The Impatient Chef Can’t Sit Still at Denizens Café, Portland

The Impatient Chef finds comfort in comfort food in the comfort of a breakfast and lunch nook comfortably ensconced on NE Sandy Blvd in Portland, Oregon.  

"Can't Sit Still" is a series of road food finds where a single meal is reviewed.  They do not reflect a restaurant's entire menu, or the establishment as a whole.  

A Comfortable Impatient Chef at Denizens

Denizins is a little gem hidden in an unassuming strip of mid-century storefronts that no one would blame you for driving past without noticing. The does NOT mean you should. Allow The Impatient Chef to expound. The food is good, as was the service, but the place looks like it exists on a shoestring budget. Your job, dear reader, is to fatten that budget up with repeated patronage if you are able.

Some notable observations:  Ethos - fostering community through local food, not buying the cheapest ingredients from the warehouse.  The Impatient Chef endorses this approach.  Quality Ingredients - simple food shines brightest with better ingredients.  Price - the prices are reasonable, considering the quality of the ingredients.  

The Counter 

The breakfast menu consists of English Muffin sandwiches and pancakes, plus a small assortment of pastries from Marcie Bakery.  They also serve Rocky Butte Coffee.  

The lone staff member greeted The Impatient Chef and wife upon entry, and helped us through the menu options.  The Impatient Chef ordered the Morning Jumpstart (sausage or ham with cheese, egg, and jalapeños), and wife ordered the Top of the Morning (sausage or ham with egg, cheese, spinach, mushrooms, and pickled red onion).  We also split two of the pastries:  A chocolate croissant and a marionberry/cream cheese croissant.  

The Muffs

The sandwiches were delicious.  They are not haute cuisine, but they are solid, American breakfast grub a notch or two above the grade.  As mentioned before (multiple times), this is breakfast comfort food.  The muffins were not dry, which, in less capable hands, is often a problem.  The jalapeños seemed grilled, which was an excellent choice over the pickled variety for this application.

The croissants were okay.  The chocolate version needed more chocolate.  The Impatient Chef's half had some in two bites out of seven.  

Dessert

The coffee had a pronounced, nutty flavor.  Very unique.  We never had Rocky Butte Coffee before.  More exploration is required.  

Rocky Butte is a cinder cone left over from the area's volcanic past, and a reminder that past can become present with a mere twitch of the Earth's crust.  So, enjoy good food now.  

The Impatient Chef's overall impression thus far is that they care about what they do, and about their community.  We need more of that in this world.  Next: Go there for lunch or brunch.  Watch this space for the update.  

Thanks!

The Impatient Chef.

The Impatient Chef Recipe: Ham and Grits with Red-Eye Gravy

"Them Damn Grits" - George Carlin

The Impatient Chef has presented a couple similar recipes in the past.  The first was Blue Grits with Ham and Red-Eye Gravy, and the second was Cadillac Ham and Grits with Red-Eye Gravy.  The first is a decent recipe, but The Impatient Chef has moved away from that style of gravy for this dish because the version presented here is simply better, and it's highly Impatient.  The second recipe was done on a lark, and while the lark lived to tell the tale, it is not something one would want to do all the time unless money was not an object, and, again, this recipe is better.  

Notes on ham:  If you have a honest-to-goodness butcher shop in town, hie ye thither to procure your ham.  The Impatient Chef has found that the good hams are not in the supermarket.  An exception is Beeler's ham, which can be found in natural food stores.  

This is a great dish for leftover ham after a holiday meal. You can save ham fat, and you also can pick all of the yummy ham scraps off of the bones.  What?!?  You got a boneless ham?!?  Shame on you.

With practice, you should be able to get all of the ingredients done at the same time, which is important so that it goes together hot. 

The Impatient Chef uses Bob's Red Mill White Grits.  They get the job done with style.  If you dare, you can use Anson Mills Antibellum Coarse White Grits.  However, they are decidedly not Impatient, and you have to soak them overnight.  They are fabulous, though.

Serves 2.  You can get this breakfast done in less than fifteen minutes with a little practice.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup chopped ham fat scraps (substitute with 2 tbsp bacon grease if necessary) 
• 1 well-packed cup cubed ham 
• 1/2 cup Bob’s Red Mill white grits 
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 2 dashes cayenne pepper 
• 1 tablespoon butter 
• 1/2 cup brewed coffee 

Directions:

1. Make coffee. Reserve 1/2 cup, into which you will add 2 dashes of cayenne pepper. 
2. Render the ham fat in a medium iron skillet on medium high heat until there is enough grease in the pan to fry the ham. If you are using bacon grease, or (shudder) vegetable oil, you can skip this step. 
3. While the fat is rendering, cook grits. In a small saucepan, add 2 cups of water, and bring to a boil. Add the grits and stir. When they return to a boil, lower heat until they barely simmer. Cover, and stir every 30 seconds at minimum. Be careful to stir the bottom of the pan because they will stick.  
4. Remove the ham fat scraps from the skillet (do not discard the oil), and add the ham. Fry the ham, stirring them often, until they start to brown. You want a nice fond in the bottom of the pan. 
5. When the grits are almost done, add the butter, salt, and pepper. Stir.  You can use less salt if you are so inclined.
6. When the ham is browned, remove from pan. Set aside in a bowl. 
7. Return the pan to the heat. Stir the coffee to suspend the cayenne. and add it to the pan, Stir with a flat end wooden spoon to deglaze, scraping the bottom to suspend the fond in the coffee. Turn off the heat. You now have red-eye gravy. 
8. Turn off the heat for the grits as well. 
9. Divide the grits into two bowls. Add ham over top. Swirl the red-eye gravy in the pan, and then pour half of it over each bowl. 
10. Serve.