SE 36th Ave. and Hawthorne Blvd., Portland, OR
503.239.4756
Something Savory, Something Sweet: The Waffle Window
So it was a day in Portland that I woke (as I usually do) feeling a mite peckish. I put off the whole sating-my-desires thing as there was little in the house that might suffice, and in addition I was struck with the familiar quandary of having no recognizable focus for my desire. But desire in itself is of course a powerful thing and can lead to wondrous invention, and that I owe to the Waffle Window.
Noon approached and I had still not figured a way to soothe both my belly and my soul, though I had narrowed it down to wanting something savory and something sweet. My housemate made his ablutions and surfaced in the living room. Noticing my dejection and correctly citing its source, he suggested bagels with some nice stuff on them. As a gut response, I replied, "What about Waffle Window?" and knew it was what I'd wanted all along.
We jumped on our bikes and rode the few blocks to the little stand 20 yards south of the intersection of 36th Avenue and Hawthorne Boulevard, where bike parking abounds. But I have erred already: "Stand" is a bit of a misnomer. The Waffle Window, opened in August of 2007, is an appendage of Bread & Ink Cafe, which is a pretty great restaurant in its own right. Its esteem, in my eyes, only increases through affiliation with the world of waffles. Mary, the kindly owner-operator of the Waffle Window, is usually running the waffle iron and whatnot, and at the window itself you'll usually see her husband (who is the owner-operator of Bread & Ink) taking waffle orders. Apparently it's way more fun at street level.
The story of the waffle begins far from Portland. Mary's children, relatively grown and on a trip visiting European relatives, called her from Amsterdam, raving about a waffle experience they'd had. They struck a nerve in their mother and she hunted down the rarer ingredients (pearl sugar, for one) required for the construction of these waffles. For the rest you must allow your tongue to sing.
There are more than a dozen choices of toppings, and some of these vary by season. For example, on my late-autumn visit they featured an apple pie waffle and a pumpkin pie waffle, both of which we indulged in. But I don't usually go for the sweet menu options, as the waffles themselves are sweet and lightly glazed, and I cannot leave the Waffle Window without my all-time favorite, the tour de force Ham and Cheese Waffle. The perfect combo of savory and sweet, the waffle is topped with Jarlsberg, a slice of ham right from the glazed roast, and Gruyere. There I found my savory and sweet, the satiation of my desire. Other savory-sweet options include the Bacon, Brie & Basil Waffle, whose pepper bacon makes more a delightfully flavorful morsel. The window also serves some citrus juices, some coffee and tea, and as this is Portland, it fits in perfect biscuits & gravy. (I have heard tell the latter can be placed on top of a waffle, but I have not yet tried it.) It's all yours for the asking, my lovelies. Waffles run at $4 for the most part.
In the summer, the Waffle Window's outdoor seating is an all-day blessing, as it is on sunny yet cool days in the autumn. If you're one of this new trend of folks who don't enjoy eating amazing waffles out in the cold and rain, the Waffle Window has you covered there too. I'll credit owner Mary's skills at negotiation, but whatever the reason patrons of the Waffle Window are welcome to enter Bread & Ink (at the SE corner of 36th and Hawthorne, 20 yards away) and sit at the tables along the west-facing windows. The window began with just limited weekend hours, but this summer they responded to increased business with greatly expanded hours. Weekdays they are open 9 AM- 3 PM, and weekends you'll find someone at the little blue booth from 8 AM -5 PM. Times like these, friends. Times like these are when we should get our mitts and maws around something savory, something sweet, something like a waffle.
by Ian Lasell