4823 N. Lombard  503.247.3354 Recommended Dish: Build-Your-Own with Vegenaise, Field Roast & the works Hours: 11am – 11pm
Times Visited: 2

6 inch Wheat Roll with Sun-dried Tomatoes $6

Build Your Own Sandwich

Build Your Own Salad

Outside the N. Lombard location

Inside East Side Deli

~

How many times have you heard Portlanders discuss Indian cuisine, and nothing comes up besides the Chaat Houses? No offense to the Chaat Houses (team BCH!), but vegans are always on the lookout for new vegan options. The latest addition, Dwaraka, knows how to skip the ghee while offering dosas, an array of pakoras, entrees, and a vegan-friendly lunch buffet.

Dwaraka Indian Cuisine opened on Hawthorne Boulevard at SE 40th this past Spring. It is located on a short strip of restaurants in an old Pakistani restaurant location, alongside Mio Sushi, No Fish! Go Fish! and Portland’s Pampered Pets The restaurant is quiet; minimally, yet comfortably lit, and mildly air-conditioned. The aroma of Indian cuisine casually fills the room. These factors, along with a very welcoming wait staff, contribute to an ambiance that’s both date night and family friendly. I’m partial to the seating out front, where a couple of tables overlook a busy area that’s sure to gather even more activity once New Seasons opens in the fall of 2010.

The first course to arrive when you are seated is the complimentary Papadums. These paper-thin discs are airy and lightly spiced with cumin seeds. They should be dipped into two of the table-side jars of chutney: the tomato and coconut.  There is a third, mint chutney, but I was warned by both staff and a friend that this contains dairy. If you like black pepper and tomato, go for the highly spiced tomato chutney. If you’ve always wondered what would happen if coconut milk fell into your hummus, the creamy, coconut chickpea sauce is for you. Really, go for some of each on alternate spoonings. Perhaps you’d like to intermingle the two.

Dwaraka’s entire menu features North and South Indian cuisine, and Tandoori specialties. Most vegetarian entrees can be made vegan, excluding anything deliberately including dairy, such as paneer dishes.  Across the board, it is imperative to let your server know you are vegan as there are exceptions to vegan-friendliness. Fortunately, the staff is confidently knowledgeable, and notified my dining parties that outside the paneer entrees, sadly – the Samosas, Crepes with Cream of Wheat, and Naan are all not vegan.  In regards to the Naan, house-baked whole wheat Parathas can be substituted for $1 in its place.  Not fun to spend an extra $1, but an option, in addition to rice. The staff has also been extremely helpful in pointing out what is, or can be, modified as gluten-free.

Now, what to get? Dwaraka’s immediate pull are their Dosas. And by pull, I mean, I justified review research by ordering them twice in a row. For those unaware, here is the description from Dwaraka’s online menu: “Dosas are crepes made with different lentils and flours stuffed with vegetable curry”. As if being a naturally gluten-free vegan crepe wasn’t enough, you have a savory Indian filling to look forward to. I recommend the Masala Dosa and Andhra Masala Dosa ($5 & $6.50). Both are gigantic, substantial folds of crepe with a moderately spiced and salty potato filling in the middle, with sautéed peas, carrots, onions, and other vegetables. The filling is clearly reminiscent of what’s inside a hot samosa.  The actual crepe is substantial, and again, gigantic, which works to your advantage if you decide to share or take leftovers home. Break off pieces like you would with injera at an Ethiopian restaurant, or use your fork and knife to dig in and cherish. Whatever way, dip your pieces into the accompanying bowl of salty Sambar lentil soup. On one occasion, this soup was rather spicy; on another, it was milder; both were warming and enjoyable.

The Dwaraka Combo Platter ($7.95) is an appealing deal. It is vegan, gluten-free, and comes with the Masala Dosa, one Idli, one Vada, and the Sambar soup. Combos are great for versatility, but a bite of each new side item was enough for me. The kindest thing I can say about the curious Idli, a round, saucer-shaped rice dumpling, was that I would consider immersing it in Sambar in the future. The rest I can say, is that it was plain, crumbly, and rather uninteresting. If I simply don’t know how to eat this, please let me know! The fried Vada lentil “donuts” had a nice, crisped shell, and savoury inside, but too much unbeknownst green onion for my palate.  A dining companion, however, was rather into them.

Another side option are the Pakoras, from the Appetizers section. These fried treats are battered in dough that’s once again, airy, yet crisp. There’s a touch of sweetness, and they avoid suffering from extra grease, like many deep-fried items do. Every variety I’ve sampled has been a winner, especially the tender pieces of eggplant ($4.25). The accompanying small bowl of tamarind sauce is also sweet, but subdued. The portion of sauce is small for friends to share, so be sure to ask for more if you’re dining family style.

The restaurant’s beverage menu includes standard sodas, Chai tea (request vegan, if possible), Madras coffee, wine, and a very decent selection of domestic and Indian beers. On my first visit, our charming server casually recommended another beer to a friend based on his prior ordering selection.

Since the move of India Oven to SE Belmont, Dwaraka Indian Cuisine now offers the most-vegan friendly Indian cuisine on SE Hawthorne.

Perhaps one day, I can look past the dosas and consider entrees, but for the time being I’ll say this: For the love of dosas in the Northwest, independent restaurants, and satisfying pakoras anywhere, check it out.

Exterior

Papadum and Table-side Chutney

Spinach Pakoras

Eggplant Pakoras

Aloo Gobi, A La Carte

Dosa combo

Masala Dosa

Inside the dosa

Whole Wheat Paratha

We’ve painstakingly compiled this listing of 25 Great Vegan Foods for $7 or Less in Portland, OR

All items are $7 or less!   They are listed in no particular order.

We purposely stayed away from happy hours deals, where some of these items may be even less expensive!  Check out our podcast with full item descriptions and more rants & raves here.

This is modeled after recent similar listings by Willamette Week and ExtraMSG, except this time – it’s all vegan! We’ve included links to our prior reviews and restaurant websites on the list below.

25 Great Vegan Foods for $7 or Less:

1. Steak and Cheese at D.C. Vegetarian $5
2. Vegan Club at Backspace $7
3. Small plate at Portobello Vegan Trattoria (i.e. Italian Sausage stuffed Ravioli with Daiya and Broccoli Raab) $7
4. Misoyaki Eggplant at Miho Izakaya $6
5. Vegan Apple Fritter at VooDoo Doughnuts $2.25
6. Maple Sausage Waffle at Flavourspot $5
7. Vegan slice at Dove Vivi $3.75
8. Broadway Bowl at Native Bowl $6 for Regular
9. Tofu Salad Bun at Pho PDX $7
10. Falafel Sandwich at Hush Hush $5.50
11. Red Red at Asaase Ital Palace $6
12. Lunch Special (entree, summer roll, drink) at Thai Basil cart $5
13. Fries and dip at Potato Champion $3.50 regular, $4.50 large
14. Frito Pie at Fixin’ To $7
15. The Jade Abbot at The Ruby Dragon $4.50, single
16. Chicken Salad Sub at D.C. Vegetarian $5
17. Lunch Buffet at Green Wok $6.50
18. NoPo Burrito at Proper Eats $6.50
19. Tempeh Things (buffalo or bbq) at The Mash Tun Brewpub $6.95
20. Pad Thai at Thai Food Cafe $7
21. Big Lunch Special at Bombay Chaat House $5
22. Biscuits & Gravy special at Sweetpea Baking Co.
23. Fried Pie at Whiffies Fried Pies $3-4
24. Wok Bar at New Seasons $6.95
25. Weeping Tiger Sandwich at The Bye & Bye $7

Honorable Mentions:

• Taqueria Los Gorditos – the cart and taqueria. We’re shocked neither of us included an option and expected the other to – we just couldn’t decide on which excellent item! Nachos? Torta? Soy Curl Mulita?
• Vegan Eggplant and Cashew Tofu Stir Fries at Just Thai $5 – This cart is sweet, very vegan attentive and happy to include extra vegetables!
• Anything from Sip!
• Spaghetti with Gravy or Spicy Soba Noodles at Yarp?! $4-6
• Field Roast sandwich at East Side Deli
• Biscuits & Almond Gravy at Vita Cafe and Paradox Cafe $3-5
• Side of Organic Smash Coconut Yams at Papa G’s $3.85
• Everything else that’s slipping our minds!

This is not a definitive listing of the BEST offerings out there, simply 25 great suggestions we’ve tried in the recent past.

Do you agree with any of this?  Let us know & please share your favorites!

Check out our full podcast here. You can also subscribe via Itunes.

Looking for more recommendations? For an older list be sure to check out our May 2008 podcast on Cheap Food in Portland for $5 or less. Many of these may be out dated, but some are still relevant.

Some photographic evidence of said 25 Great Vegan Foods:

Ravioli Small Plate at Portobello Vegan Trattoria $7

Apple Fritter VooDoo Doughtnut $2.25

The Jade Abbot at Ruby Dragon $4.50

Red Red from Asaase Ital Palace cart $6

New Season’s Wok Bar $6.95

Regular Cone at Potato Champion! $3.50

Hush Hush Falafel Sandwich $5.50

Chicken Pad Thai at Thai Food Cafe $7

Frito Pie from Fixin’ To $7

Big Lunch Special from Bombay Chaat House $5

Whiffies Fried Pie – cherry chocolate chip $3 (Photo by Lucas DeShazer)

Steak & Cheese from D.C. Vegetarian $5

Chicken Salad Sandwich from D.C. Vegetarian $5

Lunch Special from Thai Basil Cart $5

Misoyaki Eggplant at Miho Izakaya $6

Tofu Salad Bun at Pho PDX $7

Buffalo Tempeh Things at Mash Tun $6.95

Club Backspace from Backspace $7

Biscuits & Gravy at Vita Cafe $3-5

Special at Taqueria Los Gorditos

Spaghetti with Gravy (Tomato Sauce) and Veggies at Yarp?! $6

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

Ceasar Salad

Mandarin Salad

Biscuits and Gravy

Grilled Cheese

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/

~

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

Date: November 13, 2007
Times Visited: Too Many Too Count

It’s a Beautiful Pizza has a fun name to say and sing. Their creatively named and fresh ingredient topped pizzas are generally beautiful too, as well as their artsy sign and spacious, comfortable location on SE Belmont. I dig that although their double dining room is incredibly large, the lighting and the table layout makes your table space feel intimate. Their two-sided menu asks you to ‘paint your own masterpiece’, aka design your own pizza. The pizza is touted as ‘legendary’, and their aptly named specialty pizzas are named after music legends: Grace Slick, Janis Joplin, Joni Mitchell, Ravi Shankar, Jimi Hendrix and just ‘Jerry’. I don’t know about legendary, but the veganized Ravi Shankar featuring their special peanut-tamari sauce, roasted coconut, scallions, shredded carrots, peanuts, tofu and cilantro is quite talked about among my friends.

After a couple unwanted cheddar and nacho soy cheese substitutions on pizzas over a year ago, I recently went back after an extended absence. Perhaps it’s matured, perhaps it’s because I went with a large group of vegans all ordering soy cheeze and keeping the cooks on their game, but the medium pizza with olives, marinara and soy cheese I shared with my partner was alright. Very alright. Not great, and doughier than I’d like, but literally loaded with olives and soy cheese so I felt like I was getting flavor and my money’s worth with all the toppings. The pies was also promptly delivered to our table within 20 minutes.

Although this is not all vegan establishment, the marinara and dough are always vegan. The staff knows what vegan means, and even the fantastically cheap ($1) breadstick deluxe and marinara sauce are vegan. There are typical salads, tofu can be subbed for chicken, and vegan soy cheese can be added to any pizza for the price of adding an extra topping ($1-2, depending on pie size). One can only assume their tasty toppings are local and even organic, as a large pizza with three toppings will exceed $20 bucks.

What’s not beautiful? The crusts and the consistency. I’ve seen Follow Your Heart appear to melt before, but it doesn’t quite happen here. Consistency wise, some of my fellow soy-cheeze-consuming friends remarked that they have had tastier pies there before. I’ve heard talk of vegan single slices, but never actually seen them. The marinara sauce is sometimes really zesty, and sometimes not. The bottom line is that it’s Portland pizza, and it’s vegan with bonus soy cheeze available for dine in or local SE delivery. It’s the only pizzeria in Portland with vegan soy cheeze (Kalga also has soy cheese but it’s not a pizzeria), and it’s located in the adorable, albeit condo-ing up Belmont neighborhood. I usually prefer my pizza soy cheeze-less, but when the mood hits, it’s cool to have the option. It’s a Beautiful Pizza also feature average priced microbrews on tap and live music weekly.

Medium sized pizza with soy cheeze, marinara and olives on half.

Rating: 3 out of 5
Address: 3342 SE Belmont Portland, OR
Sunday-Thursday 11am-10pm, Friday & Saturday 11am-11pm
Delivery available 6pm till closing, $15 minimum, limited area

~

The story.

There was a time before the Whiffies fried pie cart opened, and then there’s everything after. The summer of the food cart explosion, if you will.

The rectangular white cart residing in the Cartopia at SE 12^thand Hawthorne rose to instant popularity in late Spring 2009 through a word of mouth, interactive, Twitter-based campaign.  The marketing, particularly prior to opening, was revolutionary in Portland. The rest is…recent history.

Maybe you’ve heard talk of the legend – Whiffies proprietor, Gregg Abbott, is the poster boy for taking your future into your own hands, ala cart.  He was inspired by his chef father’s classic pie recipe and the popularity of fried foods, as well as his desire to have an independent business and come up with classic and creative pie fillings.

Visit the eclectic, vegan-friendly cart pod at SE 12^th and Hawthorne and see what everyone is raving about–from food cart enthusiasts, to families driving in from the ‘burbs, to foursquare mayors, to drunken hipsters stumbling out of dive bars, tourists, and everyone else you know.  I’m sure guilty of raving excessively about it. I am still in shock that such a novel cart exists and that it’s equally vegan friendly!

The cart.

From Tuesday to Sunday night, Whiffies is open from early evening until late late night, or literally, when the pies run out. There always seem to be at least a few people outside the Whiffies cart, waiting for their pies, mingling beneath the canopy at the picnic tables or scoping out the rest of the lot.  The cart itself has the larger-than-life masked, fried pie mascot painted on its white front wall. To its left is the open window where some of the nicest cart employees in Portland take your order.  Propped against the window is a large whiteboard showcasing the pies of the day.  They’re handwritten and narrowed into two columns, savory and sweet, and vegan options are labeled. Both above and below the window are bold, state fair-style signs advertising refreshing iced tea and lemonade. Whiffies also sells homemade kombucha and warmer drinks during the colder weather. Simply ask if they’re vegan if you’re unsure. The staff knows all.

The pies.

All pies are individually fried per order, and cooked in light and clean rice bran oil. After a dip into the vegan deep fryer (specify vegan) into this special oil, the golden, thick yet flaky, wheat crust has an almost buttery quality.

I’ve tried many pies, and my most recent experience was an instant favorite – the cherry chocolate chip. The hot, jellied, cherry pie filling contains whole cherries and small bursts of melted chocolate chips inside the delicious, fried crust. How amazing is that to get within minutes at a food cart!?! Every time I’ve had a pie at Whiffies, my reaction is the same: awe and delight.

The menu is constantly evolving and new additions are advertised on Twitter. Regular  sweet pies ($3) have included wonderfully goopy blueberry, classic apple, luscious peanut butter (sometimes dotted with chocolate chips), sweet chocolate cream that’s like a pillow of pudding  (yes, vegan!), and Oregon’s pride, the marionberry. Savory pies ($4) get a little wilder: spaghetti and vegan meatballs, breakfast pie with potatoes, BBQ tofu, and apricot BBQ with soy curls.

Part of the awesomeness of Whiffies are these ongoing experiments and the attention to feedback. They’ve offered a seasonal pumpkin crème I’d write fan mail to, homemade hazelnut not-tella with banana, the infamous durian cream, and chefs from local restaurants have made signature pies. Sometimes the first run of a new pie has a few kinks, like a runny filling, but it’s usually hot stuff right from the beginning.  BBQ tofu, I’m talking to you.

Eating a pie

There are many who’d argue a savory pie is an acceptable dinner, and I’ve done it, but it means kale for dinner tomorrow to keep some balance and fresh vegetables in your diet.  Not saying that’s a horrible arrangement, but I lean towards the indulgent, late night pie camp.  My dining style of choice is splitting with a friend and carefully breaking it in half, as to not lose any filling.  When faced with my own pie, I break off a small part of the shell and use that piece to dip into the filling for a bit, before biting in and letting the wonder set in. So, what’s your pie-dining method of choice?

You have little excuse not to try this delightful, superstar food cart.  Whiffies is a new Portland institution, and a shining, inexpensive example of the Taqueria Los Gorditos school of welcome, vegan consideration from an omni-cart!

Cherry Chocolate Chip Pie

Whiffies Menu

Napkin Dispenser

All Photos by Lucas DeShazer

When I was informed that the Aalto Lounge on SE Belmont had a vegan meatball sandwich, I did a double take. A few years ago I can recall browsing the posted menu and scoffing at a couple of possibly vegan finger foods listed, like a fruit, nut and cheese plate minus the cheese. The cocktail peanut mix is still there, but vegan friendliness is joining in.  When you walk into Aalto, the setting whistles ‘hipster‘ – it shares a front entrance with Stumptown Coffee, for starters.  The tables and setting are slightly IKEA and overall quite clean, there’s a turntable station built into the bar, it’s dimly lit, and most of the people are somewhat disheveled and beautiful.  The walls are wood paneled with rotating vertical wide strips of blue and red and average sized framed black and white photos showcased.  Don’t look up when sitting at the front row tables.  There’s a deer head mantle up front, but there’s a more amusing and colorful large painting of a deer and a newborn to distract you.

Home to another cool back patio to add to the favorite list, Aalto has both the meatball sandwich and a vegan panini on their food menu.  As usual, there’s a list of classic, refreshing cocktails.  During happy hour, the meatball sub is $5 and the cocktail nut mix is $2.  As a hungry vegan, you’re faced with no good reason not to order the vegan meatball sandwich. Unlike the altogether awesome Bye & Bye, the meatballs at the Aalto Lounge are housemade. They’re a bean-based, herbed  firm mass with a hint of spicy heat. Studded with a decent amount of fennel, they’re certifiably delightful.  For the record, I’m only so-so with the taste of fennel, and still found it that delightful.

The sandwich comes with five or more of the hearty bean balls in a zesty, fresh tomato sauce served on fresh baguette. When ordered at happy hour, this sandwich comes with crunchy potato chips and as a dinner item ($7), with a side salad tossed with almonds.  While you will likely find yourself using a fork and breaking apart the bread so it doesn’t fall apart on your lap, it’s truly an oversight when the meal itself is that good.  But, if it weren’t for the comical mess factor of this sandwich, the Aalto Lounge would just scream date location.

Now, don’t get too excited – on my second visit, a vegan friend tried to order the vegan panini listed on the late night menu and it was a no go. The server delicately warned us that it was just a ‘late night menu’ sandwich with white bean spread, salad greens and tomato.  She suggested we  opt for the vegan meatball sandwich, and that she’d talk to the management about increasing their legitimate vegan options.  However, on a third visit, the vegan meatballs ran out and same vegan panini was first reluctantly, then graciously, dished out.  It was grilled and served with salad.  The staff’s nice concern overlooks that fact that the sandwich described could easily pass as at least a mediocre vegan option around town, and according to my friend, it was even better – “gooey and delicious!”  The bottom line?  Hopefully a vegan panini will make its way permanently onto their regular food menu as a second valid  option, so more vegans can give it a try.  Add some olives or fresh basil and call it definitely better than mediocre, I bet.

Seating in the Aalto Lounge has a corner for each of your bar-going personalities.  There’s the basic outdoor patio, with strings of red lights, prime for sitting and relaxing during a warm, early evening.  There are a couple of tables located directly in front amongst heavy foot traffic, large row and small tables for two in the main room, standard bar seating and a dark, cornered back room that you can escape into on your way to the XX or XY bathrooms.  Whichever you go for, order your snazzy cocktail or soda and eat a delicious meatball sandwich, to hammer in the point of this post.

Vegan Meatball Sub:

Cocktail Nuts and beer:

Date: September 2, 2007
Times visited:5

The first time we visited Pho Green Papaya it was closed – Sunday. The second visit ending up being a bad choice of time- busy weekend evening 1 hour before closing. Who knew this little shack pushed to the back of a bumpy parking lot along SE MLK Avenue was such a hit? Well, apparently a lot of people know – that’s why it’s so busy. The third time was during lunch and it was a perfect atmosphere. I was able to see the bright greens walls, enjoy the bench seating, and cute green pendent lights at each two person table inside. The outside patio is beautiful and comfortable with the umbrella covered tables and seems like a perfect people watching spot, if only people walked the neighborhood.

Before I mention the taste of the food I should say that I’ve heard rumors that this is not traditional Vietnamese food. Never having been a connoisseur of traditional Vietnamese food, I can only comment on how it felt to my American taste buds as food and not history.

The word “vegan” appears on the menu above 7 dining options: Pho Veggie, Lemongrass Tofu, Tofu Udon Curry Noodle Soup, Curry Tofu, Buddha Delight, and Vietnamese Jade Noodles – with spinach noodles. The summer rolls can be made vegan, but it’s best to check on the sauce because we thought it was only vegetarian. When selecting your spice 1-5, understand that it’s not an American scale of spice – 1 is pretty spicy because it’s 1 teaspoon of spice, no matter the dish size.

The summer rolls are good, but nothing special – rice noodles, fried tofu, lettuce and mint wrapped in a rice paper wrapper.

The Buddha Delight was delightful with a light, savory sauce over many veggies and tofu. The tofu was fried and absorbed the sauce nicely. Minus the rice, the dish seemed small for the price so I probably wouldn’t order it again.

The Veggie Pho is what people visit Pho Green Papaya for. It’s a traditional Vietnamese soup with a rich broth, rice noddles, vegetables and a side of quick cooking vegetables served at the same time as the soup, to be added at your desire. The Pho Veggie had a light broth with hint of Chinese five spice flavored with a lot of herbs: onions, scallions, green onions, basil, and cilantro, if you lean that way. My soup also included firm tofu, mushrooms, green beans and red peppers. The addition of bean sprouts, fresh basil and lime topped off the meal. Since the rice noodles keep absorbing the broth it’s best to eat this soup slowly so you don’t feel like you’ve over eaten. This pho is simple and filling and tastes great the next day, although it’s no longer a soup at that point.

I look forward to returning to Green Papaya to try their many other vegan options.

Summer Rolls:

Buddha Delight:

Veggie Pho:

Lemongrass Tofu:

Jade Noodles

Rating: 3.5 out of 5
Address:402 SE M L King Blvd / Portland, OR 97214 / (503) 231-1431
Hours: Call for hours

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The latest addition to the cart lot at SE 12^th and Hawthorne has quickly garnered  well-deserved popularity.  Opened by the proprietors of the Give Pizza a Chance cart downtown, Pyro Pizza bestows not just another great late night option.  It bestows stand out pizza.

The wood-paneled pizza cart is a sleek box in the northwestern corner of Cartopia.  The cart hosts a wood-fired oven that must be full of magic.  Every hand-tossed pizza is presented steaming hot, decorated with high quality ingredients that exemplify freshness.   Their pizzas are personal sized, about 8 inches round, and made to order.  The Caramelized Onion ($7), Marinated Tomato ($6), and Traditional Margarita ($8), are all easily veganized.  Vegan cheese is available for substitution for an extra $1, and is beyond worth it.  The wood-fired oven’s fierce heat melts vegan cheese like nothing  seen before.  They have achieved the perfect melt that blows vegans away (pre-Daiya, of course), and tempted non-vegans!

The Marinated Tomato has this flow of melted vegan cheese, entire leaves of fresh basil, and sweet cherry tomatoes. The curse of bland winter tomatoes is happily saved by the mingling of a tangy balsamic sauce.  This is a great deal, but my personal favorite is the aromatic Traditional Margarita.  Once again, the substitution of vegan cheese rocks the pizza. The combination of this sensation with a vibrant tomato sauce, great olive oil, and even more fresh basil,  on a moist, yet crisped, rustic crust come together as the best version of a vegan margarita pizza this reviewer has ever had from an eatery in Portland! Normally, this reviewer longs for a thin, New York style crust, but the slightly chewy bite of this pizza is simply gratifying.  The Margarita is a little pricier than the Marinated Tomato, but worth it.  To top that, my wait for pizza has always been less than fifteen minutes!

To sum it up, the case for this newcomer as the best pizza in Portland is as follows:

• The cart hosts a wood-fired oven!
• The fantastically chewy bite of a rustic crust with a hint of sweetness.
• Zesty, homemade tomato sauce.
• Clearly passionate, friendly staff.
• High quality ingredients.
• Very vegan friendly.
• Great location in the Cartopia at SE 12^th and Hawthorne, with many picnic tables for seating.
• Portland cart pride. That’s nothing new!

Pyro Pizza marks the second time a cart pizza has made me weak in the knees.  The first was from the old Al Forno Ferruza cart by PSU,  that has since opened a restaurant on NE Alberta Street.  Check out Pyro’s twitter and posted menu at the cart for specials featuring seasonal ingredients.  Bonus – they’ve been known to break out the vegan sausage on specials, and offer their unique, homemade sodas made with beet sugar!

That’s my argument.  See how it compares to your favorites!

Marinated Tomato Pizza with Vegan Cheese