldine's, I recommend that anyone looking for an exceptional breakfast head down to Columbia City.

[pupcart]

Re: Geraldine's Counter - Like the other folks, we have gone back again and again, each time as good, if not better than the time before, that is up until the last time my daughter went with her friend.

She ordered her very most favorite - Geraldine's french toast - and it arrived completely burned - solid black! She asked if she could have a new order that was not burned, and they came back with an order of French Toast that was barely cooked on the outside and raw on the inside. Blech.

She was very surprised and thinks they must have had a different cook that day, or the same cook having a devil of a time controlling the griddle temperature.

[elswinger]

My friends and I had an excellent breakfast at Cafe Moose in Ballard. There was a bit if a wait because of the reviiw in the Times on Friday, and they were a bit overwhelmed because they only have one cook, but the staff were good humored and helpful. They have both traditional breakfast selections and several Mexican themed dishes, they also serve lunch at the same time and have a lot of interesting hamburgers (I'm going to have to go back to try one). The coffee was also excellent.

[cburnsi]

My friends and I had an excellent breakfast at Cafe Moose in Ballard.  There was a bit if a wait because of the reviiw in the Times on Friday, and they were a bit overwhelmed because they only have one cook, but the staff were good humored and helpful.  They have both traditional breakfast selections and several Mexican themed dishes, they also serve lunch at the same time and have a lot of interesting hamburgers (I'm going to have to go back to try one).  The coffee was also excellent.

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We tried to get there today, but the were not-unexpectedly closed. Headed over to the Bay Cafe for a Pan Fried Oyster Omelet. Yum!

[kistle]

I haven't been for breakfast yet, but the brunch menu at Monsoon looks like it may set the standard in Seattle, a la Park Kitchen in Portland.

[LaurieA-B]

Brunch at Monsoon was written up in the Seattle Weekly. It does sound delicious.