Jam On Hawthorne

11/06/09

fantastic food, charming service

by ChickieMcStickie at Citysearch

Every time I go to breakfast here I'm thrilled with whatever I order. The breakfast cocktail menu is vast and tasty. I've always had stellar service, friendly and prompt. The people watching is always damn good too as a little added bonus.

• Pros: amazing drinks! Great food!
• Cons: none

09/13/09

yummy, every single time

by sarahberke at Citysearch

I've been going to Jam about 3 years, usually a couple of times per month. I've never, not a once, had a bad experience. Yes, there can be a bit of a wait, esp. on weekend mornings. But, it is a SE Portland, hole in the wall breakfast joint. That's what you get on a a weekend morning! But there is yummy Stumptown coffee available to sip upon while you wait. Or if you're starving you can run across the street and grab some bread at GC or a piece of fruit at UP's. Jam has some pretty unique dishes, things that you're not going to find anywhere else in Portland. My faves: Ty's Big Breakfast, The Other One (wrap), the crazy delicious berry Broiche French Toast, and the Hammer scramble. Service has always been really good, in comparision to service at other SE PDX breakfast establishments. Friendly, attentive and always givin us extras if we ask (toast, salsa, etc). I still haven't made it for dinner, but I can imagine tis just as yummy.

• Pros: Varied, organic, local food, stumptown while you wait.
• Cons: Long wait on weekends, not much waiting area.

07/16/09

Good food, grumpy service

by kate09 at Citysearch

The food here is fantastic, and cheap, which is why I've gone back several times, but the wait staff have been, grumpy, surly, rude and downright mean every time I've gone so I've finally decided to break myself of the lovely lemon blueberry pancake habit.

The first time we were there, there was a wait, which is fine, but while we were waiting to put our names in the waitress came barging over literally throwing her arms at us shouting 'out! out! GO OUTSIDE! you can't be in here. You need to move it outside! There are people eating here, go outside!" etc. as she came at us menacingly. All she would have needed to do was ask us to move and we would have. There was a family with an infant among the people being tossed outside in the rain. I thought that was pretty awful, but was meeting someone and didn't want to change plans.

The last time I was there (again, fantastic pancakes) I was glared at, scooted around, ignored, made fun of (!) and not served by the only server on staff. The place was almost full, but not overrunning with people this time. Not only was the service really slow, Really Slow, but it was as if she was doing us a HUGE favor to take our orders. We didn't ask for anything special, didn't linger, didn't ask annoying questions, just ordered and ate. I don't know what the problem was. Maybe I wasn't dressed hipster enough? It was clear she did not want me in that restaurant. A little 'hi', 'how's the food?' would go a long way. But without common courtesy I can't eat there again. Maybe I need to learn to make lemon pancakes.

• Pros: Lemon pancakes
• Cons: Surly waitstaff, crowded