Home Cooking In The Beaver State

According to popular family mythology, my dad lobbied to name my "Hawthorne" before I was born (as an adult, I'm still not entirely sure this isn't true). That being said, when I had a chance to stay at the eponymous hostel of Portland's Hawthorne district, I felt I had no choice in the matter. Even better, then, that one of my friends' breakfast recommendations, the Hawthorne Cafe, was scant block from my hostel.
I'd arrived in town the day before, and run into my first Google Maps snag; while I'd previously been praising it for helping me get around, this time it directed me to walk across a bridge with no foot traffic. After finally finding a way to stroll across the Willamette River after getting a little lost in the main urban area of Portland for a while, I began the over thirty block trek to my hostel. Still a little train-bleary, this was not necessarily the most auspicious of beginnings to my stay. I did a little exploring, and then promptly passed out.

I slept in a little ("sleeping in" being relative, of course, for a guy who generally wakes up at six in the morning) and then walked the couple blocks down to Hawthorne Cafe. It's in a neat little converted house with a nice yard and outside seating. The service was delivered by the owner, who was incredibly nice. I ordered the mango crepe, which came with half an eggs florentine, and a side of potatoes. The house was very pretty, and allowed for some pretty good eavesdropping (which, let's be honest, is an important part of eating out). The Hawthorne neighborhood is fun, and a little kitschy.

The food was nicely displayed, and very tasty. I almost always expect crepes to be large, meal-size affairs (thanks largely to Sacramento's Crepeville), but I did a good job of anticipating the size. The potatoes were good but not really startlingly different, which sort of summed up the place nicely. Everything was really good, and it was a nice, home-made style breakfast, but there was nothing totally insane on the menu. It was nice and filling, and got me off to a good start!

Atmosphere: 6/13
Clean: 1/3
Structural: 2/3
Decor: 1/3
Signage 1/2
Service: 1/2

Menu: 6/8
Variety: 1/2
Size: 2/2
Beverages: 1/2
Prices: 1/2

Food: 6/9 pts
Presentation: 2/3
Portion: 2/3
Taste: 2/3

Bathroom: N/A /5 pts.
Clean: /2
Structural: /1
Decor: /2

Overall: 18/30