Portland Part 4: The Final Breakfasts @ The Tin Shed and Helser's on Alberta

Diana and I had intended on eating at The Screen Door for our final breakfast meal, but unfortunately they were closed ;(.  Instead, we opted for The Tin Shed after seeing an immense line outside the doors over the weekend,and after seeing this mysterious breakfast dish called The Belly Pleaser. Are you intrigued?  I know you are.

The Tin Shed is a comfortable spot with worn furniture and cheery decorations.  The self-serve coffee bar (seen at the left of the photo) contains mismatched mugs with lots of character - I chose a Christmas one!

Featuring the Belly Pleaser!  Coconut milk, jasmine rice, ginger and vanilla simmered into a porridge and topped with fresh mango and cinnamon. Sounds amazing right?  We thought so too !  I really wanted to like it, but the rice was a bit too hard (maybe if it simmered for a little while longer that morning) and the mango was a bit too underripe, but otherwise it was a neat dish with the coconut and cinnamon touch.

The Everything Nice plate: House-baked, sweet potato french toast, fruit, scrambled eggs, potato cake and thick cut bacon

Diana loved the potato cake which resembled a soft pile of hashbrowns with a dollop of sour cream and chives.  The dish was more than enough for both of us to share; the bacon was nice parts of salt and fat.  The french toast was okay; I wish it had more sweet potato flavor.

One block away, Diana and I continued our morning meal with breakfast number two at Helser's on Alberta, our final meal in Portland (if you don't count the box of Voodoo Doughnuts we brought on the plane!).

Helser's interior is bright and lined with large, open windows.  There was not much of a crowd at 7:30 a.m. Monday morning.

Diana ordered the Pear and Havarti Pie: Bartlett pears and havarti cheese baked in an eggy custard and served with Diana's ultimate fave: crumpets!

Diana said this crumpet does not beat the one she had from The Crumpet Shop, but maybe some homemade jam and cream cheese might have remedied its shortfalls a little bit.

I ordered the Scotch Egg and Potato Pancakes.  What is a scotch egg?  A breaded, fried bratwurst wrapped around a hard boiled egg.  Yes!  How are these genius food items invented?!  The egg was meaty...and eggy...like weird but good.  I also preferred the flat, golden potato pancakes here compared to the ones from The Tin Shed.  A nice little breakfast and cheap too! $6.95! 

Two breakfasts might have potentially been overkill, but we call it a perfect way to bid adieu to one of my new favorite west coast cities!

The Tin Shed

1438 NE Alberta St

Portland, OR 97211

(503) 288-6966

Helser's on Alberta

1538 NE Alberta St

Portland, OR 97211

(503) 281-1477