Cheap Eats 2008

Ambitious and delicious, Toast is a genuine gastronomical experiment, offering unusual takes on brunch standards with infuriatingly precious names. Health nuts will go ape for the Good Monk ($7.50), a hearty bowl of tofu, farro and veggies. Heart-attack seekers may favor the Truck Stop ($15)—a heap of steak, eggs and potatoes—or the Population 17, a chicken breast paired with eggs and a pan-fried potato ($11). Toast’s veggies are all grown organically on Sauvie Island—Toast scorns deep-fryers, and buys only free-range meat. Ambitious moves for a brunch joint, to say the least. Then again, any place brave enough to decorate its walls exclusively with pictures of toasters is bound for either greatness or bankruptcy. (JG)