If the following photos do nothing more than give you a reason to truly live (and by that, I mean, have a delicious, chef-crafted yet casual meal) the next time you find yourself mysteriously trapped at a suburban shopping center, they’ve done their job.

If you’ve had a chance to stop by, please let us know your thoughts in the comments.  I’ll let the photos do the talking from here…

Our table’s spread

Nuevo Native Nachos

Scorpion Tempeh Burger

Oklahoma Bacon Cheeseburger

Crunchy Kale Salad, back right

Native Chicken Wing with Buffalo Sauce – I vote Ranch

Baja Surf Tacos. Photo by Melissa

Chicken Run Ranch Burger. Photo by Melissa

Native Chili. Photo by Melissa

Chili Cheese Fries

Photo by Melissa

Photo by Melissa

Classic Deli Reuben

Peanut Butter Parfait

Boogie Bar

Photo by Melissa

Cheesecake

The view from my side of the table

Cardamom Rose Good Luck Cupcake

Crunchy Kale Salad

Progress ?

You can conveniently peer into the Native Foods Cafe dessert case as you place your order.

There’s both indoor and heated patio seating at this location.

Photo by Melissa.

Photo by Melissa.

Why are there elephants in the bathroom?

With that, I’m looking forward to my next visit and trying out the Chimi Chop Salad or a Chicken Run Ranch Burger or Sweet Potato Taquitos or or or…

Start browsing the Portland menu online for your own advanced decision-making!

You can read the original Stumptown Vegans review of the Palm Desert location, posted by Webly in July 24, 2009, at this link.

Disclaimer: All soft opening meals were complimentary.

Curious about the vegan lifestyle? Just starting out on a plant-based path, and confused? Unsure how to order at restaurants? Wondering if you’ll ever find a vegan cheese you’ll like? How do you survive when you’re the only vegan you know? Looking to build, or join, a vegan community?

Join the Stumptown Vegans as they answer these questions, and more, from their built-up mailbag. This conversation includes notes about local, travel, and chain dining.

If you have a question for the Stumptown Vegans, email Stumptownvegans@gmail.com, or tweet @stumptownvegans.

The Stumptown Vegans play catch up, while discussing current events in the vegan world, dining with allergies, and recent Portland culinary happenings.

Show Notes:

• Australian Wool
• Bamboo Sushi
• Cafe Yumm
• Cakewalk Baking Company
• ChixStix Japanese kabobs (on our to-do list!)
• El Cubo de Cuba
• D.C. Vegetarian
  • VegNews’ 7 Best Vegan Sandwiches Listing
• Ellen
• Farm Sanctuary
• Gin Northern Thai cart
• Green Lady – anyone know if this mysterious raw restaurant will reopen?
• I Hate Cilantro
• Julie Hasson & Vegan Diner
• Just Thai cart
• Martha Stewart’s Vegan Show
  • Alexis Stewart
  • The Vegan Show Segment with Biz Stone
  • Vegansaurus recap
  • Why Honey Is Not Vegan
• Miho Izakaya
• The Morality of Mealtime, Time Magazine
• Natural Selection
• New York Times: A Century of Meat
• Oprah’s Vegan Challenge
• Petunia’s Pie & Pastries
• Portland Farmers Market
• Portland Zine Symposium
• Portland’s Vegan Iron Chef
• Prasad
• Sizzle Pie
• What’s Up? (What’s Going On)
• Ukiyoe Sushi

From Weekend #3 for the Portland Farmers Market at PSU

Tempeh Bento at Cafe Yumm

Note: We’ve decided to move our podcasts over to this main site (from StumptownVegansPodcasts.com – the things you learn through the years) and will have more coming this way soon – to keep updated, make sure to subscribe to our bright and shiny new feed!

This episode may not be available just yet, but we have an Itunes store with free downloads you can subscribe to and check out all our past podcasts, as well.

And as always, feel free to email or hit up @StumptownVegans on twitter with any tips and suggestions.

The cart

Wow, dusting this one off! Bamboo Garden is one of Seattle’s classic vegetarian/vegan Chinese establishments and great for when you have that Chinese food craving that Portland can’t always hit – especially if you have time to hit up one of their tempting lunch combos. I was in town recently and stopped by with a friend and tried both the Szechwan Tofu Skin Hot Pot and Sweet & Sour Chicken.  The Tofu Skin dish was chewy, saucey, and with just enough heat that I didn’t seek out additional hot sauce.  If you haven’t tried tofu skin, aka dried bean curd, yet, I recommend you see what you’re missing out on! The Sweet & Sour Chicken were balls of soy chicken, battered, fried, and coated in a sweet, syrupy orange sauce. Can I repeat – sweet, battered, balls? Yes.

Heads up – the fortune cookies are not vegan.

Tofu Skin with Mixed Vegetables in Szechwan Sauce Hot Pot from Bamboo Garden

Sweet & Sour Chicken from Bamboo Garden

Older Review -

November 10, 2007
Times Visited: 2

It seems everyone has their favorite Chinese food restaurant. Maybe it was the delivery you ordered while pulling an all-nighter in college or the place your family went to dinner on Sunday evenings. That tofu and broccoli, or fried rice you crave when hung-over, or stuck at home in the suburbs. For some of us, it was the most (assumed) veg*n friendly food we knew about when the path to vegetarianism started.

When it comes to Portland, my Chinese-food craving hearts, or taste buds, don’t belong to one restaurant. I’m sorry Vegetarian House, but the best Chinese food I’ve had in the Pacific Northwest so far has been in Seattle at Teapot Vegetarian House. It wasn’t the crappy wonderful Chinese food one might crave; it was practically classy in comparison. The closest thing to great I’ve had in Portland is Golden Jade on SE Belmont, which sadly does not deliver. Last winter, I went to Bamboo Garden and it didn’t leave much of an impression on me, but this time, I got it.

Bamboo Garden is a faux meat focused restaurant with tons of classics. You’ll find Chow Mein, Kung Pao ‘Chicken’, Sesame ‘Chicken’, Fried Rice, Hot and Sour Soup, Sautéed ‘Eel,’ and even Fried ‘Chicken Fingers’ – ironically familiar to those of us who may have been subjected to less than stellar buffets growing up. There are over 100 menu items, and this vegetarian restaurant is open to special dietary restrictions, “Ask your server for special dietary needs requiring special preparation, including no salt, no oil, no sugar, or other restrictions. Only the fortune cookies contain eggs.”. The restaurant is also certified Kosher. The restaurant uses tofu, soy products and mushrooms to create their faux meat features.

My partner and I shared our entrees – a hefty portion of ‘Chicken’ Chow Mein ($7.50) and smaller Sesame ‘Chicken’. While the chicken was obviously, and easily more identifiable as seasoned tofu strips, and more ‘pork’ like then chicken, it was still delicious. The tofu, noodles and vegetables were all thin, and bites were easily pierced and wrapped around a fork. It was a dish that 2, if not 3 people could dine on alone and something I’d order again and again. Lo Mein was one of my favorite Chinese food dishes growing up, and the Chow Mein was better than anything in memory. The Sesame Chicken ($8.95) can more aptly be described as chicken ‘balls’ – golden, fried nuggets with a soy protein center, coated in a sweet and sour sauce. Just picture that sweet crunch, and take a sip of water. The chicken balls were served in an edible potato nest, with rice and broccoli. It’s one of those dishes that you know is just awful for you, but you love anyway. Or, you hope your partner orders so you can steal a ball from him.

We also ordered the ‘Chicken Fingers’ – which were predictably greasy, but not bad, and the Spring Rolls. The Spring rolls were the low point of the meal. The filling tasted ‘old’, and I put mine down after a bite. I didn’t want anything else to do with it. On the plus side, it was cheap, and everything else contributed to a positive experience. Between the two of us, the bill was comfortably under $30, and that’s certainly not bad for a special dinner out in Seattle.

Sesame Chicken:

Chow Mein:

Spring Rolls:

Rating: 4 out of 5.
Address: 364 Roy St. Seattle, WA 98109

The downtown Give Pizza a Chance cart now has deep dish vegan slices! For $4, you can get yourself one heck of a satisfying vegan slice with fresh toppings and that flavorful GVAC sauce – and none of that vegan cheese you may or may not like to worry about. Check it out:

Give Pizza A Chance: Deep Dish Vegan

Updated 1/13/2010 Pyro Pizza is open at SE 12th and Hawthorne, selling personal pizzas that are delicious!  But that’s not all – Give Pizza a Chance has had regular vegan slices regularly available downtown. A great cheap lunch!

Updated 10/19/2009: While the vegan slices aren’t frequently seen at the cart downtown, we’re hoping they make it into regular rotation once a new cart is opened later this fall at the vegan-friendly Cartopia at SE 12th & Hawthorne.

UPDATE: Give Pizza a Chance now serves vegan slices pretty consistantly. The past three times we have vistited there have been no problems with the crust. Try the vegan pizza with an Eggplant base! Also, don’t forgot to try their sodas. My favorite has been the cucumber lime.

Three Chances.

Two Stumptown Vegans.

Two Calzones, One Pizza, and Breadsticks.

The verdict…

One Stumptown Vegan happened to stop by the fairly new Give Pizza a Chance food cart on its opening day. It’s shiny, new, has a small bar area for seating in the attached parking spot with the inviting smell of oregano and garlic. A friendly chat with the owner assured us of future vegan offerings and a free sample of the de-freaking-lightful homemade ginger ale. The hope was there for Give Pizza a Chance. It has a catchy name, cute cart, organic ingredients, friendly service, a Eugene hippie-like atmosphere and an appreciation for the addition of whole wheat flour in their dough. Mmm, grains.

Weeks later the first calzone was ordered when inquiring about what the best vegan option would be. The woman working stated that there was no need to call ahead for calzones, and the short wait was impressive. The first Stumptown Vegan asked to be surprised, filling-wise, and the chef packed the dough with spinach, mushrooms and tomatoes. The calzone, ($7) was completed within a slow walks around the block, certainly less than 15 minutes. While there was no sauce or expectantly, fake cheese, inside the calzone, there was a very flavorful and plentiful pool of house made marinara on the side. It was tangy, herby, and to the point. Granted the cart is fairly new, but if only they’d get dipping containers and not pool in on the plate or in a paper tray, it would be better. Sadly, the inside of the calzone was not as flavorful as the sauce, in fact it was lacking that f word – flavor. The assortment of veggies was promising, but with an overly doughy, slightly undercooked bottom crust they just seemed damp. The sauce helped, but in combination with the crust that I wish had hung out a few more minutes in the oven, it was short of a good Italian time. The next day the leftovers were a definitely improvement after a brief visit to the toaster oven. The leftovers were short on sauce, but big on the hearty, now well cooked dough.

Calzone visit #2 showed even more promise. This time, there was a small sign posted below the cart’s service window stating that their best vegan option was the calzone. This had already been said, but seeing it in writing along with the Stumptown Vegans ‘two visitations’ policy called for different fillings selected and another calzone ordered. Although the only person ahead in line had a pizza slice warmed up, this meal took over 20 minutes. That’s a long wait from a cart on your lunch hour. This time the calzone filling had kalamata olives, green peppers, spinach, and garlic cloves. The olives and garlic (which we would have loved to see as a filling in the first calzone) worked, but the spinach tasted off, dare we say old. This time the dough was altogether undercooked. Tearing off the crust on the side, dipping it in the sauce, and picking through the leftovers with a fork was the way to go. The spinach was even scarier when the leftovers were reheated. On the plus side, their huge calzone is a meal that could easily feed 2, and for $7 it’s definitely affordable. Too bad this second order wasn’t appetizing enough for a second meal.

The second Stumptown Vegan stopped by for breadsticks and pizza. Breadsticks were ordered as an appetizer, assuming the pizza would take awhile to cook. The sticks were fairly thin and more like crust sticks. They were enjoyable as a vessel for scooping the sauce into our mouths while still enjoying the whole wheat flavor. We were happy to have ordered the breadsticks because we did have a 20 minute wait, which is reasonable for a full pie during rush hour. And for only $1, it was good deal.

The pizza was beautiful when it came fresh from the oven. The cook used as much spinach as he would have cheese, which is surely appreciated on any vegan pizza. The artichoke hearts were liberally applied as well, though this pizza would have done better with a third topping. The addition of olive oil and salt on top of the pizza helped bring out the flavors of the vegetables. The sauce was perfectly fresh and flavorful, as described above. And the price – $12 – it was perfect for splitting between three people. However, the pizza dough had the same fate as the calzone’s – undercooked. The second Stumptown Vegans almost asked the friendly cart-worker to put it back in the oven but decided to eat it as presented. It may be helpful to ask for a “well done” pizza when ordering, just saying.

We wonder if the issue with the crust is because pizza by the slice pizzas are cooked in the oven twice – once for the pie and once for reheating. Perhaps it’s a matter of inexperience with vegan calzones and pizza or three cases of bad timing that dampened the crusts’ chances. Perhaps there’s just too much whole wheat in their dough or the oven isn’t hot enough. Whichever way, we wouldn’t be entirely shocked if a great vegan calzone came out of this cart one day, but one Stumptown Vegan is no longer giving this pizza cart a chance. The other Stumptown Vegan will stop by for a breadsticks, sauce, and soda on days when money is tight.

Vegan Cazlones:

Breadsticks:

Pizza:

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

____________________________________________________

Date: April 13, 2007
Times Visited: 5

Vegan Gamers, Rejoice!

A few months back, I heard about a new vegan and vegetarian menu at Backspace Cafe, an internet cafe, art gallery and gaming spot downtown. It’s a bit of a long walk for me to go for lunch, and I already have a default coffeeshop, Red & Black cafe, so I didn’t prioritize my visit. However, once I had read the online menu after hearing a glowing review from a friend, I had to go. You see, the menu features multiple field roast sandwiches, a grilled tofu sandwich, vegan Hot Lips pizza, quesadillas and perhaps best of all – no substitution price for vegan cheez!

My dining partner and I both ordered the ‘Steak’ sandwich on my second visit. Served on baguette, it contains pepperocini, wild mushroom field roast, grilled onions & peppers with rosemary and basil vegenaise. First off, if you haven’t tried field roast yet, give it a go! It’s based out of Seattle, and is not meant to be a ‘bologna’ substitute, but a herb, vegetarian and grain based variation on seitan. It’s something that’s featured on many Seattle menus, but I can’t think of anywhere else in Portland that offers this.

Back to the sandwich: though I had mine without onions and my partner left the pepperocini off of his, we were both immensely satisfied by this meal. Every bite of this sandwich is flavorful – tangy, savoury, herby, and on great bread – even at $7, I could not ask for more. We also shared an order of the basic cheez quesadillas ($3.50). If you’re not one for soy cheese (Follow Your Heart, I think in this case), you may want to skip it, or at least upgrade to the black beans and spinach variation. However, if you’re into soy cheese, don’t pass these up. They’re cheap, melty, filling and the salsa is just spicy enough.

I think the food is top notch for a cafe, the atmosphere is nice and spacious, plus there are multiple boards games as well as computer stations, yet I have one issue with Backspace – I’ve gone 4 times now, and there is always quite a wait for food. At a cafe, you might not expect to wait 20+ minutes for your sandwich, so it’s something to keep in mind. -JD

The Hot Lips Pizza is “single serving” (though it was two pieces too many for me) pizza cooked on site. The pizza changes daily but I was lucky enough to have one packed full of roasted garlic (almost a full bulb) caramelized onions, fancy mushrooms and other wonderful flavors. The price of the single ingredients of the pizza were well worth the $9 price. On top of that we were in an entertaining cafe with Stumptown Coffee, Viso and other great Portland drinks.

My favorite sandwich by far is the sausage and pepper sandwich, minus peppers. They use Field Roast apple sage sausage, cut in half and cover with grilled onions (and peppers if you swing that way). It was so tasty that even my animal-sausage-loving dining companion was impressed by the taste. The sandwich alone was $7, a true deal for such expensive, tasty vegan sausage.

It’s important to note that Backspace neighbor, Someday Lounge, has similar choices in food options. -WB

EDIT:

The backspace menu is Seasonal and may change. The 2007 Summer menu includes The Grinder and the Club, plus many more.

Vegan Jack and Cheddar Cheez Quesidilla with salsa verde

Steak Sandwich with Pepperocini, minus the onions

Steak Sandwich minus the Pepperocini

Sausage and Pepper Sandwich, minus the peppers:

The Grinder

NEW – Club Vegan

NEW – The Caesar with Spinach

NEW – BBQ Setain Wrap

Rating: 4 out of 5
Address: 115 NW 5th St. Portland, OR
Food Served Daily, 11am – 11pm