Woke up Saturday morning with a day to myself… Or it would have been if I have any ability to stay away from thrift stores. (Explanation: Roomies = Extended Family Sisters, Brother in Law and niece/nephews were going back to school shopping. I couldn’t resist! But I did try. I have no spawn of my own so must resort to playing “parent” to the children of others.)
I had a once in a blue moon hankering (Dear Gods, I think the Redneck Widow is infecting my vernacular!) for some breakfast starch namely pancakes. The Parental Units can attest that this is a rarity for me. So in an attempt to further my cause of trying new places I opted for the Gateway Breakfast House. About a 5 minute drive from home, sounded perfect.
Upon arrival I discovered that I was gravely underestimating the appeal of breakfast out to Portlanders. The place was PACKED! I was third in line for a table when I got there, and before I was seated there was another 10 people behind me. Had I done any research at all I would have learned that President Obama made an unscheduled stop here when he was in town. Lots of publicity, lots of hullabaloo and yet quite a few regulars as well. Waitresses were greeting customers by name and exchanging news about each other’s families and friends.
The menu was extensive and offered quite a selection, but I’m a sucker for a good deal so I opted for the 1,2,3,4 Country Special marked at $8.25 with coffee. My total came to $9.75 before tip and let me show you what I got for that.
That is two pancakes, a ham steak at least 7” across and ½” thick, two eggs scrambled with cheese, and a slab of hashbrowns. It was so big I was quite intimidated. I settled for dicing the ham steak and mixing it with the hashbrowns and eggs before setting that aside and tackling the pancakes. I managed about 3/4ths of the pancakes before I just couldn’t stand it anymore. Got the rest in a to go container and made my way out the door. There was still a line out the door, people just didn’t stop coming!
I knew that if I went immediately home after that carb load I would end up back in bed despite my best laid plans so I met up with the shopping expedition and did my best to be helpful.
Still, what a way to kick off the weekend.
Gateway Breakfast House, friendly staff, great value, wonderful food. I highly recommend, but make sure you have some time to wait for that table. Very popular destination.
