VeganFabulous

the lowdown: East End | 203 SE Grand Ave, Portland, OR 97214 | 503.232.0056 | Website | Dinner, Late Night, Happy Hour | ****

Super cheap eats!

Just when I was about to swear off local businesses for their lack of business sense and overall bitchy attitude, I spent a couple hours at East End and feel better about Portland. It is amazing to me in this economy how difficult it is to correspond with restaurants, bakeries, venues and wine bars. Either all of them are insanely busy (doubtful) or none of them understand the first thing about customer service (likely). Nonetheless, I threw back a tall glass of lemon water and good grub last night and feel much better!

The East End, formerly The Rabbit Hole, is a low key bar with a cheap as hell happy hour menu, photo booth, and a restroom at the end of a long dark scary hallway. If it wasn’t for my friend always keeping me up on the food scene, I would have never guessed this place would have been an option for my finicky ass. Everything on the dinner menu is <$10 and includes a vegan burrito ($7), tacos ($6), and BBQ Tofu sandwich ($7). More importantly, Happy Hour is from 4-7 and offers the burrito and BBQ Tofu sandwich for $4! No need to bust the piggy bank on this one folks, eat your heart out!

the lowdown: Berbati’s Pan | 231 SW Ankeny St., Portland, OR 97204 | 503.248.4579 | Website | Lunch, Dinner, Happy Hour | Items $4.50 - $10 | **

Super cheap.

As the weather declines, the downtown Portland lunch options follows suit. Much of the vegan variety is offered through food carts; unless you are running back to the office, food cart dining isn’t nearly as pleasant as it is during the summer months. To complicate matters, I can no longer simply jump on my bike during my lunch hour without making a change of clothes, thus my options are further limited. Nonetheless, last week I borrowed a golf umbrella and foraged my way to Berbati’s, a gruesome 10 blocks in a downpour.

Berbati’s is a well known night spot sandwiched between the infamous Shanghi Tunnel and Bar XV. This threesome comprise a few of Portland’s most well known hot spots. Even I had a few crazy nights filled with heavy drinking and bar food at these places. Berbati’s is a much different scene during lunch. The daylight draws attention to all the imperfections that are typically hidden at night, the dining room is entirely empty, and the music is non-existent. The vegan options include gyros with hummus instead of tzatiki, veggie panini, and boca burgers. I ordered the gyro with falafel ($4.50), which included fries. It was decent and cheap, however, certainly not worth the trouble nor as good as I remembered it.

the lowdown: Andina Restaurant | 1314 NW Glisan St, Portland, OR 97209 | 503.228.9535 | Website | Lunch, Dinner, Happy Hour | Tapas/Entrees $7 - $24 | *****

You will never feel left out here!

It is difficult to articulate the feelings that I have about our new President-elect Obama. On Election day I left work early and scrambled to the 15th & Killingsworth Obama HQ’s to put in my last ditch effort at “Getting Out The Vote”. I walked through the streets of the Piedmont neighborhood dodging rain to find the stragglers who had not yet turned in their ballots. I was met with “I’ve already voted”, “I don’t have time”, “It is against my religion to vote”, or no answers to my knock. I have never volunteered for something I believed in with so much conviction. It is difficult work both physically and emotionally. Knowing that I was one of the legions of Obama foot soldiers believing in change and hoping for something great, Tuesday night was my realization that the words “Yes We Can” aren’t simply words, they are words to live by.

Last weekend we jammed the best of the Pearl district in one night. Shopping, Theater, and dinner at Andina. Andina is the type of place where advanced dinner reservations are required, otherwise you will be stuck with a very early or very late meal. Although it looks intimidating and vegan unfriendly, it is quite the opposite. The service is fantastic and well paced, the atmosphere is perfect for both special occasions and casual dining, and they have an amazing vegan menu including tapas and entrees. Regardless of your order things will kick off with unlimited bread and three sauces, of which the hibiscus and hot sauce are vegan. We started with the potato cake that I cannot remember the name of and I ordered the Porto Saltado ($17) for my main course. The yucca and mushrooms were earth shattering with a portion larger than I was capable of eating entirely (quite rare). The entire experience was outstanding. Clearly there are no limits to what this country is capable of and where vegans can eat in Portland.

the lowdown: Nightlight | 2100 SE Clinton St., Portland, OR 97202 | 503.731.6500 | Website |Dinner, Happy Hour | Entrees $7 - $11 | ***

Hip SE scene with ample booze and some vegan choices.

In school, if I didn’t see my friends a least twice a week something was wrong! Now, it is nearly impossible to meet up on a semi-regular basis. In some cases it can take up to 3 months before we all can find time in our schedules. When we do find the time the next challenge is determining the most central, yet fun place to meet. Earlier this week the stars aligned, nobody canceled, and we settled on Nightlight. Phew! Now for next time.

Clinton St. offers several dining options including Dots, Vinhalho, Clinton St. Cafe, and more! Additionally, you can grab coffee at Press Club or watch a poorly projected, sub par sound quality showing of Rocky Horror Picture Show or some other 70’s extravaganza at Clinton St. Theater. When you are through with all of that you can wrap up your night at Nightlight, a shadowy bar with sunken booths and stiff bevys. Scattered through the menu are a few options for us, making this joint a a place to meet for Happy Hour or anytime you are making a conscious effort to compromise on a gathering spot (except you’ll have to live without HH options). Choices include the Falafel Deluxe ($7.5), Cottage Fries ($4), and my choice, the Vegetable Stir Fry ($7). The best part about the stir fry was the rice and chili sauce, everything else was overcooked and only had the appearance of fresh. I heard reports that the Falafel has about the same impression factor. Nothing exciting. Don’t get me wrong, it was edible and sustaintainable while I caught up with my girlfriends, but you won’t be seeing me burning the midnight oil. Well, I don’t really do that anyway, but you know what I mean.

the lowdown: Mash Tun | 2204 NE Alberta St., #101, Portland, OR 97211 | 503.548.4491 | Lunch, Dinner | Entrees $7 - $11 | ****

Beer and (vegan) Burgers!

After a day filled with cleaning house, pedicures, volunteering for the Obama Campaign and biking all over town to attend these engagements, there’s nothing better than a decompression over burgers. Fully decompressing with all the political news this week has been extremely difficult. The notion that the McCain/Palin ticket could win the election and run our country frightens me to no end. I wish there was more I could do.

Mash Tun is unfortunately one of the least talked about brewpubs in town. Just off the beaten path of Alberta it offers an exceptional patio, laid back atmosphere, and most importantly ample vegan options. From hummus and tempeh things (fried tempeh with BBQ sauce) as appetizers to two house made burgers choices, BLT, and falfel, you will not be left out. I choose the Veggie Burger ($8.25) composed of oats and veggies with a side of fries. The difficulty in making vegan burgers is that they are difficult to bind without eggs, but I applaud Mash Tun for their continued effort to offer a great vegan burger, despite the fact that it slightly breaks apart after a few bites. Other places would have given up long ago or thrown us a bone with a Boca Burger. We all know that Portland is one of the rare places where vegans can eat out every night, people prefer bikes over cars, and most everyone supports the liberal lifestyle. I often forget that Portland is not representive of the rest of Oregon, or even America. We need to do something more, I know I plan to.

the lowdown: Bye and Bye | 1011 NE Alberta, Portland, OR 97211 | 503.281.0537 | Lunch, Dinner, Happy Hour | Food Items $5 - $8 | *****

Alberta Street bar with stiff bevys and righteous vegan food!

The Alberta hood is known for their restaurants, boutiques, art galleries, and most definitely Last Thursday. This is the part of town where you can dine on vegan biscuits and gravy, gaze at countless varieties of art, buy a rain barrel then grab a beer before heading home. I visit quite regularly and most recently rallied to my next door neighborhood to hang with a pal at the notorious Bye and Bye. We ate, we laughed, we people watched, but this was after feeling completely out of place with only two tats.

Want to know what happens when 6 guys open up shop on lower Alberta street offering stiff drinks, vegan grub, and an atmosphere derived from their bare hands? Nothing other then legions of folks lined up just to get inside! Nevermind the vegan food, these cats go because it is the place to be! We were there to eat and damn do they have a great menu! Previously I have had the BBQ Veggie “Chicken” which was a plate of grilled tofu, beans, and collard greens. During my last visit I ordered the Meatball Sub and my dining partner had the Weepying Tiger sandwhich.With each menu item you have the choice of a side, tofu, greens, tortilla chips, black-eyed peas, and broccili. I choose the tofu because it is crusted with nutrtional yeast and tastes better then french fries!  Be aware that the food is spicy, messy (meatball sub anyway), and damn good. I need to start going more often, despite my shortage of hipster traits!

the lowdown: Oba! Restaurant | 555 NW 12th Ave, Portland, OR 97209 | 503.228.6161 | Website | Lunch, Dinner | Entrees $7.50 - $28 | ****

To see and be seen.

Long gone are the days when I would leave work early to get a head start at the Oba First Thursday mack scene. This last visit was a combination of celebrating some good news on the home front and an excuse to dust off the motorcycle and cruise around town. However, I learned that just because you take the mack scene out of the girl, doesn’t mean the mack scene disappears. My boyfriend was attempted prey for a young nicely dressed local. Be careful, it’s a shark pool in there.

Oba is another one of the Pearl District’s hot spots that have a fabulous alternative menu, but you have to ask for it! This isn’t just for us vegan’s though, the menu includes vegetarian, dairy-free, wheat-free, and low-fat choices. There are so many options on the menu you could spend hours reading through all of them. In my previous visists I have ordered the grilled vegetable and tomato tacos ($10). This time it was a quick decision to try the roasted butternut squash enchiladas ($18). The plate includes two enchiladas, quinoa salad and normally a creamy walnut sauce which was replaced by a spicy tomato sauce for the vegans. Not only did I clean the plate, the service is outstanding! Bust out your snazzy clothes and throw back some fresh fruit coctails and fantastic food!

the lowdown: XV | 15 SW 2nd Ave, Portland, OR 97204 | 503.790.9090 | Website | Entrees $6-$9 | Dinner, Happy Hour | ***

Happy Hour and late night hotspot that doesn’t leave the vegans out.

Thirty is the age where it seems you have to start owning up to the fact that you are an adult. Sure, I’m not quite thirty (< 6 months), but I am already feeling my age when I look around and notice that I am not the young kid I used to be. My dentist is my age, the hipsters look 10 years younger than I, and I’m no longer than youngest at work. As a result, I avoid bars whenever possible. Primarily because I don’t drink, secondarily because I hate feeling like an old hag. Last week I was shocked when I dropped into XV for Happy Hour and noticed the average age was 32! Perhaps happy hour is the only time of day when you will find a majority of thirty somethings at XV, but hey, at least you now know where to go to avoid the kids and order vegan goods on the cheap.

With any bar the food service is secondary to the drink service. Although XV has a large menu offering sizable vegetarian options (indicated by a red *), many of which can be vegan. Don’t expect the servers to know anything about the vegan options (be very clear with them so they can communicate that to the chef), or to service your table within a reasonable interval. I suppose this is just one of the compromises you make to save $2 off food and suck down cheap well drinks and PBR. The vegan crowd can choose from several appetizers, tacos, sandwiches, pizza and burgers. I went for the “Dakota Burger” ($8) and added the yam fries ($2). The burger included fresh veggie condiments and the fries where off the charts (I could not confirm if the aoili was vegan so I had them hold it). Thankfully we had another order of these fries gifted to us by the bartender (he was crushing on one of the girls at our table) because the side order just isn’t enough. I’m just happy some of us are still getting hit on!

the lowdown: East Burn | 1800 East Burnside, Portland, OR 97214 | 503.236.6426 | Website| Brunch (Sunday only), Lunch, Dinner, Happy Hour | Entrees $7 - $19 | **

Eclectic atmosphere with vegan accommodations.

Due to my special food choices, I am often elected the head planner when going out to dinner with friends. I’m always up for an adventure, but not without a fallback to ensure my evening rounds out to my satisfaction! As a result, East Burn was the dinner choice this weekend, because their menu makes strong claims of accommodation, and I picked up dessert for everyone at Sweatpea Baking. It is impossible for any non-vegan to dislike the goods at SweetPea. Not to mention the snicker doodle with chocolate frosting monster cookie is my insurance!

Like any paranoid diner, I called ahead to make reservations. Of course when we arrived at 6:30 we were the only losers there. Regardless, we had top table choices, which would have been difficult had there only been two of us. Between hanging basket chairs and long board tables, how could one decide? The menu is mostly meat centric with a few exceptions that I keyed in on immediately. Between the Penne Pasta with grilled seasonal veggies ($11) and the Portabell Mushroom sandwich ($9), I voted for the sandwich. Much to my dismay, it was only half of a sandwhich, the bread wasn’t grilled, and the “char-broiled” roasted red peppers were most certainly from a jar. The “Trinity Fries” weren’t bad but the portion was rather small. To top it off, the waitress was usually disjointed in her delivery of the specials and beers on tap and I frankly was annoyed.

the lowdown: Por Que No | 3524 N. Mississippi Ave., Portland, OR 97227 | 503.467.4149 | Website | Brunch (weekends only), Lunch, Dinner, Happy Hour | Items $2.75 - $11 | ****

Taqueria with loads of drink and eat options!

Yesterday was a great day! It was beautiful, I started my final spring term paper, I planted Begonias in the yard, and caught up on the foodie blogosphere with VJ from the blog AltPortland over lunch at Por Que No!

I’ve been to Por Que No in the past and had to wait an inordinate amount of time for the food to arrive, so I was slightly shocked when the turn around time we experienced yesterday was < 15 minutes! Caution is still in order because I get the feeling Por Que No doesn’t handle load well. Back to the basics! Por Que No is a small taqueria with a menu offering a mucho vegetarian options (denoted by the peace hand gesture) which can mostly be available vegan. With tamales, tacos, bowls, and salads I had difficulty choosing but the “Brian’s Bowl” caught my attention and I went for it. For $6.50 the bowl includes beans, rice, veggies, salsa and a choice of tortillas or chips. It was off the sombrero!