I’d like to come clean about something. We don’t always eat organic, healthy meals. Once in a while we like to eat in what some may actually call a greasy spoon. Okay, M and I have breakfast there on most Friday mornings. This neighborhood diner we frequent is aptly named, Fat City. It’s in the heart of Multnomah Village in Portland, Oregon. There is something so warm and welcoming about this little place. Like a favorite pair of jeans. A comfy pair of socks. It’s a place where everybody knows our names, and usually what we’ll be ordering. What’s not to love?
Our lovely waitress, Ruby, zips around the cafe at the speed of light. She never lets our tea get cold.
yummy!
When you enter this old fashioned cafe, you’re transformed into another time and place. You could be in any small town USA. License plates and quirky signs cover most of the wall space. A long shelf lined with old beer cans sits above remnants of an old soda fountain, which unfortunately, is no longer in service. The local history here is as thick and rich as the homemade cinnamon rolls they dish out in droves on a daily basis.
A couple key events helped put Fat City on the map in Portland. In 1973, a Fat City customer known only as Bob, shot his lover Vivian in the restaurant when his love was not reciprocated. The bullet holes are still in the basement wall as proof of this event. In 1987, Portland’s Mayor, Bud Clark, met his Police Chief, Jim Davis, at the restaurant. Over breakfast, the mayor fired the police chief, saying, “Read my lips. You’re fired.” Signs next to this booth designate the positions of its prior occupants.
On a typical Friday morning, we can be found occupying one of the comfy booths at Fat City, sipping a cuppa hot tea and enjoying french toast, blueberry pancakes, or eggs and hash browns, maybe even a slice or two of crisp bacon. Fat City momentary brings our busy lives to a slower pace and takes us back to a simplier time. Isn’t that what comfort food is all about?
These people cannot possibly go in here...
Also a great place to plan your next vacation across Oregon.
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