Portland Vegan and Plant-Based Restaurants
Portland Vegan are two words that should go together. Known as a foodie culture, Portland is also a progressive community embracing current and forward looking trends. Being vegan and eating a healthy plant-based lifestyle are things we choose to do for a number of reasons. An ever growing number of people are also making the choice to follow a plant-based or vegan lifestyle. Some for their health, some for the planet, some for the animals, along with many other motivations and personal reasons.
For our weekend in Portland, we were on a mission to check out some of the local vegan dining options. We no sooner landed at Portland International Airport and we were confronted with our first vegan opportunity – Blue Star Donuts. They actually have 7 locations around Portland with one in the airport.
Veggie Grill
We checked into our hotel and immediately began a search for real food. We discovered Veggie Grill was located in the next block from our hotel. The restaurant was light, airy, modern, had a large number of options, and the menu made clear which selections were vegetarian and which could be made vegan. Veggie Grill has many locations in Portland, Seattle, Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco Bay Area, and two in Chicago.
We were so pleased with the excellent, fast, and tasty food that we ate here a couple of more times during our stay. Everything we had we thoroughly enjoyed. We had the Buffalo Wings as an appetizer for the sake of something spicy. The soup was very fresh tasting, and the macaroni and cheese really hit the spot with a half veggie wrap. The Lucky Star burger is their signature burger and very good. However our favorite was the VG Beyond burger. They also have a nice selection of salads, we tried the Mediterranean Super-greens Salad. There are a number of bowls that can be customized with different flavors. We tried the Rustic Farm Bowl. Everything was excellent, and we would give Veggie Grill four thumbs up. We only wish there was one in our home town – maybe soon.
Case Study Coffee
After visiting the Japanese Gardens we rode the light rail back to downtown from Washington Park. Feeling a need for a little warm refreshment we hopped off and ducked into Case Study Coffee. They have three locations. We stopped at the Yamhill store downtown across from the library and near the courthouse. Case Study has a funky but warm and relaxing vibe. The smell of the coffees when you step inside help make you feel warm all over.
Ichiza Kitchen
For dinner we picked Ichiza Kitchen which is a newer all vegan restaurant that opened to high praise and expectations. Ichiza is located in the Goose Hollow neighborhood and has a distinctive Japanese tea house feel. Entering the restaurant is like stepping into someone’s home as it is small, cozy and there are only a few tables. For this reason, reservations are highly recommended. Ichiza means one sitting or the zen principle of stopping to contemplate one’s path. The entire order is served in one sitting, allowing you to fully experience the pairing of the food and tea.
We began with the Oolong Tea service (pictured above). Making and serving the tea was a ceremony in itself. For starters we shared the Cheung Fun (wide rice noodle folded with shrimp*, bacon*, pork* sung and fried garlic dressed with a sweet soy sauce). Barbara enjoyed the Adobo bowl (Chicken* marinated in coconut vinegar, black soy sauce, bay leaves, black pepper, carrots, and onion, served with pickled green mango, over a bed of short grain rice with calamansi dressing). I had the Lan Zhou (Udon or rice noodles, 12 medicinal herbs, slow cooked beefy broth with thinly sliced beef*, turnip, cilantro, and fresh spring onion, topped with our house chili sauce). Everything is vegan so references to meat are descriptive of flavors and textures, but no ‘real’ meat is used.
Food Trucks – MoFo
Mobile Food (MoFo) Trucks are synonymous with Portland. However, we had no idea how much so. Portland has taken the trend of MoFos to a whole new level with permanent lots around downtown for these MoFo encampments. Portland has over 500 food carts operating at any time. The variety of the food that can be found is awe-inspiring. We even saw a french toast truck which in earlier non-vegan days would have been amazing. While we didn’t try the food carts, we did see a number we would have liked to try. Here is a map of all of the food cart locations around the city: MAP.
VooDoo Doughnuts
We finally arrive at the famed Voodoo Doughnuts. This is not your every day doughnut shop. The line looks more like something you’d find at Disneyland. There are all kinds of doughnuts from jelly filled Voodoo dolls, to bacon covered maple bars, a Portland cream, and even a ‘dirty old bastard’ which is a chocolate covered yeast doughnut smothered with Oreo cookies and peanut butter. And they have eight types of vegan doughnuts too. During our time in Portland, the pink Voodoo boxes are everywhere. We’ve never had a doughnut long enough to carry it around. Here people buy a box of Voodoos and carry the box around all day like it is a badge of honor.
Fuse Bar
Located across the alley from Voodoo was Fuse Bar, a little coffee shop. Interestingly, they are coffee by day and cocktails by night. We were there daytime, but it looks like a fun place to come for cocktails at night. Needing another coffee break to warm up from our wanders, we stopped in. The rosebud latte (pictured) with real rosebuds impressed Barbara. I enjoyed a soy hot chocolate.
Mother’s Bistro & Bar
Mother’s Bistro & Bar was highly recommended by a couple of people we spoke to at the hotel and in our scouting of the area. Apparently Mother’s is a Portland staple and has won numerous restaurant awards including Restaurant of the Year. Lisa Schroeder founded the restaurant in 2000. The story of her journey and the creation of Mother’s is on their website and an interesting read.
As the pictures show it was a full house during our visit with a line outside. Reservations are a must. Everyone appeared to be having a wonderful dining experience and the staff were friendly, courteous, attentive and very efficient. The food was THE BEST ! Pictured is the vegan Tofu Hash which we both enjoyed. There are other vegetarian and vegan options available on the menu. To be clear, this is not primarily a plant-based restaurant.
Doe Donuts
As if we didn’t have enough donuts, we had read about amazing Doe Donuts. There was an assortment of all kinds of different flavors and types. We grabbed a small box to take back to the hotel for later snacking. We ate the donuts quickly since there was not a pink box badge of honor to stop us. The donuts were very good. The location was a distance from downtown where we were based and made us question the benefit versus the effort.
Homegrown Smoker
Our search uncovered Homegrown Smoker, an old fashioned all-vegan barbecue restaurant. Located a short ride to the bedroom neighborhood of Saint James NE of downtown. On the corner of a hometown type main street was Homegrown Smoker. There is a large mural on the side of the building with some picnic tables. People were sitting there but it was too cold for us. They have limited days and hours, so be sure to check their website before making the journey. However, the food was excellent and well worth the effort.
Sitting at our window table allowed us to people watch the folks walking up and down the little main street. The BBQ was very tasty and definitely southern comfort food. We started with the fried pickle spears. The combo plate was just what the doctor ordered. It was more of a sampler plate and gave lots of different flavors. We chose the smoked tempeh ribs, H’yam, macnocheese, chipotle slaw, hush puppies and remoulade. YUM !!! Wash it down with a lemonade. They are 100% vegan.
In conclusion, we feel our adventure searching for vegan food in Portland was a huge success. Writing this post makes it sound like in 72 hours all we did was eat. That may be what happened. However, we actually spent a considerable amount of time exploring all of the sights and happenings around Portland. For more about attractions and things to do in Portland, check out our story below.
Read more about our Portland Adventure here.
Explore other destinations with PassageForTwo here.
Check out the SacVeg website for plant-based ideas here.