There are few things in this life that motivate me as much as a good breakfast sandwich. In my 20s, it was the only way to get me anywhere before noon. Ever since Portland’s best breakfast sandwich—Random Order’s B-list: a perfect combination of caramelized onion, egg, cheddar, and chipotle aioli securely encased in a firm bolo—became a casualty of the pandemic, I have been questing for a new nosh to replace her. It really feels like nobody caramelizes onions anymore (kind of thankless, I know), so I don’t expect that perfect bolo of egg, onion, cheddar, and chipotle aioli to return to this earth.
In 2024, Literary Arts opened a bookstore on the ground floor of its new SE Grand headquarters, and an offhand comment by its executive director Andrew Proctor—made amidst conversations of seismic retrofitting and multi-year fundraising campaigns—had me thinking only of sandwiches.
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It is humbling to hear my own voice recorded, breathlessly exclaiming “breakfast sandwiches” at Proctor’s mention of something the shop’s cafe could one day carry. It only gets worse as I launch into a short rant about how Portland, for all its virtues, is greatly lacking in well-formed breakfast sandwiches.
“Bacon, egg, and cheese, man. Come on,” Proctor agreed.
“People always put it on a croissant or something,” I complained.
“That’s no good. You need strong bread—strong bread to withstand the heat and the grease,” he agreed.
And then I held onto that conversation for about two years.
Over the summer, Literary Arts Cafe opened with a shortened menu of coffee drinks and pastries. By winter, lunch was in, breakfast was up, and that prosciutto, egg, and cheese was served on a croissant. The irony is not lost on me, but I must admit it is an incredible croissant. Jen’s Pastries recently raised its cost due to the pricey French butter they use to make it.
If you have to put a breakfast sandwich on a croissant, this is the way. The salty little situation low-key exploded with flakes at my touch. The fluffy square of baked egg at its center contained more heft than the pastry surrounding it. This isn’t a sandwich to hold as you run for the bus. In fact, the cafe serves it with a perfectly-measured side salad of lovely greens and light, lemony dressing.
Literary Arts’ other sandwiches—chicken salad, grilled cheese, and a seasonal veggie option—arrive on sourdough so good the whole bakery behind it is called simply Good Dough.
The Good Dough bread also accompanies the Turkish eggs—poached and served with herbed yogurt—which are my favorite items on order. As a longstanding shakshuka fan, I was excited to see it on the menu, but found the cafe’s approach more lemony than I like. Still, shakshuka is a perfect breakfast food, and it’s difficult to find at eight in the morning in Portland. I value that.
If you’re a fancy coffee person, the Spice Cabinet has pink peppercorn in it, which gives an actual pepper bite without overpowering the other good things present: cardamom, licorice, ginger, and coconut.
Literary Arts cafe opens at eight in the morning and the bookstore doesn’t open until ten, so while you stand in line looking at a shelf of cool books you were meaning to pick-up, can you actually acquire them? Yes, you can just buy them at the coffee counter.
Literary Arts Cafe, 716 SE Grand, everyday, 8 am-8 pm (snacks only after 4 pm), more info, literary-arts.org.
