Tasty n Sons

A Brunch Restaurant.  Really, they just serve brunch from 9AM to 3PM.  Most restauranteurs wouldn’t dream of opening a new restaurant with a single brunch menu,   but the guys behind Toro Bravo have rolled the dice and looking at the waiting list on a Tuesday they’ve got it.

Tasty N Sons is located in Northeast Portland in the Mississippi Neighborhood, a part of Portland that has large bike corrals on the last parking spot of each street.   A black sign hangs outside of the unsuspecting feast that looms behind the door.  At the top of a small staircase the busy servers pause to welcome you and take you over to a table (during the week), its rumored that a line wraps around the corner on the weekend as guests wait up to an hour and a half for a spot.

The long narrow space has a cozy bar area and communal table in the front and a long banquette along one side that looks at the chefs counter and open kitchen.  The tables along the banquette are tightly spaced which could make recapping last nights adventures a story your neighbors are going to listen to as well.

Each place setting has a share plate which makes more sense once your server explains that their hope is everyone will share, to encourage sharing each item is brought one-by-one from the kitchen as soon as it is ready.  The menu is divided into two sections, smaller & larger plates.

The brunch cocktail list contains staples like the bloody mary and its cousins made with gin or tequila.  A number of fresh squeezed juice spiked with the good stuff make it seem justifiable to be drinking before noon.  The Ristretto Roasters coffee is excellent and its unlikely your cup will be less than half full throughout the meal.

The first item to arrive at the table was Kyle’s House made Granola with fresh Oregon strawberries served with milk and yogurt.  With the yogurt and strawberries the granola didn’t need any milk, it was a healthy portion but a little awkward to share, one bowl served with two spoons, wouldn’t recommend this one for a group of guys regrouping after a night on the town.

Next the Croque Madame arrived sitting in a pool of jalapeno maple syrup.  The syrup is amazing, the sweetness battles the bite of the jalapeno to create a unique combination.  Perfect for sharing, although everyone will be fighting over the syrup.

The Chocolate Potato Doughnut with creme anglaise was the perfect intermezzo.  A simple doughnut hole covered in warm creme anglaise, delicious but also quite possibly the most expensive doughnut in town at $1.50 per doughnut hole.

The Fried Egg & Cheddar Biscuit with Fried Chicken (also available with sausage) signaled that it was time to get back to business and push the doughnut plate aside.  The biscuit is flakey and dry compared to the juicy fried chicken, the fried egg pulls them both together to create breakfast bliss.  This dish is stacked tall so splitting can be challenging.

It felt like eggs were the secret ingredient in this Iron Chef breakfast competition; next to arrive was a fluffy Boudin Blanc Omelet with Dijon and asparagus.  The cajun style sausage went surprisingly well with the dijon, no one wanted to let this one get passed around the table.

Finally, almost as if it was planned, Auntie Paula’s French Toast with strawberry-rhubarb-maple & whipped cream was brought to the table.  The fluffy, not soggy, thick bread is the perfect vessel for loading up the berries & cream on each fork full.  The half order was more than enough, although next time I might just come alone and order the full sized French Toast.

Tasty N Sons

Brunch Daily 9AM-3PM

3808 N. Williams, Suite C

Portland, Oregon

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