Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Portland Restaurant: Tasty n Sons

What: Tasty n Sons
Where: 3808 N Williams
Honeys Heart: Chocolate Potato Doughnuts

This thing happened where I moved away from Portland for two years and then when I moved back, all anybody could talk about was Tasty n Sons. Brunch at Tasty n Sons, happy hour at Tasty n Sons, so good, so good, long lines, blah blah blah.

And even though I've become much more wary of super hyped Portland restaurants than I used to be (hello, Boke Bowl), I still really wanted to try it.

Lucky for me, I have a great boyfriend who excels at planning surprises. Two Fridays ago, I was informed that I needed to be ready to leave the house at 8am the next morning. Where were we headed? Tasty n Sons!

When we arrived at 8:30, we were greeted with a line, but fortunately we made it early enough to still make the first seating once they opened the doors at 9. Nice!

We started things off with two Chocolate Potato Doughnuts (1.50 each) with crème anglaise.


The doughnut holes were still warm when they came to the table and we loved their rich, chocolatey flavor. I think they were Doug's favorite part of our meal.

We also decided to share two large plates. I picked Auntie Paula's French Toast ($12 for 4 slices) with rhubarb syrup & whipped cream.


The rhubarb-berry sauce was absolutely delicious but I was a little disappointed in the french toast itself. To me, french toast should be egg-y with a nice crust on the outside and a velvety center. Tasty n Sons' version was more like regular toast than french toast. Plus, from the online menu, it looks like the sauce that they use changes frequently, meaning that my favorite part of this dish might not even be available the next time I go. Sad.

Doug chose Moroccan Chicken Hash ($12) with harissa cream and an over easy egg.


The dish was a tasty jumble of potatoes, chicken, and seasonal veggies mixed with harissa cream, a red pepper sauce, and topped with a perfectly cooked egg. I think it was the harissa cream that really made this dish. So rich and flavorful!

Overall, I was more impressed with Tasty n Sons than Doug was, though I think we would both agree that the sacrifice it takes to have brunch there (either the early wake-up call or the long wait if you sleep in) is not worth repeating often. I am glad I finally got to try it though!


The rest of my surprise Saturday was spent at the tulip fields in Woodburn, enjoying some beers outdoors, and (yes, more indulgence) having dinner at Laurelhurst Market. Post coming soon!