By Paul Gerald

Blue Pig Cafe
Type: Breath-of-fresh-air, friendly neighborhood spot
Typical Price Range (meal with coffee and tip): $11 - $14
Wait: Not bad for tables, but can get long for food on weekends (though they're working on it)

I confess a certain sadness upon the closing of Gramma Lucy's Cafe on SE Division. It was far from the best food in town, and it was far from the best-looking place, as well. But it was possibly the most entertaining place to eat breakfast, mainly because it was run by a certifiable nutjob - and I mean that in a good way - who wowed everyone with his loud charms.

So when I heard that guy had ridden his motorcycle off into the sunset, I was a little bummed - until I met the new owners, who were in the process of redesigning the space and promising they would "take the food up a notch or two - upon re-opening.

Well, they've accomplished both tasks. The space is nicer, the food is better, and the place is now called the Blue Pig Cafe.

The outside still doesn't look like much, but that's the way the new owners like it. Jay Azevedo told me he doesn't "want everybody coming in at once, - and that's not just because they're still working out the kinks since their May opening. In fact, he also admits to some problems with food flow on weekends, when crowds have surpassed kitchen capacity and led to some long waits for service. To reduce this problem, they've taken out some seating, which also leaves the entry room for indoor waiting space.

Azevedo seems to genuinely want the Blue Pig to be a casual little neighborhood place; he even tells people, in a fun reference to the previous ownership, "I won't yell! -

He had his wife help with décor, which was a good idea; two of my female friends once described the old place as "looking like a dude decorated it. - The Blue Pig has a subtle flower theme, and my gardener friend Maureen loved it; they stripped pieces of floral fabric over wooden frames, bought some new chairs and light fixtures, turned the old booths into banquettes for a more open feel, and repainted the walls "butter color - and the ceiling "a deep, rusty terra cotta. - So said Maureen, who called it a "gentle upgrade. - I'm a dude; I only know that the place seems cleaner and more open.

The same is true in the kitchen: They use, as much as possible, local and what you might call "politically correct - ingredients (free-range, hormone-free, sustainable, etc.), though they make some concessions for out-of-season stuff. You can even recycle your to-go containers and compost your coffee cups!

The menu is both smaller and more refined, with a few basic specials like a two-egg breakfast ($7.95), Chicken Fried Steak with two eggs ($9.95), Corned Beef Hash ($9.95) and a Tofu Scramble with curry, ginger and garlic ($7.95). You can also get more than filled up with a breakfast burrito, huevos rancheros, and biscuits and gravy. And with plenty of sides and a massive build-your-own omelet/scramble section ($9.95 for unlimited ingredients!), you can pretty much piece together whatever meal you want.

From what I've seen, though, the griddle is where the action is. They have a Waffle Breakfast, French Toast Breakfast and a Flapjack Breakfast, each of which comes with two eggs and two pieces of bacon, sausage or ham for $8.95. All three options are basic and non-flashy, but quite good. The flapjacks get particularly high marks in my book, but be warned - they are not light or fluffy, though they are buttermilk cakes; I detected a slight malty flavor and couldn't finish it with the two eggs and two strips of bacon, which were a little short on taste but nice and crisp.

So maybe the Blue Pig really is two steps up from Gramma Lucy's: one for the décor and one for the food. And even if it might be one step down on the wackiness scale, it's still a gentle, welcome change.

Seating: About 40 inside at tables and a banquette, plus a few covered tables out on Division. Large groups? Yes, but get there early, and let them know ahead of time.
Portion size: Solid Changes: Easy
Coffee: Portland Roasting Other drinks: Sodas and juices
Feel-goods: Most ingredients are fresh and local Health options: None they brag about
WiFi? No

Local food, travel and outdoors writer Paul Gerald is working on a new book, Breakfast in Bridgetown: The Definitive Guide to Portland's Favorite Meal, expected this summer. Meanwhile, each month he'll be sharing a new chapter on LivePDX. You can also read his breakfast blog and get in touch with him at BreakfastInBridgetown.com.