Waddles, Zupan's on Hayden Island, and Catalina's

Waddles is open only until May 23. So if you're going, go soon.

We went at 2pm on a Sunday and were surprised to see a fullhouse. I ordered breakfast (a ham & cheese omellette) while my beloved ordered a hamburger basket. My omellette was fine -- nothing to write home about, but nothing pretentious or high-falutin' either. My beloved's hamburger was given to another customer, who took a bite out of it(!), so there was waiting. But the fries were hot, fresh from the fryer and impossibly skinny.

We stopped at Zupan's on the way out. First time in the Hayden Island store, and gosh... it seemed so roomy and huge. We did a wine tasting (and they had their way with us -- we came home with a yummy, cheap sparkler), and I had a hard time resisting the fresh crab on ice. But I did. We got some youghurt and some Boar's Head roast beef, and a loaf of Grand Central Como. When we were at the register, I noticed they had Olive Mountain bread which I've never tried, but it was too late. The cashier was just a teenager -- not a food geek. Oh well.

Evening found us at Catalina's on Killingsworth (the restaurant on 11x NE Sandy is excellent too). We sat out on the porch and watched NE Portland go by. The guy in the taco stand out front brought us some really lovely blisteringly hot salsa, which we alternated with the cilantro-y house salsa. My beloved had chicken tostadas, always so big they must be eaten with a fork, and I had carne asada, well marinaded and just so good.

posted by vj @ 8:48 PM