Milk Glass Mrkt is less like a café and more like a dream that you once had about being the star of a romantic comedy. Every aesthetic detail has been thoughtfully attended to — from the deep caramel color of the wood, the shelves so charmingly stocked with eclectic pantry items like Maldon sea salt and premium kimchi paste, to the heavy, silver-plated cutlery and small, adorable succulents on the tables.
Even the clientele is uniformly slim, stylish and attractive — minimalist in T-shirt dresses, perforated sneakers and affordable but idiosyncratic eyewear — that it almost feels like they must have been called up from central casting.
Breakfast is the Portlander’s favorite meal, even when it takes place at 1 p.m., and Milk Glass Mrkt raises it to an art form. The most popular dish is probably the eggs and greens, a seasonal salad tossed in a vinaigrette with seasonal vegetables — mine had cherry tomatoes and corn — along with smoked trout, pickled red onion, walnuts, radish sprouts and topped with two fried eggs. It is wholesome, yet delicious, the kind of meal that won’t weigh you down before a day of hiking or paddle boarding.
They also offer a variety of more decadent breakfasts, like the warm brown butter almond cake and the cheddar biscuit with egg and your choice of apple wood bacon, smoked salmon or roasted pepper, as well as a lunch selection that includes items like a vegetarian sandwich with beets, greens, roasted peppers, cashew butter and miticrema on house-made focaccia.
Prices tend to be on the steep side; even the kids’ biscuit with egg and choice of bacon, salmon or roasted pepper is $8.50. But that’s easy enough to forget after you’ve taken your first bite.
The café’s elaborate tea drinks are also another attraction, such as the sweet, savory and fragrant London Fog, made with black team, honey, bergamot essence and steamed milk. If you happen to be lucky, or patient enough, to wait for a space at breakfast, try a local white wine, a boozy drink with seasonal shrub, an Oregon beer such as the Commons Urban Farmhouse, or even just adding a shot of Bulleit and whipped cream to your Stumptown coffee.
Check their website for upcoming events such as their regular pop-up dinners by local chef Jane Hashimawari.
