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What They're Saying

"St. Peter must be the sous chef at Marco's. In my version of Heaven, breakfast will be served all day, there will be a killer wine list, and Glimmer Train will be on the news rack. Marco's is all that and more. Weekend mornings will find lines out the door at the Multnomah Village neighborhood cafe. A second Marco's on Northeast Fremont Street is just as popular. It's worth the wait, but if you don't venture south after dark, you're missing out. Check the website (www.marcoscafe.com) for the nightly dinner menu. It's eclectic, inspired by everything from Euro to Asian styles. A recent offering of Oregon winter ravioli was stuffed with smoked chanterelles, walnuts and other yummy things. Beyond the specials are the Marco's standbys like Thursday-night mulligatawny soup or one of the seven different burgers with your choice of beef, chicken or veggie patties." — Willamette Week

"This homey Multnomah Village standby becomes a crowded scene for weekend breakfasts. Earnestly prepared lunch and dinners create a home-away-from-home atmosphere for the many regulars with the all-day breakfast fare receiving serious attention." — NW Palate

"Though the city seems to have a growing number of reasonably priced restaurants offering good dinners, some of the most distinctive local fare is available at breakfast. Near the top of most lists is Marco's Café and Espresso Bar . . . in Multnomah Village, a cluster of antique stores and restaurants a few minutes' drive from downtown. The menu features choices like black bean chili omelet, fresh orange juice and delicious daily soups." — The New York Times

Soup is Just the Start of Marco's Magic

There is, in Portland, a soup so special that people circle Thursday evening on their calendars so they can partake of it. Why Thursday? That's the only day of the week that Marco's makes mulligatawny.

And what a mulligatawny! It makes a magic three M's — Marco's, mulligatawny, Multnomah. This good-sized cafe, not especially imposing, sits on a corner in Multnomah Village, that little oasis of good bookshops, antique shops, cafes.

Marco's mulligatawny is the tastiest Downtowner has ever eaten. It is included with your meal (Thursdays only), steaming with perfection, creamy, just curried enough, topped with (original touch, this) a sprinkling of crisp nuts. All the tomato, celery and chicken is julienned into tiny cubes.

Why is there mulligatawny at Marco's? Mulligatawny has strong overtones of the British Raj, who brought this recipe back from India, where the Tamils have been serving it for hundreds of years. You find this soup, in Britain, as classic old-fashioned hotels in places like Cheltenham, where retired Indian Army colonels demand and savor it.

Here is the reason: Marco's was started by a man from South Africa, Mark Saitowitz, and his wife Helga. To South Africans, as to other countries once in the British Empire, it's a familiar and loved dish. Although Saitowitz sold Marco's eight years ago, the new owners had the wit to not only keep it on the menu, but to print out the recipe for customers.

Each evening chef Maurice Lynn (who apprenticed in Lausanne, home of Europe's prestigious hotel school, and later worked in the Bay Area) offers six main dishes. It is always a fresh menu. Two things are vegetarian, like the sweet potato and papaya fritters.

Lynn has a sure and original hand with chicken breast. He gets his crispness by coating it with ground cashews, and then sautés it to a turn and serves it with a marvelous sauce of apricot, blueberry and ginger.

Fresh ginger is a magic ingredient at Marco's. It runs from the mulligatawny to this chicken, right through a surprise addition to traditional crème brûlée. Why hasn't anyone else thought of this? Alongside your chicken breast there's crunchy brown rice with dashes of spice (again, this touch of Old Delhi), perfectly steamed, still crisp with zucchini slivers.

It was a tough choice among the other offerings, which included Atlantic salmon broiled with herb butter, sauced with orange dill beurre blanc, and lamb loin chops served with a sauce of red wine, sage and green peppercorns. The decision was angel hair pasta (as its sauce sounded and was original): oyster mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes and spinach, with an Oregon blue cheese and basil cream sauce. — Serena Lesley, Portland Downtowner

"Have a hankering for breakfast and it's already four in the afternoon? Marco's Café and Espresso Bar caters to the "anytime" morning-meal eater. Well-known for its breakfasts, the restaurant serves them up fresh all day. A lunch menu and changing daily dinner specials also are available. Fresh pastries and dessert are hot items; they include croissants, raisin bran muffins, chocolate velvet, and bread pudding. Stop in on a Thursday, when Marco's offers mulligatawny soup. The creamed curry concoction features apples, almonds, and veggies, and comes with fresh bread. Excellent dinner choices include several vegetarian entrees, such as a roast squash and artichoke-heart calzone. A lively, bright place, Marco's is usually packed — particularly on the weekends — so be prepared for a possible wait." — Dallas Finn, CitySearch

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