potato champion

What to say about a late night food cart serving fried food?  Well, specifically French fries topped with your choice of 9 toppings ranging from Pesto Mayo to Rosemary Truffle Ketchup.  Or you can order their specialty, Poutine (poo-teen), which is fries topped with brown onion gravy and cheese curds.  I opted for the latter, and am very glad that I did. 

Granted, the Belgian-style fries are excellent, crispy on the outside, yet very moist and soft inside, and dusted with just enough salt to tease the palate.  But the topping is what really makes them shine.  The onion gravy is strong, smooth, and very well prepared, and the cheese curds are a nice alternative to the cheese sauce so often seen slathered on fries.  The Poutine is fast becoming one of my favorite late night snacks, and I’m sure that I’ll be visiting often.

The only drawback to Potato Champion is that they are only open from 8 PM – 3 AM.  Clearly, they are catering the late-night cravings in us, and that is OK with me, but I wouldn’t mind being able to get some of their delicious fries for an afternoon snack. 

Potato Champion is a food cart, so you will be standing outside waiting for the fries to come, but they do have a covered seating area and a heat lamp for those cold Portland nights.  They are located in a parking lot on the corner of SE 12th and Hawthorne Ave. on the N. side of the street.

Give them a try next time you are out for a late night on the town, you’ll be glad you did!

Zell’s Cafe

Zell’s cafe is quite a popular spot in SE Portland.  I’ve been there once before for breakfast, and waited nearly an hour to get a seat.  It’s been nearly two years since my last visit, and today I found myself in the area, so I thought I’d drop in for lunch.  The dining room is small, but laid out well to seat as many as possible without feeling cramped.  Each table was adorned with the standard fare: butter, jam, ketchup, and hot sauce.

After I sat, I ordered a cup of coffee from my less than friendly server, which she promptly brought out to me, along with a plate of three mini buttermilk scones.  The coffee was French Pressed and the beans were from a local roaster; it had chocolate overtones with a slightly acidic finish, but it was very smooth.  The Scones were fresh and flaky, but not warm when they were served.  I ordered the special “Reuben Scramble” which was described as a Reuben with scrambled eggs and ham.  It was delivered to me in about five minutes, which was quite impressive.  Less impressive, however, was the actual sandwich. 

The eggs were watery, which shed their liquid onto the bottom piece of bread, promptly making it soggy.  The ham was deli ham that had been diced into the eggs, and the rye was light and did not provide any flavor to the sandwich.  As I was eating the sandwich, the thought “I could make this at home” kept running through my mind.  The redeeming factor was the kraut, which was unique in that it was very hot and was actually grilled before being placed as a side, along with country style potatoes.  The potatoes were flavorful and cooked well, but held nothing unique in their flavor. 

The service was prompt, but as mentioned above it was atypical of Portland in that it was neither good nor bad.  It just was.  My coffee was kept filled, and my plates were cleared as I finished, and my check was brought just as I finished. 

I was disappointed in Zell’s Cafe during my visit because I’ve been there before and the food was excellent, as was the service.  I think this is a spot I’ll reserve for my early meal, and I think it’s a good thing they serve it all day.

1300 SE Morrison St – (503) 239-0196