Japanese Dinner

I learned how to make sushi! And it was good! It's more of a construction process than anything, since the only part that's actually cooked is the rice. So here's what's on the table:

• Spicy tuna roll (tuna, salmon, avocado, spicy sauce)
• Escolar roll (escolar (aka superwhite tuna), avocado, cucumber)
• Spinach sesame salad
• Broiled salmon topped with soy sauce, sesame oil, and furikake sprinkles
• Chirashi "Scattered Sushi"(sushi rice topped with shredded roasted seaweed, cucumber, scallions, and tuna)
• Miso soup

We made too much food.

So you want to go out for breakfast?

People love going out for breakfast in Portland, so much so that it's become a joke of sorts. Seriously, there's a Portlandia skit about it. Any given Saturday or Sunday morning (or early afternoon, for that matter), a quick glance at any restaurant serving breakfast will provide you with the vision of a trail of hungry humans snaking out the front door, around the corner, and so on. They'll wait an hour+ for even average eggs, but I'm often hesitant to participate. I mean, it's breakfast, I haven't eaten in over 12 hours, I'm hungry, and the last thing I want to do is wait another hour, often outside in the cold and rain, for the honor of gracing their overpriced tables.
Yesterday, however, I discovered a trick to circumnavigate such drudgery: The Waffle Window.
Sure, it was 10:00 a.m. on a Saturday morning. Yes, we were on Hawthorne. That's ground zero of weekend breakfast waiting. But did we wait? No. Did we shell out a crapload for a fried egg or boring french toast? No. Was breakfast incredibly delicious? A resounding YES!
We went to Waffle Window, a little walk-up and order window cropping out of the Bread and Ink Cafe on SE 36th Ave. It was busy, but there was no wait, no line. There are sweet and savory waffles, the most expensive topping out at $5.00. And even though there's a walk-up window, there's still seating, both inside and out. It was raining and cold, but we were able to find a table inside without any trouble, and five minutes later we were happily munching our waffles and slurping our lattes.
So how are the waffles? Amazing. Best waffles I've ever had.
We order two and shared them: one savory (the jalapeno cheddar bacon waffle, pictured above) and one sweet, whose name I don't recall, but I will describe momentarily.
Both waffles are coated with a sweet, crunchy, sugary layer outside, and somehow, this even works well with the savory one. The Jalapeno Cheddar Bacon waffle was topped with a wondrous guacamole with nice little chunks of jalapeno, a couple of meaty strips of bacon, and a sprinkle of cheddar cheese. SO. GOOD. The sweet had a base-layer smear of lemon curd, strawberries and raspberries, whipped cream, and a tangerine on top. The waffles were just the right size. Not too big, but not dainty either. Everyone there was happy and comfortable: kids, adults, whatever. What's better than a wait-free Saturday morning brunch?
I'll be back.