The Waffle Window, Portland

When her two sons came back from Europe raving about the traditional liege sugar waffles, Mary did what any good mom and professional pastry chef would do: she learned how to make them. But Mary wasn't content with mere imitation––she wanted her waffles to be something unique, and so she spent several weeks crafting her own super-secret recipe that blended Belgian-style traditions with hard-to-source ingredients. After all that work, she knew her waffles were made for more than just maple syrup, and a slew of waffle-based dishes was born, incorporating toppings that include everything from thick-cut bacon and housemade salsa to scoops of small-batch ice cream and Guittard chocolate. Soon, she began serving the treats out of a converted Dutch-style door window in her husband’s Bread & Ink Café, and her waffles quickly gained enough acclaim to be featured in Bon Appetit, as well as an episode of the TV show Portlandia.

Now operating from four locations, the staff still gives diners the option to devour their waffles on the go, but welcomes guests to linger longer in the warmth of covered indoor- and outdoor dining spaces. There steaming cups of locally roasted Kobos coffee or cafe Darte and glasses of blackberry-basil lemonade help wash down the waffley goodness