This Roseway diner is a bonafide crowd-pleaser. You could bring your Shari’s-loving grandma or chef-obsessed coworker and they’d feel at home. It’s hard to resist the generous portions, reasonable prices, cottagecore aesthetic (think floral wallpaper and shelves crowded with teapots), and hybrid menu you won’t find anywhere else in the city. The ham and cheese omelets and pancakes the size of dinner plates seem typical, but look closer and there’s kimchi hash.

My Fathers Place is the city’s classic dive bar breakfast experience. The long-standing Central Eastside staple is beloved, whether you’re nursing a hangover or fueling up for a midday hike—Bloody Marys and video poker optional. Grab a brown vinyl booth, let your eyes adjust to the Tiffany lamp glow, and soak in vestiges of Old Portland, preferably with an appropriately hearty plate. If it comes smothered in gravy, all the better, like the chunky corned beef hash or chicken fried steak.

When pancakes or eggs just won’t do, go for a Vietnamese noodle soup at Rose VL. Save your phở cravings for later, because this family-run Foster-Powell restaurant in a tiny strip mall is all about the deep cuts that feel rare for this town. Instead, order the cao lȃ̀u noodles, a Saturday-only special that’s an explosion of textures and flavors due to thick, chewy noodles, slightly sweet Chinese bbq pork, and herbs, plus peanuts and fried shallots for crunch.

Portland lacks a robust deli culture, but it does have legit bagels. Henry Higgins’ is among the best—and that’s why they often sell out by 11am. The original Foster-Powell location with limited seats sells breakfast sandwiches and gooey reubens. But we suggest going the purist route and ordering a simple bagel with cream cheese to appreciate the shiny, chewy crust and dense interior that separates a great bagel from a dinner roll with a hole in it.

Mississippi’s Gravy has glorious excess down pat, and their Southern food is compelling enough to justify waiting for a table, even on a weekday. If you gravitate towards sweet and savory dishes like chicken and waffles, try the monte cristo instead. The base of this open-face french toast sandwich is the thickest slice of brioche ever, and shaved turkey and ham, melted swiss, and two poached eggs take it over the top.

If you don’t live in Mill Park, you probably wouldn’t know that this food cart exists in a parking lot on 122nd. Breakfast burrito and taco lovers know what’s up, though. This one-woman operation makes outstanding Mexican-ish eggs in tortillas, plus coffees, smoothies, and vegan-friendly options (a rarity in this neighborhood). You can go big with a steak and egg burrito stuffed with seared carne asada or up your daily fruit and fiber intake with a bowl of warm quinoa.

Sure, Original Pancake Houses have sprouted up from Ohio to Osaka, but this Southwest Portland colonial-style home with a candy-cane-striped awning is the O.G. And tearing into a perfectly light and eggy dutch baby, dusted with powdered sugar and kissed with lemon, just hits different in a wood-paneled room with decorative plates lining the walls. We advise sticking to the sweet side of the menu, like that signature dutch baby, spiced pecan waffle, or the massive glazed apple pancake.

Proud Mary Cafe is a local offshoot of an Australian all-day cafe, like the ones that popularized flat whites and avocado toasts in the States. You should stop into the airy, narrow space in Alberta for a meticulous pour-over made from Panamanian geisha beans (that have won awards, if you care about that kind of thing) or sit at a table with a sourdough toast slathered simply with Vegemite. For breakfast, the ricotta hotcake is a favorite.

You might gravitate toward the masa-centric salbutes and panuchos topped and stuffed with succulent cochinita pibil that were popular at chef Manny Lopez’s previous restaurant, and you wouldn’t be wrong. But come on a weekend to his new Yucatecan counter-service spot on 82nd Ave. for the soups, like the stunning relleno negro, a turkey stew in a charcoal black broth darkened with charred chile paste called recado, and featuring a giant pork meatball.

Portland is overrun with casual restaurants doing the biscuits and gravy and overstuffed omelets thing. Boise’s Broder Nord is a welcome change-up—especially if your familiarity with Scandinavian food was formed at the Ikea cafeteria. Pancakes take the form of Danish æbleskiver, puffy golden balls served with zingy lemon curd and lingonberry jam. Get the small to share, then move on to something substantial like the lox and skagen smørrebrød.