1089 NE Grand Ave & NE Hassalo St • CitizenBaker.com • @citizenbaker
Hours: Mon-Fri 6:30am-4:30pm, Sat-Sun 7:30am-4pm
Have you seen those crazy predictions of what Portland will look like in a few years? There was one in Portland Monthly about a year back that had a drawing of the skyline in 2035. It was insane, filled with huge skyscrapers dotting both sides of the river. The biggest change appeared to be in the Lloyd Center and central Eastside areas.
It is sometimes hard to believe how much this city is changing and how rapidly it is growing. Especially as one of the seemingly few native Portlanders, it is definitely a different landscape than even a few years back and with the construction everywhere, it will just continue to expand.
That being said, I totally get why people move here. Portland is a great city afterall! And one of the big pluses of the expansion? Better restaurants popping up everywhere you look, even in unexpected areas. One such example: the Altabira and Citizen Baker combo in the beautifully renovated Hotel Eastlund.
Located just a few blocks from the Convention Center and Rose Garden (ok yeah yeah, it’s the Moda Center but some things die hard, like it not being the Rose Garden anymore), these two endeavors by Nel Centro’s David Machado were a welcome addition to the neighborhood. The Lloyd Center area epitomizes the term food desert, with a Denny’s, Red Robin and other sub-par chains, while the rest of the city is a sea of glorious eats.
Altabira City Tavern is the fun rooftop bar and restaurant, great for a business power lunch or evening drinks with friends on a warm summer night. {And on my list of where to eat al fresco this summer!}
Citizen Baker on the other hand is the main-level bakery cafe. It is light and airy with giant windows lining the space. I could easily hang out there all day, starting with breakfast while reading the paper, to popping open my laptop to get some work done over a Ristretto Roasters coffee, then moving to a light lunch and a glass of rose with girlfriends.
All the breads are made in-house (and also served at Altabira and Nel Centro), from baguettes to focaccia, so those are a definite must order. My recommendation is the Breakfast Sandwich with fluffy scrambled eggs, melty cheese, and crispy applewood smoked bacon.
While that might be too standard-fare to get you excited, know that it is served on a freshly baked ciabatta. It isn’t overly chewy or crispy making it too difficult to eat your sandwich (#firstworldproblems but still that is real annoying). Instead it is the perfect consistency and just enough bread to offset the richness of the cheese and bacon.
I’m always a sucker for steel cut oatmeal for some reason. Theirs is topped with maple syrup, toasted hazelnuts and dried cranberries.
For lunch time, they’ve got a variety of sandwiches also served on their house Buttermilk Wheat or Levain. For the nearby worker bees, you can pick up grab-and-go salads like Tuscan Kale with Farro, Cherries, Hazelnuts and Aged Ricotta Cheese.
Like any good bakery, they’ve also obviously got a handful of rotating pastries and cookies. Being such a chocoholic, I don’t usually go for the fruit options but last time I was at Citizen Baker, I had to try Lemon Zest Cookie. It was one top-notch choice. Soft, chewy and tart. It was great for a hot day.
This is what the NE Lloyd Center corridor has been needing!
Disclaimer: Thank you to the Citizen Baker crew for treating me to breakfast. I was not compensated for this post otherwise and all thoughts as always are my own.
Erin @ PLATINGS AND PAIRINGS says
It is a bit scary to think that Portland is changing so fast. And the TRAFFIC! But, change is good too – Especially when it involves awesome new restaurants. This looks like a great spot to check out.
bakerybingo says
Ugh, the traffic! I have to drive from the Pearl to Hillsboro every day which just about kills me… thankfully I live in a great area which is the only thing to make up for that!
Create/Enjoy says
Things ARE changing so fast around here! It is great to see improvements to areas like Lloyd, though–so central and yet so far from thriving (in the past, anyway). Sounds like a fun bakery!
bakerybingo says
Agreed, it is a weird mix of still not great areas with pockets of fun spots. I guess that’s what growth and gentrification is all about?
Shelly says
I’m a native Oregonian, living in Portland all my life. Portland has already changed so much from when I was young and still keeps changing. But the great restaurants are a plus to all the change.
The breakfast sandwich looks delicious.
bakerybingo says
Hey, another native Oregonian!! Yes, so many changes, but at the same time at least the city is still really wonderful I think.
Marlynn @ UrbanBlissLife says
The skyline has changed so much, especially in SE/NE close in… so weird to see taller buildings there now! I forget Citizen Baker is in Hotel Eastlund. Thank you for the reminder! Now I know where to go when I am in between meetings in that area. Yum!
bakerybingo says
Yeah it is so crazy to witness, especially those new buildings right off the east side of the Burnside Bridge! I too forget about Citizen Baker occasionally but hopefully this is a good reminder for all of us 🙂