Name: The New Deal Café
Location: 5250 NE Halsey, Portland
Hours:
Weekdays 7am – 4pm, Weekends 8am – 4pm.
Review: As you may know I’m always looking for the most perfect place to enjoy a latte and get some $#!* done. It’s difficult to find a place with good light, plenty of tables, lots of outlets, great food, relaxed atmosphere and where I feel comfortable sitting for a couple hours to do the things I need to do. This place comes awfully close to “Unicorn” status—it meets all these expectations and offers up even more. This is one of my current favorite places to do homework, and I’m sure the staff can verify that I practically live there! There are plenty of outlets so you don’t have to fight others for your right to compute. The layout of the place allows for both work and family gatherings, the food is scrumptious, and the coffee is caffeinated. Well that last one’s not a surprise, but it’s certainly a necessity, right? It’s little jewels in Portland like this one that make me glad I don’t have a huge readership of this blog or I’d never get a table!
Wifi: Yes indeedy.
Web page: http://www.thenewdealcafe.com/
Price Range: $-$$
Bean: Stumptown
Leaf: Tao of Tea
Food: Breakfast all day and Lunch starting at 11am, a hearty selection of delicious choices with specials that change regularly. They’re quite willing to make adjustments for those of us with dietary restrictions and their ingredients are fresh and well paired. The specials usually include two breakfast, two lunch and two soup options. Breakfast scrambles are served with home fried potatoes and a biscuit, and strawberry freezer jam is available at every table to add to the fun.
Vegan/Vegetarian: They have vegetarian options, and are willing to change things around and switch out meats for vegetarian sausage. The breakfasts do tend to be egg and cheese based, so vegan friends may have a little more of a challenge finding something here, though there are two different kinds of oatmeal and several salads that may do the trick.
Beer/wine: Nope. Just caffeine!
Music: Varies quite a bit, tends to be upbeat and fun. I’ve heard Dolly Parton’s rolling melodies more than once over the speakers.
Art: Rotating shows, often with an illustrative or clean line flair. Currently there are several small-ish letterpress prints of household or common items done in simple lines, matted with pastel patterned paper in white frames. There are also depression era posters and a mural in the children’s play area that give this place a friendly family feel with a nod to hipster ethics of whole foods and simple urban living.
Crowd: A wide variety of folks over the course of the day. Some are professionals on lunch from the nearby hospital and medical center (Providence), many students and writers with laptops, and lunchtime tends to bring in families to enjoy a meal together.
Kid friendly: This place is one of the best one’s I’ve seen yet for kids to come along. The café is large, and the space is divided into two areas, one with tables and plenty of outlets, the other with booths and a fairly large play area with plenty of toys. This means those with families can be close by to their kids, but those trying to work without distraction can be a little farther away from the giggles and squeaks.
Extras: There’s also a lovely back patio area with several tables and a nice mix of dappled shade and sun, for those who enjoy dining al fresco!
Rating: ****
Date / Time of visit (s): I practically live there, but most recently July 26th, 2011
