Little Red Bike Cafe

I found the Little Red Bike Cafe blog by clicking around on another favorite blog of mine. I thought the name was cute and so I checked it out and oh my, it happens to be written from Portland. The blog is co-written by the owners of the North Portland eatery of the same name. The blog is a sort of chronicle of their experience running the cafe. It's a fun look into the inner workings of the restaurant, with some tempting photos and teasers of what is to come on the menu. I was sold the first moment I actually looked at the menu, and put it on the official list of Things To Do On Weekends, but it took me about a month to actually get there.

Tim and I went last Saturday for a post farmer's market brunch, because looking at all that food made us hungry for the second time in one day, and were very pleased with what we found. The bright and sunny cafe has a subtly retro diner feel that is not over the top. It is an intimate and cozy space, with some tables and bar seating looking out the window. The specialty of the Little Red Big Cafe is fried egg sandwiches, most with bike themed names, with additional sandwiches and a few other breakfast offerings. We ordered and payed at the counter and took a seat at one of the few (six? eight?) small tables.

These are no ordinary eggy sandwiches my friends. They are made with fresh, local, organic meats and dairy and come on a delicious, lightly floured ciabatta. Almost everything on the menu had equal appeal. We split two egg sandwiches between us, the Messenger and the Honeymoon, and loved both of them. We may have loved the Honeymoon a little bit more, with its prosciutto, ricotta, basil, egg, and Oregon huckleberry jam filling (it was meant to come with fig spread, but they were out). I was tempted by the homemade ice creams, but decided I was too full to try one this trip.

We had already had our fair share of coffee that day so we didn't have any there, but I was won over by the ginger tea. It was pure ginger, nothing else in there mucking it up and muting the ginger flavor, producing a strong and simple tea. My own personal heaven in a cup. Mmmm...

So, the next time you are up on North Lombard, do stop in and have a fried egg sandwich, or try the ice cream. Even if you aren't up in that neighborhood to begin with, it is well worth the trip.
As an added bonus, they even have a bike through window (!) which we did not frequent, unfortunately, as it was pouring rain. But come summer, that's where we'll be.

To check out their menu and get directions, go to the website.