I know you’re all dying to know where we ate while we were in Portland. Okay, I might be exaggerating a bit, but really! We ate some super tasty stuff. We didn’t find Portland to be organized very well, but we managed to find our way around with our public transportation and were able to stuff our faces with some great vegan food! (and I apologize in advance for a few dark pictures. Sometimes our phones were all we had with us.)
You know we had to hit up a food truck. Isn’t that kind of a rule? We were headed for some vegan bbq truck, but it was randomly closed for the day so we decided on The Native Bowl. The Native Bowl is owned by Julie and Jay Hasson. Recognize the name? Julie Hasson is an awesome vegan chef. I love her “Vegan Diner” cookbook.
I had the “Couch” bowl: “jasmine rice, garlic tofu, sweet and spicy gochujang sauce, bean sprouts, organic spinach, shredded carrots, scallions, and toasted sesame seeds”. Hello! It was awesome. I’m still iffy about tofu (it’s a texture thing), but they do tofu RIGHT!
Nick ordered the “Mississippi” bowl: “jasmine rice, house-made ranch sauce, barbecue soy curls, two kinds of barbecue sauce, fresh crisp slaw, and scallions”. Yum! It was like a bbq sandwich in a bowl! And soy curls? Hello! We love those.
We were definitely not disappointed. Apparently the house-made iced tea is a must, but we missed the memo and didn’t order it. Oh, well. Our bowls were enough to make our bellies happy!
While planning our trip, Nick came upon Portobello Vegan Trattoria. It’s a pretty small space, so we made reservations for a Thursday night. We would highly recommend reservations. The place is always busy! And we know why. It’s not only delicious, but they try to source as many local and organic ingredients are possible.
Here is a shot from the entrance:
We had hard time trying to decide what to order because everything looked so darn good! I started with the house-made ginger soda and Nick had the cocktail of the evening, a sangria. I’m not really a wine fan, but this was actually really good. Sweet, a bit sour and refreshing!
We didn’t order an appetizer, per se, but we did order a side of sauteed chanterelles. Mushrooms are iffy for me (again, texture), but whoa, mama. These were AMAZING. They didn’t last long.
For the main course, Nick ordered the (small) Potato Gnocchi. We had read reviews online that it was a must, so we couldn’t pass it up, right? It was gnocchi sauteed with brussels sprouts, parsnips, and fresh herbs. It was good, but needed a hit of acid, or something, to punch up the flavors a bit. It was a little flat.
I opted for the Beet Burger with Pomme Frites. According to the menu it was a “house-made beet burger, fresh baked rosemary foccacia bun, carrot aioli, red onions & heirloom tomato”. I could have added cashew cheese, but decided against it. This? This was great. I’m usually not sure about beets because they can taste a little earthy, if you know what I mean. But this didn’t at all. And the foccacia bun?! WHOA.
And since I was there, you know we had to save room for dessert. I mean, come on. I ordered the Salted Caramel Sundae (salted caramel ice cream, hot fudge, coconut whipped cream, toasted pinenuts) and Nick ordered the Tiramisu “Ole Faithful” (rum and coffee soaked cake, vegan mascarpone, chocolate. The tiramisu? YUM. The sundae? TRANSCENDENT. I’m not kidding. One of THE best things I’ve ever eaten. I was so sad when we finished it. It was heavenly.
Our last day in the city we sought out the Back to Eden Bakery. I’m so glad we did. We went for breakfast before heading out to Multnomah Falls. Everything at the bakery is vegan AND gluten free. Double bonus!
Nick ordered the special of the morning. Biscuits and gravy. Say what?! I almost hijacked his bowl for myself.
I went for the broccoli and cheese quiche. I used to really enjoy quiche before becoming a vegan and hadn’t had one since. This one fit the bill. And the crust? I would not have know it was vegan and gluten free. Super flaky and buttery.
After hiking for several hours and enjoying the beautiful views, we stopped at The Frites Shoppe.
We ordered a large (obviously) with the Rotweiss (ketchup + mayo) and Curry Ketchup. Oh, yeah. Fried potatoes. They were freaking tasty. Crisp, hot and salty. Mmmmm.
We still had room in our bellies after the frites so we headed back to the Back to Eden Bakery for dessert. I had the chocolate vegan soft serve (from Chicago Vegan Foods!) in a gluten free waffle cone. I was as excited as a little kid.
Nick ordered some crazy chocolate, vanilla, peanut butter shake thing. I don’t remember all that was in it, but it was AMAZEBALLS. I know that’s not really a word, but that’s what it was. It was like a peanut butter cup in a cup. He didn’t want to share. 😉 But let’s get real. I didn’t either.
Our last meal in the city was from Robo Taco. It was only a few blocks from our condo, so we grabbed it go and ate it at “home”. We ordered the deluxe plate with the “al pastor” which were soy curls marinated with chile and pineapple and the “soyrizo” which was house-made soyrizo with potatoes. It was served with rice, beans, guacamole, pico de gallo and corn tortillas. Guys, this was some of the best Mexican ever. The place is a bit of a hole in the wall, but they made authentic Mexican food that made us oh, so happy that we went. If only we had known earlier!!
We enjoyed eating our way through Portland. Have you been to Portland? What are some of your favorites?
Happy to be a Table of Two 
