The best days start with a breakfast sandwich. And when the breakfast sandwich is made with perfectly buttery flakey biscuits and paired with a perfect cup of locally roasted coffee, even a grey morning can be turned around. So it’s no wonder Tandem is a local favorite in Portland. Tandem has two locations in the city, one that is more of a traditional cafe and roastery, and the other that is more of a bakery. Both locations are wonderfully unpretentious, welcoming and personal, colorful and warm, the smell of coffee, sugar and butter melding together over a hum of friendly chatter.

On any given day, there will be locals and visitors filling the tables in front of what once was a gas station in the 60s. Tandem is as artisanal as it is approachable, with creative interpretations of American classics, elevating them to feel extra special in a routine bakery run. From their black sesame banana cake topped with cream cheese, olive oil and black pepper, to a daily scone that can range from five spice apple to rosemary plum, to a particularly delectable chocolate cornmeal and fennel cookie, there’s something for every palate in the pastry case. And of course, you can never go wrong with the famous biscuits.