Alameda Cafe, Portland

Alameda Cafe has been known as a neighborhood breakfast spot for 30 years, but recently its new owners have decided to conquer the rest of the day as well. The menu now draws diners for brunch, lunch, and dinner with traditional american comfort food cafe eats. For instance, a meal might include jalapeño hush puppies with apple butter, turkey and dumplings with cinnamon apple crisps. But the menu changes frequently, and diners will also spot mediterranean influences, as in an angel-hair pasta dish prepared with steamed mussels, oven-cured tomato, and capers.

Of course, much like the rhyming song that explains how to operate a crane, the restaurant's roots won't soon be forgotten. There's still brunch service, with hearty meals such as buttermilk biscuits and sausage or corn and green chile gravy. The full bar is open then, too, serving up morning-friendly cocktails that include 5 varieties of a bloody mary.