PDX Breakfast

I have spent the last 2 years dreaming of a time when I could truly relax and take time off, knowing that income was pending.  One of the worst paradoxes of unemployment (or in may case for the past year, underemployment) is all the illusion of all the free time you will have to do everything you want.  Except that it is really hard to relax when you don’t have a steady paycheck coming in.  So, I spent my “free” time applying for jobs, beating the bushes for contracts and generally stressing myself out.

Just about the time I managed to secure employment (I start at NTEN) next week, life went to hell in a handbasket as David and I shuttled back and forth between Boston and home (ok, I shuttled, he mostly stayed there for weeks on end).  So, I now only have one week in which to pack everything I want to do.  Plus work.  Did I mention that I still have some work to do before I start work?

What does this have to do with #PDXBreakfast? Well, believe it or not, my chaotic life has everything to do with our next #PXBreakfast location.  In my random web wanderings in search of ideas for breakfast places, I stumbled across an announcement that Pine State Biscuits is now 5 years old (where has the time gone?).  Although, as a vegetarian, I have never eaten any of Pine State’s massive, gut-busting creations, just reading about them makes me feel overstuffed.  So, what better way to recognize my over-packed week than to join in Pine State’s anniversary celebration?

Although I live oh-so-close to their location on Belmont, seating is virtually nil.  Plus, I have never been to their Alberta location, so we will be convening there. For those of you who are just jumping to the details, they are:

Thursday, June 16, 2011, 8:30am.

Pine Street Biscuits, 2204 NE Alberta.

I look forward to seeing you all there.

One of the many things I loved about the book The Phantom Tollbooth was that in Dictionapolis, everyone had to literally eat their words.

…The waiters reappeared immediately, carrying heavy, hot trays, which they set on the table. Each one contained the exact words spoken by the various guests, and they all began eating with great gusto.
“Dig in,” said the king, poking Milo with his elbow and looking disapprovingly at his plate. “I can’t say that I think much of your choice.”
“I didn’t know I was going to have to eat my words,” objected Milo.
“Of course, of course, everyone here does,” the king grunted. “You should have made a tastier speech.”

Cookie Monster was much more into letters than words, but he does seem to enjoy nomming the letter “C “(a lot).

I am much more traditional, choosing to limit my intake to foods that are organic in origin.  However, I do believe in walking my talk, or in this case, eating my values.

After I scheduled the next #PDXBreakfast at the Morningstar Cafe, Bryan Stearns said the following:

I’m opting out of visiting Morningstar Cafe — they’re one of the restaurants complaining (to the city and in the news) about food carts, crying “unfair competition!” (I know, the carts should get permits for add-on structures, and the rules are different for carts, but I don’t like their whining, and would as soon eat elsewhere. See you next time (or you could pick somewhere different for the 18th – capiche?)

To which I responded:

Thanks for the tip. I hadn’t caught that Morningstar Cafe was anti-foodcart. Foodcarts are a (relatively) low-cost entry-point for entrepreneurs in the food industry. Given the rapid market growth of food carts in Portland, I had hoped restaurateurs (especially those with well-established businesses) would recognize the benefits of coopetition and support their fellow business owners. I am disappointed to learn that the owners of the Morningstar Cafe are not seeing the big picture when it comes to economic development in downtown Portland.

I support every business-owner’s right to his/her own opinions and to publicly express that opinion to the Powers that Be. I also support every individual’s right to choose where to spend one’s money. So, as the de-facto Power that Is for #PDXBreakfast (at least until J-P pulls my access to this blog), I am going to relocate November 18th’s #PDXBreakfast to Mother’s Bistro at 212 SW Stark.

If you are just scanning this email, please take note that the venue for the November 18th #PDXBreakfast has changed to Mother’s Bistro at 212 SW Stark.  Time is still the same: 8:30am.

This morning, while in an over-caffeinated food coma, @reidab suggested we try the new restaurant in what used to be Sip N Kranz.  Seemed to me  like a good idea for our next westside breakfast.  However, since he couldn’t remember the name of the new place, I imagined just telling everyone we were going to where Sip N Kranz used to be.  This also made me nervous, because I wouldn’t be able to check the website and verify the restaurant’s hours.  Not that checking helped the Clinton Cafe situation, but I digress.  However, the former Sip N Kranz owners were gracious enough to provide a link to the new cafe, called Cloud Seven Cafe.

Now confident in Reid’s suggestion, I feel safe announcing that the next #PDXBreakfast will be on Thursday, October 21st at Cloud Seven Cafe. Alas, I will not be there because I will be in Boston hanging with David’s grandfather and his amazing (really-they-don’t make-people-like-her-anymore) aide.  But don’t let that stop you.

I would also like to add a note to those of you who feel awkward about joining our merry band of breakfasters.  This morning @fool, @igalk and@akfarrell joined us for the first time, and from what I could tell, enjoyed themselves.  So, I hope they come back and we can entice some other new folks to join us.

Once again, I am messing with the #pdxbreakfast schedule. It’s so fun to have the power! Bwahahahaha!

Rosh Hashanah audaciously conflicts with our normally scheduled morning, so I am bumping it forward a week.  I debated pushing it even further forward, because Yom Kippur starts the next day.  That may not seem like a conflict to most of you.  However, those who participate in the 25 hour fast (without even water) have already been weaning themselves off caffeine.  There really is nothing like a caffeine headache when fasting. Of course, I could drink decaf or herbal tea.  But, at least for me, getting amped up from endless coffee refills is part of the fun of going out for breakfast.

On the flip side, I missed the last #PDXBreakfast because David & I were on the road.  And since the closure of a certain gathering space, there are several folks who I only get to see at a #PDXBreakfast.  So, I will forsake my usual caffeine high for the sake of getting to see great friends.

#PDXBreakfast is a great opportunity to try new places to eat.  The Clinton Corner Cafe is not new, but I haven’t been there, so it is new to me.    The Clinton Corner Cafe can be found at SE 21st & Clinton.

Are there places you have been wanting to try?  Put them in the comments so J-P & I can add them to the list of places to try.

I am trying using Doodle for RSVP’s, so please let us know if you are planning to attend here.  As always, RSVPs are not required.  They are really just so we can give the waitstaff a sense of how big a table we will need.

This is a PDXBreakfast for you sun worshipers out there.  We decided it was time to take advantage of Portland’s good weather and go to a cart pod for breakfast.  @pdxflaneur put in a request for a St. Johns breakfast. I will counter with a suggestion to all of you good folks in St. Johns to start lobbying for a cart pod, because I just couldn’t find one.

Fortunately North Portland has several breakfast options at the Mississippi Marketplace located at N. Mississippi & N Skidmore. Options include traditional breakfast fare at the Big Egg,  quinoa pancakes at the Ruby Dragon or breakfast pizza at the Southwestern Pizza Company.

I will miss this PDXBreakfast because I will be enroute back to Portland from Gilroy, CA.  I am driving, so I will spend my day feeling sick from road food.  But #PDXBreakfast’s Head Honcho, Lawduck, will be there to provide entertainment.

You can RSVP here.