Veganazi

My Thai Bistro

2008-11-25T10:28:00.000-08:00

My friend and I made plan to go to Pho Van, and it was closed on Monday. Both of us were super pissed. Its lunch time, I've got 1 hour for lunch break from work. What to do!? We walked by My Thai Bistro, only a block away. The restaurant is small, maybe just enough to seat 20 people. The atmosphere is sophiscated with a lot of vintage indochina decorative arts and sculptures. We got a pot of hot green tea. The lunch specials range from $5-$9 (vegetarian - seafood). The dinner menu looks more expensive, ranging from $8-$12, and they have a special deep fried section... hm... I wasn't sure if that's healthy. Maybe its fine but naming a part of your menu "deep fried", isn't very eye pleasing.
For lunch special they start off with a serving of soup. I got the coconut soup, sweet and savory. So I got the pumpkin yellow tofu curry, super tasty! Maybe I was really hungry, but it was good. I loved it. Just enough food to keep me full until end of the day. My coworker got chicken pad thai. He said its really good, not too sweet and not too spicy. A well balanced savory dish. We'll definitely come back to try for more.

Yellow Pumpkin Curry with Tofu

B-
$$
vegetarian/vegan friendly, thai. Daily 11am-10pm
3500 SE Hawthorne Blvd. Portland, OR 97214

Opposable Thumb Gallery + Cafe

2008-11-17T14:04:00.000-08:00

Opposable Thumb is more of a cafe than a gallery. The place is split into two sections. One side with more crowded space like a cafe, a wall of blackboard written with the menu. Very very cute. (from the photo above) The other side of the cafe is spaced out with couches and magazines for you to read and chill. A lot of cute hipsters and indie locals come here to use the wifi and enjoying a cup of joe. The smoked tomato soup is really good. Not very sour but a bit spicy. The bread side is really soft and crunchy. The jicama salad is really good. I love it. Soft boiled with salt and vinegar. The cous cous salad is not bad. Definitely a bit too blend. $6 for both salad, $3 for a cup of soup. And its all vegan! Excellent! They also have bagel, pastry, coffee, and gelato!!!! Very nice.

Jicama Salad & Cous Cous Salad

Smoked Tomato Soup

A-
$
vegan, cafe, gallery, salad. Daily 9am-10pm (11pm on Friday/Saturday)
3312 SE Belmont St. Portland, OR 97214

Number 1 Bento (korean food cart)

2008-11-17T13:43:00.000-08:00

Oh Portland, I hope the food cart trend never goes away. I can't believe a Korean food cart just opened over the late summer. It started off as a corn cob bbq food stand, but I guess that didn't go way. So the Korean ladies that run it decided to run a korean bento food cart. Korean cuisine is usually meat based. Such as Kalbi (pork chop), Bugolgi (bbq beef rib), and of course, tofu. Bibimbop is basically a bowl of white rice, bedded with vegetables from spinach, mushroom, bean sprouts, and pickled relish and some tofu (usually served with meat). The lady who runs the cart is also really friendly. Everytime I eat there she always give me a generous serving of soup, or yam noodle salad, and sometimes hot tea. Bibimbop goes for $5.50 The most expensive item on the menu is $6. California rolls go for $4. Not too shabby. I just wish they have more vegetarian and vegan dishes aside from tofu.

PS: Most dishes come with a side of Kimchi.

Vegetarian Bibimbop

C+
$
Vegan/vegetarian friendly, korean, food cart. Weekly 11am-3pm
SW 10th and SW Alder St. Portland, OR 97205

Give Pizza A Chance

2008-11-12T21:44:00.000-08:00

All pizza is hand made on the spot with home ingredients. As a vegetarian, I love it, half of the menu is vegetarian! And few vegan options. There's a vegan calzone which I heard is very filling and tasty. The vegan eggplant pizza was too sour. I like their goat cheese with spinach pizza, so tasty!!!! The bbq tofu was pretty good too. Though my favourite part is the home made soda. I love and possibly addicted to their cucumber lime soda. It is probably the best soda I've ever had in years. And I don't drink soda, I haven't had coke or sprite since high school. $2 for a drink and $3-3.50 for a slice, not too shabby.
PS: I saw a French mom ordering the pizza with her son, and they were loving the mushroom cheese, it was so cute.

Cucumber Lime Soda

Vegan Eggplant Pizza

B-
$
Vegan friendly, pizza, food cart. Weekly 11am-3pm
SW 5th St & Stark St. Portland, OR 97202

Mini Vegan Fig Blueberry Walnut Pie (recipe)

2008-10-22T10:12:00.000-07:00

I was going through my LA Times news clipping of recipes from last year when I was still a college student, and there are so many recipes that are too good to be forgotten. I saw a recipe for a mix berry mini pie. I wanted to make it vegan, and I had to do something with my ripping figs in the fridge. So I took action. I played around the recipe and finally got it right the third time. Here's to share the discovery.

(makes 5 pies)

2 cups of unbleached white flour
1/2 cup of vegan shortening or Earth Balanced Margarine
1 tbsp of baking powder
1/2 cup of soy milk or rice milk
1/2 cup of brown sugar or cane sugar
1/4 cup of maple syrup or agave nectar
a dash of salt
1/3 cup of walnut pieces
1/3 cup of blueberry

about six to eight riped figs

In a bowl mix the flour, baking powder, and salt, mix it quickly. Then add vegan shortening or margarine in the bowl, mix it with the pastry cutter. Cut and mix until the shortening/margarine is brittled into the flour into little pebbles. Add the soy milk and stir until the pastry is soft and forms into a large dough (add more milk if the dough is too dry, if you add too much just add another 1/4 cup of flour). Once the dough is formed into a large sphere shape, wrap it with plastic wrapper and put it in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Heat up the oven at 350.F Degrees. Cut the figs into cross pieces. Get another bowl and mix the fruits, nuts, sugar, and syrup/nectar together. Mix it well until it becomes a tart jam. Take the dough out! Spread some flour on a clean platform, scoop a handfull of dough on the table and flatten it your hand or a clean glass bottle. Try to flatten the dough into a flat circular shape (about 0.5cm inch or less thick). Pour 1 tbsp of the jam mixture onto the center of the dough, fold the dough towards the center forming a sun shape, but leaving the jam revealed a bit in the center.

Spread some canola oil on the baking sheet, lay the pie on top and bake it for about 12-15 minutes. Check every 5 minutes to make sure you don't over bake it. Until the crust is baked golden brown.

PS: I should've post this earlier, now the fig season is about to be over.

S'Nice (NYC)

2008-10-16T11:55:00.000-07:00

This is one of my new favourite places to eat lunch in New York City. It is probably the big portion of the food and the cute environment. Who could complain? Maybe the small bathroom. The sesame chicken wrap is so delicious, large, cut in half, side salad, delicious! Really really good sesame sauce. I love it. The buffalo chicken wrap is alright, a bit too spicy, and would've better in a sandwich instead of wrap. The smoked tempeh wrap is clean, fresh, and deliciously stuffed with tomato and sprouts with spicy vegannaise. $8.75 each! CASH ONLY THOUGH. The mango and cider shake is good, what a great idea? apple cider with mango! Yum! And the vegan raspberry bunt cake is really good too. The $4 side of smoked garlic broccoli, really really amazing. I love vegetables! They steamed and baked it to perfection. Soft and crunchy. Their mate latte is probably the best I've ever had, and you get to use as much as agave nectar you want. Sugar high? without the fat.
The place is setup like a cafe with a lot of wooden crates, tables, brown stone, and a small patio in the back. A lot of cute indie vegan boys work there too, reminds me of portland.
REMEMBER, cash only. ENJOY!

Mango Cider Smoothie & Garlic Roasted Broccoli

Sesame Chicken Wrap

Spicy Avocado Tempeh Wrap

Buffalo Chicken Wrap

Mate Latte

A+
$
vegan, sandwich, salad, lunch, cafe. Daily 8am-10pm
45 8th Ave New York, NY 10014

Curly's Lunch (NYC)

2008-10-14T17:04:00.000-07:00

I actually met Curly and talked to him. He asked me about the Portland vegan scene too. The waitress was really cute, I think she was being "extra friendly" with me. The food is good! They have the best vegan cake in downtown Manhattan. Get the mango cake or the red velvet cake. I also got their salsa bowl, that was mighty delicious and hearty. My friend got the vegan buffalo chicken sandwich, very spicy and satisfying. Really tasted like chicken, to my memory. The soy meat in the Tostada is so GOOD! The curly fries are just delicious, and you can pick vegan or real cheese. I say.... real cheese, hahaha, fattier. Another friend got the vegan chicken sandwich, now that was probably the best. This is one of my favourite eatery in New York. So good!

Vegan Tostada

Buffalo Chicken Sandwich

Cheese Curly Fries

Mango Cake

A+
$
vegan, Mexican, American, diner.
328 E 14th St. (between 1st Ave & 2nd Ave) New York, NY 10003
www.curlyslunch.com

Tarallucci e Vino (NYC)

2008-10-14T16:40:00.000-07:00

So bring your fancy mom and dad, with their boat shoes and knitted swedish sweater, 'cause you are going to Tarallucci e Vino. This is one of those nice laid back cafe with the Hampton upper class feel. I went there with a friend and we just wanted something to hold us off until dinner. We got the cookie platter $7 with two mini chocolate truffle muffins, two pignoli cookies (which are probably the best we both ever had, it was so soft and chewy and the almond paste just burst in your mouth), and two chocolate covered macaroons. $3 for the expresso, and $4 for the americano. My friend who is a local tried to take a photo of the cookies for her blog... got whispered yelled at by the waiter, "sorry, no photos." Made me laughed but whatever.
PS: I heard dinner is good here too. But can be pricy.

Americano

Cookies

B+
$$
vegetarian friendly, dessert, tea, coffee, bar.
15 E 18th St. New York, NY 10079
www.taralluccievino.net

Lan Cafe (NYC)

2008-10-14T16:37:00.000-07:00

Stupid me, I didn't get the vegan pho. Somehow I scanned through the menu and completely forgot the soup/noodle section. My friend and I got the Seitan Lemongrass Vermicelli and the Seitan Ginger Casserole. The vermicelli is bedded with BBQ seitan and layers of bean sprouts and cilantro. Really good! Clean and fresh. $8.75 Though, the Seitan Ginger Casserole comes in a small portion in a clay oven pot and a side of white rice. The casserole sauce is so thick and spicy I had a hard time swallowing it down my stomach. The rice made it easier, but the rice bowl is tiny. It wasn't enough to mix with the sauce. Really tasty ginger sauce though. $9.75 Kinda expensive for the small meal. The place is also very small, run like a mom and pop's place... and I think mom is the chef and pop is the waiter. cute!

Lemongrass Grilled Soy Beef Vermicelli

Seitan Casserole

A-
$
vegan, Vietnamese.
342 E 6th Street New York, NY 10003

Clinton Street Bakery Company (NYC)

2008-10-14T15:57:00.000-07:00

This is a really cute place to eat brunch or lunch. I would say avoid the weekend 3 hour wait, and just get up early and go get breakfast. There's no wait on the weekdays. The bakery is famous for their pancakes, "wild maine blueberry pancakes". I thought they were pretty good, really fluffy, heavy and rich with butter and egg, but I wouldn't say they were amazing. $12 for three slices of pancakes, overpriced. Their biscuits, $2 each with home made rasberry jam, super good. Again, very fluffy, heavy and rich with egg and butter, also served warm. If you are in a hurry I recommend the blueberry muffins. They are so sweet almost tasted like a dessert. I still think the best blueberry pancakes or muffins or scones are from Portland, Oregon. Oregon known for its organic berry farms.
PS: Bring cash! No plastic.
Blueberry Muffin

Wild Maine Blueberry Pancakes

Scrambled Egg with Hash and Biscuit

Homemade Raspberry Jam

B-
$$
vegetarian friendly, breakfast/brunch, biscuit.
4 Clinton St (between Avenue B & Houston St) New York, NY 10002
www.clintonstreetbaking.com

Moxie RX

2008-09-27T21:52:00.001-07:00

After my previous two harsh reviews I think its safer for me to rate a brunch place. Now, Moxie RX, possibly the cutest food cart I've ever eaten at in the entire world. Hm... I might have said that about every other food cart in Portland. Moxie RX is in a super cute chromed trailer, surrounded by beautiful garden flowers and vegetation. Plenty of patio sitting for the nice outdoor. The two ladies who runs the cart are also super nice. They keep apologizing to me as they continue to tell me "we are out of that, and out of this..." I was sad but happy with Green and Egg. Its a medium bowl of salad with an egg (usually with lox hidden under it). Sprinkled with crystal salt, spices, grilled lemongrass, and mushroom. YUM!!!!!! The egg is fried, and I love how the york is spread all over the salad. Their juices are also very very good. Any of them is good! I won't be bias. I also recommend getting their little cookies and pastry goods. The only thing I remember is the Italian pine nut cookie. CRAZY GOOD! I haven't had such delicious pine nut cookie since Little Italy in Manhattan.
Their hours are really weird, so I would check them out in the morning. They did mention that they reduce their hour to weekends only once winter kicks in.

Green and Egg

B
$
vegetarian friendly, food cart, juice bar, salad.
N Mississippi Ave at N Shaver St. Portland, OR 97253
www.moxierx.com

Caffe Mingo

2008-09-27T21:51:00.001-07:00

I live in the area and I never find the interest to eat at Caffe Mingo. It just looks like a typical tourist playground. Though the new bar they opened up next door called Bar Mingo seems to have more potential. So I went here only 'cause a friend just moved into town, and she really likes Italian food. We already went to Justa Pasta, and I didn't want to drive (and she doesn't bike). Serrato is too expensive and Caffe Mingo is our next option. The menu is really extensive, from risotto to rigatoni, all sort of Italian dishes you can think of. I think they also had personal pizza. The salad seems to be interesting. The waiter brings a plate of bread with olive oil and olive. Great! So far so good. I told him I'm vegetarian and he instantly recommended the side entree noodle plate, which all range from $8-10. I asked if I can add vegetables, he said of course, some cherry tomatoes, broccoli, spinach, mushroom, and cheese. The noodle was okay, the portion is fair, steamy hot vegetables. A bit way too greasy for my taste bud. Guess how much it is? $18! It was $8 to get vegetables add on. I think it might have been $5 to add chicken. When did vegetables become more expensive than meat? My friend who was munching down a meat dish seems to like it a lot more than I did like the place. I guess Caffe Mingo is not a place for vegan or vegetarian.

Linguini Noodle with Vegetables

C-
$$
vegetarian option, Italian. Daily 5pm-10pm
807 NW 21st Ave. Portland, OR 97209
www.caffemingonw.com

Red and Black Cafe

2008-09-27T21:50:00.000-07:00

I always get confused by calling it Black and Red. The cafe is located right around the corner of the "mini-vegan" mall on SE 12th and SE Stark. It is in a large red house, with few patio sittings outside. Recently the owner planted vegetation on the sidewalk. I hope they don't serve the salad from that garden since there are constant coming traffic. Hm.... dust in my salad. Anyways, two things I had and always get is the Dragon Salad and the Dragon Noodle, both on the price range of $6-7. Which is cheap for enormous amount of food! I always share the noodle dish with a friend, the salad is probably bigger. Since I couldn't even finish half of it. The noodle bowl is simple yellow udon noodle with sesame oil, cilantro, peanut, peanut sauce, and some broccoli and tofu. Very simple and straight forward. A bit spicy. I wouldn't say its fantastic, it fills the stomach. The Dragon Salad is served on a giant plate, spread with cooked brown rice, greens, minced peanut, and olive oil/vinegar dressing. The dressing is very very thin, could use more! It tasted blend and boring. I keep stealing my boyfriend's peanut sauce from his noodle bowl to mix in with the salad. The people who works there are really nice and friendly. The cafe also serves up coffee and chai. I wish they have a juicer or smoothie or something!

Dragon Salad

Dragon Noodle

C
$
vegan/vegetarian, cafe, deli. Daily 8am-11pm
400 SE 12th Ave. Portland, OR 97214
www.redandblackcafe.com

Helser's on Alberta

2008-09-18T15:46:00.001-07:00

Helser's is a great example of fancy Portland brunch eating. Of course, a place like this good the line is super long. I would try to make it there at 9am before everyone else shows up. A even better news is that Helser's has the early bird special from 7am-9am, where everything is $4.50, about half price off from the regular menu. So! Helser's is famous for its homemade crumpets, options like Cheddar, blueberry, butter, ...etc. whatever is in season and in stock! You can take a pack home and make your own breakfast meal. Or else, stay at Helser's and have a delicious Egg Benedict, which is stacked with spinach, mushroom, egg, and Holliander sauce. Now, let me warn you, the dish comes with TWO of the wonder crumpet egg stack and a side of hashbrown. A lot for $8.25! The Crumpet Egg Sandwich is smaller, and my boyfriend had to exchange the bacon for vege sausage patty. Which the waitress happily made that change for him. Oh yeah, since Fig is in season so we got a bunch of them as a side. The side fruit is always available depend on what's locally in season. Like I said, this place is really popular so I would try to get there before 9am, the wait is about 20 minutes on the weekend. During the weekday it is not that busy.

Egg Benedict

Crumpet and Egg Sandwich

B+
$$
vegetarian option, breakfast/brunch, crumpet. Daily 7am-3pm
1538 NE Alberta St. Portland, OR 97211
www.helsersonalberta.com

Flavour Spot

2008-09-18T15:46:00.000-07:00

So Flavor Spot is probably one of the best cheap brunch destination in Portland. Its a simple waffle food cart. $4-5 can get you a waffle with some sort of fantastic filling. The sweet fillings are like Nutella, banana, peanut butter, whip cream, lemon curd, maple butter, strawberry, jam, ...etc. The savory fillings are bacon, sausages, vegetarian and vegan sausages. SO GOOD! My favourite would be the vegan sausage with maple butter wrapped with a tasty vegan waffle, that's about $5.50 The waffle spot also serve coffee, water, juice, ...etc. So just sit back on the patio and enjoy your breakfast.

PS: Even though the line can be long, but it is really fast service.
PSS: There are two spots in North Portland.

Vegan Sausage and Maple Butter

B
$
vegan friendly, waffles, breakfast, weekday 7am-3pm, weekend 8am-3pm
NE Fremont St & N Mississippi Ave
or 2310 N Lombard St. Portland, OR.
www.flavourspot.com

Van Hanh

2008-09-07T17:25:00.000-07:00

What do you get when you have a group of Buddhist nuns that can cook? A really really tasty cheap vegan restaurant. Everything here is very authentic peasant food. You will not find your typical Pho dish here. My friend who is Vietnamese, he claims that everything is very authentic, so are the dishes. The egg rolls are delicious. Its fried and filled with tofu, vermicelli, mushrooms, and vegetables. So delicious! $2.99 for four spring rolls. WOW! CHEAP! Moving on to the entrees. I highly recommend the bird nest chow mein with soy proteins and bok choy. YUM! I just love crispy noodles. Pretty much anything you get here is gonna be good. Everything is either vegetarian or vegan, just don't get anything that says "egg". My personal favourite is the fish tofu. Shredded tofu wrapped with seaweed, deep fried, how great is that??? The only downside I have with this place is the environment and the service. The nuns who are the cook and the waitress, are either neutral or unfriendly. They hardly ever smile at all or at anyone. The environment of the restaurant is in a house and smells really stale. If its a nice day I would sit outside and eat at the patio, facing the on coming traffic near the highway... not nice at all.

Vegan Fish Noodle Soup

Vegan Fish Tofu

B+
$
Vegan and vegetarian, Vietnamese, 11am-9pm
8446 SE Division St. Portland, OR 97255
www.vanhanhrestaurant.com

Julia's Russian Food Cart

2008-09-07T17:12:00.000-07:00

Okay, everyone, Russian food, very meaty and tasty. But every once in a while Julia, who runs the fantastic Russian food cart, she cooks up some tasty vegetarian treat. The one thing she has always available is the Potato Pirogi. Its flour wrapped potato, cheese, and butter. Aside from the Pirogi she makes the vegetarian cabbage roll every once in a while. Its rice with mushroom and paprika wrapped with cabbage, boiled to perfection with some tomato sauce and sour cream. YUM! It goes really well with some spicy sauce on the side. I just love it. Before I turn vegetarian I love Russian food. I just wish there are more vegan or vegetarian options.

Vegetarian Cabbage Roll

C-
$
vegetarian friendly, Russian, 11am - 2pm
SW 10th and SW Alder St. Portland, OR 97205

Vita Cafe

2008-08-10T23:36:00.000-07:00

Vita Cafe is one of the basic vegan only restaurants in the northeast Alberta district in Portland. Vita Cafe feels like a hippie run diner that serves your basic needs from vegan fried chicken to vegan mushroom strognoff. Though, nothing spectacular. The fried chicken is actually tempeh with golden crust that tasted alright. Its kinda missing the savory spicy kick. The mushroom strognoff is quite tasty, but still lack the herb or the spices. The fries are good, crispy! The vegan caesar salad tastes just like a real caesar salad. The dessert are also available from vegan fruit pies to vegan white cakes and chocolate mousse cake. I think they only bake the pies there. The cakes are from sweet pea and other local vegan pastry shops. All with a fair price from $4.50 to $5.50 I also have a problem with Vita... some of the waiters smell. Like they haven't taken a shower for two days. But this only happened once out of three trips. They also close early (10pm) for a diner based restaurant.

Vegan Fried Chicken

Vegan Caesar Salad

B+
$
vegan friendly, brunch/breakfast, 9am-10pm
3024 NE Alberta St. Portland, OR 97211
www.vita-cafe.com

Juniors Cafe

2008-08-10T23:19:00.000-07:00

Juniors Cafe probably has one of the best potato hash in town. The vegan potato hash is probably the best in the world for a vegan hash. Delicious! Crazy delicious. The spicy tofu sauce is just what you want on a weekend morning after a late night party. Along on top with mushroom, scallion, tomatoes, and delicious vegetables. Of course, I love egg so I asked eggs to go on top along with a side of toast (only $2 extra, wow!) The vegan hash dish is $7.99 A giant dish! I barely finished it. Also, try their vegan french toast, it is better than a real french toast.

Vegan Potato Hash

B+
$
vegan friendly, brunch/breakfast, 8am-2pm
1742 SE 12th Ave. Portland, OR 97214

The Farm Cafe

2008-08-04T10:22:00.000-07:00

I'll have to say, after a day hanging out at Mount Hood, this is a great place to dine to end the day. The Farm Cafe is located in a small house on the East Burnside. A tucked away romantic restaurant serves organic meat dishes and fantastic vegetarian and vegan dishes. A perfect place for a parent visit or a special date. Though the wait at The Farm is about 1 hour, but I think its totally worth it. Get the mushroom appetizer and the roasted garlic with bread, both delicious basic vegan dishes. The entrees are even better. The salads are mostly vegetarian and can be made vegan. There is always a vegan or vegetarian soup. The main dishes are where the action is. The vegetarian risotto is so good. Baked with vegetables from tomatoes to two types of cheese. The tofu marsala is fantastic, the only constant vegan dish. Soft fried tofu with marsala sauce and roasted mushrooms with herbs. The menu changes all the time, so keep an eye out for that dish of the week.

Vegetarian Risotto (special)

Goat Cheese Salad with caper dressing

A
$$
Vegan friendly, European, American, 5pm-11pm
10 SE 7th Ave. Portland, Oregon
www.thefarmcafe.net

PAPA G's

2008-08-04T10:02:00.000-07:00

The previous owner of Daily Grind organic grocery recently closed down his large vegan friendly market. Now he's moved to the SE Division area and opened up a small deli called PAPA G's. PAPA G's is setup like Veganopolis. Cafeteria styled salad bar with food by the pound or portion package. Everything is vegan! I would say the best thing of PAPA G's is the mushroom strongnoff and the mushroom gravy on spelt biscuit. They change the hot food all the time. Everything goes by pound unless you order the small and large meal. Small meal go with $5.99 for an entree with a side. Large meal go for $7.99 for two entree with a side. So get your BBQ tofu or curried kale and a side of rice or ginger gravy with biscuit. YUM!

Curried vegetables with mushroom strongnoff and mushroom gravy on spelt biscuit

A-
$
Vegan deli, salad bar, 11am-11pm
2314 SE Division in Portland, Oregon
www.pappags.com

The Sugar Cube

2008-07-15T13:59:00.000-07:00

The Sugar Cube just opened up two weeks ago and its been thriving as the new hip pastry cart stop in Portland. I personally love it. Its new, great baked goods, very cute looking, and a growing menu of cafe items. I've only tried two cupcakes so far. If you feel manly and macho, get the Guiness Stout Ginger Cupcake. Yeah, doesn't it sound great? 'cause it is! if you feel fruity, I suggest either the Rhubarb Coffee Cake or the yum yum Almond with lemon curd cupcake. Now, I don't think there's anything vegan yet... the cafe is new so maybe vegan stuff will start showing up if more people demand it. The owner Kristen Jensen is very nice and friendly. She won't bite you.

Cupcake in the making

Almond Cupcake with Lemon Curd & Cherry on top

A-
$
Dessert, Smoothie, Bakery, weekly 10am-3pm (not set yet)
901 SW Alder St. Portland, OR 97205
www.thesugarcubepdx.com

Samurai Bento

2008-07-15T13:50:00.000-07:00

As much as you would like to believe that vegetarianism and veganism is well accepted in asia because of Buddhism... well, that's a very different case in Japanese cuisine. I don't know how Japanese are all skinny. They eat so much fried meat with fried eggs on white rice. It might be the fact they eat moderately with tofu, soy based miso soup, and plenty of mushrooms. Anyways, Samurai Bento is a good cheap Japanese bento food cart located amongst the forest of other food carts on SW Alder St. There only two vegan dishes, Dogashi Tofu, Tofu Yakisoba, and the vegetarian corquette. I've only gotten the tofu yakisoba. It is stirfry on grill with vegetables, tofu, soy sauce, and topped with a fried egg and pink pickled ginger. It was only $6 ($5.50 a month ago!) Most of the Bento come with a fried egg on top. They also provide free hot tea. I wish they serve more vegetarian items than just grilled tofu.

Tofu Yakisoba

C
$
few vegan options, Japanese, weekday 11am-3pm
940 SW Alder St. Portland, OR 97205

Frozen Truck

2008-07-14T11:30:00.000-07:00

This place is really new. Its also really awesome 'cause its so easy to access. Its located on that huge intersection off Hawthorne Bridge, where you see a lot of cars and bikes fight for the road. A lot of hipster teens and young adults hang out after a good concert. The truck is located in the parking lot next to Tiny's Coffee. Most of the stuff in the menu is vegan. The frozen bananas (coconut or peanut) is vegan, each about $1.50. Milkshakes are vegan and non-vegan. Depends on the ice cream you want to have. Vegan is about $4.50, non vegan is about $3.75 The vegan sundae is $3.75 WOW! Pretty cheap for dessert food stand. I love how Portland is filled with great food carts. And look at its opening times. Eek! Perfect timing when you are done clubbing or concert going or just biking on a hot night. I know I am digging it!
PS: Did I mention most of the fruits are fresh and not caned!

Frozen Banana & Blackberry Milkshake

B
$
mostly vegan, dessert, ice cream, Monday Closed, Weekday 5pm-12am, Weekend 2pm-3am
SE 11th Ave & SE Hawthorne Portland, OR, 97214

Nicolas Lebanese

2008-07-05T21:37:00.000-07:00

I love Lebanese food, or middle eastern food in general. This place is probably one of the best in town. After my arrival from a flight, my boyfriend took me there and we ate really happily. We just love the majora and the vegan mezza plate. It comes with a large flat bread (if there are more than four of you), three falafel, hummus, tamari, Israel couscous, and two sides. The vegan mezza you get majora and chickpea. The vegetarian mezza you get spinach pie. Bring cash! They don't take plastic or checks. The spinach pie is also unbelievable. The rice pudding is amazing too, so save some room for that! The owner is really friendly, I think she's Greek, but I'm not sure, she's just really really REALLY friendly.
Vegan Mezza

Majora

Large Flat Bread

B+
$$
vegan friendly, Lebanese, daily 11am - 9pm
318 SE Grand Ave. Portland, OR.

Jam on Hawthorne

2008-07-05T21:14:00.000-07:00

I can't repeat this again and again, but I love and love and LOVE JAM ON HAWTHORNE. It is definitely my favourite brunch place in Portland, OR. It is not everyone's favourite but it is my favourite. It is a very vegan friendly restaurant. All of the servers are super friendly. I think some of them are vegan themselves. There are few meat dishes such as apple smoked bacons. They also have their famous vegetarian gravy on biscuit. YUM! They also make the best hashbrown. The hashbrown is shaved in the restaurant, so it is not defrosted store bought potatoes. I highly recommend the vegan blueberry chai spelt pancakes, yes, blueberry with chai tea. It is really really delicious! Please get it, kinda expensive, $3.50 for one pancake. But it is very filling, it is spelt, and it is delicious. Trust me. They run out too! I usually get the Loaded Bowl, which is vegetarian gravy on hashbrown and red onion with scallion. Sometimes I request soyrizo, and it is delicious! They are one of the few places in Portland that has soyrizo. Let's not forget their amazing drink menu. My friends and I love their mimosa. But don't skip on the sangria or their morning cocktails. C'est tres bien!

Huckleberry Sangria and Mimosa

Loaded Bowl

Breakfast Tofu Burrito

A
$$
vegan friendly, brunch, daily 7am - 3pm (summer open until 9pm)
2239 SE Hawthorne Blvd. Portland, OR, 97214

Choza's Peruvian Food

2008-07-02T09:53:00.000-07:00

Okay everyone. I don't understand how the Lonely Planet would rate this place one of the best eatery in Portland. Yakes! Choza's Peruvian Food Cart isn't bad but it isn't that great. The food cart is run by two friendly Peruvian couple. The food is freshly stir fried with fresh vegetables. The sauce that you get to pour on the dish is not bad either. There are two vegetarian/vegan options, rice or noodle dish. I recommend the rice dish. The noodle dish tasted like spaghetti with chinese fried rice toppings. There are only total of 7 dishes to choose from. All ranging from $5.50 to $6. Pretty cheap lunch eat! But I do remember Peruvian food being more than just chow mein alike dishes.

Vegetarian Noodle

C
$
vegan friendly, Peruvian, weekly 11-3pm
SW 9th and Alder Parking Lot, Portland, OR.

Get Real Cafe (Toronto, Canada)

2008-07-01T15:05:00.000-07:00

On my trip home in Toronto, Canada. I realized that Toronto isn't exactly a good vegan city but a very good vegetarian city. There are plenty of Chinese and Indian vegan and vegetarian friendly restaurants, but not enough vegan innovative restaurants. So it is pretty much like Vancouver. Anyways, there are three restaurants I would recommend. Fresh is a vegan chain restaurant in Toronto with three locations. Delicious bowls and juice bars but very expensive ($12 for a bowl!? $6 for a small 12oz juice, yakes.) Another is Fressen, a very romantic higher class vegan restaurant. Another one I found is called Get Real Cafe. It is located on Ossington & Queen St. West... the newest hot place to be. Like the growing neighborhood on Belmont or Mississippi. Get Real Cafe has a weekend brunch menu so I had to hit the spot before the pride festival. Anything is good on the brunch menu. Vegan waffles, tofu scrambles, and you can check out the salad and dessert in the glass case. Very tempting! They have the best vegan cheesecake on this continent or in the world. It is also well priced for the amount of food you get.
Egg Omelet with Cheese & Potato (not vegan)

Spanish Tofu Scramble

Vegan Vanilla Cheesecake

They also have a really cute patio in the back. When you are done you can also check out the local boutiques across the street. Really cute neighborhood!

B+
$$
vegan mostly, brunch, salad bar, weekly 11-7pm, weekend 10-4pm
135 Ossington Ave. Toronto, ON, M6J 2Z6 Canada
www.getrealcafe.com

Fratelli

2008-06-18T15:24:00.000-07:00

What a great place in the pearl. The pasta here is really good. I totally love their small entrees. I've had their three basic vegetarian and vegan friendly tapa sized entrees. The cilantro olive sauce with the kidney beans are delicious. Really light and soft. I also love their farro with chutney currants and crumbled cheese. Their pizza is also delicious. Very well sized for reasonable price. The interior is lit romantic and professional. It is a great place for a nice date or a friendly gathering. The service is very attentive and friendly. I would love to try the wine there sometime. There are very few vegan options, but plenty of vegetarian friendly dishes. Plenty!

Dry cheese with Chutney Currant and Farro

Kidney Beans with Cilantro Sauce

C
$$
vegetarian friendly, Italian, Sun-Thurs 5pm-9pm Fri-Sat 5pm-10pm
1230 NW Hoyt St. Portland, OR 97209
www.fratellicucina.com

Cornmeal Blueberry Banana Pancakes

2008-06-02T15:38:00.000-07:00

I came up with this recipe when I have to make something for a gluten/wheat free friend. In a food processor or a bowl and mix the rice flour, cornmeal, salt, and baking powder until all the flours are mixed together. Add the rice milk and banana, canola oil, and vanilla extract and mix it until the mixture is gooey and sticky. Drop the blueberries into the mixture and mix it softly without breaking the berry. Spread another tbsp of canola oil on the pan. To keep the pancake fluffy you have to make sure to cook under a medium or low heat. Flip the pancake once the other side is golden brown. Once both side is golden brown then you are good to go! Serve it with some organic maple syrup.

(serves four)
2 cups of rice flour
1 cup of cornmeal
1/2 cup of blueberry
1 tsp of canola oil
1 tbsp of baking powder
1 rip banana
1 cup of rice milk
1 tsp of vanilla extract

hint of salt

Chaos Cafe and Parlor

2008-06-02T11:46:00.000-07:00

I finally tried this place on SE Powell. Its really out of the way for me since I live in the northwest and I bike my way around. Chao Cafe is really small and gives that san francisco hippy vibe that contracts with the Portland hipster vibe. I have to say the menu isn't very distinctive and unique. You've got the basic sandwiches, salad, soup, rice bowls, and breakfast egg meals. What I love though is the food. They taste really good! Really fresh and satisfying. The portions are quite small compare to your local Denny's...disgusting Denny's. I like how its small so i don't feel guilty that I can't finish the food. Their vegan broccoli cream soup is probably the best broccoli cream soup I've ever had. It beats all the non-vegan soup as well. So good! They also have delicious whole wheat spelt bread, which I'm not sure if they baked it themselves. It taste really soft and spongy. Almost like eating a cake. I crave it all the time now. Is it Dave's bread??? Or some sort of gluten free thing?

soy latte

Vegan Cream of Broccoli Soup

Chips and Salsa

vegetarian omelet

B+
$
vegan friendly, diner, cafe, daily 9am - 10pm, sunday 9am - 3pm
2620 SE Powell Blvd. Portland, OR 97202
www.chaoscafeandparlor.com

Veganopolis

2008-06-02T11:30:00.000-07:00

This is perhaps one of my favourite lunch place in Portland. The lunch/brunch buffet changes everyday. The wide selections of sandwiches and deli goods are worth the try. I had the salami sandwich, the seitan ham soup is delicious, and not to mention they have the raw salad. They also bake their own dessert. You have to try the chocolate chip spelt cookie. The best of all! They also bake pies, which I have yet to try. A lot of chocolate cakes and white cakes to choose from. The white carrot cake tastes just like a real non-vegan cake... and BETTER. Less fat and more complex carb. The biggest downer about this place is the hour. It closes too early and no fat chance for people who works all day. I have to take a long lunch to eat there.

Vegan Ice Cream Root Beer

Chunky Tomato Soup

Lavender Lemonade

Lunch Buffet (Steamed broccoli, gravy on biscuit, mac and cheese)

B+
$$
100% vegan, cafe, dessert. Closed Sunday, daily 9:30am-5pm
412 SW Fourth Ave. Portland, OR. 97204
www.veganopolis.com

la madelaine bistro (LA, CA)

2008-05-17T17:30:00.000-07:00

what a delightful place to have a nice romantic gourmet vegan french dinner. La madelaine bistro offers organic, vegan exquisite dishes with the best ingredients. The restaurant in L.A, is hidden with its black exterior and the glow of the candle light from the inside, la madelaine offers lunch and dinner and brunch on the weekend. They have a great selection of french and california wines, and the white tablecloth tables are a beautiful settup for a delightful dinner. the appetizers are exquisite the shitake mushrooms potstickers is a great dish to share (shown on the picture) then we've got a delicious artichoke fettucini pasta for one of the main courses, very filling but delicious flavor. Or if you want a home style cooked meal I would suggest the fried chicken style seitan with gravy and mushed potatoes.
Now the desserts I suggest that you get everything in the menu and you share with everyone if you want to experience the best of the best in vegan gourmet sweets. The illustrated picture is the chocolate warm souffle with soy ice cream on the side, is amazingly fluffy and mouth watering, to a perfection, they do have creme brulee (delightful) and sometimes they offer crepes.
the service is not that great although I got to say that the owners and the chef do now how to make it the best possible experience with the best flavors and exquisite gourmet art of French vegan cuisine
I give this restaurant an A-

A-
$$$
Madeleine Bistro
8621 Ventura Blvd. (West of Reseda Blvd.) Tarzana, CA 91356
www.madeleinebistro.com

Jhanjay Vegeterian Thai (Seattle)

2008-05-07T15:27:00.000-07:00

This is some place! It is probably the most delicious vegetarian/vegan thai food I've ever had on the pacific northwest, yes, beats Portland's Vege Thai! First of all, the place is really cute and nice. I love the atmosphere, candle lighted with modern metal walls and wooden panels. Second, the service is really good, very friendly and attentive. Third, the food is wonderful. The chefs are just right there cooking up great noodle dishes and curry meals. I can smell the food from the outside. I got the Jhanjay noodle special, and it is vegetables with tofu wrapped with thin rice noodle. So it looks like a bundle of large dumpling with vegetables. Add some chili sauce on top, YUM! I'm also very happy with the dessert. The mango sticky rice is so good. WOW! I'm glad Wayward Cafe was closed and I went here.
The only issue I have with this place is sometimes they close early. Like on Sunday they close at 7pm! ack!

Complimentary Celery & Carrot Sticks

Onion Cake

Phad Ka Prau

Jhanjay Noodles

Sweet Sticky Rice with Mango

A
$$
vegan/vegetarian, Thai, daily 11am - 7pm.
1718 N 45th St. Seattle, WA.
www.jhanjay.com

Belgium Fries (Vancouver, BC)

2008-05-07T15:14:00.000-07:00

Poutines! A French Canadian tradition. Veggie gravy with cheese curd on top of fries. If you are vegan, you can get the vegan hot dog or the burger or fries... sadly they don't have vegan cheese curd... which I'm not even sure if such thing exists. If so that would be awesome! Though this is the best place to get poutine of Vancouver. There is no poutine in Portland, Seattle, or even LA. It is after all Canadian!
Poutine

D+
$
vegan friendly, fast food, daily 11am - 8pm.
1885 Commercial Drive. Vancouver, BC. Canada

Foundation Lounge (Vancouver, BC)

2008-05-07T15:03:00.000-07:00

FUN! Foundation Lounge FUN! Remember Swingers in LA? Bye and Bye in Portland? Or even... the lower east side in NYC? Yes! Vegan friendly bars! I love it! I love alcohol and I love it when vegan and vegetarian eats are available. This is great! So my boyfriend and I got the nachos (not vegan!), huge, only $8 with guacamole. The peanut sauce with tofu on pasta is vegan, and that's $6.50 Without a doubt there are tons of more pastas and sandwiches that were vegan. But I hear the peanut sauce is the best. This is a perfect place to eat cheap, socialize, hang out after a good concert. The only problem I have is the atmosphere. It is a bit too grungy. There is hardly any lighting, just candle lights... and it feels like a refuge camp. But yeah, the food is good and cheap. AND vegan friendly!
Nacho Chips

Tofu Peanut Sauce Pasta

B-
$
vegan friendly, Mexican, deli, bar, daily 4pm - 2am
1105 Commercial Drive. Vancouver, BC. Canada

Sweet Cherubim Natural Food Stores & Restaurant (Vancouver)

2008-05-07T14:47:00.000-07:00

Okay, 99% vegan and 100% vegetarian. EEK! What does that mean? Are there 100 dishes with only one dish that has cheese? What's going on? Anyways, this is what I'm talking about Vancouver... most of the vegan restaurants are either Indian or Chinese. There isn't much to pick from. However, not that Indian or Chinese food doesn't taste good, I love a nice plate of curry but I don't want that to be my only option. So Sweet Cherubim is a natural food store and a restaurant (deli style). So you can shop for some Indian spices and then eat some Indian styled burger... vegan too! The food is alright, kinda expensive, about $8 or $9 for a meal. Though each dish is big. My friend got the Samosa, burger, and the wrap, delicious! According to my friends, who are not vegan or vegetarian.
Spinach Curry (with cheese), vegan meatball, brown rice, Nan cracker

Vegan Burger

Vegan Wrap

Vegan Samosa

C+
$
vegan 99%, Indian, sandwich, daily 10am - 8pm.
1105 Commercial Drive. Vancouver, BC. Canada
www.sweetcherubim.com

Gorilla Raw (Vancouver, BC)

2008-05-05T11:55:00.000-07:00

Good morning Vancouver! Gorilla Raw is probably the only raw place in Vancouver. Its pretty cheap too, not expensive. It is located in a window to go stall right in downtown, surrounded by many coffee cafes. Gorilla Raw serves raw drinks, smoothies, food, cookies, and cakes. The Raw Burger is really tasty. According to my boyfriend it taste a lot like foie gras. I just thought it tasted really good. It had a lot of pickled squash slices, onion, tomatoes, and the patty is made of sprouted grain and some other spices that I don't know. There is no dough bread but cabbage. The Raw Falafel is made of sprouted grains and raw nuts. The cashew cream and the cilantro cream adds some texture to the whole thing. The salsa on top is another nice touch to the texture and flavor. This is probably the best vegan eat in Vancouver. Sadly, most of the vegan and vegetarian restaurants in Vancouver is either a Chinese take out or an Indian restaurant. There aren't many non-asian or creative vegan cuisine, compare to Portland or New York City. But Gorilla Raw is a gem in Vancity.

Raw Burger

Raw Falafel

B-
$
vegan 100%, sandwich, daily noon - 6pm.
101-422 Richards Street. Vancouver, BC. Canada

Chaco Canyon Cafe (Seattle)

2008-05-05T11:39:00.000-07:00

Chaco is tugged away in the University District near the University of Washington. It is also surrounded by many vegan friendly restaurants. We decided to stop by Chaco Canyon Cafe for a quick bite on our trip to Vancouver, BC. Chaco Canyon is a cute little cafe with all vegan and raw food. They have a wide selection of soup, dessert, and sandwiches. The grilled vegan cheese and veggie chili is quite spicy. The vegan cheese is obviously store bought. The tunaless melt sandwich is toasted with alfafa bean sprouts, tomatoes, vegan cheese spices, cucumbers, and this mock tuna salad. It didn't taste that good. I've never had mock tuna salad, and I wonder if it is always so greasy. Most of their sandwiches are about $8 or more. I think that's a bit expensive for such small sandwich alone, without any drink or chips or even a pickle. Kinda lame.

Grilled Vegan Cheese and Veggie Chili

Tunaless Melt Sandwich

C
$
vegan 100%, sandwich, daily 7am - 9pm.
4757 12th Ave NE. Seattle, WA.
www.chacocanyoncafe.com

Broccoli Corn Chowder

2008-04-30T23:46:00.000-07:00

This is an altered recipe I came up with from a cookbook on a vegan corn stew. The texture of the chowder does taste like a non-vegan traditional corn chowder but without the milk and butter. Instead of using milk I replaced it with coconut oil and milk. I also replaced the butter with vegan Earth Balance butter substitute (solid sun flower seed). This soup is best served warm or hot on a cold raining night.

(serves four)

1 tsp of salt
1 tsp of pepper
1 tbsp of vegan Earth Balance butter
1/4 clove of minced garlic
1 tbsp of minced ginger
1 clove of minced shallot
1 yellow onion sliced
2 cup of broccoli (without the stem)
3 cup of frozen corn
1/2 red pepper sliced
1 can of coconut milk
1 tbsp of coconut oil
1 stem of lemongrass
2 tbsp of corn starch

a few cilantro for seasoning

In a medium heated soup pot melt the Earth Balanced vegan butter, then add the garlic, shallot and ginger. Meanwhile clean the lemongrass by getting rid of the exterior skin and sliced the middle stem with a sharp small knife. When everything starts to sizzle you add the sliced onion and red pepper and lemongrass. At this point the butter should be drying out, add the coconut oil to melt. Turn the heat to medium-high, add the coconut milk, frozen corn, and broccoli. Once the soup starts to boil, add the salt and pepper, then turn the heat down to low. Add the corn starch and stir to turn the soup into a gooey texture like a thick chowder or stew. Now you are ready to eat! Add some cilantro or basil for seasoning.

?Por Que No? (Mexican)

2008-04-30T23:38:00.000-07:00

What can I say? This is probably the best mexican restaurant in all Portland. You know why? They don't serve cheese on tacos or enchilada or the tamale. You know why? Because that's the true Mexican cooking. If you've ever been to Mexico, they don't eat cheese... hardly. The only few things that have cheese in them is the Quesadilla... and I'm not even sure if that's Mexican. Anyways, there are so many great vegan options in this place. Definitely get the Taco Verduras, delicious roasted vegetables with beans, rice, salsa, and cilantro with a hint of lemon juice. I love their Bryan's Bowl, a vegan bowl consist of beans, rice, goat cheese, scoop of guacamole, plenty of vegetables and cilantro with spicy salsa sauce. All served with a side of chips or tortilla bread. My boyfriend got the Two Vegetarian Tamale, which is roasted with banana leaves. It also comes with a side of bean and salsa. I don't know why I love their Quesadilla with Jack cheese but I just do, but no vegan option for this dish. They also have a pretty wide selections of house sauce and salsa in the back for self serve.

House Pickled Carrot

Two Tamales

Cheese Quesdilla

Bryan's Bowl

B+
$
vegan friendly, Mexican, daily 11am - 9:30pm, weekend brunch starts 9am.
3524 N. Mississippi Avenue, Portland, OR.

Spelt Blueberry Pancake (recipe)

2008-04-29T11:03:00.000-07:00

I do this Saturday morning brunch about twice a month at my studio apartment. Everything is vegan! One of my signature recipe is spelt blueberry pancake.

(serves four)
1 tbsp of canola oil
2 cups of spelt flour
1 cup of wheat flour (or brown rice flour)
1 tbsp of flax seed meal
1/2 cup of frozen blueberry
1 tsp of baking soda
1 ripe banana (or 1/2 cup of apple sauce)
1&1/4 cup of rice or almond milk

1 tsp of salt

Blend the spelt flour, wheat flour, salt, baking soda and flax seed meal in the food processor. Then pour in the rice milk, blend in the food processor until its gooey but still very water down. Slice the bananas and add them into the mix and then blend again until the bananas are all melted (or small chunks). Then add the frozen blueberry and mix it with a spoon without breaking the blueberry. Heat up the frying pan with the olive oil on MEDIUM. Drop the pancake mix on the pan and let it simmer for about 5 minute. The pancake will form into a golden brown color, flip again to cook the other side for another 5 minute. You are done! Eat well with organic maple syrup.

Genies

2008-04-28T22:59:00.000-07:00

Just another brunch place to chat about! Genies. Its right on the corner of Division and SE 11st. Its sort of the beginning of the Division St. neighborhood, where plenty of vegan joints are located like PAPA G's and Dots Cafe that's on Clinton St., just two blocks south. I wouldn't say Genies is a great place for vegans, but the owner was super cool. He asked my vegan friend suggestions on how to make vegan pancakes and vegan scramble, better. One really great thing about Genies is that they have a juicer. So all the juice they serve up are fresh and EXPENSIVE. It must have taken 7 oranges to make one pint of orange juice. EEK! I love their weekend specials like the Huckleberry pancakes. Its really fluffy with delicious huckelberries hidden inside. YUM! I also recommend the veggie gravy with biscuit. My boyfriend got that and he ate like a king. He was really happy to get it. Not to mention it also came with a side of country fried potato. $8 for that? Pretty sweet!

Huckelberry Pancake

Veggie Gravy & Biscuit

C+
$
cafe, brunch, daily 8am - 3pm
1109 SE Division St. Portland, OR.
www.geniescafepdx.com

Dove Vivi (cormeal pizza)

2008-04-28T22:58:00.001-07:00

This is probably why I love Portland. Cornmeal Pizza! WHAT THE FUCK!? How awesome is that???? Dove Vivi serves up pizza pies and all their crusts are made with homemade cornmeal dough. The slice is thick and smaller than usual pizza. The cornmeal crust is really filling and taste a lot more like cake dough. I love it. Its a fast growing popular place. When we got there at 8pm on a Friday night the wait was about 40 minute. Kinda sucks but hey, I thought it was worth it. I would definitely get there a bit earlier so you won't have to wait. They have two vegan pizza choices. The Della Salute is basically a vegan pizza without cheese, filled with eggplants, tomato sauce, mushroom, green peppers, and caramelized onion. Sounds good huh? I got the Corn Cashew cheese with red pepper and caramelized onion. I spread some nutritious yeast and chili powder on top to give it a spice. It is a bit blend without the spice. Though still awesome. I wish I know how to make a cornmeal pizza crust. It can't be hard! Right? Each slice is $3.75, but you can get a half pie for $10, which is enough for two.
Eggplant Blue Cheese Pizza & Corn Cashew Vegan Pizza

B
$$
vegan friendly, pizza, Tue-Thur 4-10pm, Fri-Sun 11-10pm, close monday
2727 NE Glisan St. Portland, OR.
www.dovevivipizza.com

Bewon (Korean)

2008-04-28T22:34:00.000-07:00

Portland is not exactly the ethnic diverse city like New York City or LA, but surprisingly an awesome korean restaurant exist. Bewon is not just awesome it is also vegan friendly. That's not rare for Korean cuisine, there's a famous vegan Korean restaurant in Manhattan (Haigaw). The great thing about Korean restaurants is the free appetizers. They are sort of like little tapa dishes that comes before your meal. Its a great way to keep the socialization going in between meals. I would ask the waiter if the kimchi is vegan, sometimes it is but sometimes it might have soaked in shrimp sauce. But the pickled relish, sweet potato, boiled spinach and bean sprout are all vegan. I know that during dinner hour the dishes are a bit more different. Also, get their hot tea for the cold weather. There are only few vegan dishes in the menu. Definitely get the Bibimbap, which is a vegetarian rice bowl with mushroom, boiled and pickled greens, relish, bean sprout, soysauce, and chili spices. The waiter will ask you if you want to add an egg, if you aren't vegan, GET THE EGG! It won't cost you extra $. I love and adore their Chigei, which also means stew or hot pot. The tofu bean paste chigei is to die for. It is filled with mushroom, vegetables, tofu, and that great simmer smell of bean paste and korean chili spices.
Also, did I mention Bewon is a nice restaurant, a great place to take your parents or a romantic date.

House Appetizers

Tofu Chigei (Soybean Tofu Stew)

B-
$$
vegan friendly, korean, daily 5pm - 9pm (no lunch during summer)
1203 NW 23rd Ave, Portland, OR.
www.bewonrestaurant.com

Thai Herbs

2008-04-28T22:25:00.000-07:00

Thai Herbs is cheap and good. There are so many thai food stands in Portland that this one hardly stands out. I discovered it by accident since I wanted Thai curry and this was the only cart that didn't have a line. I got the daily special, Mango Red Curry with tofu and vegetables on rice. $5, and you get a drink for free! What a deal! The curry is pretty good too. The mango chunks gives a sweet flavor to the curry. Something I've never had before.
The surprising part about Thai Herbs is that the chef in the back cooks the curry on order. I literally watched him cook my curry, though it did take a bit longer. Thank goodness there is no line! They also have a limited selection of thai dishes, since they do cook on order.
Mango Red Curry with Tofu

C+
$
vegan friendly, food stand, weekly 11am - 2pm
SW 9th and Alder Parking Lot, Portland, OR.

Crush Bar (Weekend Brunch, gay bar)

2008-04-23T23:39:00.001-07:00

I love Crush Bar not because there are cute guys there, but the awesome vegan option food! And of course, the fuck'n cute DJ boys. Every weekend the Crush Bar does morning brunch. They have plenty of vegan fare and options. Everything from tofu scramble to vegan gravy with biscuit. Yum yum! Portland is probably the brunch central of America. I've never lived or been to a city that is filled with awesome brunch places. And the best part is ... most of them are vegan friendly or vegan 100%! Another great thing about Crush bar is the unlimited corn bread and toast, with jam and butter of course. Though, everything else is a bit more expensive than most brunch places. My boyfriend and I got the Enchilada Scramble, which is a fairly large plate with country fried Potatoes and a small bowl of peppered ginger apple salad. Its too bad the coffee isn't free, its $2. I also recommend the mimosa. Don't worry if Crush is a gay bar, its a really straight friendly place. And during brunch the bar turns into a clean cut breakfast hang out. Usually it functions as a high end lounge at night. So bring your parents or family, children are welcomed!

Enchilada Scramble with Country Fried Potatoes

A-
$
vegan friendly, gay bar, weekend brunch 9am - 3pm, daily 6pm - 2am
1400 SE Morrison St. Portland, OR.
www.crushbar.com

Pho Green Papaya (Vietnamese)

2008-04-23T23:23:00.000-07:00

If you are looking for cheap eats in Portland, I highly recommend Pho Green Papaya. Their lunch special is a killer cheap eat out. $6 for a large vegan pho with tofu, string beans, tube mushrooms, and scallions. Its so big that I hardly could finish it. I love pho and I'm super lucky to live in Portland where vegan pho is not hard to find. Almost every pho place in Portland downtown region has a vegan option. Though I don't know how they make vegan pho broth, 'cause the broth is made from oxtail. They also have many other vegan plates. There is the vegetarian/vegan spring roll. Deep fried to perfection. Its got string sliced woodear mushroom, bamboo shoots, cabbage and tofu. Its $1 per spring roll. The restaurant environment is not much of a place for romantic dining. It feels a bit like a shack or hole in the wall with caged up windows. There are more outdoor seatings than indoor seatings. The place is usually packed during lunchtime filled with local office white collar workers.

Vegan Pho Noodle Soup

Vegetarian Springroll

B
$
vegan friendly, Vietnamese, weekly 11am - 9pm.
402 SE Martin Luther King Blvd. Portland, OR.

Tita's Pista (Filipino)

2008-04-16T18:05:00.000-07:00

When it comes down to good old fashion cooking I prefer authentic peasant food. I just never thought a Filipino food cart in the N. Mississippi area would be the place. Tita's Pista is ran by a hipster Filipino girl named Julia. She's really cool and good at cooking good old fashion Filipino food. And vegans, VEGANS!!! You won't have to worry about pork or chicken or any meat product. There are so many vegan options! Check out the vegan lumpia! Its a spring roll compacted with vegetables, soy meats, noodles, spices and deep fried. The Adobe Soy Chicken with rice is to die for! I just love it how it is savory with bay leaf and vinegar. I also highly recommend the almond pudding with coconut shaves. That is a dessert to treat yourself on a nice hot day. If its your first time, I recommend the $9 lunch meal, two lumpia + pancit (noodle) + a drink and its large portion! Julia is such a cool girl she will compromise things for you if you want to try little bit of everything.

Lumpia on Pancit and Adobo Chicken with rice

B+
$
vegan friendly, Filipino, food cart, Tues-Sat: 12-2pm (this is winter hour, summer is longer)
4057 N Mississippi Ave, Portland, OR.

Flying Apron Bakery (Seattle)

2008-04-16T00:26:00.000-07:00

When I started this blog I thought I will never give an A+ to any place, but Flying Apron Bakery beat me to it. This is probably one of the best vegan bakery I've ever been to in my life. Its too bad it is in Seattle and I live in Portland. But I make sure every time I travel by or to Seattle I will stop by Flying Apron and get a baked good. Its soooo good. Everything here is amazing! Let's not talk about how its just a cookie or cupcake place. They have everything from vegan vegetable pot pie to curried kale salad. Its in the Fremont district, so I love how its surrounded by cute vintage shops. The cafe is very nice and build with nice dark wood. The whole place just feel like a beautiful French bakery. I love it when they bring out the fresh baked goods in the morning. You can see the steam covering up the glass wall. Oh man... so the cinnamon roll, really delicious! The chai cupcakes? WOW! WOWWWWW!!! VEGAN!?!?!? WHEAT FREE??? WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!! If you ever visit Seattle, I'm telling you, whether you are a vegan or not, just go and try it. Its amazing!
Chai Cupcake

Cinnamon Roll

A+
$$
vegan, wheat/gluten-free, bakery, M-Th: 7am-7pm Fri & Sat: 7am – 9pm Sun: 8am-6pm.
4761 Brooklyn Ave NE. Seattle, WA
www.flyingapron.net

Daily Cafe

2008-04-15T00:35:00.000-07:00

To the right of the PNCA and left to the new extension of the Pearl there you will find the very popular Daily Cafe. The cafe has high ceiling, wide space, plenty of tables but always full. I hate to complain about people who lives in the Pearl or loves the Pearl, but everytime I go there the people aren't very nice. The service and the waitresses are superb! But the people who eats there are really pretentious. Twice, my friend and I got there during the lunch rush hour. We couldn't find a table for ourselves so we asked another couple if we can share a four people table, they act very reluctant and upset. As if we put them on the spot and they have no choice but to share a table with us. My friends and I dress very cute and nice, it's not like we dress like hobos. Pisses me off. Back to food... the Daily Cafe offers few vegan and vegetarian options. Usually the soup has a vegan or vegetarian option. This time I got the vegan curry lentil soup, which is alright, nothing special. Just green lentil curry with some chickpeas. The half sandwich with roasted vegetable has cheese, so its not vegan. But they are very friendly in accommodating for the vegans (an art school is next door, plenty of vegan art students). The sandwich is alright, I wouldn't say fantastically delicious. So the half sandwich and soup is the toujour special, $6.95 Soup is usually $3.75 and the salad is usually $5 to $7. Parking can be an ass so taking the street car wouldn't hurt (which is... on the same corner block).
Vegan Curry Lentil Soup

Hummus Roasted Vegetable Cheese Sandwich

C
$
American, bakery, restaurant. Weekly 7am-5pm, Weekend 9am-2pm
902 NW 13th Ave and Kearney St
www.dailycafe.net

India Chaat House (food cart)

2008-04-15T00:16:00.000-07:00

What can I say about an all vegan and vegetarian Indian food stand? I love it! India Chaat House is quite popular amongst the Portlanders. The portion is big and cheap. The lunch special is $5.50, it comes with two Naans, balsamti rice, lentil curry, and chickapea curry. Deliciously cheap and almost for two. They also have tons of curry to choose from. Though I haven't try them yet. All range from $5 to $7. The appetizer, Pakora, deep fried potato and onion balls. It tastes so good with the sweet sauce. I also love their vegan mango lassi, which is traditionally a yogurt drink. For a colder day you might want to get the hot sweet chai latte (soymilk for the vegans). The drinks range from $2.00 to $2.50 The food cart has a canopy for the raining day, along with two small picnic tables for the really hungry customers.
Naan

Lunch Special

B
$
food stand, weekly 11am-3pm
Downtown at SW 12th and Morrison, Portland, OR.

Flore, A hip vegan restaurant in Silverlake,CA

2008-04-15T00:13:00.000-07:00

3818 W. Sunset Blvd. - Los Angeles (Silver Lake) opens from 10am to 10 pm
What a great place for breakfast or dinner! and in a really hip part of the city, if you happen to be here in LA, you got to make a stop at Flore. The food is great, a lot of variety in the menu, from raw dishes to gluten free to just vegan everything!
The fresh juices are awesome, specially the green one! made of kale, apple and lemon. the salads are great too, and the appetizers very fullfilling, they even got a cheese plate! I give this cool hip place four golden stars!!

This very delightful dish shown in the picture, bbq seitan quesdilla with cashew cheese is just delicious. very tasty with a garnish of spicy sprouts, and cilantro dressing on the side. The Marinated seitan with onions, and tomato is hot bbqued with melted warm cashew cheese, in a whole wheat tortilla, It's a must try for sure!
BBQ Seitan Quesdilla

A-
vegan, daily 11am-10pm, except Monday.
3818 Sunset Blvd, Silver Lake, CA.

Tabor (food stand)

2008-04-02T14:08:00.000-07:00

If you want to eat cheap and enjoy some good Czech schnitzelwich this is the place to be. They don't have anything vegan, maybe the potato pancakes with spinach or the soup. Their soup is usually vegetarian and there is plenty of vegetarian sandwiches to choose from. I got the eggplant sandwich which is what they are famous for. The eggplant sandwich consist of lettuce, tomato sauce, a lot of parsley, horseradish mayonnaise, and beer battered Eggplant. It is rated top place on the Willamette Weekly Cheapeats 2007. I can see why, since the food is quite authentic and cheap. The Eggplant Sandwich is $5.50 and so are the other dishes. They are really vegetarian friendly so ask them what's vegan and what's vegetarian.

Eggplant Sandwich(baklažán)

B+
food stand, Weekday 10am-3pm
Downtown at SW 5th and Stark, Portland, OR.
http://www.schnitzelwich.com/

Food Front CO-OP

2008-04-01T14:57:00.000-07:00

Food Front is tucked away on the edge of the NW 23rd St. area. Its very easy to miss since its more of a local organic grocery store. As a CO-OP grocery store they only carry local and organic produce. That means you have to miss the Chantrelle mushrooms during winter, and you get an abundance of local persimmon during the fall. What makes Food Front special is their awesome deli and ready made food section. They usually have two different soups (one vegetarian/vegan) everyday. There is plenty of vegan and wheat free ready made food. One of my favourite is the Mock Chicken Salad. Its wheat pasta noodle mixed in with satay tofu and few other ingredients like vegannaise and cumin. They change their food item all the time, and you can see them making them in the back. So the whole place smells like a cozy kitchen. One of my favourite is the Curried Kale with Almond. But this time they had Rapini (in season!), kinda of like a small version of Broccoli. Steamed Rapini marinated with ginger, sugar, salt, lemon, and all other sorts of good spices. Delicious and refreshing! I usually grab a bottle of Kombucha or coconut water to go with the food. If its your first visit to food front I would take time and look around and try different local goods from PAPA G's tofu to Love Potion herbal drinks. The only downside I have with the place is the high price. So be really careful when you do your grocery shopping here.

Mock Chicken Salad

Lemon Ginger Rapini

B+
grocery, Daily 8am-9pm
2375 NW Thurman St. Portland, OR.
www.foodfront.coop

Bonobos in New York City, New York.

2008-03-31T23:48:00.000-07:00

I know its weird to start the blog with a new york city vegan restaurant review, but I don't have any photo of my recent dining at a portland vegan joint.
Tapa, sushi (assorted du jour)

White & Black Sesame Ball, Coconut Chai Water

One place you can guaranteed to get cheap raw food in Manhattan is Bonobos. Its a cafeteria styled restaurant with refrigerator filled with home made raw juices from Thai Coconut Water to Warm Coconut Chai. Each drink costs about $2 to $3.50, small plastic recyclable bottles. You can see all the food that is behind the glass, like a salad bar except with people catering you the portion. My friend and I decided to try the raw sushi entree (tapa of the day) with the salad and citrus vinaigrette, $8. The sushi was not too blend and pretty savory. Instead of rice they used sprouted cous cous curried up with some raw vegetables that I couldn't see specifically. There might have been avocado and watercress leaves. Definitely not filling even for one, but we changed our mind when we got the dessert. We got a black and white sesame ball, $2 each. The sesame ball is so thick and soft and flavorful that we instantly filled up our stomach. It was delicious! The Coconut Chai is also ridiculously amazing, but a bit too sweet. So I had to grab a cup of water and mix it up to keep the sweetness down. It was so thick that I felt like I was drinking a jar of maple syrup.

B
100% raw, Monday - Friday 9am-5pm.
18 E. 23rd Street, NYC, NY.
http://www.bonobosrestaurant.com

March Saturday Brunch

2008-03-31T23:42:00.001-07:00

I started holding Saturday (sometimes Sunday) morning vegan brunch at my apartment. I would invite friends to come over knit or play scrabble while I cook up a meal with my boyfriend. Here're some of the highlights from the last brunch.

Spelt Blueberry Pancake

Almond Cookie

I made the blueberry pancake with spelt flour, whole wheat flour, baking powder, salt, vanilla soymilk, ripe banana, vanilla extract, and frozen blueberry. It's to die for! I've also made it wheat-free by using oat flour and rice flour instead. You'll need to use ripe banana to keep the pancake dough consistent and fluffy. The almond cookie was simple enough. I got rice flour mix with barley flour, hint of salt, about two tablespoon of brown rice syrup, almond milk, baking soda, crushed almond and pine nut, and almond extract. They baked super fast! The barley and rice flour keeps the cookie soft on the inside and hard on the outside. I love how the pine nut is a soft texture contrast with the hard cookie surface.

Here's another vegan cheesecake I've made. Blueberry cheesecake! It's delicious!

And the previous vegan mixberry cheescake.

Our first ever vegan cheesecake!

2008-03-31T22:20:00.000-07:00

Here it is! Our first vegan cheesecake...mixed berry. Turned out really well. We're going to try some more outrageous flavors as time goes on...more pics to follow.

Not just yelp.

2008-03-31T16:33:00.000-07:00

So I wanted to start a food blog, not just on yelp... but more in general with my friend Kim. We aren't sure if calling the blog Veganazi is kosher. Please let us know. It's a test! I got the name from a nickname I used to call my friend Lorelay, who is a vegan queen in LA. Her famous vegan tapas... Unbelievable.