Make your first meal of the day a great one at any of these local breakfast and brunch joints; Reader’s Choice winner included. Check out more of our 2019 Food & Drink Guide favorites here.
In the space of the recently closed Saint (you know, the triangular building that was painted turquoise, then fuchsia), the team behind Independent Pizzeria has opened Dacha Diner, an airy, light-filled restaurant serving comforting Eastern European and Jewish cuisine. That means delicate blintzes filled with farmer’s cheese, platefuls of crispy latkes, borscht, matzo ball soup, and more. If you’re looking to up your yolk porn quotient on Instagram, order the khachapuri—a Georgian specialty consisting of a boat-like bread brimming with fluffy cheese and butter and a runny egg that you mix into it with a fork, then tear apart with your hands and devour. JULIANNE BELL
There are many reasons to choose the industrial-chic Portage Bay Cafe as one of your go-to brunch spots, but among the most alluring draws of this small Seattle chain of brunch and lunch joints is a menu of dishes made with local, organic, sustainable fare. Also, the variety of options that pair well with the cafe’s breakfast bar of fruit, nuts, and whipped cream—buckwheat pancakes, vegan banana pancakes, and generous hunks of French toast made with Portage Bay’s own GF bread included. Other showstoppers: the Dungeness crab cakes and carnitas Benedict, the latter served with braised Carlton Farms pork shoulder; the goat cheese omelet; and the breakfast sandwich (two organic scrambled eggs, Hill’s pepper bacon, house-made bourbon fig jam, arugula, Mt. Townsend Creamery new moon jack cheese, all on house-made potato bread, or GF bread for an extra $2). LEILANI POLK
