My two remaining grandparents, one from each side of the family, recently moved into the neighborhood. And by recently, I mean Papa's been here almost a year, and by area, I mean they're at least 50 blocks away, closer to the SE 102nd corridor. But have you been out there? Do you know what they have after the fancy senior centers, sundries shops, apartments, and clinics?

Nothing. (Well, ok, there's a liquor store, too.) But for the young, and the young at heart, there's not a whole lot to do or places to grab a bite in the area. Cue my sister's and my fear when charged with the task of showing our grandmother's visiting caretaker from Wyoming the top sites in Portland. In one saturday.

Which loosely translated to: We don't have time for a 3 hour weekend brunch/breakfast downtown, and we're sure as heck are not taking the woman to a suburban chain coffee and pastry shop. So Amanda, in her infinite wisdom, found Sweetness Bakery as a "nearby" location, we picked up Jody at 8 AM and said:

"Feel like going on an adventure?" (Like she could really say no.)

We drove over to 52nd and Powell and pulled into the empty parking lot. Any worry of this being a bust was quickly quelled by the "people love us on Yelp" sticker on the window and the instant smell of fresh baked goods once the door was opened. The atmosphere is simple but hardly lacking, arts and crafts cover the walls, many for sale, and the entire west side of the room is devoted to cases of baked goods, cake preparation counters, and a coffee bar stocked with all the espresso-laced goodness you could ever want.

The gals behind the counter were great, telling us about the shop and rattling off a quick explanation about each pastry for sale. Arrive early, before all the good stuff is picked over by the morning rush. My personal favorite was the ginormous berry danish, but I'll be back to try the doughnut cake-muffin, or the scones, or ... well you get the idea. Paired with a cup of coffee from Nossa Familia that quite honestly rivals the likes of Stumptown, a small, sweet breakfast turned out to be the best way to start or sunny weekend day.

Sweetness has the same vibe as any treasured neighborhood bar, only the patrons here are buzzed on sugar and happiness. Daylight fills the space, and soft tunes hum under the chatter of customers and crew. While for a brief moment I felt horribly out of place, almost as if I had just walked into a stranger's home, it didn't take long to feel comfortable. There's something so familiar about Sweetness, it almost reminds me of the foreign kitchen of my out of town grandparents' years ago.

Sweetness, you'll definitely see me again, maybe next time with Papa or Grandma in tow. I mean, this is their "neighborhood" after all.

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