Broder
503.736.3333
2508 SE Clinton St.
Portland, 97202

Scandinavian Surprise

Many times Broder had come up on our todo list and seeing as how we’d never been to the fabled Clinton district this trip seemed like as good as any to venture into the bicycle district. The restaurant is located on one corner of an oddly shaped intersection and aside from a theater and small antiques shop there wasn’t a lot to look at while waiting for a table to open up at the narrow Broder. Eventually (probably about 40 minutes later) we were summoned into the restaurant by guy in skinny jeans trendy pumas and a hipster stache who seated us up front by the window which looks down both the length of the bar and the long row of tiny tables that that runs parallel to it. The menu had quite a few tasty options on it and being Scandinavian there were also many options that included a variety of fish and umlauts. The special recommended by our server was a trout hash and normally I would have gone with it but Carly had selected a bacon scramble and I was really in the mood for some pork product as well, so I elected to get the ham scramble with a side of pea salad. While we waited we sipped our coffee & tea and rubber necked at their large selection of liquors lining the back wall of the bar. The tenders were also creating a large number of colorful drinks that we attempted to name as they slid out from behind the bar. When our meals arrived I was pleased to see how nicely they were presented on small rectangular platters with recessed pockets to hold the cast iron square skillets that the egg scrambles were baked in. My pea salad topped with blue cheese was quite decent even if there was not a large volume of ham mixed in while the egg scramble was basically a ham & asparagus quiche without the crust and while tasty I think Carly’s version with broccoli and bacon had a better salty flavor. The sizes of the meals was perfect and we both left feeling very satisfied and filled, I do wish I had gotten the trout hash as I saw quite a few other orders being set down nearby but perhaps that will be in a future visit.

GALLERY