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Machin, sm. (P). Anything whose name has slipped the memory. Same as: true.
Time for something on the Hawthorne scene! Chez Machin is a crêperie on SE 35th and Hawthorne. It's a cozy little crêperie, with a back room that is mercifully ventilated by a veiled passageway (presumably to a patio) and a half wall. I sipped my espresso and gobbled my crêpe with the first signs of evening spring air wafting in.
There are crêpes for everyone! Sweet, savory, large, small, vegetarian, organic, gluten-free, cage-free...
They also have a bistro menu, with a soup du jour, Boeuf Bourguignon, Cordon Bleu, Steak au Poivre, and many, many other things I'm glad I don't have to try to pronounce at you all in real life.
I finally decided that the animal magnetism of Nutella was stronger than that of ... anything else on the menu. Though the La Pacifique crêpe, with NW smoked salmon, brie, tomatoes, spinach, scallions, and dijon crème fraîche was very tempting. As was La Fermière crêpe (mozzarella, mushrooms, avocado, tomatoes & pesto crème fraîche).
Mine (called La Dèlice - you don't need to know French to guess that one!) came with vanilla custard, raspberry jam, and Nutella, and was dusted with powdered sugar.
Pronounced "shay masheen."
This place is so good, Nickel Creek's mandolin player Chris Thile wrote a song named after it! I'm always excited to go to Stumptown. Today, I was going to go to VooDoo Doughnut, but the line was longer than Crystal Gale's hair, so I skipped out (for today, that is!) and went to Stumptown down the street instead!
Stumptown refers to Portland's old nickname from the late 1840's, when the city was growing so fast that the trees cut to make way for roads remained as stumps until things slowed down and they could be removed.
The atmosphere at Stumptown is great (I've been to the one on Hawthorne and the one in NW PDX) - the people are unique and polite. I don't fanny around with Stumptown - no mochas or syrupy drinks. Just unadulterated espresso. Today I ordered a macchiato. My barista poured a perfect milk heart right into it - no tricks, no sticks. That deserves a round of applause.
I also got a pastry (I justify this by telling myself that it's for the sake of my blog). Stumptown's Berry Brioche is pretty tasty. It's a very moist cake, and the berries (black, rasp, and straw) are really tart. I would recommend sharing -- I could hardly finish the whole thing!
Also, they have the cutest little brown cups!
Macchiato: 3.5
Berry Brioche: 3
Time for something on the Hawthorne scene! Chez Machin is a crêperie on SE 35th and Hawthorne. It's a cozy little crêperie, with a back room that is mercifully ventilated by a veiled passageway (presumably to a patio) and a half wall. I sipped my espresso and gobbled my crêpe with the first signs of evening spring air wafting in.
