Back-handsprings Through Bridgetown: Brunch in Bridgetown: Mother's

Mother's Bistro and Bar is another popular spot in Portland. I promise to do some obscure ones eventually. I have just been really generic the past few weeks in my dining choices.

The only way to do Mother's is with one other person. If you go with more than two, you are looking at an hour+ wait. BUT if you go with two, you can usually grab a seat at the bar within 10min. The bar at Mother's is first come, first serve. You may have to get a little friendly with a stranger, but whatever! Once you dig in you won't care that they have their elbow all up in your space. Again, bomb BM. They use pepper infused vodka in their homemade mix. I didn’t have one yesterday though. It seems that people really rave about the mimosa/ bellini options. They have 7 different sparkling wine/ champy bevs on their drink menu. And as I sit at the bar for brunch (regularly) those are the most frequently made drinks. I am not a big breakfast drinker, but champy with fruit puree sounds like a winner to me! I am a big coffee drinker. One of the perks of mothers is the French press for two (Helzer's also offers a French press). Perfect for the bar sitting duo! Yesterday we ordered the Holler Mountain brew. It was outstandingly smooth and delicious.

The ambiance of Mother's is less trendy than Screen Door. You are more likely to see sundresses vs. skinny jeans or American Apparel. But isn’t that just the east/west divide? Think velvet and chandeliers. It is a beautiful spot. There are more families, couples and groups of girls. People show up with cakes for celebrations to hand off to the hostess etc. If your parents are in from out of town, take them to Mother's. I do love the friendly atmosphere of this establishment. When my friend and I sat down. One of the bartenders may or may not have said “welcome back girls!” While the other said “salmon hash right? How do you want your eggs today?” Does this mean we go there too much?

Back to the important stuff. What to order! My favy meal at Mother's is the wild salmon hash. I will go on the record and say it is the best breakfast dish in the city of Portland. Please, I welcome a challenge to this statement. It is AMAZING. Fresh salmon. Not smoked. This is the big difference. A lot of places carry smoked salmon hash. Vom. It does not compare to the fresh salmon hash at Mother's.

Take a looker:

Our delish French press coffee.

Yummy yummy wild salmon hash.

Mar and her (vegan) veggie scramble w/ avocado.

After our meal I got into a discussion with my neighbor at the bar. He was raving about the cornflake crusted French toast. Yes, it looked delicious. He gets it every time and I told him that I get the salmon hash every time. We discussed savory vs. sweet breakfasts. I prefer savory. Not because I don’t like sweet breakfasts, but because you can generally make versions of sweet breakfasts yourself. Pancakes, French toast etc. My mother taught me that if you are going out to eat you should order something you wouldn’t make at home. If you are spending money on your meal, you should make it count! The crab cake benedict from Seasons and Regions or the wild mushroom omelet with fresh herbs and goat cheese from Besaw's are two things I wouldn’t make myself. The omelet is a bit more likely, but who goes to the store and buys a variety of wild mushrooms for a random breakfast dish? The heavenly wild salmon hash from Mothers fits perfectly into this category. It is too much work to make yourself. And even if you tried, you would not be able to replicate the perfection that is this dish. Instead of a review of the restaurant this post turned into a rant about good breakfast… whatevs. My breakfast this weekend was da bomb!