Brunch at Proud Mary

They have only been open since May this year, but the secret was quickly out about Brunch at Proud Mary Coffee. This Melbourne based coffee roaster local chain (well, local in Australia) has selected Portland for its first location outside Australia. At first you may not think that a cafe that so proudly extolls the virtue of coffee and working directly with farmers for 8 years and counting, would put so much effort into the food accompanying its star beverage. But, they have – working with local NW farmers for ingredients just like they work with local farmers for their beans, to offer an impressive food menu in addition to their fine coffee.

They are even offering table service, none of this casual “order yourself at the counter and take a number” that has been a cost saving measure for many PDX restaurants. Check out how they have designed their espresso machines to be built in and sunken into the bar. But don’t be fooled- this is not an alcohol bar, this is centered around coffee for your beverage.

The coffee, as you would expect, is outstanding. Check out their board or special menus on the table for their Coffee Showcase, which features a special origin and goes into depth about specific beans. It is high end coffee – you can expect cups of coffee drinks that are around the expected $4-6 range, but that’s per cup, and the specialty beans are single sourced premium that can range from $15-$30.

But I found it worth it, at least for me – I often find a lot of coffee bitter, but not here, it is smooth and can vary from chocolatey to buttery and more. One not to miss drink if you do drink coffee is the flat white, a coffee beverage of creamy milk over espresso This was my first time trying it, and it’s like a variation of a latte but instead of being foamy on top with the milk, it feels more smooth and creamy with the milk mixture. I would order this every time I come and I would come a lot more often if this was more in my neighborhood.

I also enjoyed their piccolo (house blend)

If you are a coffee person, you will enjoy Proud Mary – you can really taste the quality in their beans and roasting and how they carefully craft a coffee drink. If you aren’t a coffee person, you still have plenty of options. Look at how big just the beverage side of the menu is! The beverage menu boasts more then coffee options: you’ll also find lots of teas, seasonal juices and smoothies and milkshakes.

For instance, there’s this Tumeric Chai, or try their regular hot chocolate or for a dollar more, ‘kali’ 60% dark chocolate by ‘somage’ (made from real cacao, served with unrefined coconut blossom sugar).

Or try something cold like this refreshing seasonal juice of Pink Crush with watermelon, strawberry, apple, and lemon.

You can really taste how fresh the ingredients are in their food. Here’s a look from a recent Brunch at Proud Mary I enjoyed

Asparagus and Parmesan Pudding with grilled asparagus, soft parmesan pudding, grilled corn bread, poached free-range egg

Granary Avenue Salad (vegan) with toasted freekeh, grains and walnuts, sprouted almonds, cucumber, kale, salsa verde

Green Tomatoes (vegan) featuring green tomato salad, marinated avocado, sprouted almonds, blackened peppers, herbs, grain sourdough toast

Cauli-town (vegan), with warm spiced cauliflower, dahl puree, pickled onions, tahini, toasted sesame, cilantro

They offer breakfast, lunch, and brunch, and are open from 7 AM to 4 PM weekdays and Saturday and Sundays 8 AM – 4 PM, although their kitchen closes at 3 PM limited food to what is in their pastry and sandwich display cases, which you see still looks pretty enticing…

Have you heard of Proud Mary before? Have you ever heard of a flat white coffee? What would you order? And one little detail that came with the check – these adorable business cards!