Pambiche

I would have never thought that I would find good Cuban cuisine in Portland, Oregon. I asked my friend who lives out there where he thought would be a delicious place for breakfast. He told me that Pambiche, on NE Glisan St. is one of his favorites for breakfast. Pambiche serves Cuban cuisine to the masses for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Their breakfast menu has a wide variety of Cuban specialties from egg dishes, to sandwiches, and salads. I decided to order to Cuban hash and eggs or Picadillo Cua Cua. Picadillo is a very popular traditional Cuban dish that is made of ground beef, seasonings, and sofrito. The Picadillo tastes a lot like Cuban chili con carne. The Picadillo is served with eggs of your choice, white rice, fried plantains, avocado, and fruit salad. The Picadillo itself is explosive with amazing flavor from the sofrito that is used throughout Cuban cuisine. A Cuban sofrito for those that do not know is a combination of onions, tomatoes, garlic, green bell peppers, and herbs such as oregano. My friend ordered the Roman Omelet which is an omelet made with shrimp, bacon, sofrito, and yuca root(cassava). It is topped with a red Creole sauce. I tried it and it was absolutely delicious. The briny shrimp in the omelet was awesome in combination with the yuca, plus the sauce really brought that dish together. If the dishes that I have tried are an indication of how amazing the rest of menu is then I would tell you to just order whatever looks good to you. Being a Portland restaurant, Pambiche prides itself on using local products so you know you are supporting the local community. Pambiche is uniquely Cuban but settled in Portland using ingredients from the Pacific Northwest. This is a must try for a unique breakfast that is far away from the typical diner breakfast fare such as pancakes, eggs and bacon, or corned beef with poached eggs.