Crain Liz - Hello! my name is Tasty: global diner favorites from Portlands Tasty restaurants

In the early days of Toro Bravomy first Portland restaurant, which I opened in 2007toward the end of cooking on busy nights, wed ask the bar for tasty beverages for the kitchen and theyd whip some up and send them over. It was us being silly and a little needy to get through that final push. At the time, we were always joking about naming restaurants with the longest, most ridiculous names possible, so at one point we thought up Mr. Tastys Wonderful Emporium of Delicious Treats. Lets demand that everyone says it in full. It made us laugh.

I took a trip to Brooklyn right after I secured the Tasty n Sons spot (I opened Tasty n Sons in 2010, Tasty n Alder in 2013) because I wanted to get away and gather my thoughts and get some fresh menu perspectives. I was walking around old Brooklyn one day and seeing all the furniture shops and family businesses, and so many had & Sons tagged on. It came to me during that walk: Well call it Tasty n Sons. Everyone thought it was goofy and couldnt believe Id seriously name a restaurant that. Obviously, I didnt let that get in my way. Whats funny is Ron Avni (co-owner of all of my restaurants) and I have no sons, and we get asked by folks all the time, So, who are the sons? I guess theyre whoever you want them to be.

WASHINGTON, DC

Bens Chili Bowl, Washington, DC

Counter at Bens Chili Bowl

Half-smoke sausage with chili, chili dog, and chili-cheese fries at Bens Chili Bowl

Cemetary in Falls Church, VA, where many of Johns relatives are buried

The Falls Church, VA, former one-room schoolhouse built in the late 1800s that Johns grandparents called home for many years

When we opened Tasty n Sons in 2010, we started with brunch. The whole idea was to open an innovative brunch restaurant that would compete with the dinner houses in Portlandfull bar, great service, and not the bullshit pick-an-egg, pick-a-toast, pick-a-potato thing. I thought, lets open a brunch restaurant thats just as fun and tasty as our citys top dinner spots. Lets bring the noise in the morning. I lived right behind Tasty n Sons at the time and I wanted somewhere great to eat breakfast in my hood because there was nothing like that there at that time. We added dinner shortly after opening. That was always the planstart with a kick-ass brunch (your gut doesnt know what time it is!) and once wed nailed that, add dinner.

The best way to describe Tasty n Sons is as a new American diner, while Tasty n Alder is a new American steakhouse. Both have great bar programs. Old diners have Asian chicken salad, club sandwiches, biscuits and gravy, and big fat gyros all in the same book of a menu. They offer a little bit of everything so that everyones happy. Restaurants are so one-directional these days that I sometimes miss those get-whatever-I-want-to-satisfy-my-cravings spotsdone right and with love of course. Thats what Tasty n Sons and Tasty n Alder are: globe-trotting, all-cylinders-firing, big-flavored, diverse brunch and dinner spots. You can get a burger and a beer, a bloody and a bibimbap, a classic cocktail and a Hangtown fry all the livelong day.