On my latest trip to Portland, some knowledgeable locals suggested four breakfast spots. Genie’s Cafe was the best of the bunch. The airy corner café with yellow walls and blackboard specials opened in December 2004 in an area of SE Portland known as Garlic Gulch. On my visit, Genie’s Cafe owners displayed a deft touch in the kitchen and clear commitment to local ingredients.

Crab Eggs Benedict ($9.75) incorporated a flaky puff-pastry base, lump Dungeness crab, asparagus spears and chive-dusted Hollandaise. On the side: spice-crusted roasted potatoes.

Since I had a full day ahead in the food-free Oregon Convention Center, I doubled down on breakfast by ordering a single pancake studded with Oregon filberts. Genie’s Cafe hazelnut pancake was terrific, crisp outside and velvety inside, dusted with powdered sugar.

Did Genie’s Cafe deliver a revelatory breakfast? Not quite, but the meal was definitely a satisfying precursor to the United States Barista Championship Semi-Finals.