Best PDX Breakfast Sandwich: Brunch Box

September 23, 2016 by 1 Comment

Brunch Box first attracted my attention several years ago with their food cart and has since grown to still have the food cart and also have their brick and mortar downtown on 620 SW 9th. I was initially drawn to their famous YouCanHazCheeseburger, a cheeseburger that both a nod to the cat meme and that their sandwich uses two grilled cheese sandwiches using Texas Toast for each side of the bun (I covered it in this blog entry here). What you may not know is that not only did they bring the cheeseburger to another level, but they have done the same for breakfast sandwiches as well.
Brunch Box's Sandwich wrapped to go

My favorite is the simple Omelet Sandwich. It starts off with two eggs with mushrooms, grilled onions & american cheese. You can get hash browns with it – it’s in a patty like the McDonald’s ones I used to love until I learned better are – that you can choose to have in the sandwich or in a sleeve on the side.

Then, you choose your bread, ranging from biscuit to english muffin to various bagels or Texas Toast or yes, grilled cheese can be your buns. My recommendation is to go with one of the bagels, either Plain or Everything – I chose the Everything Bagel. That’s because as you can see, they lovingly brush that bagel with butter on ALL the sides which makes for messy eating with your hands (which I lick my fingers afterwards…) but is so good!
Brunch Box's Omelet Sandwich which you can customize to your liking- to the base of Two eggs with mushrooms, grilled onions & american cheese I added hash browns on the side rather than inside the sandwich and I chose an Everything Bagel as the vehicle Brunch Box's Omelet Sandwich which you can customize to your liking- to the base of Two eggs with mushrooms, grilled onions & american cheese I added hash browns on the side rather than inside the sandwich and I chose an Everything Bagel as the vehicle

There are many other breakfast sandwich options which makes this great to grab and go before a hike in the Gorge, or get it delivered via Postmates (Use code 1i24n for FREE delivery up to $10 on your first order!) on a day you have a hangover (what? Truth!). Examples include

  • Bagel Sandwich, but not just with cream cheese: oh no, it comes with cream cheese, bacon, grilled onions & egg.
  • Start your day off with a burn via the Trial by Breakfast sandwich with fried egg, pepper jack, bacon, grilled onions, jalapenos, and aardvark habanero hot sauce. I hear spicy food is good for your metabolism. The same bread options I mentioned with the Omelet Sandwich are true here too.
  • A Black and Bleu Breakfast sandwich offers a fried egg with bacon, sausage, bleu cheese, grilled onions, fried egg & blackening spice with the same bread options I mentioned with the Omelet Sandwich.
  • On the sweeter side, again with the same bread options as the Omelet Sandwich, consider the Hawaiian Breakfast, a sandwich with fried egg with swiss, pineapple, fried egg & teriyaki sauce.
  • The Lumberjack offers fried egg with cheddar, bacon, sausage, ham, grilled onions, & maple syrup on French Toast. OR, the Monte Cristo is a version of fried egg with ham, swiss, grilled onions, & maple syrup on french toast.
    Brunch Box's Sandwich for breakfast, the Lumberjack offers fried egg with cheddar bacon, sausage, ham and grilled onions, fried egg and; syrup on French Toast Brunch Box's Sandwich for breakfast, the Lumberjack offers fried egg with cheddar bacon, sausage, ham and grilled onions, fried egg and; syrup on French Toast
  • The OMG Breakfast sandwich takes up the craziness to include fried egg with bacon, ham, spam, american cheese, and the OMFG Breakfast is everything the OMG sandwich is plus sausage!

I don’t have anything from Brunch Box often – I either really need that grease delivered in the morning, OR I know I’m doing a big hike or other physical activity later that day. After all, these are all a bit over the top – but I love that they are. I really savor that extra buttery on all sides bagel in whatever sandwich form I get each time. They are also surprisingly quick even though they let you do so much customization to your sandwich, which I also really appreciate.

Have you ever heard of or had a French Toast breakfast sandwich?

Brunch Box Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

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Blue Scorcher Bakery Cafe in Astoria

March 31, 2015 by 19 Comments

Are you traveling to the Oregon Coast? Going to or passing through Astoria?

Let me share one of my favorite places in Astoria: the Blue Scorcher Bakery Cafe. If the parking lot for Pig ‘N Pancake is full and there is a line out the door, consider going down just 5 minutes further to this gem. You can gaze at all the goodness of the menu on the chalkboards and the baked goodies lined up like treasures in the L shaped case as you approach the register, where you will order, pay, and get a number to get your food and drinks delivered and then bus your own table. Here’s what we had on our Saturday morning visit (same morning as the Fort George Festival of the Dark Arts, but that’s a future post).

exterior of Blue Scorcher Bakery Cafe in Astoria Some of the baked goods you can ogle as you approach the register of Blue Scorcher Bakery Cafe to order

Yes, the banners do say Pastries to Die For and Bread to Live For. We had 3 different pastries while we were there in Astoria for Valentine’s Day weekend/FODA and they were all moist, flavorful, and could easily use the adjective “to live for”. Let’s take a look at what’s behind the case. Is that a Savory Croissant that includes pesto, caramelized onions, cheddar cheese, asiago cheese, and egg? Did that not even last 24 hours in my possession? Yes.
Some of the baked goods you can ogle as you approach the register of Blue Scorcher Bakery Cafe to order Some of the baked goods you can ogle as you approach the register of Blue Scorcher Bakery Cafe to order. Including a Savory Croissant that includes pesto, caramelized onions, cheddar cheese, asiago cheese, and egg

What, Cubes of Deliciousness (gluten-free, it uses tapioca starch and potato starch, but contains hazelnuts)? F and I agreed after devouring one that the name is completely correct. And holy moly look at the size of the scones and rolls (ranging from mini  to regular size Cinnamon Walnut to Cardamon Almond) and Almond Bear Claws…
Some of the baked goods you can ogle as you approach the register of Blue Scorcher Bakery Cafe to order. Including these gluten free Cubes of Deliciousness

Don’t worry, they have plenty of beverages for you to enjoy with your food, including various caffeines from $2-6 or smoothies, various lemonades and ice tea, kombucha, even beer or wine by the glass. Seating includes tables as well as a children’s play area with little couches and toys, and also some seats at a counter by the window to gaze out at the sea just a couple blocks downhill.
All the beverages at the cheery and homey Blue Scorcher Bakery Cafe are written on the chalkboard above the register Interior of Blue Scorcher Cafe

Our breakfast included Almond Milk Mocha, fresh rosemary lemonade, and OMG this super moist merely $3 Chocolate Chip Applesauce Cake, SO good. So DELICIOUS.
Almond Milk Mocha in all it's beauty at Blue Scorcher Bakery Cafe in Astoria, Oregon This super moist chocolate cake made with apple sauce at Blue Scorcher Bakery Cafe in Astoria, OR. SO good. So DELICIOUS. This super moist chocolate cake made with apple sauce at Blue Scorcher Bakery Cafe in Astoria, OR. SO good. So DELICIOUS.

And oh, just this lil plate of French toast with brioche, homemade whipped cream, and local boysenberry and a dusting of powdered sugar served with maple syrup.
Blue Scorcher Bakery Cafe, French toast with brioche, homemade whipped cream, and local boysenberry and a dusting of powdered sugar served with maple syrup Blue Scorcher Bakery Cafe, French toast with brioche, homemade whipped cream, and local boysenberry and a dusting of powdered sugar served with maple syrup Blue Scorcher Bakery Cafe, French toast with brioche, homemade whipped cream, and local boysenberry and a dusting of powdered sugar served with maple syrup

We’ve only been to Astoria twice, but both times we stopped at Blue Scorcher Bakery Cafe, and I’m pretty sure every future trip, we will also be stopping in. Blue Scorcher is open every day, 7 AM – 3 PM. To give you fair warning, this is a worker owned co-op so the people who serve you may vary on the knowledge of what’s in any of the food item if they were not involved in making it.

Everything here is sourced to be organic and mostly local. Everything is also vegetarian, so even on their pizza of the day or reuben, there will be no meat (the reuben is made of tempeh). If you are looking for big portions at a good value, you should go back to wait in line at Pig ‘N Pancake. It is a cafe so it might be hard to accommodate big groups, and there are times, just like any cafe, that you may be sitting at a 4-top and share the space communally (it’s seat yourself).

If you are in Astoria, definitely consider stopping in!

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