Week 12: Pine State Biscuits
/WARNING: We don’t recommend reading this blog on an empty stomach. May experience extreme hunger pains and unassailable urges to drive immediately to Portland, Oregon. You can find everything you have been looking for in SE and NE Alberta, SE Division, Portland's Farmer's Market, and NE Schuyler where Pine State Biscuits is constantly serving up their own beautiful masterpieces: biscuits!
These artists see the world in biscuit colored glasses, focusing their entire menu on the southern staple. If you want authentic southern food you will find it here, and you will find it tucked safely away within a biscuit. Come hungry and ready for a hearty breakfast because you will be even more southern-stuffed than their stacked biscuit sandwiches.
Walt Alexander of Pine State Biscuits knows that truly hearty comfort food actually looks like truly hearty comfort food, not like delicate sandwiches. “My personal opinion is it really is all about the taste, shape and look aside. I could be happy eating an ugly biscuit any day of the week, as long as it tasted good in my mouth.”
Personally, our mouths are watering at the description of one of PSB's most popular biscuits, "The Reggie," made up of fried chicken, bacon, and cheese, then topped with gravy. Basically, a whole farm inside of a biscuit.
However, what would be really ugly about this, would be if Pine State ran out of food. Considering the extensive line that winds itself down the sidewalk and attempts to jam itself inside the humble biscuit shop, we would not want to see what happens if these hungry customers didn’t get their biscuits. But don’t fret, the longer the line in Portland, the tastier the food. So busy also means worth the wait. The biscuit artists of Pine State do not disappoint.
At Pine State Biscuits, their biscuits speak to them like true artisans. Smell the biscuit, hear the biscuit, be the biscuit.
According to Walt, biscuits are made with “the highest quality ingredients, using no shortcuts”, they “really train [their] bakers to focus on a technique called ‘letting the dough talk to you’.” And, apparently, when the dough talks to you, it tells you all of the secrets to making delicious food. Maybe this technique is what we can attribute the unbelievable biscuits considering there's something especially unique about Pine State.
“If there is one thing that makes our biscuits stand out, I would say it's that you know by looking at the shape and rise of our biscuits that it is a Pine State biscuit.”
So what makes a Pine State biscuit a Pine State Biscuit? One way of finding out is trying to replicate their sweet potato recipe generously given to us by Walt himself. Good luck!
Of course, the easiest way to experience these delectable biscuits is taking a trip to Portland yourself! It's definitely at the top of our list, and we can't wait to run into you when we visit!
Pine State Biscuits
2204 NE Alberta
Portland, OR 97211
503. 477. 6605