VeganFabulous

the lowdown: Blue Olive | 4627 NE Fremont St., Portland, OR 97213 | 503.528.2822 | Lunch, Dinner | Entrees $8 - $15 | ***

A slightly more upscale Mediterranean alternative!

Celebratory dinners are the best! Especially when they involve someone else paying, a swollen nose, and falafel. Yes that’s right, I had been craving Mediterranean food since I went under the knife and finally after 7 days of being sedentary, I was prepared to venture out.

Fremont is one of those spotty streets with pockets of quintessential shops and restaurants separated by rows of beautiful houses. Like most of the establishments on this street, Blue Olive has a more refined feel than your typical Mediterranean joint, making it perfect for a special occasion. However, unlike the other places, the food options on the vegan front are a little light. According to our vegan waitress, aside from salads, I could pick from the Falafel and Homous appetizers and the “Briam” entree. During lunch there is a Falafel Sandwich option. Needless to say we started out with the Falalfel, a plate of six for $7. For dinner I enjoyed the “Briam”, a vegetarian casserole with green beens, zucchini, eggplant, green pepers, and potatoes. It was good and kept well for the following day’s lunch, a little pricy ($12) for the portion, however. You’ve probably never heard of Blue Olive because everyone is always talking about Hoda’s, Arabian Breeze, Yahala, Karam, Nicholas’…and rightfully. Not only does your money go a lot further, the options are plentiful. If you are down for a date night, Blue Olive provides the better ambience.

the lowdown: Arabian Breeze | 3223 NE Broadway, Portland, OR 97232 | 503.445.4700 | Lunch, Dinner | $6.75 - $11.75 | *****

Crazy good.

It was 9pm on Friday night and we were just leaving the grocery store, I still had loads to cook in preparation for our gathering on Saturday, and I hadn’t eaten dinner yet. If it wasn’t for Arabian Breeze being right across the street from Fred Meyer I don’t know what I would have done. What I do know is that planning and executing parties is hard work that I only want to undertake once every couple of years. Phew!

I’ve been to several Mediterranean restaurants and Arabian Breeze is by far my favorite. They have an extensive menu with vegan items scattered throughout indicated by the words “vegan yes!”. The best part is the Arabian Breeze Vegan Mezza. $11.75 will buy you this magnificent platter which puts all other mezzas to shame! The dish includes hamara, garlic baked cauliflower, lemon and olive oil garbanzo dish and more! The bread is the size of a table and extra pieces are $1. The service is authentic and fun. Next time I want to dine in for the full effect but if you are about to fall over with exhaustion, by all means take it home!

the lowdown: Hoda’s Middle-Eastern Cuisine | 3401 SE Belmont St., Portland, OR 97214 | 503.236.8325 | Website | Lunch, Dinner | Entrees $4.75 - $13 (cash/check only) | ***

Yet another Middle Eastern option!

The last time I had been at Hoda’s my sister and I were organizing a blind date dinner, which marked marked my last foray into match matching. The couple ended in marriage and I decided I should quit while I was ahead. Nonetheless, I remember Hoda’s with fond memories of blind date awkwardness and group attempts to find common ground among the blind daters. I can’t help but feel that Hoda’s brought some magic to the fold and was hoping it would do the same for my low key Saturday night. There’s just something about family style dining, except its much harder to do when you are the only vegan in the family!

With a number of Portland Mediterranean options it is hard to choose but based on the fact that Hoda’s is always packed I decided to give it a go. Although it doesn’t usurp the likes of Yahala, it is a great option and arguably the best pita bread in town. I ordered the Veggie Mezza which includes the standard humos, falafel, tabouleh, pita bread and loubieh. I had to substitute another dish of humos because the baba ghanouje contains yogurt. Nonetheless, it includes and a spinach pie, which I haven’t had with any other mezza, and was quite good. The service is friendly and they keep the fresh bread coming. Just keep in mind that all of SE Portland likes this place so sometimes it is jammed.

the lowdown: Yahala | 8005 SE Stark St., Portland, OR 97215 | 503.256.4484 | Website | Lunch, Dinner | Items $3.95 - $16.50 (They offer 6-8 person feasts as well) | *****

You can always count on Mediterranean food to come through!

I think I spend too much time close-in because there is an entire world out there, beyond inner city Portland, that I simply didn’t know existed. When I set out to meet my editor from NW Veg for dinner on 80th & Stark, I was expecting to be dining in a restaurant with a florescent sign next adjacent to Taco Time. Not only was I ignorant and wrong, I was late because I didn’t correctly estimate my travel time! This cheeky part of town offers a row of shops, restaurants, a cheap movie theatre, and bars, surrounded by a great residential area.

Yahala is a highly regarded Mediterranean restaurant with a huge selection of vegan options. We started with the veggie mezza. This is the food item I always need to be careful with because I could easily over eat the falafel, homous, baba ghanouj and pocket bread. I was mindful and politely nibbled (ok not really) to save room. We then shared the “Sheik Al Mehshi” which is an eggplant dish, sauteed, stuff, and smothered an a tomato sauce. I sometimes take issue with the texture of eggplant but this dish melted in my mouth! Great talk and great food make for a great night in outer PDX.

the lowdown: Hush Hush Cafe | 433 SW 4th Ave., Portland, OR 97204 | 503.274.1888 | Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner | Items $5 - $9 | ***

Many wallet friendly vegan options.

Hush Hush has been mentioned several times as one of the best spots downtown for Mediterranean cuisine and judging by the line that began to form when the clock struck 12, I would say that lots of downtown lunchers would agree. I, on the other hand, don’t get it. Yes, the service is friendly. Yes, the food is cheap. Yes, the food quick. But do all of these positives automatically make the place great? I need something more.

Within 5 minutes of ordering, my friend and I dug into our lunches while trying to balance the wobbly table. I had the falafel wrap while my dining partner had the veggie wrap. My wrap was quite dry, there was an underwhelming amount of vegetables and although the pita bread is supposed to be fresh, it also seemed dry and crusty. Overall I felt under satisfied with my meal. Maybe I’m looking too hard for something and not appreciating what they do offer. If you need something quick and cheap, Hush Hush is your lunch spot. However, next time I venture out for lunch, I will head to the likes of Karam or check out some of the highly regarded food carts.

the lowdown: Jerusalem Cafe | 106 E. Evergreen Blvd., Vancouver, WA 98660 | 360.906.0306 | Website | Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner | Entrees $7 - $16

As with most Mediterranean joints, there are several vegan options.

I met up with my mom last weekend at the downtown Vancouver cinema to see the movie Lars and the Real Girl (which was excellent by the way). We decided to meet for lunch beforehand and I spent a good 20 minutes trying to find nearby places to eat. It is incredible to me how lacking Vancouver is for good food when just across the bridge begins a plethora of fantastic choices. Jerusalem Cafe kept coming up in my google searches so we decided to check it out.

My mother and I are both creatures of habit with the big difference being that I will try all different kinds of cuisine but stick with one dish at each. My mom only sticks with one kind of cuisine, which is bean burritos. I ordered the Veggie Mezza and she had the hamburger. The mezza was good and the service was friendly. Unless someone can identify other vegan friendly places I am going to say that Jerusalem is your safest bet if you find yourself trolling the happening streets of DT Vancouver.

the lowdown: Karam Lebanese Cuisine | 316 SW Stark St, Portland, OR 97204 | 503.223.0830 | Website | Lunch, Dinner | Entrees $4.50 - $10.95

Solid lunch choice for downtown working vegans.

I rarely go out for lunch because I like to save my cash for the weekends and I always have so many leftovers. When I do go out for lunch I am always stuck picking where we go since I have the strictest diet. If you are like me and can’t take the pressure, go immediately to Karam. Most everyone in the office, especially you, will find something good to eat!

At Lebanese restaurants I can never decide what I want so I always get the Veggie Mezza Platter. Karam’s platter was good but they were a little stingy with the pita bread. As long as you keep asking they will bring more.