14 // COASTWEEKEND.COM
Coast Weekend’s local
restaurant review
Lazy Susan Cafe knows importance of breakfast ritual
Review and photos by
THE MOUTH OF THE COLUMBIA
MOUTH@COASTWEEKEND.COM
n my first trip
to the Lazy
Susan Cafe, it
didn’t take long
to decide what
I’d have: Eggs
Benedict.
More than perhaps any other
meal, breakfast embraces ritual.
In the morning, it’s most accept-
able — treasured even — to find a
favorite and stick with it. It makes
sense: When your synapses are still
warming up, you want something
familiar, comfortable. Adventures
can wait.
The thought of breakfast
routines take me back to my early
college years in Eugene. Every
Sunday — and often many more
times throughout the week, some-
times in lieu of class itself — I’d
shuffle the few blocks to Cafe
Siena, at the foot of campus, for
a plate of luscious, lardy huevos
rancheros and a cup of coffee as
thick and strong as motor oil.
The pattern has repeated itself
at other breakfast joints since then.
Maybe it’s a breakfast burrito,
a scramble or just a coffee and
muffin. The specific dish is less
important than the warm welcome
it provides. Again, breakfast is
rarely a time to take chances.
There are other aspects of the
breakfast ritual that are equally
important: speedy, attentive service
(keep that coffee coming!) and a
bright, easy space.
All of these characteristics can
be found at the Lazy Susan Cafe,
a compact, rustic, woody cab-
in-turned-restaurant in downtown
Cannon Beach. Despite a cramped,
open kitchen, the Lazy Susan is
quiet, cozy and quick. Teeny tables
for two and four guests are packed
around the bedroom-sized ground
floor, and up a steep flight of stairs
in the loft. The menu is made up
mostly of eggy breakfasts, waffles
and a few brunch and lunchtime
Eggs Benedict
Gingerbread waffle with lemon sauce and pear
specialties (the place closes at 3
p.m.).
It’s also worth mentioning, per-
haps in bold-faced type: the Lazy
Susan doesn’t take credit cards,
only cash and checks, which,
according to the menu, require
the accompaniment of a “check
guarantee card.” When was the last
time you heard of such a thing?
Honestly, what even is a check
guarantee card? While I’m sure it’s
nice for the Lazy Susan’s servers
and book keepers (as well as the
vampiric operators of the nearest
ATM), it’s a ridiculous inconve-
nience in this day and age, one that
probably costs the Lazy Susan a
fair amount of business.
Anyway, about those Eggs
Benedict ($12.95): They hit the
mark — velvety smooth, rich, salty
and gooey. The English muffin
beds were lightly toasted, and two
slices of deli-style ham covered
them like a blanket. The poached
eggs were rippling, begging to
burst. The hollandaise, while
unremarkable, proffered requisite
richness. The accompanying fruit
was varied, finely sliced and care-
fully arranged. Thin slices of ripe
pear fanned out like a peacock’s
tail above a smorgasbord of apple,
grape, orange, strawberry and
melon.
The omelettes, which make up
nearly a quarter of the entire menu,
are pretty standard, not too fluffy,
milky or French. I tried the My Fa-
vorite ($10.75). With mushroom,
tomatoes, green onions and cheese,
it was mushroom forward. Very
much what you’d expect. The pota-
toes — with their crisp, blackened
skins, soft innards and faint herby
seasoning — were finely executed.
There are daily specials,
including quiche and a waffle of
the day. Feeling confident that
the egg dishes are pretty robust,
I went with the waffle, which on
this day was gingerbread, topped
with a thin lemon curd sauce and
another fanning of pears (enough
to include fruit in every bite).
Waffles include choice of yogurt
or whipped cream. I went with the
yogurt. Unsweetened, the acids,
along with the lemon, offered just
enough sharpness to keep the dish
within the realm of sweet treat
rather than decadent dessert. It’s
probably worth noting that it was
just a single, medium-sized waffle,
which disappeared pretty quickly.
It’s not an overwhelming amount
of food.
Specials include pastries, too,
like muffins and scones. I tried
the marionberry scone, which
eschewed the usual pie-slice shape,
opting for a round. It looked too
overwhelmed by the purple-blue
berries, but underneath was the
crumbly, creamy doughy founda-
tion. I could’ve done without the
extra sprinkling of the crunchy,
granular sugar, though; the tart
sweetness of Oregon’s signature
berry is enough to carry the day.
I dabbled in the lunch menu as
well, which includes a few dishes
LAZY SUSAN CAFE
Rating:
126 N. Hemlock St.
Cannon Beach, Ore.
PHONE: 503-436-2816
HOURS: Wednesday-Monday
8 a.m to 3 p.m.
PRICE: $ - Entrées run $10 to
$15 (no credit cards accepted!)
SERVICE: Keeps the coffee
cups full
VEGETARIAN/VEGAN
OPTIONS: Vegetarians will
do all right
DRINKS: Coffee, tea, wine
KEY TO STAR RATING SYSTEM
Below average
Average
Good
Excellent
Best in region
from left field, like the Mediter-
ranean Seafood Stew and a Hot
Seafood Salad. I would happily
trade those two, along with the Tu-
na-Apple Hazelnut Salad ($13.95)
— assertively spiced, leaner and
cleaner than it was enticing — for
a few more breakfast excursions
like, say, huevos rancheros or a
breakfast burrito. (No shame in my
game!)
However, I stand wholeheart-
edly behind the Broiled Shrimp
Sandwich. Open-faced with three
melted cheeses — Swiss, cheddar
and jack — swirling, browned
and bubbling with sour cream
and green onion, over supple bay
shrimp on English muffins, the
viscous creaminess was irresist-
ible.
I thought of the Broiled Shrimp
Sandwich on my final trip to the
Lazy Susan. But the breakfast
instinct took over. When the server
came to take our order, I hesitated,
but only for a moment: “I’ll have
the Eggs Benedict, please.”