VeganFabulous

the lowdown: Dingo’s Taco Bar | 4612 SE Hawthorne Blvd., Portland, OR 97215 | Website | 503.233.3996 | Lunch, Dinner, Happy Hour | $6 - $13 | ***

Alty Mexican fare with plenty for the vegs.

39th Avenue is the inner city limit of Portland where beyond lies nothing but Mall 205, Gateway, and Gustav’s. Ok, that’s an overstatement but I often overlook anything past 39th thinking it is too far away. As it turns out, there are a number of places I am missing out on. As I continue through my stretch of never knowing where to eat, I turn to outer Portland for inspiration.

If I were to focus on Hawthorne alone, excluding the higher ordered streets means excluding Sapphire Hotel, A Pizza Scholls, and Dingo’s. A girlfriend discovered Dingo’s and we were both encouraged by the use of tofu scattered throughout the menu. Choices include burritos, enchiladas, tacos, and fajitas. I ordered the veggie burrito + tofu ($8.25), but the fajitas + tofu ($11.75) looked and tasted even better! Sadly this was not my plate, but the cast iron dish filled with spicy veggies and tofu including rice, beans, and tortillas generated entree envy and made my sad burrito appear unsuitable for photographs. The moral of the story is that the good life of Portland does not stop at 39th. Reasonably priced, tasty food can be found beyond the unofficial city limit of East Portland.

the lowdown: Taqueria Los Gorditos | SE 50th Ave & SE Division St., Portland, OR 97255 | 503.875.2615 | Lunch, Dinner | Items $1.5 - $6 | **

Mexican food truck with vegan menu.

Hitting up a food truck that happens to be nearby is one thing, but traveling the to other side of Portland to visit one takes a whole different level of dedication. The first time I tried to visit they were sealed shut, despite the Sunday hours I’ve seen posted on the Internet. The second time was on a rare day that I had off from work and my sister and I were sort of in the neighborhood.

Over the last year Los Gorditos has graced blogs raving about their vegan menu. At one point they were offering an entirely vegan menu on Sundays. I don’t know if this is still the case since they were closed when I tried to go on a Sunday, but they do offer a lengthy 11 item vegan menu during normal hours including tofu tacos ($1.50), a tofu burrito ($5.50), enchiladas with tofu or soyrizo ($5.50), and a quesadilla ($5.00). Tofutti Sour Cream, Soyrizo, and Follow Your Heart cheese can be added for an additional $.50. Perhaps I made the mistake of ordering the tofu burrito, but I was not impressed. The tofu was soggy and tasteless and the beans were overly refried. I certainly want to give them credit for having so many offerings but I would not bother going out of my way 30 blocks. Based on the number of people waiting in line for their lunch I’m going to guess I am the minority, but I’ll go ahead and create a longer line at La Bonita.

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!

the lowdown: Chez Jose | 2200 NE Broadway St., Portland, OR 97232 | 503.280.9888 | Dinner | Entrees $6.95 - $11.95 | ***

Several dairy free options!

This week has consisted entirely of sleeping, eating, and trying to breathe as I recover from the doctor having chipped away at my nose to prevent the 90% blockage in one nostril caused by my congenial deviated septum. As a result, I haven’t been cooking anything since any rise in blood pressure increases the throbbing in my face. Instead of my normal Saturday night dinner outing, I opted for takeout from Chez Jose which provided an exciting departure from fruit smoothies.

Chez Jose is yet another restaurant on the happening NE Broadway strip with a twin sister located on Terwilliger Blvd. The family friendly establishment offers a full bar and a range of vegetarian options which they gladly hold the dairy. These items include a butternut squash burrito, veggie burrito, veggie fajitas and several salads. The guacamole is dairy free as well so you can have your chips and eat them too! My choice was the veggie burrito for $8.95 which contained carrots, black beans, zucchini, a side of black beans and rice and corn. I definitely didn’t go nuts over this place and it isn’t because I look like a raccoon. Simply put, the food is alright and not a bad option if you need a place to take kids or are craving Mexican food without any fuss.

the lowdown: Fonda Rosa | 108 NE 28th Ave., Portland, OR 97232 | 503.235.3828 | Lunch, Dinner | Entrees $8 - $15 | *****

Lots of entree sized salads and vegan dish upon request!

I am now on a super kick of calling every restaurant before I arrive in an attempt to avoid the awkward situation of not having any choices when I go out. When I called Fonda Rosa the chef’s wife told me that their beans, rice, guacamole, and roasted veggies could be combined for a vegan friendly meal. That was enough to convince me to give it a try.

Fonda Rosa is the newest addition to the happening restaurants on NE 28th. The dining room is small but the floor to ceiling windows give it a spacious feel. The menu was seemingly sparse of anything veg other than salads, but much to my surprise, thanks to my call, they were prepared to make “Tofu Tacos” with vegan sour cream! I obviously could not turn that temptation down, and I was not disappointed. The plate included 3 corn tortilla tacos filled with red pepper marinated tofu, corn, avocado, onions, and tofutti sour cream, accompanied by a side of rice. We had ordered a side of chips with salsa and guacamole so I lathered it on and went to town. The dish was great and the service was fantastic. I have also heard news that their menu has been updated to include several non-meat dishes. Everyone can thank me later!

the lowdown: La Bonita | 2839 NE Alberta St, Portland, OR 97211 | 503.281.3662 | Items $1.50 - $10.95 | Lunch, Dinner

Plenty of tasty, no hassle, vegan options.

So many of Portland’s Mexican restaurants are over priced, overrated, and under spiced. Thankfully there is La Bonita. A no frills Mexican restaurant that stands to teach the other wannabe’s a thing or two.

I stopped by for lunch on a bright Sunday afternoon, after hassling with the folks at The Office over a Manhattan Portage bag, and all my cares melted away when they served up a big vegan “veggie burrito” for $3.50 packed with lots of Mexican love. Not only was the food excellent, the service was upbeat, helpful with my vegan questions and the overhead 80’s music demonstrated La Bonita’s sense of perspective of itself.

the lowdown: Cha Taqueria and Bar | 305 NW 21st Ave, Portland, OR 97209 | 503.295.4077 | Entrees $11 - $14

The one and only option is vegetarian tacos; they may be bland but they ARE vegan.

You may be more familiar with the diffusion line Cha Cha Cha, which has several locations around Portland. Cha Taqueria is the sexy younger sister that brought life to the newly renovated building on the corner of NW 21st & Everett. Since I live in the neighborhood I see that it is popular amongst the twenty/thirty-something trendy crowd but it has to be for the contrived outdoor seating or the occasional Bob Marley tune, because everything down to the salsa is extraordinarily mediocre. I of course ordered the vegetarian tacos because it was the only vegan entree on the menu. I was astounded to see that it consisted of three tacos filled with black beans, onions and green peppers, and a side of black beans. It wouldn’t be so bad if the beans actually had some flavor but they literally tasted as if just dumped out of the can. If you lack tastebuds and find Tecate a fine brew, than ignore everything I just said.

the lowdown: Encanto | 5225 N. Lombard St, Portland, OR 97203 | 503.286.2929 | Entrees $10 - ? (I can’t remember)

Tip: Enchilada with green sauce can be modified vegan.Its starting to feel like all Mexican restaurants in Portland are the same but since this is my first post on a Mexican restaurant, I am going to hold off.

I don’t spend much time in St. John’s but I have heard that Encanto is a welcome addition to the neighborhood. It is hip and the service is well paced. I went with my vegetarian friend and although we had only one option, we were both very pleased with it and the server was happy to accommodate my request to hold the cheese. Sometimes that is all it takes.

the lowdown: Trébol Mexican Restaurant | 4835 N Albina Ave, Portland, OR 97217 | 503.517.9347 | Website | Entrées $11.50 - $18.50

At first glance it appears the only veg option is a soup but be sure to ask the fabulously friendly servers for options and order a fresh fruit cocktail, margarita, or virgin drink (they don’t add sugar!) while you are waiting.

Stashed in the middle of a transitioning neighborhood is a trendy space serving up Oaxacan fare. They use only seasonable ingredients, sustainable products, and organic meats. All they need now is to update the menu to reflect vegan friendly items! In fact, after talking with the bartender it sounds like they are considering a veg menu!!! Vegans, keep those requests coming in because they really do make a difference! I ordered the Enchiladas and they happily held the cheese and egg. The portions could have been a big bigger but overall it was good food without the pretension!