Screen Door
503.542.0880
2337 E. Burnside
Portland, 97214

Downhome delicious…

We had been to Screen Door last July for dinner with my mother in-law and sampled a wide range of their offerings but for no good reason we hadn’t revisited until this Sunday morning. First off, be prepared for a wait, there is a long line before the restaurant even opens and then for the next few hours it remains a 40+ minute wait to be seated, but once inside the service is pretty brisk and you won’t be waiting long after you submit your order. We had visited the Screen Door in July for chicken dinner with my Mother Inlaw and decided a return was warranted to sample their brunch menu. Knowing they had “southern fare/flair” It was difficult for me not to go with something “chicken fried” for breakfast but I decided to put my trust in the hands of our server and order his suggestion of the Lone Star hash plate. Carly chose a massive bowl of fresh oatmeal as well as a biscuit (the oatmeal was slightly delayed so we were given a bowl of fresh fruit as an apology as well). We also picked the hush puppies from the menu hoping they might arrive a little earlier than the rest of the meal, they didn’t. But my Bloody Mary (another server recommendation) did and it was perfectly spicy and contained a garnishment of okra,olive and a wedge of lemon with a spicy salted rim. Probably close to 15 minutes later our spread arrived and our rather tiny two person table suddenly became quite full of a colorful assortment of flavors. The first thing I tried were the potatoes that were along side the pork hash on my plate and I was pleasantly surprised at how flavorful they were with or without any additional ketchup. The shredded pork with the poached eggs was an excellent combination but the jalapeño grit cakes the pile sat upon were a little underwhelming, I think it was prepared perfectly well I just have begun to realize I like to order grits more than actually eat them.

The hushpuppies came with a honey-suryp mix that was thin enough to dunk but not so sweet that it over powered the super crispy corn ball. We split the biscuit which was among the best I’ve ever tried, it was so crispy on the outside I was sure it would be a dry mess when I broke into it but was surprised at just how moist and fluffy the interior had remained. I even got in a few scoops of Carly’s oatmeal for context and really loved the flavor of them even without any additional brown sugar or honey. I had noticed while waiting for our meals to arrive that nearly half the plates coming out of the kitchen were huge stacks of fried chicken on top of a massive waffle and I half regretted not taking that route as well but having been there for dinner I already knew how delicious their chicken is so I was satisfied with my meal in the end.

GALLERY