I have been going to NEPO42 (NE Portland on 42nd St) for years now, but their newest menu for brunch is abso-f’n-lutely amazing! NEPO42 does many things well. They make great BBQ, they have awesome hand-made jalapeno poppers, and I have never had a bad chicken wing there. They have a great beer selection and they pour drinks that give you your money’s worth, but the brunch is where it’s at!! I might not go there often, but now I am craving their food all the time.
I had a unique opportunity to try several of the items on the menu and I can say that not a single dish let my friend Ben and me down. Let me start by saying that it’s all good, but here they are in order from the least awesome to the most awesome for me, and me alone. I am sure you might rank them differently, but this is my blog, so… eat it however you want.
The Four Dishes
| Breakfast Barnyard Fries | $11 |
| French fries with pulled pork, bacon, jalapeno, roasted red peppers, sour cream, avocado, and 2 poached eggs |
The Barnyard Fries – Wow, imagine the biggest plate of nachos with everything on it, then replace the chips with french fries and add two poached eggs! It is incredible in size and flavor. What a dish!
| Biscuit Benni | $10 |
| Biscuit with pit ham, poached eggs and sauce hollandaise with potatoes and choice of toast or biscuit |
I’m a huge fan of Eggs Benedict, and this one did not disappoint. Not only were the biscuits soft and moist, the eggs were perfect and the ham was tender and juicy! I can’t say enough about this dish. Just terrific. I think the option of sausage gravy would send this to the top of my list, but man it’s as good as it gets, just as it sits!
| Ode to Elvis | $10 |
| Three pancakes with Nutella, bacon, and banana sandwiched between them, topped with 2 over-easy eggs |
Oh, the Ode to Elvis! I could sing, this was so good! I’m seriously considering going this weekend just to have this again. I would, of course, be committing diet suicide, but for the enjoyment of trying this dish another time I might just do it! OK, so, pancakes with Nutella? That alone is so yummy, but to add a layer of fresh bananas, bacon, two over easy eggs, and syrup? That is making me cry with joy with each bite! If you think for one second I’m joking, you have another thing coming.
| Chicken N Waffle | $12 |
| 2 Chicken breasts deep-fried, 2 pieces of bacon, topped with sage maple syrup |
Now for the ultimate in brunch options: the Chicken ‘N’ Waffle. It may be the best I’ve ever had, and I hail from the east coast, have been to the south, and visited the mid-west for this very same dish. NEPO42 has outdone themselves with this masterpiece comprising 2 huge slabs of fried chicken, bacon (of course), and sage maple syrup to boot! It’s just not fair how good this one was. I have dreamt about it every weekend since.
If you jave made it this far into the post without dropping everything to make it to NEPO42, then you should know that their brunch is only available Saturday and Sunday from 9am to 3pm and right now the secret is not out. They are not as busy as they should be for these kinds of portions, prices, and amazing breakfast creations. I also want to make a note of a couple items that looked good, but that I didn’t have the stomach to try…
The Ribs ‘n’ Eggs, Veggie Hash, and the Oatmeal Brulè are my next food adventures there. You know… just to make sure I haven’t missed what might top the Chicken ‘N’ Waffle.
travel. eat. hike. 
hello there, i wanna ask something. the eeg benedict. i would like to make it for my husband breakfast, can you tell with what the name of potatoes things is? looks yumm
thanks b4
The potatoes are just roasted potatoes, the benedict is made with one open faced english muffin or in this case a soft biscuit, sliced ham slightly grilled, a poached egg, and topped with hollandaise sauce.