Breakfast
Love
C
hef Josh Welton’s hairy right forearm has a
big tattoo of fried eggs and a side of bacon.
“I really love breakfast. I’m not
kidding,” he laughs, patting flour off his
black chef coat.
Welton opened Tres Mil Border Cafe
a year ago inside 5th Street Market’s
food court. On a Sunday morning, he
is busy behind the counter, serving up
huevos rancheros with thick, house-made
corn tortillas and generous spoonsful of sour cream.
A reasonable trickle of people stand in line to order
breakfast.
Inside his tiny kitchen, Welton masterminds the
restaurant’s made-from-scratch biscuits, gravy, horchata and
cinnamon buns. People love the sourdough cinnamon buns,
made from his own dough that ferments in the back room.
The secret?
“I caught it in my backyard. It’s a wild yeast,” he says
of the sourdough “mother” yeast, which he’s been keeping
alive and reusing for almost a year now.
Welton’s specialty is breakfast. The Tres Mil menu
features classic Tex-Mex fare: made-from-scratch tacos,
breakfast burritos, pan-fried bread pudding, “The Three
Alarm Scramble,” ($10) and, of course, house-made
horchata for $3 or $4.
The best surprise of my meal comes when I order a
side of mushrooms with the huevos rancheros. Not just
any mushroom arrives next to my steaming pile of eggs
over-easy. These are wild, yellow-foot chanterelles,
their skinny charred stems steaming with olive oil and
bits of garlic. Welton orders them twice a week from
MycoLogical Natural Products because the demand is so
high right now.
“They’re in season,” he says cheerfully.
Tres Mil Border Cafe serves classic Tex-Mex fare
By Jeslyn Lemke
‘Take something humble
and elevate it.
Bring it to the
level of sublime.
It doesn’t have
to be an expensive
heirloom potato.’
HUEVOS RANCHEROS
6
CHOW WINTER 2016
PHOTOS BY TODD COOPER
CHEF JOSH WESTON
— chef Josh Welton
Welton grew up in Eugene and has been cooking now
for 21 years, with jobs in Florida, Arizona, Portland and
even a year in Ireland. About five years ago, he went to
LCC for a culinary degree and started cooking breakfast
and brunch for restaurants around Eugene, like Cafe
Zenon, now closed.
A year ago, Welton decided to take the plunge and
pursue breakfast. His philosophy is simple: Make really,
really tasty fixings from regular produce.
“Take something humble and elevate it. Bring it to
the level of sublime,” he says. “It doesn’t have to be an
expensive heirloom potato.”
Now that the restaurant is past its first year, Welton
plans to incorporate more locally grown food, starting
with his own tomato garden. A rich, smoky tomato sauce
forms the base of the restaurant’s most popular dish, the
huevos rancheros. Welton wants to grow and can his own
tomatoes for the sauce.
“It’s going to be can-a-palooza coming soon,” he says
with a grin.
Tres Mil Border Cafe is located on the second floor of the 5th Street Market
on East 5th Street and is open Monday through Saturday, 8 am to 7 pm and
Sundays 8 am to 5 pm. Check out its Facebook page for more information.
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