Underground in Newberg Oregon

Wesnesday August 20th

We decided to take the scenic wine route from Portland to Ashland. Well worth the trip.

I remember several years ago there were bumper stickers on cars in Oregon saying “Don’t Californicate Oregon”, meaning for Californians --- stay out. Of course, Oregonians would always make exceptions for really good football players who were willing to play for the Oregon Ducks. (We LOVE Duck football!! Go Ducks!)

It now seems Oregon is on a mission to take as much of the wine market away from California as possible. For my money the Oregon wines are every bit as good as those in California, and at much less the price. They may lack the snob appeal, but for me they are fine.

The Willamette Valley south of Portland is where much of the state’s wines are grown. The landscape consists of rolling hills with the mountains in the distance. Vineyards appear for miles on either side of the road and every few miles or so, up pops another little town. We decided to stop in one of these towns,Newburg, for breakfast.

So what’s so significant about Newberg? Nothing except that we discovered our new “best breakfast place of all time” , the Underground Cafe and Restaurant. Underground has now replaced the Ponderosa in Dolores Colorado which held the top spot for over 20 years.

When you think of Miami you think of the beaches, Sunshine, the Miami Hurricanes and lots of Cubans. Well a couple of chefs escaped from there and returned home to Oregon to open up “Underground” last February. They are the caterers for lots of vineyards as well as owning this Oregon-trendy (boy that’s an oxymoron!) little restaurant. The Underground is a friendly place with lots of boutique Oregon wines and beers available. We passed on beer and wine with breakfast and went with the PMS smoothie(peach/mango/strawberry) and two amazing breakfast sandwiches. Paula’s sandwich was a creation that one would never think of, bacon, lettuce, tomato and cream cheese topped with local marion berry jam. All this is sandwiched between two waffles. Simply the Best!

Fellow travelers, if you are ever anywhere near Portland, take the trip south have some great wines and enjoy the breakfast at Underground. I expect that dinners and lunch will not disappoint you as well.