A Portland institution (which turns 20 come July), this tiny cafe brims with bric-a-brac and good cheer. Everywhere the walls are covered with framed photographs showing loyal customers posing in exotic (and often humorous) locales with an “Eat at Silly’s” bumpersticker. A shrine to Elvis hangs on the wall near the counter and lampshades dressed up as funny hats give off a warm glow.
Mismatched vinyl and chrome é0s dinette sets provide the seating and the menu is enormous. Before we dove in we ordered a Coffee By Design coffee (which comes in its own French press) and a tea (a mug of hot water comes with a metal Wonder Woman lunchbox packed with single tea bags). A request for soy milk was upgraded to the rice milk and served in a whimsical mini-teapot shaped like a fisherman’s basket.
Since Silly’s milkshakes (made from hard ice cream and milk) defy the categories of drinks or desserts, they deserve their own mention. They come in almost endless flavors, including Kool-Aid and chocolate chip. One flavor will set you back $3, and it’s 25-cents more for each additional flavor. Frommer’s guide said these shakes “alone are worth the detour.”
After we ordered drinks to start out our weekend lunch, we dove into the menu. Apps that range from meaty (chili pappas $6.50, pollitos $6.50, Hubba Hubba tortillas $7.75) to totally vegetarian (hummus platter $7.50, Et Tu, Tofute $5.75, fried plantains $4.50) start out the offerings. You also can choose from a list of creative salads, including Harmonious Chaos with bacon and chicken, Totally Tubular with chicken and pasta ($9.50) and Relativity ($7.50), which is a cheese pizza topped with salad and vinaigrette. Even with so many temptations, we can never resist the sweet potato fries ($3.50). These hand-cut beauties are served with a sweet, house-made mustard, but I like to dip them in plain old ketchup and savor their creamy feel and sugary flavor.
Choosing a meal here can be tough due to all the enticing options. You can tell the owners had fun with this menu, which is broken into six main sections: wraps, dinners, baskets, burgers, pizza and kids.
Wraps include everything from the standard — souvlaki ($7.50), jerk chicken ($5.75) — to the exotic — Einstein $5.25) and Vegan Deluxe ($5.50). The Dinner section means plated meals, such as Thai style noodles ($6.25), Slop Bucket (smoked pork, cheese, rice, beans and BBQ sauce for $10.50) and Coconut A-GoGo (tofu or chicken on cous cous with veggies and curry for $10.50). The basket offerings give you hot dogs, fish and chips and chicken strips, and the burgers include beef or Blue Mango veggie burgers served single, double or triple. Pizzas run the gamut from Greek ($6.50/$16.75) to Thai Pie ($6.95/$16.75).
After much back and forth we finally selected a falafel wrap, with balsamic vinaigrette instead of cucumber dill sauce, ($5.75) and a chicken burrito ($8.50). The falafel is perfectly crisp on the outside and fluffy on the inside and comes with spinach, iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, onions and pickles. The shredded chicken in the burrito was moist and spicy and rolled with sweet potato, rice, beans, lettuce and tomato. A fresh salsa and sour cream came on the side.
Because the portions are so huge, we didn’t have room for dessert. But I ordered a Vegan Snowflake ($2) to go and we ate the gooey chocolate and coconut treat later that afternoon.
Silly’s definitely knows how to have a good time, but the reason I keep coming back is food that is simple, spicy and delicious. And the best part is everyone loves to eat here. You can bring your 8-year-old nephew, your foodie aunt and your meat-and-potatoes dad and the whole crew will be happy (if a little bit silly). And in the world of dining out, such universal satisfaction is a huge achievement.
Silly’s is located at 40 Washington Ave. in Portland. It is open in the winter Tues.-Sat. from 11:30 am-9 pm and Sun. from 11:30-8 pm. Call 772-0360 or visit www.sillys.com.