Brunch at Meriwether's Restaurant

Meriwether's Restaurant, located right in our 'hood in Northwest Portland, is a hidden-to-us gem that we recently stumbled upon a few weeks ago. Located off the beaten path in the NW Industrial area, Meriwether's sits quietly on some history: the restaurant is situated on the site of Portland's 1905 World's Fair, the Lewis and Clark Exposition. Besides paint and some landscaping, provided by current owners John and Renee Orlando (who bought the building in 2003), the exterior has remained relatively unchanged since the late 1920's.

Oh, and they operate their own 5-acre vegetable farm just 20 miles from the restaurant. Their menu even includes a list of produce, beans, and grains the kitchen is harvesting from the farm that week.

Meriwether's serves lunch, dinner, and weekend brunch, and Z and I decided to check out their brunch menu last weekend. It was a beautiful Sunday morning - the sun was even out! - so we took the leisurely stroll from our apartment to the restaurant. Upon arriving, I immediately loved the large Lewis and Clark photograph across the wall behind the host stand. It is an impressive display of the site's storied past.

We were seated to a table shortly thereafter on the bar/lounge side of the restaurant (across the building, there's a more formal-looking dining room as well). Our server was actually also the sole bartender that morning, despite the busy brunch crowd, but she somehow kept our service fairly quick, yet not rushed.

I'm typically a Bloody Mary gal, but Meriwether's brunch cocktail menu was varied, and everything sounded delicious. I ultimately opted for the Grand Mimosa ($10) made with Grand Marnier, hand-squeezed orange juice, and Domaine St. Michelle Brut, served over ice. it was incredibly refreshing and wonderfully bubbly (and boozy).

Meriwether's brunch food menu is also chock-full of interesting yet traditional options, with plenty of their farm's bounty evident in each dish. After much deliberation, I went with the Vegetarian Benedict ($14), with cauliflower and mushroom ragu, pine nuts, and hollandaise.

Served with a side of delightfully crispy and well-seasoned herb potatoes, this was one delicious dish. I loved how the hollandaise was super creamy yet light, and the crunchy texture from the pine nuts added a little something extra to each bite. Like most of Meriwether's brunch menu, this dish was a delightful take on a traditional breakfast dish.

Overall, we really enjoyed our first meal at Meriwether's. I'm eager to check out their lunch and dinner (and happy hour!) menus soon!

Are you a hollandaise fan? It sometimes skeeves me out, but I loved Meriwether's hollandaise!