Sunday, May 20, 2007
Brunch at Mother's Bistro, Portland, OR
We had a brunch at Mother's Bistro, a place recommended by both our hotel and Alexis' parents hotel (and the local tourist map). It was by far the busiest place we'd seen in Portland. The service was great, very friendly and informative. We do have a bone to pick with who's ever in charge of the pricing. The standard pricing of the meals is fine, it's when you attempt to do substitutions that you get screwed. In general, when you make substitutions at a restaurant, they either don't charge you, or at least tell you what the extra charge will be so that you can make a decision prior to ordering. This place did neither, and then charged unnecessarily exhorbitant sur-charges for our relatively innocuous subtitutions.
1/2 order of Pork-Apple Sausage Mac n' Cheese $7
The full order was $9, so they knocked off $2 and gave us 1/2 the amount. Ridiculous. The mac cheese sauce itself was good, but the use of penne was a bit disturbing. Mac n' cheese should be made with elbow macaroni, every time, without fail. Also, we ordered the standard mac n' cheese and were given the one with sausage, which wasn't bad, but we're not sure if we were charged more for that either.
Procuitto, Tomato, Provolone and Roasted Garlic Scramble $11.50
Served with the standard breakfast potatos AND toast, this dish would have been only $8.95. however, because Alexis wanted a few greens instead, they added a $2.50 surcharge. To add insult to injury, the salad was inedible--limp greens, oily dressing and raisins (?!?). The scramble itself was plentiful and tasty, if a bit salty.
Eggs Benadict $13.50
This dish was described by the waiter with such enthusiam we assumed it would be a stand-out. It was good, but not to-die-for. Ditto the above on the ridiculous salad surcharge. This meal would have been $10.95 without that inedible substitution.
1/2 order of Pork-Apple Sausage Mac n' Cheese $7
The full order was $9, so they knocked off $2 and gave us 1/2 the amount. Ridiculous. The mac cheese sauce itself was good, but the use of penne was a bit disturbing. Mac n' cheese should be made with elbow macaroni, every time, without fail. Also, we ordered the standard mac n' cheese and were given the one with sausage, which wasn't bad, but we're not sure if we were charged more for that either.
Procuitto, Tomato, Provolone and Roasted Garlic Scramble $11.50
Served with the standard breakfast potatos AND toast, this dish would have been only $8.95. however, because Alexis wanted a few greens instead, they added a $2.50 surcharge. To add insult to injury, the salad was inedible--limp greens, oily dressing and raisins (?!?). The scramble itself was plentiful and tasty, if a bit salty.
Eggs Benadict $13.50
This dish was described by the waiter with such enthusiam we assumed it would be a stand-out. It was good, but not to-die-for. Ditto the above on the ridiculous salad surcharge. This meal would have been $10.95 without that inedible substitution.
Labels: Decor: 1, Food: 1, regional American, restaurant, review, Service: 2
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