hot suppa!

dining date: 04.02.07
eatery: hot suppa! on congress street across from the 7-11

web: hot suppa!
pricing category: pretty cheap (except for the benedict)
guest critic: nada
overall grade: B-

the lowdown:
- excellent service -- friendly and laid-back and was just right on the "attentiveness" scale
- comfortable, bright atmosphere
- it's important to note that one member opted to "hold it" all the way home because the bathroom was so gross -- big bummer
- good music playing and it wasn't too loud or overpowering -- just right on the volume

the food
the benny girl
- eggs benedict with fried green tomatoes, homies, tea, and one half of a piece of francais toast
- grade: B-
"i wasn't really looking forward to eating at this restaurant because i was definitely judging a book by its cover. the mismatched style of the restaurant's facade (the flag, the awning, the building, etc.) makes me cringe and hurts my eyes to look at, and i'm morally opposed to their name. not only is "suppa" an annoying word, they don't even serve "suppa" there. anyway, my point is that i shouldn't have judged this restaurant on its exterior because the interior was really nice. the cozy atmosphere and seeing some local ingredients on the menu made me very hopeful. unfortunately the food didn't really measure up. the benedict comes with a choice of canadian bacon or fried green tomatoes. loving the originality of it, and because i really like the movie, i went with the fried green tomatoes. those were definitely the best part of the meal. the hollandaise was pretty good, but lacked flavor. the eggs and english muffin were done just right. although all of the components were pretty good, the combination of it all was just okay. the homies were definitely a disappointment -- they tasted like they were either fried or baked after being frozen...kinda like oreida crinkle cut. not a quality that's complimentary for a homie. and they tasted like they were only seasoned with vinegar. last time i checked, vinegar was not a suitable replacement for salt, pepper, even rosemary perhaps. i will say that i enjoyed the various pieces of fruit that garnished my plate, although i think they accidentally put a waxed green apple slice on there. the tea was neutral -- the fact that it came in a pot (a plus) was cancelled out by the fact that the honey came in annoying packages (a minus). hence the neutrality. overall, a decent breakfast...but i won't be hankerin' for suppa again anytime soon."

the usual
- 2 eggs, homefries, toast, coffee, and one half of a piece of french toast
- grade: C+
"i'm not going to comment much on hot suppa!'s name -- an exclamation point, no "suppa" served...enough said. the inside of this quirky little place (just across from 7-11) is a pleasant surprise with interesting art, cozy (read, "tiny") booths, and high ceilings. our server greeted us promptly and let us have a window booth. although our coffee arrived quickly, it was just plain bad...certainly below par for anywhere i've been in portland. my food arrived in a timely fashion with plenty of homefries. my eggs, though not runny, were certainly not over-hard...a huge negative in my book, as i'm sure you've noticed. they were also completely round and completely white, lacking the characteristic brown highlights of eggs fried in butter. i tossed on tons of pepper and salt to give them some flavor, but still found them to be some of the plainest eggs in p-town. not bad, just plain. my toast was average, pre-buttered, which i enjoy. my homefries (if you can call them that) were certainly the low light of my meal. tough, brown, mealy little cubes that grew even chewier as they cooled. we discussed them in detail, trying to determine whether they were baked or fried -- trying to unravel the mystery of such a bland and uninteresting potato product. like the eggs, the homies seemed to be cooked without oil or butter in some sort of of low-fat, diet cooking contraption out back. my french toast was fine, bursting with flavor compared to the rest of the meal. overall, it's hard to know what to say about this meal -- it wasn't bad (although this review makes it seem so), the service was excellent and friendly, the atmosphere was quaint, but something was certainly lacking...and i think it was flavor. yes, that's it. flavor."wild toast
- corned beef hash, 2 eggs, rye toast, homies, and coffee
-grade: B
"walking into this cute little joint, we were greeted warmly and invited to grab a seat of our choice. hopping into the cramped booth by the large front window, we were offered drinks to start. ordering coffee as usual, mine arrived and quickly it disappointed my pallette. our friendly server continued to top off what was unfortunately a burned and weak mug of joe. my meal arrived and i happily dove into my much anticipated corned beef hash. highly recommended by a good friend, B., i decided to jump on the train of shredded, purple hash...that was some pretty good stuff, guy. not that i was able to finish the potato-speckled hash, but it complimented my easy eggs. the homies, which created quite a flurry of conversation as we struggled to identify how they were prepared, really were not very exciting. the blase cubes tucked in next to the hash, revealed little spunk for my well-rounded meal. the marble rye, while plentiful, was buttered to a sopping excess, but was a nice raft for my river of eggs. overall, this is not over the top by any means. i would note that the c.b. hash was probably above par, yet i have little to judge it against, other than the cat food reminiscent globs i've seen in other places, which i steered clear of. the service was really good, which was maybe the best part of the experience -- casual and available."