ever since i began working at local, my weekends have been busy hosting brunch there- which happens to be my favorite meal. while i have given up my own personal brunch dates- i’m lucky enough to work in a place that doubles as my second home. my coworkers are the certainly some of the coolest people i know, and i’ll be honest when i say that i look forward to coming into work on the weekends. the magic behind local 188 has yet to disappear, and it’s still my most frequented restaurant. the only brunch food that i’ve had for the past three months or so has been from local, which isn’t disappointing at all- but people have been raving about District’s Brunch and Nosh’s too. Sonny’s and 555 are also known to have pretty good brunches- but unfortunately I’m never out in time to make the last call at any of the places. Before last weekend- I never thought about going to brunch before work- I like to get there early, and I don’t exactly like to wake up before I really have to. This changed though- when Scottie- one of my favorite coworkers, texted me, early Sunday morning asking if I’d like to go to Caiola’s before our shifts started. Having not eaten for more than 12 hours, I obliged, and made the trek up Congress Street, which thus brought me to Portland’s West End.
Caiola’s is situated in the perfect neighborhood, it’s surrounded by old Victorians, diverse schools, and quiet roads. They’re only open Sundays for brunch, and because of their limited hours and delicious fare, Caiola’s is often referred to as Portland’s best brunch. The restaurant itself is quite intimate- almost house-like, but at the same time boasts a romantic atmosphere that is quite similar to that of Bresca. I met Scottie at 9am on the dot, and we found ourselves some seats at the bar. The last time I had gone to Caiola’s for brunch was this past summer, and while it was good, it didn’t exactly impress me like people said it would. So while my expectations weren’t high, I had an open mind.
I perused the menu quickly, but settled on something that sounded the most appealing. The Bird’s Nest consisted of two eggs, cooked over medium, nestled into pieces of Pullman Toast- which had been highly praised by other food bloggers- and lived up to their impressions I must say, served with country sausage gravy, and roasted sweet potatoes. The toast was buttery, flaky, and delicious. Toasted to a crisp, but sopped in some runny egg yolks did the trick to add a bit more flavor. The sausage gravy was creamy and savory. It had a pleasing aroma- somewhat resembling Shepard’s Pie, but highly reminiscent of my stay down south last year. All in all, this dish blew my mind. Creamy, rich, succulent- things I shouldn’t eat before work, but things that certainly brightened my day.
Scottie decided on the Eggs Benedict with bacon instead of ham. One thing that I’ve learned about Scottie since meeting him officially early in February is that he loves bacon. And listen, I know many people love bacon- like I consider myself to be a bacon-lover, but there’s no way that I can compete with Scottie’s love of bacon. His Bennie looked divine, and all in all I think he was pleased with it.
While we were eating, we ran into a mutual friend- someone who I’ve know since I was 10 or so. Now that I think about it, most people in Portland know Johnny. He’s a really great person, who is quite knowledgable about many different subjects. He’s played in a plethora of bands, and is quite endearing if I do say so myself. He first taught me about the remedies of Hot Toddies – he used to make them for my mum, and he also has always encouraged me to follow my dreams. I’m glad that I still know Johnny quite well, and so seeing him outside of Local- where our conversations are kept short- was nice. He pulled up a seat next to me and Scottie, and we all enjoyed one another’s company. Johnny ordered the pancake- which he said he orders all the time. When I asked him what he thought about it he said:
“I like comfort food – pancakes are one of them – you don’t have to do anything fancy – just make ‘em plain with enough butter to induce cardiac arrest and real maple syrup sending your blood a massive sugar rush – washed down with coffee cream and sugar – the only thing better would be a plate of fresh cotton candy - Chef Bling Bling (Bly) makes them the best – she puts fruit on it for flair & also to prevent scurvy in us old folks who have bad eating habits.”
Clearly, Johnny eats a lot of pancakes at Caiola’s. After seeing the plate brought to him, I must admit that I really wanted a bite. The cakes at Local are great- they’re thick, and baked in the ovens, but it’s been quite a while since I’ve actually had a real pancake. While I tried to snap some photos of Johnny’s pancakes, the butter on top was melting rapidly and kept moving- aaah I just wanted to gobble up the melted butter, the fresh fruit, and the moist pancakes.
There wasn’t a single thing that disappointed me about Caiola’s- other than the fact that our time was limited. The food was more than decent, the staff was warm and inviting, and my company was second to none. My morning was well spent, and by the time we had our staff meal at local, I didn’t eat my normal amount, which is quite sinful, because I was still in a food coma from the Bird’s Nest at Caiola’s. I’m 100% positive that I will be visiting Harmon’s restaurant for brunch in the near future!
