A Dash of Drivel: A Breakfast Place

Classic. Cozy. Comfortable. Cheerful. Creative. Clean.

We officially have a breakfast place. While we have many heavily creased, liberally stained, and partially ripped menus cluttering up the first floor from our favorite delis, bakeries, gourmet restaurants, holes-in-the-wall, lobster shacks, pizza kitchens, artisan bread makers, and steakhouses in our area, we were seriously lacking a go-to breakfast spot that truly has something for everyone (No Dad, Bernie's Place next to Hannaford doesn't count).

The Portland Harbor Hotel Logo

This morning, Brother #3 and I treated Mom and Dad to breakfast at The Portland Harbor Hotel. Located in the heart of downtown Portland (just a block or two away from the water), this note-worthy spot received a figurative 5 stars from each of us. 5 stars across the board...from four of Maine's most critical customers. We like our water glasses topped off regularly, our coffee hot, our servers discrete (yet full of personality), and our food cooked just right. We love dining out just as much as we love talking about the overall experience from place to place.

At Eve's restaurant tucked inside the aforementioned hotel (which was beautifully decorated with subtle nautical accents), only our inner nitpickers were disappointed. There was simply nothing that could have been done better. The atmosphere was lovely, the service was phenomenal, and the food was outstanding.

The Inviting Waiting Area

Our Table - A Well-Lit and Cozy Half Booth

A Single Fresh Flower, for Madame

Dad's French Toast for Father's Day

Brother #3's Chocolate Chip Pancakes

Mom's Remarkably Unphotogenic Egg-White, Spinach, and Lobster Omelet

My 2 Egg Pepper, Onion, and Cheddar Cheese Omelet

Admission: I'm still very self-conscious about taking photos of food in restaurants...which explains why each plate only gets one shot (regardless of how horribly the resulting image fails at doing justice to the chef's creation). The photoshoot usually occurs at warp speed to placate hungry family members who have been instructed not to dig in until their entrees have been immortalized...and before the waiter returns to see if he/she can get us anything else.

I can't speak for the pancakes, the French toast, or the lobster omelet, but my omelet surpassed all of my expectations (and set an awfully high bar for future omelet-eating). It was chock full of tiny red peppers and slivers of onion, with just enough cheddar cheese to add (and not overwhelm) the rest of the dish. Thick slices of marbled rye (toasted with butter) added a nice crispy crunch to top off a perfect choice.

We will surely brave Portland's "rush hour" (which is little more than a tap on the brakes compared to the stop-and-go traffic heading into Boston at 8am on any given weekday) to return to this hotel again. I'm eager to take a peek at their lunch and dinner menus...hopefully we will be back when it will be warm enough to dine outside in the garden!