by | January 29, 2010

Whiffies Fried Pie Cart

Whiffie’s cart Brief Review
Overall Service Food Quality Atmosphere Vegan Options
9.25 10 9 9 9
Location: SE 12th and Hawthorne
Hours: Tues-Thurs 6pm-12am, Weekends 8pm-3am
or until the pies run out		 Times Visited: Countless

~

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 12thand 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 12th 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

4 Comments

Filed under cart, Cartopia, dessert, favorites, jess, late night, quick, SE, snack, to go

by | January 27, 2010

Aalto Lounge

Update: The Meatball sub has left the menu!  Wipe your tears and try the Cassoulet that we hear is vegan-izable.  Be sure to report back if you see new options!

Aalto Lounge Brief Review
Overall Service Food Quality Atmosphere Vegan Options
6.5 6 8 8 4
Location: 3356 SE Belmont St, Portland, OR 97214
Hours: Opens daily at 5pm-2:30am
Happy Hour 5pm-7pm		 Times Visited: 4

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:
birthday weekend! 005

Cocktail Nuts and beer:
birthday weekend! 003

5 Comments

Filed under bar food, date, dinner, jess, SE, updated

by | January 26, 2010

Pho Green Papaya

Update: This restaurant is under new management as of 2008.  The original owners opened Pho PDX, downtown.  There is speculation this restaurant is no longer as vegan friendly – please be sure to inquire!

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:
Green - Spring Roll

Buddha Delight:
Green - Delight

Veggie Pho:
Veggie Pho

Lemongrass Tofu:
Pho Green Papaya - Lemongrass

Jade Noodles
Pho Green - 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

7 Comments

Filed under dinner, lunch, SE, soup, updated, vietnamese, webly

by | January 26, 2010

Ya Hala Lebenese Restaurant

Ya Hala, Brief Review
Overall Service Food Quality Atmosphere Vegan Options
8 6 9 8 9
Location:
8005 SE Stark St
Portland, OR 97215
(503) 256-4484
Hours: Mon-Sat 11 am – 9 pm Times Visited: 8

Ya Hala Lebanese Restaurant has been among this reviewer’s top Lebanese restaurants in Portland for five plus years. However, because of the location I do not visit it as often as I would like and over the years the restaurant has changed a bit. Ya Hala is tucked behind Mt. Tabor in the Montavilla neighborhood on SE 80th and Stark, down the street from the historic Academy Theater.

The menu offers a large variety of entrees, some are unique to Ya Hala, but the majority of the dishes new Ya Hala diners would be familiar with. The menu is pleantiful with vegan options, which are clearly labeled on the menu, making this a great place to visit with both vegan and omni families.

The most common complaint about Ya Hala is the service. When entering the restaurant there is no vestibule, or waiting area -visitors are thrown into the center of the action without any barrier or buffer. Wait staff and busers are running around frantically and often forget who is waiting to pick up food to go, who is waiting for a table, and who is waiting to get on a list to wait for a table. It can be confusing, not to mention uncomfortable, to those who are seated near the door to be stared at and drooled upon by hungry patrons. Somehow it always works out, even if a party gets annoyed and leaves while waiting. If you are able to hold out and be seated, you will be rewarded with fresh baked pita bread which you will need for your next wait – food.

To start, select from the Humous, Baba Ghanouj, Tabouli, or Veggie Kibbeh to enjoy with the complementary fresh pita bread, or go for the Grape Leaves. While the menu does list these as vegan, it’s always good to remind the wait staff that you or your party is vegan. The Humous is very smooth and creamy, often with a bit more tahini than at other restaurants in town. There was a day when I would have fought an army to get to the smokey Baba Ghanouj, but those days are gone. The eggplant is no longer smoked before being blended into the perfect dip with a bit of natural eggplant texture. It is still good, with a tangy aftertaste, but does not stand out the way it use to, this is my largest disappointment with the changes.

The Grape Leaves are smaller than other restaurants around town and I have to wonder if they are no longer housemade, but from a can. Whatever the case, these little grape leaves are not only stuffed with grains but a lot of flavor and great Lebanese spice.

The pita is baked on-site and made fresh to order. The small pita is puffed up and served hot. Be careful because the steam can burn.

While a vegan could make dinner out of the abundent vegan appetizers, noted above, there’s no need because of the entree options. Check out the menu for all the options, but I recommend trying the following: Veggie Mezza, Eggplant Stew, and Stuffed Artichoke Hearts. All entrees come with a house salad. Unfortunately, I find the red wine and vinegar dressing to be too uncomfortably tart to enjoy.

The Veggie Mezza is a staple for any Lebanese restaurant and a great, consistent menu item to compare and discover your favorite. Ya Hala’s includes Tabouli, Homous, Baba Ghanouj, Falafel, Grape Leaves, and Aranabeet. This provides several small plates to sample, which is great for one very hungry person or two people with average appetites. The Mezza is the second place where the  the lack of service really comes into play. If the wait staff only provide two pieces of pita, you may be waiting until the next batch comes out of the oven to continue eating your meal.

The Falafel is fresh and crisp, without being too greasy. I enjoy the green parsley interior, without a strong parsley taste. Aranabeet is simply noted on the menu as fried cauliflour with tahini. Frying vegetables without a breading is not very pleasant to eat as the oil slides off the vegetable and quickly down the throat. My stomach prefers grease absorption food, like bread, opposed to the acidic lemon tahini sauce for dipping.

While all the stews on the menu are traditionally vegan, the Eggplant Stew is my favorite dish offered at Ya Hala. I do not know how the eggplant is prepared, but it is firm and somehow tender, and almost flakes apart with a fork. The eggplant tastes as if it was marinated in the delicious tomato, garlic, and onion sauce in which it is served.

The Stuffed Artichoke Hearts is my second favorite dish. A plateful of tender artichoke hearts are stuffed with carrots, potatoes, summer squash, onions, and spices, then almost floated in a tomato sauce and topped with slivered almonds. The vegetables are cut into small cubes of the same size, and almost the same consistency. The onmni Stuffed Artichokes offers the addition of pinenuts which sounds delightful to round out the dish with an additional texture. This is all served with rice to soak up the tomato sauce. Again, I find the tomato sauce to be a bit too acidic and I’d prefer more of a garlic taste to accompany the dish.

The Fatayer is a small folded spinach pie packed with chopped spinach, onions, and an abundance of lemon juice. While I enjoy the fluffy, but firm dough, the lemon is too sour to really enjoy the spinach.

While I am a huge fan of Ya Hala for all the vegan options, the long line, acidic food, and waitstaff can deter me from making this the frequent destination location it use to be. And remember, once you try the food, all memories of the wait disappear. Do not let this sway you if you’ve yet to visit if you’re on the search for your favorite Lebanese restaurant. Ya Hala does provide ample room for large parties and just a few doors down is their store, the International Food Supply, which offers many Mediterranean favorites. When the store was within the same building it was a nice place to wander while waiting for a table. Other similar restaurants on the top of my list include Hoda’s and Arabrian Breeze.

Veggie Grape Leaves:

Baba Ganoush:

Bread:
Ya Hala - Bread

Spinach Pies:
Ya Hala - Spinach Pies

Eggplant:
Ya Hala - Eggplant

Stuffed Artichoke Hearts:

8 Comments

Filed under catering, dinner, family, favorites, lebanese, lunch, Middle Eastern, NE, webly