Category Archives: breakfast

Bloop!

Posted on April 29, 2010 by fueledbypopcorn| 2 Comments

Bloop, Brief Review
Overall	Service	Food Quality	Atmosphere	Vegan Options
9.5	10	9	9	10
Location: SW 3rd between Stark and Washington
Recommended Dish: Apple Cider oatmeal bowl
Hours: 7am-10pm			Times Visited: 2

If carts could give you a hug, Bloop would. You may be familiar with Bloop’s location since it shares a cart with Sonny Bowl. But in the morning the signs change, and instead of rice bowls, vegan oatmeal bowls are served.

The pastel chalk board menu, flowers, and old-time music will pull you in under the protective overhang for a long embrace. You will feel the warmth take over your body as you enjoy a bowl of sweet oatmeal served with fruit and nuts, sip on your hot Stumptown Coffee, and wonder if you could grab a Black Sheep Bakery muffin for your mid day snack, as the pastry box stares at you. The oatmeal options are simple – 4 regulars and a seasonal special. Peanut Butter Banana, Apple Cider, Good for you Goodness, and the Simple Oatmeal.

The Simple Oatmeal is made like all other bowls with thick cut oats cooked in almond milk but served with brown sugar. For only $3.75, it’s a great deal. All bowls are served in 16 oz. to go soup containers, hearty enough to last a normal breakfast eater through lunch. If you’re a big breakfast eater, you may want to grab a muffin, or check out Portland Smoothie Company, next door, for an additional item. The tight seal of the container makes it easy to take it with you, or to store your oatmeal until second-breakfast. While the oatmeal is served hot, it’s not too hot so the steam continually cooking the meal should not be an issue.

The Peanut Butter Banana is oatmeal cooked with almond milk, served with almonds, agave, peanut butter, bananas, and Bloop’s own cinnamon mix, which contains walnuts. At less than $5 a bowl, it’s a good price for fresh, healthy food on the go.

The Apple Cider contains oats cooked with almond milk and apple cider mixed with maple syrup, walnuts, fresh apples, and a cinnamon mix. The cinnamon mix includes cinnamon, brown sugar, and chopped walnuts. This bowl is for people who love a sweet breakfast, but it’s a natural sweetness that won’t leave you feeling like you ate a VooDoo Doughnut. The oatmeal is nutty, chewy, a bit sticky, without being too paste-like. The added nuts and fresh tart green apples mixed throughout make this a fantastic wholesome breakfast.

The Good for You Goodness is close to a Parfait with uncooked oats, Whole Soy yogurt, agave, cherries, walnuts, and the cinnamon mix. This may become my favorite breakfast bowl as the mornings warm up because it is served cold. The uncooked oatmeal is sandwiched between a modest base layer of soy yogurt, and canned cherries topped off with walnuts and the cinnamon mix. This bowl is best enjoyed mixed before eating to combine the layers. It’s great the way it is in terms of flavor, no additional condiments were needed, but they are provided if you feel otherwise.

Once the Portland Smoothie Company opens earlier in the morning, Bloop may face early morning cart competition. Who knows, maybe their proximity will become a perfect cart marriage of oatmeal and smoothies. If you’re up, downtown, and hungry before 10am, check-out Bloop for a good, healthy breakfast option.

Bloop Menu:

Apple Cider:

Good for You Goodness:

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Posted in SW, all vegan, breakfast, cart, cheap, coffee shop, downtown, favorites, quick, webly

Tagged all vegan, beverages, breakfast, cart, coffee shop, downtown, favorites, quick, SW

Hungry Tiger Too

Posted on March 25, 2010 by jess scone| 45 Comments

Updated 3/25/2010 Breaking News: Vegan Corn Dogs are now $1.25/each on Wednesday nights.

Hungry Tiger Too Brief Review (updated)
Overall	Service	Food Quality	Atmosphere	Vegan Options
9	9	8	9	10
Location: 207 SE 12th Ave Portland, OR 97214
Hours: M-F 11am-2am, weekends 9am-12am			Times Visited: So many!

Updated 12/11/2009 – New Daily Specials Menu –

I have experienced Tofufuffalo and thrown down my 40 cents a tofu wing.

And it is great. They have Spicy (Frank’s Red Hot style) and BBQ. At first I was digging the Spicy, but then BBQ won out. It seemed to be the overall favorite among my friends, but mingling the two was also quite popular. They’re basically strips of chewy, defrosted tofu, fried and smothered in sauce. Can’t go wrong there. Vegan ranch available for dipping! The new sensation has arrived.

UPDATED 8/24/09 – Menu Additions!

Years ago it was Paradox, but in the past year, Hungry Tiger Too has become my default “vegan diner” spot. I’m still sore over Paradox’s booth removal and expansion anyway, sorry!

Obviously, there’s a large separate vegan menu – the blue one. They’ve recently added home fries, a BBQ tempeh sandwich, a Portabello mushroom scramble, Rosemary tofu skewers and a couple other items.

I never consider the multiple boca burger options, but it’s cool to choose from sizable scrambles, greasy sides, sandwiches, salads and appetizers like nachos and the dear squash filled wontons, a full bar, $4 Mimosas, vegan friendly bloody Marys, and huge vegan pancakes for $3. It took me until this past weekend, appropriately after the Vegan Prom, to try one, and I’ve seen the light. They come as a side option to scrambles or $3 individually.

I know you can find corn cakes to drown in maple syrup in this town, and I like the wheat free Chai Blueberry pancake at Jam well enough, but I’m usually wary to order vegan pancakes. When I want pancakes, I want the eggy, fluffy pancakes from diners in New York that I grew up eating, not grainy corn cakes.

But here I am, recommending HT2′s fantastically giant vegan pancake, taking up an entire plate just like they do at real diners, with a lop of vegan margarine and a mini pitcher of maple syrup. I don’t know if it’s the real stuff, or even 50% real stuff, but it does its job. Can I please have a late night and then eat a pancake? Sure!

I’m not forgetting the whole fried corndog thing with $1 (all vegan!) corndog and Pabst night; I just don’t want to eat them. I do go for the fun of it every few weeks, squeezing into the bar or showing up early to grab a table on the restaurant side. One day a friend of mine will go for the glory to entertain me…

UPDATED 1/20/2009 – Quick Notes

The Hungry Tiger Too now has a regular menu, and a 2 page vegan menu. Wednesdays are $1 vegan corn dog nights! Fridays are $1 off vegan entree (excluding breakfasts). Happy hour offers cheap vegan and side dish selections, like $4 vegan nachos smothered in cheezy sauce.

Sandwiches now come with housemade chips or slaw, and fries or tots are extra. Sad, but true – and we hear good things about the chips.

The mac and cheeze is now $9.50 or so – and it hasn’t looked as cheezy as it used to. On the other hand, the nacho cheeze went from being an oily, not so flavorful sauce to being a more than decent cheezy sauce I’m willing to pay for.

Times Visited: Too Many to Count!

The Hungry Tiger Too is more evidence to the fact that SE Portland and Veganism are BFFs. It’s gaining notice for keys reasons – local ads mention “VEGAN OPTIONS”, it’s within a couple blocks of everyone’s favorite vegan mini mall, and it’s the new existence of the now defunct but popular Hungry Tiger dive bar on East Burnside.

One half of the establishment is a closed-off bar with smoking, while the other half is a restaurant. The restaurant is smoke free and minors are welcome until 7pm. The building itself is a large house, and there is additional seating on the back porch and out front. The restaurant has tables of varying size and booths. The walls of the restaurant are colorful murals of wildlife that prominently feature many appropriate tigers. Vibe wise, I get the feeling that if you dimmed the lights come evening at Cup & Saucer and added more liquor and vegan food, you’d get something similar.

The vegan friendliness is evident on the menu in appetizers, sandwiches, salads, and entrees. Many items are available vegan, sandwiches like the Ruben, (see Portland Vegan Reubens for more love!) and others are vegan by default, like the butternut squash wontons. Vegan friendly options are marked with a character on the menu, and it’s all over it. There is no fun cocktail list in the restaurant, but there are decently priced microbrews and hard cider. You can order from the full bar as well. Standard vegan-friendly appetizers of greasy tator tots, french fries, and crinkle cut fries are available anytime. During happy hour, they are all a dollar-off. Selected drinks are also discounted on designated days.

As for the food itself, let’s talk about the Mac & Cheeze.

Extra points: Bread crumbs, and the serving dish.

I realized with taking my first bite that it wasn’t cheezy, but I kept trying it and kept liking the meal. Non-nooch crazy vegans should check this out! At $8 (now $9.75) it was enough for two meals, and several bites for others to sample. Raves were heard all around. The only downside is the helping of bland, pre-mixed grilled veggies on the side, but like you have room for them anyway. Take them to go and feel a bit healthier with your leftovers.

Breakfast is served all day, and for us it breaks down to biscuits, gravy and tofu scramble. The tofu scramble comes with toast and potatoes. Word is out that it tastes like more than plain tofu, but that can’t be said for the tofu on the salads. The butternut squash wontons ($5) are a pleasing diversion from standard appetizers and potatoes. The filling is mild and sweet, the fried shell is crispy enough and the creamy coconut sauce is complemented nicely by the sporadic sprinkles of sweet chili sauce and spice on the wonton itself.

Sandwiches are offered with vegan mayo, tempeh, and fake bacon. On my most recent visit, the server recommended the vegan Club sandwich ($9). This packed sandwich of three slices of bread, peppered Tofurkey deli meat, store-bought tempeh bacon, tomato, green leaf lettuce, and vegan mayo was not on the menu yet, but should be soon. Served with a pile of deliciously hot tator tots and a pickle, a split sandwich and appetizer is enough to feed two decent appetites. If I had known the price before ordering I would have held off, but I’m glad I tried it. I’d order it again and take half home.

There’s such a comfortable atmosphere and friendly menu at the Hungry Tiger Too, that I was shocked to be one of two people in the restaurant recently. Meet your friends for dinner ASAP, because word will spread….

Mac and Cheeze with grilled veggies

Butternut Squash Wontons

Club Sandwich with Tots

Portland Scramble with hash browns and toast

Vegan BLT with Tots

Nachos

Rating: 3.75 out of 5
Address: 207 SE 12th Ave, Portland, OR 97214
Mon-Fri 11am-2am, Sat & Sun 7am-2am

http://tryveganpdx.com/restaurants/hungry-tiger-too/

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Posted in SE, bar food, breakfast, dinner, jess, lunch, updated

Tagged bar food, breakfast, dinner, fried food, lunch, sandwiches, SE

Artemis Cafe

Posted on February 27, 2010 by jess scone| 7 Comments

Artemis Cafe, Brief Review
Overall	Service	Food Quality	Atmosphere	Vegan Options
7.75	8	8	8	7
Location: 1235 SE Division St Portland OR 97202 (503) 230-8340
Hours: Mon-Thurs 7am-7pm Friday 7am-6pm Saturday 9am-3pm			Times Visited: 5+

If you can draw your attention away from the new Taqueria Los Gorditos: The Restaurant, albeit briefly, let it glimpse upon Artemis Catering and Cafe across the street. The vegan-attentive, organic catering company, and cafe operate out of a spacious, corner coffee shop at SE 12th and Eliot, right across from vegan nacho land.

The philosophy of Artemis Foods is, “[as] a sustainably managed company which supports local relationships in every way we can”. The cafe features daily, showcased prepared food specials (I play the ‘ignore the chicken breasts plate’ game), an Everyday Cafe menu, and Artemis To Go options. The vegan To Go options include sides, soups, and rotating desserts. Ordering can be done in advance or at the café.

On my multiple visits, I’ve always spotted at least one vegan side dish and baked good. On my last visit, there was Citrus Spaghetti Squash, Vegan Breakfast Cookies, and Vegan Coffeecake. On top of that, there are blatant, considerate vegan options on the breakfast, lunch sandwich, and simple meal option menus. For example, the breakfast menu includes a Vegan Breakfast Panini; the lunch, a BBQ Tempeh, Olive Oil Roasted Kale, Grilled Butternut Squash, and Lemon Tahini flatbread sandwich. The vegan Simple Meal options are less exciting, and out of my normal budget for to go meals ($18/person), but it’s nice to know they’re available.

The item I’ve been most enamored with is their frequently seen, seasonal Vegan Coffeecake ($2.50). It rivals every other vegan coffeecake I’ve tried in town. The homemade cake was delightfully, simultaneously soft and crumbly, with big chunks of vanilla tinged brown sugar. It was a totally perfect accompaniment to a cup of tea, or strong coffee, naturally.

The Vegan Breakfast Panini ($5.50) sounded like it could do no wrong: Smoked Apple vegan sausage and Tofutti Cream Cheese grilled between local Grand Central Yukon Gold Bread. It stands out as a quickly prepared, savoury breakfast treat, outside of the realm of bagels. The Field Roast sausage is delicious, the Tofutti is creamy, and does its job holding the sandwich together. However, I found myself wishing the golden, grilled bread was thicker, as it holds such a grand filling. One could also argue that the sausage could do with a little grilling ahead of time, to give the sandwich a little extra bite, texture wise.

The drink selection starts with classic Stumptown coffee drinks, refreshes with juices, and relaxes with loose-leaf teas, mimosas, beer, wine, and more. The Stumptown air pots and lattes are all very consistent. The café offers soy and hemp milk. I was impressed when I recently overheard a very knowledgeable barista detail the Stumptown preferences of customers! In fact, the origin of this review were the visits that stemmed out of a lovely holiday soy latte experience this past winter.

Now that Spring approaches, take your food out front and people watch the daytime crowds at Genie’s or Gorditos. There is table seating both in and outside the café. It’s been quiet every time I’ve gone, so go with a book or a friend and relax.

Artemis is open during the day, Monday through Saturday. Go for a beverage, the coffeecake, and browse the cases at this calm, neighborhood spot in a growing-ever-more-popular crossing. See if any of their fresh and creative dishes strike your local, organic, sustainable fancy!

Vegan Coffeecake

Vegan Breakfast Panini

Holiday Latte

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Posted in SE, breakfast, coffee shop, dinner, jess, lunch, organic, quick, snack, to go

Slappy Cakes

Posted on December 12, 2009 by fueledbypopcorn| 7 Comments

Slappy Cakes Brief Review
Overall	Service	Food Quality	Atmosphere	Vegan Options
8.25	8	5	9	7
Location: 4246 SE Belmont St, Portland, OR 97215 (503) 477-4805
Hours: Everyday 8am-5pm			Times Visited: 2

Another place to enjoy Portland’s favorite meal, with a theme – flip your own pancakes. Slappy Cakes is a new restaurant at SE 43^rd and SE Belmont. The converted garage offers a large, open, brightly lit dining area, and ample seating with table top griddles. After settling in and thinking about the details, this reviewer thought, “I am glad I don’t have to bus the tables or clean the griddles. This could get messy!”

Diners are seated to clean, personal griddle tables with wooden stands covering hot surface. The heat is turned on, and the wait staff will remind you that this surface is in fact hot and there’s no need to touch it to find out.

The menu is typical of a full service diner – pancakes, home fries, omelets, scrambles, sides, and a vast alcoholic breakfast drink menu. Though not on the menu, they do offer tofu for their scrambles. Post 11am, sandwiches, salads, and soups are also offered. I’d be curious to know the percentage of visitors who eschew the personal griddle and sit at the bar, facing the open kitchen. These spots must be reserved for neighborhood locals when the novelty wears off.

On to the pancakes, because that is what Slappy Cakes is all about. There are three options, and only one vegan option – the whole wheat. For tabletop griddle dining you choose your batter plus one addition, all for $5. The additions range from chocolate chips , dried cherries, nuts, fancy apple sauces, and many more, vegan and non-vegan. Even if you do not enjoy add-ins to your pancakes, I suggest an addition anyway. A quarter cup of nuts or dried fruit will be nice snack while you wait for your pancakes to cook, which do take awhile.

The beautiful paintings on the wall show patrons how to make pancakes: pour the batter, add your additions, flip, and enjoy. On this review’s first visit I wished there was more guidance on making the pancakes. Not that I am new to pancakes, they are one of my most favorite breakfast dishes, but when the wait staff is busy, it can feel lonely staring at a blank hot griddle with a 16 ounce bottle of pancake batter. Never fear, The Stumptown Vegans are here for you. Here is our guide:

Order 1-2 orders (2 if you’re really hungry) of whole wheat pancake batter, plus an addition.
Cook the pancakes nearest the center of the griddle, it’s the hottest.
Be patient, the vegan batter needs a bit longer to cook, and your griddle may require additional oil before the next pancake if it’s sticking.
Pour normal shapes, round, to get the hang of using the squeeze bottle. Keep the cakes to about the size of your palm. Once this is mastered, move on on to fun shapes.
Nuzzle the additions into the batter right after sprinkling it on top of the wet batter. Use your fork or your finger. This will help it cook faster. (Don’t try using the various syrups as an addition. This will make the griddle cleaner angry).
Flip the pancakes only after you see lots of little bubbles rise to the top and pop, and the edges start to look a bit dried out. (Don’t be cute and try to flip the pancakes high into the air. This will make the person who has to clean the lamp shades angry).
Watch closely because the second side will not take as long as the first. Gently use your spatula to poke under the cake after 1-2 minutes to see if it’s done. (This is where it would be great to have an hour glass).
Keep making pancakes. As soon as you have your first group of cakes on your plate spread the batter for the remaining so they cook while you’re eating.
Have fun! Slappy Cakes is about the experience. Try spelling out your name or drawing your cat’s face in pancake batter.

The vegan pancakes are a bit disappointing in the fluff and taste departments. The cakes lose their fluff after the flip and the taste gets by with the variety of syrups. However, I don’t think many people will visit Slappy Cakes for the food, but the experience. Each griddle has their own set of four syrups – maple, blueberry, marionberry, and cherry. Real maple syrup is available for an added cost of $1, but vegan butter is free, but it’s no Earth Balance.

Besides the pancakes there are not many vegan options – home fries, field roast sausage, and a quinoa salad. All of the menu items were on the small side compared to most other Portland diners. The home fries are quarter sized deep fried potato cubes topped with dried parsley and salt, served on a small plate. They taste more like French Fries than Home Fries because they were actually fried. Most tables do not come with personal ketchup bottles, so ask for ketchup if that’s your style. The Field Roast sausage is half of a normal sausage, cut in half and cooked until browned. Definitely moist and tender with a bit of crunch.

The Warm Mushroom and Root Vegetable Salad was simple and enjoyable. Chanterelle mushrooms, rutabaga, carrots, and quinoa mixed together on a small bed of salad greens for $7. The champagne dressing was mild and left me wanting more of a citrus flavor to company the tenderly cooked roots. While I was told this dish was vegan, I later learned that champagne is not typically vegan and do not know the amount of research Slappy Cakes has done to know one way or another.

The drink menu is full of fun drinks like an Orange Cream Cicle, A green bloody mary, called the Slappy Green, and the Slappy Screw, a normal screw driver rimmed with cinnamon and sugar. Beware, the Red Slappy uses anchovie ridden worstershire sauce and a bacon stiring stick. The Green Slappy on the other hand, is a weak tomatillo bloody mary. The green drink will turn heads with the usual drink color.

A few other things to note – if you require a lot of food to fill you up, order two sides and pancakes, or two orders of pancakes and one side. However, doing this will run you about $13 for breakfast. They are willing to substitute tofu for eggs in their scrambles, but it is not on the menu, just ask for it.

Slappy Cakes is very family friendly and I was surprised that kids making pancakes and pouring syrup wasn’t as messy as it could be. Also, diners are given plenty of room at each table to flip pancakes with ease and without fear of bumping into your neighbor. The wait staff are helpful, but very busy with the amount of tables, and families who frequent the restaurant.

If I was 10 I would beg my parents to take me here every weekend. Since I am not, I have a hard time dragging myself across town for a simple meal I can make myself, and better, in the comfort of my own home. If you’re into pancakes check out Hungry Tiger Too, Laurelthirst, or Jam. I will however, visit Slappy Cakes to meet out of town friends who want a fun Portland brunch dining atmosphere with a safe IHOP-like menu. And if you’ve got kids, take them here; this is one of the most kid friendly Portland brunch places I’ve been in awhile.

Griddle Table: