Pine State Biscuits
503.477.6605
2204 NE Alberta
Portland, 97211

You bet your sweet buttermilk…

This place had been on our list for awhile and I assumed we’d make it to Pine State biscuits eventually but today became the day since 3 of the other places we tried to go were either not open yet, closed permanently or we just simple couldn’t locate the entrance. Originally we found ourselves right next to their Belmont location or rather their former location since it was now closed and under construction but luckily their mainstay on Alberta street was easy to find and had only modest traffic at 9am allowing us to order within a few minutes of arriving. One thing to note upon entering the front door is that you’ll have a very short time to determine what you want to order since you place it at the counter then wait for your name to be called a short time later. We frantically scanned the board and picked out 4 plates to order since everything is a side and they also charge for hunny. We took a seat on two of the stools on the far side of the restaurant just next to the restroom at the end of the cook station which makes up 1/4 of the interior of the rather small restaurant. For the next 20 minutes we watched a frantic ballet of biscuits, gravy and chicken fried this and that be slapped onto plates and shuffled off the counter at break neck speeds. Finally our name was called and our position gave us easy access to retrieve the scalding hot platters topped with steaming gravy soaked biscuits. Along with my “Moneyball” I also ordered a side of hashed browns which completely covered the 10″ plate as well as a side of hush puppies for both of us to share, Carly selected a more mundane biscuit egg sandwich. The first few bites of my gravy soaked biscuit were heavenly and the hash browns were among the crispest I’d ever experienced, the hush puppies while tasty were not the normal cornbread style I had expected and id be unlikely to order again. It became clear after a few minutes that while an empty plate for my meal was achievable the has browns were jut too plentiful to eliminate more than half of. Carly put in a valiant effort for her breakfast as well but bits still remained after the smoke cleared. We both agreed that we would make an effort to return for lunch at some point to the try the much balleyhooed “Reggie” a giant chicken fried steak on top of a biscuit with egg and cheese oozing all around it. We bussed our own table and cautiously shuffled our way through the elbow to elbow traffic that had filled the interior while we ate. Upon exiting we saw that the 6 or 8 people that were waiting when we arrived had quadrupled and wrapped around the corner into a side street. Apparently our early foray worked out in our favor as a 8 minute wait to order is all we had to deal with.

GALLERY