Besaw's

Besaw's has been around in various forms since 1903.  At some point, it became a super popular NW Portland brunch destination, where people are happy to wait in long lines for their weekend brunch.  Recently, it was forced to close and they reopened in a nearby new location, and took advantage of the opportunity to reinvent their style a bit.  From self-described (on their website) "scrappy little neighborhood cafe" to a more grown-up art deco style.  I went to Besaw's in its old location many years ago, when I still lived in NW Portland, that time, I went early on a weekend morning, and didn't have to wait. 

On this occasion, I was in the area on a Thursday near lunchtime and I decided to check out the new location.  The new Besaw's was relatively busy on that morning, but not full, so it was easy to grab a seat at the bar.

The menu has a variety of brunchy items and I ordered the eggs benedict.  I always enjoy runny eggs over just about anything and I thought overall this version of eggs benedict was pretty good.  The eggs were just about perfectly poached.  I thought the hollandaise was pretty lemony, there was a lot of ham and the bread got a little lost under all of it.  The potatoes were a nice addition, pretty crispy, more fry-like than breakfast potato.