Oregon is home to a lot of restaurants, bars, wineries, and breweries, but there are tons of hidden gems that the majority of Portlanders aren't unearthing. To help guide us to these potential discoveries, we've enlisted some of our city's many food players to share their recommendations for a weekly feature dubbed Dining Confidential.
Christopher Sky Westmoreland is a Level 2 Certified Sommelier at E. Burnside's Arabesque spot Levant. Westmoreland first began his wine education in 2005 in Seattle at the Northwest Wine Academy. Between then and his Level 2 Certification in 2010, he worked at Campagne and Vino Volo Wine Company in Seattle before moving to Portland to expand his wine career, adding Bar Avignon, Little Bird, and Noisette to his resume before signing on to be the sommelier at Levant. When Westmoreland isn't pouring wine, he's biking, studying at the East West College of the Healing Arts, or finding comfort food classics at SE's Junior's Cafe.
Soon after moving to this neighborhood in SE Portland a couple years ago, I discovered Junior's Cafe. It's my place for comfort breakfast food, a spicy Bloody Mary, and great coffee [from Heart Roasters]. I can stop in for a solo breakfast, drink coffee and get work done from my phone or I can meet friends for breakfast and Bloody Marys. My dance studio is right next door so sometimes I'll stop in after class for a light breakfast. I'll usually order the 12th Ave Scramble (zucchini, green onions & tomato) with rye toast, or if I'm feelin' crazy, I'll get the French toast breakfast with over-medium eggs and veggie sausage. The servers are super sweet and adorable and the booths are sparkly gold. It can get pretty busy on weekends but you can usually get a table right away on a weekday. In a town with so many great brunch spots it's good to have a solid neighborhood breakfast spot where you don't have to wait two hours for a table.
· Junior's Cafe [Facebook]
· All Previous Dining Confidentials [Eater PDX]
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