Stumptown Vegans

Date: October 4, 2007
Times Visited: 1

If you’re looking for a compliment, hop on a train and get yourself to San Francisco’s Café Gratitude. With four locations, Café Gratitude is guaranteed to make you feel loved, fabulous and beautiful, if not roll your eyes on your way there. Wanting a full, but light meal before my departure out of town, I was taken to the totally raw café by area native Urban Housewife.

The 9^th Street & Irving location was coffee shop-sized, with a back patio for more seating. The menu was extensive, featuring salads, appetizers, entrees, nut milkshakes and desserts; and every single item began “I am…” fill in the beautiful, praiseworthy blank. By the bar was a full dessert case, where you could ogle the raw tiramisu, key lime crème pie, and a handful more. Across from that was a to-go case, with salads, entrees and hummus. My dining partner and I wisely split two pricey dishes, the first being “I am Festive” a taco salad with fresh tasting greens, house made walnut seed taco filling, flax chips, a tangy nacho cashew cheez, salsa and a pleasant guacamole. The romaine lettuce was cut into easily forked strips, and with each bite I’d try to get some lettuce, cheez and the great, spicy taco filling involved. The flax chips had a nice, slight bite to them, and were the only bread/cracker item that my companion recommended.

The second was “I am Fabulous” raw lasagna. The raw lasagna featured a hefty layer of fresh spinach, super thin lasagna noodles, cashew ricotta, tomatoes, intriguing hemp seed pesto, marinara and a scrumptious olive topping. The shared feeling at the table was that that the spinach layer was a bit much. To me it seemed less like lasagna than the one at Nutshell, but that strikes me as more of a stacked napoleon as it is. Interestingly, this was also a prepackaged to-go option. I did prefer the taco salad, but I would honestly order the fresh lasagna again. The olive topping and smooth ricotta really tied the meal together - if I could have eaten olives in every bite I would have.

I was also “Beautiful” with Café Gratitude’s creamsicle smoothie. It’s a blend of fresh orange juice and their homemade vanilla nut milk ice cream. Considering how rich it was, I could have savored ¼ of this beverage and still been satisfied. However, the creamy goodness kept putting the straw back in my mouth, telling me I was on vacation and I should drink every bit of the $7.50 decadence. Two hours later, I was still beautiful, by that I mean FULL. Fortunately, our shared meals were on the lighter side, though I think if I had walked in and simply gotten a shake I would have been just as fulfilled. Not only that, but my wallet would have been spared. I took home a slice of raw tiramisu, and it was by far the most decadent raw dessert I have ever had. Flavors of cocoa, vanilla and coffee merged together in soft, creamy bites - plus it held up for the plane ride home and 3 consecutive days I ate it.
It’s not someplace I’d frequent in Portland (as we have somewhat less expensive Blossoming Lotus), but while away in San Francisco I easily shelled out the $12 entrée price, and thankfully didn’t feel ripped off. I’d go back for the shake alone…

I am Fabulous Raw Lasagna

I am Beautiful

Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Address: 1336 9th Ave, (@ Irving)
San Francisco, CA 94122
Phone: 415.824.4652
Fax: 415.665.4840
Hours: 10 am to 10 pm

Date:September 27, 2007
Times Visited: Too Many to count

Love it or loathe it, Vegetarian House is a Portland veg*n staple, not to mention a NW Veg Business Partner.

Until my most recent dinner visit, I tended to lean more into the loathe brigade. I think the lunch buffet is decent enough, and dig that it’s entirely vegan, but I never found it to rock my tastebuds, or come even half way there. I’m not here to say it recently did, but I did have my best dining experience there yet.

Located in Chinatown, the restaurant looks like you might expect a Chinese restaurant to look - I can think of many I’ve been to that are similar. Vegetarian House is apparently all vegan now, except for their crab rangoons which contain dairy. Previously, there had been tales of “whey chicken”, and I admit I checked out there front room’s freezer on a label-reading spree. I had never seen this “Vegan” brand before, and it was extensive - different types of faux chicken, fish, shrimp and beef.

This time I ordered the Sesame chicken, and my partner ordered it as well - only “mild”, since he’s a wimp. The small nuggets were battered, fried and smothered in a spicy sweet and sour sauce - it seems that one can not go wrong with this combo. Seriously, look for those steps on a menu and you’re guaranteeing yourself deliciousness, if not a bloated stomach later on. Now, this sauce doesn’t top the Sesame tofu at Bay Leaf for me, but as for my experiences with Vegetarian House, it rocked. The Sesame chicken comes with a side of broccoli, and rice is brought to table in a bowl for sharing. It was honestly a little on the spicy side, but that’s clearly marked on the menu and other options, such the lemon chicken and orange chicken, give a sweet sauce without the heat.

We didn’t order any appetizers, but the basic spring rolls aren’t anything I’m tempted to eat when I’m not at the buffet. Another friend ordered the Tofu and Vegetables - which was mediocre at best, and that’s trying to forget about the tofu. The tofu appeared and tasted lightly pan fried, but then soaked in the plain stir fry sauce it become an uncomfortably moist bite. I’ve also tried the Tangy Eggplant, which did nothing for me. The sauce seemed off, and the eggplant was a little too melt-in-your mouth. It seems that the tofu dishes may be the most hit or miss, but people do rave about the veggie shrimp and House Specials.

With entrée prices ranging from $7.95-$14.95, it’s best to go with friends and try a variety of favorite and new dishes. Portion wise it’s smart to share as well, as portions are not very large considering the price, and if you share you can even things out. Quality wise, you up the odds of eating something you actually enjoy. It’s great to have downtown, but not someplace I’d frequently justify the price for dinner.

Potstickers and springroll


Sesame Chicken

Veggie Lemon Chicken

Tofu with Brown Sauce


Orange flavored Veggie Chicken

Tofu and Vegetables

Eggplant with Tangy sauce

Rating: 3 out of 5
Address: 22 NW 4th Ave. Portland, OR 97209
Open Daily 11am-7pm
Lunch Buffet 11am-2:30pm M-F, $6.50

**Taste of Bali is now closed downtown. No word yet on a new location.

Taste of Bali is moving soon to 82nd Ave, and now that I’ve finally gone there, I won’t miss them. Although the man behind the counter was one of the friendliest workers I have ever come across, repeatedly warmly calling me “my friend”, that just can’t save a bad meal.

I’d been eying it for years from my office and finally visited last week. I have eaten excellent vegan Indonesian food previously, and knew that Taste of Bali sells and uses homemade tempeh, so it was worth a shot. It’s a small restaurant that I’m proud to at least temporarily still see in downtown Portland - independent owned, operated, and unique. Orders are taken at the counter and your food is later brought to you. The establishment always seems to have diners in its plant-filled room with small tables. I grabbed one of the last few open ones when I went for lunch, cozily sitting alone in a corner next to the front window - a great people-watching location, if the windows were cleaner.

When inquiring as to what was vegan friendly, I was asked if I prefer mild or spicy - I appreciated such customer service. I chose the Bakmi Goreng, which was tofu and pan fried noodles. The server assured me it also included cabbage and carrots, since I was omitting the onions. Other veggie options include Vegetarian Rendang and Sayur Lodeh. Also included with the $5.45 meal was a small cup’s worth of salad that was given upon ordering. The cabbage was crisp and the tangy, vinegary dressing was very tasty. The meal came about after 15 minutes ordering, and just see the photo below. I think I counted two pieces of cabbage, one carrot slice and a runner up for plainest tofu of my life. I want to assume there was a miscommunication and this was the cabbage and carrots my sever was referring to was my salad. The noodles were warm and quite aromatic, but that’s about it. I didn’t see any point in eating something like this other than to fill my stomach, and I didn’t enjoy putting it there.

I’m sorry Taste of Bali…..rather, you should apologize to me. Enjoy your move to 82nd.

Cabbage salad

Bakmi Goreng

Rating: 1 out of 5
Address: 947 S.W. Broadway Portland OR 97205
Mon-Thursday: 11:00am - 8:00pm
Friday: 11:00am - 9:00pm
Saturday: 12:00pm - 9:00pm
Sunday: 12:00pm - 8:00pm

Date: September 28, 2007
Times Visited: 4

Pizza is where the two Stumptown Vegans divide their common tastes. One is an east coaster and likes her crust cracker thin - the other is a west coaster who is a fan of soft and deep dish pizza. Unfortunately, people from both sides of this pizza divide have been unhappy with much of Portland’s pizza options. After reading on a blog about Hammy’s thick crust pizza the west coast vegan was excited while the east coast vegan was annoyed but went along anyway.

First off, we’d like to say that Hammy’s was more appealing before we noticed a weekly advertisement about the recent addition of hot wing pizzas. Moving on, Hammy’s is a well-priced, vegan-friendly, pizza shop that delivers to SE at all hours, then expands to the greater metro area after midnight. Their delivery is typically even quicker than promised.

When we called for delivery on a Friday evening, the order was estimated at 45 minutes and came within 30. Between the two Stumptown Vegans, there was a Greek Vegan Calzone ($7) and a personal vegan pizza ($7.50).

The Greek Vegan Calzone was a crusty and soft shelled meal filled with mushrooms, olives, peppers, garlic, onions, a bit of soy parmesan and both marinara and pesto sauce. There wasn’t much to it; nothing that really stood out to say it was great or bad. The crust was thinner than expected but it was soft like a thick pita without being thick or fluffy. The west coast vegan had never seen anything like it before. The filling was fresh and tasty. The only thing that could have made this meal better would be the inclusion of a dipping sauce.

Personal pizzas start with a vegan base of olive oil & herbs, marinara sauce or pesto. Vegan topping choices are all the normal ones – mushrooms, garlic, roma tomatoes, peppers, onions, etc. with the bonus of the house made vegan Parmesan. Both the calzone and the personal pizza included this faux cheez, which was positively light, but nothing to write home about. The pizza’s crust may look thin, but it’s nothing like the thin and crispy crust an east coaster would call their own. It reminded us of the crust at California Pizza Kitchen.

Two people managed this meal, while not over stuffing themselves. In the future, we’d recommend ordering a larger pie for two people. Vegan breadsticks are also available with marinara dipping sauce, and their dessert pizza sounds veganizable. Call them and plead! Screw that Domino’s Oreo pizza.

Hammy’s is a great neighborhood pizza shop. It’s not a restaurant we would suggest a trek across town to consume, but they’re take out and delivery only so don’t even worry about that. Our hats are off the Hammy’s for being vegan friendly and even making their own vegan cheese topping.

Herbed Breadsticks and Marinara

Rating: 3 out of 5
Address: 2114 SE Clinton 503 235 1035
Hours: Open for carryout: 11am-2:30am
Open for delivery: 11am-4am