Bread Rules at Roman Candle Baking Co.

This week's PDX Breakfast Club meetup took us to the Southeast area of Division street, which is peppered with excellent restaurants, block to block.  I've been especially curious about Roman Candle Baking Co, as it seems to attract a good crowd and its specialty Roman pizza is a big draw.  Suggesting it to our meetup organizer Robin, she was happy to check it out and so were our fellow breakfast comrades.  

Atmosphere:
The first great thing about Roman Candle Co. is that it has a small parking lot, which makes it more accessible than some of the other restaurants and businesses in the neighborhood.  Nearly occupying a whole block, the restaurant is large and airy and boasts a beautifully large communal table for all to congregate at and enjoy the day's freshly baked treats.  This table is a true thing of beauty as it's rustically constructed and highlights the natural imperfections of wood that give it an irregular yet gorgeous shape.  There's a counter up front with enticing pastries, bread and of course their pizza oven that starts to crank out their signature rectangular pies starting from 11:30 p.m. for lunch service.

Food:
Pleasantly welcomed by their rich breakfast offering, you can choose from items such as toast with creative toppings, breakfast bowls and eggy plates.  It's all good and the Stumptown coffee is free flowing, giving you a reason to linger as long as you like.

Toast - Robin ordered two different toasts which she shared with the group, including the Nutella on raisin walnut bread and the honey/bee pollen on super grain bread.  Both were excellent and I must call out that the Nutella was homemade, which scored extra points in my book.  The honey toast was my favorite, mostly because of that fragrant bee pollen that added an earthy element and some texture too.

Everything Bun with a Duck Egg - Curious about something besides their bread, I was eager to try their take on an egg and cheese sandwich.  Of course it was something special and interesting, and turned on its ear.  The duck egg was ginormous and filled the contents of the bun perfectly.  I loved the way it was cooked to fluffy perfection and the aged cheddar on top provided just another layer of delicious tang.  A side of hot sauce was just the right accouterment and I generously poured it on for extra flavor.

Service and Cost:
The folks at Roman Candle were as lovely as can be and not only seemed happy to be there but were pretty prompt about having our food ready.  I looked around the place and everyone appeared to share this sentiment, as the space seemed to get fuller by the hour.

Costs are moderate and fair for the excellence in atmosphere, food and service and set me back just $8.50 for my duck egg sandwich and coffee.

3 Mmmms

Roman Candle Baking Co - 3377 SE Division Street, Portland OR 97202
971.303.6605
romancandlebaking.com