Stumptown Vegans

Sonny Bowl

Posted on October 8, 2009 by jess scone| 6 Comments

Sonny Bowl Brief Review
Overall	Service	Food Quality	Atmosphere	Vegan Options
8.75	9	8	8	10
Location: SW 3rd and SW Washington
Hours: M-F 11am-3pm			Times Visited: 6+

I first happened upon this cart by chance. I was heading to D.C. Vegetarian down the row, and naturally, perused this small and shiny new cart’s white board menu. Realizing there were no mentions of dairy, meat or eggs, just grains and veggies, I inquired and learned it was all vegan and open for the first time that same day. Oh, Portland. Sonny Bowl has since put up a permanent sign against its metal walls advertising its three vegan bowl options. This is on top of the recent addition of two small tables out front. It’s not every cart that can offer actual seating in its own parking spot, shaded by the taller carts alongside it. You do have to squeeze past the bushes out front on SW 3rd to order at the counter, let alone grab a table. There surely must be a secret password to get the tall bushes to part and let you in, to order, because it’s a tad awkward to push by.

Look, there’s not a lot to fuss over at this cart, so that’s probably why I do fuss over how much I appreciate what it serves. Everything is as it’s labeled. There are three bowl choices. Each comes with mixed, chopped vegetables, assigned housemade sauces and beans and/or soy curls topped with a garnish. After a few visits, I thought my preference was with Bowl #3. I find it hard to pass on tender BBQ soy curls, and they dominate this selection. They’re paired with crisp, chopped green beans tossed in a mild citrus ginger sauce and a great helping of moist, short grain brown rice, topped with crispy chow mein noodles. Sonny Bowl has a flare for adorning all bowls with a nifty garnish. I’m happy to see soy curls becoming such a common protein on menus. The soy curls themselves are cooked in a light, tangy BBQ sauce with chopped onions and joined with the citrus ginger vegetable. It’s interesting to see which flavor wins out in each bite, the earthy BBQ soy curls or the gingery green beans. I dig the everyday style of this bowl, but I admittedly reach for the plethora of hot sauces and other condiments to choose from to spice it up. Personally, I go for the Secret Aardvark and Braggs.

Bowl #1 has a cilantro herb sauce, veggies and black beans. The bowl that stole my preference is Bowl #2. This round meal has the brown rice, the colorful, chopped veggies, welcome chickpeas for that added something special and something super vegan, and a creamy, pineapple coconut curry sauce. The sauce is a bit fruity and decently spiced, and the amount is generous. I encourage you to quickly mix up your sauce’d veggies, chickpeas and rice as to spread out the goodness. And the bonus? A few chunks of fresh pineapple. To complete the routine, my recent bowl was sprinkled with golden raisins and slivered almonds.

When I think Sonny Bowl, I think of wholesome, affordable food and sweet service. Ordering the Pineapple Curry Bowl #2 seizes all of that. The cart’s proprietor, Sanjay, prepares all bowls to order, so be prepared to wait more than a few minutes if there’s even just one person ahead of you. Each meal, served in a reusable bowl with a sturdy lid, is $5 a piece, with the option of adding soy curls for $1 to bowls #1 and #2. I have finished a bowl on a very hungry afternoon, but typically, I’m left with a small portion of leftovers. Big eaters may want to pair this with the giant salad rolls from Just Thai down the cart row, or the daily soup from D.C. Vegetarian.

The bowls are all simply well-priced options for the downtown daytime crowd, looking for a meal that we could make at home, because we enjoy home-style, vegan cooking. There’s no gimmick. One of my habitual downtown lunch spots in Portland is the veganized Whole Bowl, because I like the taste and I know what to expect. It’s entirely reliable and worth my money. This is on the same page with the nutritious addition of vegetables and variety – and I’m a repeat customer.

BBQ Soy Curls – Bowl #3

Sonny Bowl: BBQ

Pineapple Curry – Bowl #2

The cart – it’s since been moved back and has two small two-person tables out front.

→ 6 Comments

Posted in SW, all vegan, all vegetarian, bbq, cart, cheap, downtown, jess, lunch, to go

Coffee Plant

Posted on September 12, 2009 by jess scone| 9 Comments

Coffee Plant (downtown) Brief Review
Overall	Service	Food Quality	Atmosphere	Vegan Options
8	9	9	8	6
Location: 725 SW Washington Portland, OR
Hours: M-F 7am-5pm, Sat 9am-3pm, Closed Sun.			Times Visited: Countless!

Habitually, like any caffeine-addicted Portlander with a soul, I find myself walking past big name coffee shops for a great cup of coffee at my spot of choice. When I’m at work, my pick is the downtown location of Coffee Plant. It’s the most realistic, vegan-friendly coffee shop I can get to on what I deem a coffee break. Don’t get your hopes up, they don’t have vegan paninis or anything more lunch appropriate you can find at, well, a coffee shop without vegan sandwiches. If you want one with sandwiches downtown, head to Half and Half or Backspace. What they do offer is reliably well-made Stumptown Coffee and espresso beverages and vegan baked goods.

Unlike most other coffee shops in Portland, where you can grab a plastic wrapped vegan delight that may hit the spot, or just may be mushy or stale, Coffee Plant offers vegan pumpkin muffins and cinnamon rolls ($2.50 each) that are baked daily. They are specifically labeled vegan, and it’s certainly not just the vegans asking for them. You can smell the pumpkiny spices drifting through the door on weekday mornings. I normally consider myself a fan of bakery style muffins, with a slightly crunchy crust sprinkled with coarse sugar, but whenever I give into the moist pumpkin muffin for breakfast temptation, I am delighted. There’s no crunch, but there’s one fluffy, filling, spiced bite of dark pumpkin goodness after another. I’ve been sporadically giving in since 2005, and they’ve always been this satisfying.

The cinnamon rolls are gorgeous. The frosting is generous and infused with cinnamon, something I wish more rolls would hit up. Admitting another of my pasty preferences: I’m a soft, Cinnabon type gal, and I’ve had very few vegan cinnamon rolls that accomplish this emulation. This cinnamon bun has all the sweet flavor, but it’s sturdier than what my dreams are about. The tempting discounted day-olds on the counter are even sturdier, understandably, and are quick to go. For that matter, the cinnamon rolls themselves are usually gone by late morning. Please don’t think I’m insulting their cinnamon buns, they’re probably dreaming about being dipped in a cup of coffee, and I think they’d be dynamite there.

Besides the muffins and cinnamon rolls, Coffee Plant usually has a tiny selection of vegan Voodoo Doughnuts available, of the cake variety. The shop itself is small, and from the rotating art on display to the comfortable baristas, to the scent of pumpkin, it’s a bit of downtown hustle mixed with the attraction of neighborhood shops elsewhere around town. Like any other coffee establishment, there’s continuously a line in the morning, but the staff is well trained and you can sense the customer service through the little bits of obligatory cool attitude. There are two small tables outside the shop, inside window nook seats, tall tables with bar stools and a table or two inside the actual downtown building the shop resides in. While it’s a place I have caught up with a friend over coffee during the afternoon, I take my order to go 99% of the time. I can’t envision myself sitting down with a book in its small environment with the to and fro through their doors, but that’s me, and my focus is on heading back to work. Despite running out the door, the act of sipping one of their pretty, rosette adorned lattes alone relaxes me. Of course, they offer espresso, americanos, cappucinos, and bottled sodas, on top of house and French pressed coffee.

The Stumptown Vegans don’t regularly review coffee shops, but Coffee Plant is one this reviewer frequents and it stands out with its commanding of foamed soy and two freshly baked vegan items. Again, none of their paninis are vegan, and I can’t help but have a tragic, faint recollection of salads in the cold case from their former neighbor, the vegetarian Divine Cafe cart, which moved in 2007. Rice and soymilk are both additional charges, as it goes, and you do have to ask for these nondairy milks for coffee (at no charge). I’ve never had so much of a raised eyebrow at that casual request. It’s definitely no magical Sweetpea Baking Co., but it’s my workday fix for splendid soy lattes. And as you now know, I’m really enjoying my love affair with the pumpkin muffins.

Coffee Plant opened a second location in the Corbett Building in the SW Johns Landing neighborhood in 2006, which also offers hemp milk. Both locations have cute green and orange punch cards promising a free drink one day.

Cinnamon Roll and Soy Latte

Soy Latte

Pumpkin Muffin and Iced Coffee

Where’s your favorite vegan friendly coffee shop in Portland? We’ll be writing about the very, very best soon, hint hint!

→ 9 Comments

Posted in SW, breakfast, coffee shop, downtown, jess, snack, to go

Thai Food Cafe

Posted on September 2, 2009 by fueledbypopcorn| 11 Comments

Thai Food Cafe Brief Review
Overall	Service	Food Quality	Atmosphere	Vegan Options
8.25	9	9	6	9
Location: 833 N Killingsworth Ave Portland, OR 97217 (503) 285-8745
Hours: M-F 11am-9pm Weekends 12pm-9pm			Times Visited: 9

North Killingsworth has always had a smattering of vegan options at the various businesses like Mio Sushi, Beaterville, Eddie’s Pizza, E’Njoni Cafe, The Florida Room, and Pho Jasmine. But now there’s a restaurant with a full vegan menu -Thai Food Café. Really Portland doesn’t need another Thai restaurant but Thai Food Café is the Vege Thai of the north with their offering of a variety of vegan dishes including faux meats.

At lunch this brightly painted restaurant is filled with hungry Portland Community College students. The orange and green walls may be blinding for sit-down dining but the food cannot be missed. If the color is too much, I suggest sitting so you face the window, or eat outside during the summer.

Beyond the full menu, where anything can be made vegan, the friendly owners offer both vegan and non-vegan specials. Most of these specials include faux seafood like Asparagus with Shrimp and Sweet and Sour Fish. Personally, I stay away from faux seafood so you will have to enter into that adventure alone.

My favorite dishes include the Pad Thai, Pra Ram, and various vegan curry dishes. These three dishes all have a deep sweetness I cannot stay away from. Each are offered with tofu, soy pepper steak, or soy chicken. The fake meats are similar, if not the same store bought products Vege Thai uses. They are often sauteed, firm, and slightly chewy pieces of soy protein. If you’re avoiding faux meats because of recently reported falsifying of product ingredients coming from Asia, or just just find them weird and unnecessary, the fried tofu is a great addition to any meal.

The Pad Thai has been perfect on all fronts with fresh broccoli, carrots, and cabbage. Crisp bean sprouts and peanut sprinkles top it off. But it’s the squeeze of lime makes this dish my favorite Thai food in Portland. The sauce is not overwhelming to the taste of vegetables nor is it too greasy. It’s perfect with all the sweetness, acidity, and spice you’d want from this popular dish. If you’re not a fan of the traditional rice noodles used in this dish, check out my new favorite dish – Pad Thai Woon Sen, which is the wonderful Pah Thai sauce and fresh veggies with glass noodles.

The Pra Ram has a great sweet, smooth peanut sauce poured over a mountain of fresh steamed veggies. The sauce is reminiscent of Vege Thai’s jarred sauce – sweet, peanuty, with a ting of heat. It’s probably not enough for the typical Thai food lover, but you can always add more heat as desired. One of the main reasons I love Thai Food Café is because of their perfectly cooked veggies. I have never had a dish that was over cooked, or questionably un-fresh. Too many restaurants in Portland don’t pay attention of their vegetables so it’s refreshing to have consistent crunch in my orders.

Two dishes I was not a fan of were the Spicy Eggplant and the Evil Jungle Noodles. The eggplant fell short on flavor and dishes with a lot of mushrooms or bell peppers rarely impress me. There wasn’t enough spice or eggplant for this dish to be labeled Spicy Eggplant. The Evil jungle Noodles were fun to order because it sounded dangerous and I was expecting more evil in my dish over just normal looking meal. This dish was similar to the Pad Thai but with a lighter, spicier, less peanutty sauce. The undercooked noodles were an additional turn-off. If you have an aversion to cilantro be sure to let your wait person know – it’s been seen creeping into plenty of my dishes.

Thai Food Café isn’t just another Portland Thai restaurant, it has the best vegan Thai option in Portland, in my humble option. (And yes, I have tried Pad Thai Kitchen.) The service is outstandingly attentive and nice with constant refills of water or tea and pleasant check-ins without being smothering. The price is right at about $8 for a meal large enough to share. Once you get past the wall colors I hope you’ll love this joint as much as I do.

Exterior:

thai_food_cafe_exterior
Interior:

Pra Ram:
thai_cafe-chicken_pra_ram

Pad Thai:
thai_cafe-pad_thai

Chicken Pad Thai:

TFC_Chicken_Pad_Thai

Pumpkin Curry:
thai_cafe-pumpkin_curry1

Spicey Eggplant Stir Fry:
thai_cafe-spicy_eggplant1

Won Tons:

thai_cafe-wontons

Evil Jungle Noodles:

tfc_evil_jungle_noodle

Pad Thai Woon Sen:

TFC_Pah_Thai_Woon_Sen

Pineapple Fried Rice:

TFC_Fried_Rice

Thai Iced Tea:

thai_ice_tea

→ 11 Comments

Posted in N, dinner, favorites, lunch, thai, webly

Native Foods

Posted on July 24, 2009 by fueledbypopcorn| 2 Comments

Stumptown Vegans Travel!

Native Foods Brief Review
Overall	Service	Food Quality	Atmosphere	Vegan Options
8.75	8	9	8	10
Location: 73-890 El Paseo / Palm Desert, CA 92260 (760) 836-9396 Plus others
Hours: Monday-Saturday 11AM – 9:30PM Closed Sunday			Times Visited: 2

In the Southern California Desert, Native Foods is a vegan oasis among steak houses filled with blue-haired snowbird spending the winter months in the Palm Springs area. This award winning all vegan restaurant has been a stable force in the area since 1996.

The Palm Desert location is set off the shi-shi El Paseo high-fashion retail strip down a welcoming shaded alley you could easily miss if you didn’t know it was there. The restaurant is medium-small in size with about 12 tables and about 4 additional outdoor seating spots, weather permitting.

Most of the Palm Springs area buildings seem to have been built in the same modern 1970′s era and have not yet remodeled. While this may make you feel like you stepped into a time machine, the natural wear and tear will bring you back to the present. The building this five location chain occupies is no different. The dirty grout of the clean floor and table tiles shows the restaurant’s age but good hygiene. The African art adorning the walls is beautiful and interesting but does not mix well with the cute cartoon animal chalk art drawn on their menu and special boards.

The Native Foods menu is not all Southern Californian in nature, as the name might imply. That aside, the menu offers a range of delicious meals. Starters, also known as Snacks on the menu, include: Nachos, Artichoke and Spinach Dip, and Thai Satay Sticks, just to name a few. Entrees range from salads, handholds, soups, bowls, and pizza, including: Native California Caesar, Scorpion Burger, Gandhi Bowl, or Very Voluptuous Veggie Pizza. I encourage you to check out their menu for the full list including their drinks The desert menu is just as mouth watering! And a treat for the young ones – there’s a kid’s menu!

While I have only had the option of trying a handful of items – there wasn’t one I wouldn’t recommend. The BLTease has thin-cut smoky tempeh bacon only peaking through the thick stacks of tomato, avocado, and shredded carrots. The sprouted rice ciabatta roll contained a liberal coat of smooth Vegenaise. While the tall sandwich was definitely filling, the taste of the tempeh was out-shined by it’s counter parts. A sandwich name that included avocado in it would be better suited. The measly side of the edamame appeared naked and over-cooked next to the towering sandwich. I enjoyed the thought of a light vegetable side but this plate could do better with the vegetable option and presentation, perhaps a larger portion or dusted with coarse salt.

On my visits, the Nachos have been a crowd pleaser with vegans and non-vegans alike. Thin tortilla chips are covered in black beans, tomatoes, cilantro, Native Foods cashew cheese, flavored TVP crumbles, and guacamole with Native Food’s house-made hot sauce on the side. The cheese is a spreadable, or perhaps squeezable consistency with a soft granular texture. This has a slightly sweet flavor with no hint of nutritional yeast, like most faux cheeses. The cheese is a wonderful in comparison to the house-made hot sauce, which is served in a small craft. The cheese itself has encouraged me to check out the owner’s cook book, The Native Foods Restaurant Cookbook, from the library.

The Tijuana Tacos are very similar in taste to the Nachos. They include all the above with soft corn tortillas in place of chips and covered in lettuce. This was deliciously fresh and crisp thanks to the lettuce. The Tacos are enough to satisfy an average hunger, but anything larger than average hunger should shoot for something heartier like the Portabello and Sausage Burger or the Mad Cowboy bowl. I should briefly mention one of their more popular bowl, which I will be ordering next, the Howard Lyman inspired bowl, which is a baked potato with faux ”save the chicken” chicken and veggies all coated in a ranch sauce. This a dish for the “meat” and potato vegans out there.

The Iron Yam bowl is a simple bowl of salad greens, four spears of yam, other veggies, and a kebab of tofu, all covered in with balsamic vinaigrette. Without a grain base, this dish was still very filling. The steamed yams and fresh greens made me feel nothing but healthy. The sweetness of the yam was hidden behind the balsamic vinegar dressing, which didn’t seem to heighten the flavor as I thought it might. At $12.50 I felt that I could have made it at home, however there’s no price for the healthy sensation after a meal like this. Maybe next time (after I try everything else on the menu) I’ll get the dressing on the side.

While it’s well known this Stumptown Vegan is not a fan of mushrooms in her food, the Portabello and Sausage Burger at Native Foods has wonderful caramelized onions among thin strips of mushroom. While I might not order this dish because of my stand on mushrooms, I would recommend to my mushroom loving friends.

Even if you get stuck going to steak houses with your favorite blue-haired snowbird in Palm Springs , keep in mind that there are options if you can sneak away. But there’s no reason to shelter omnis from this restaurant – my grandmother quite enjoyed her meal here. Native Foods offers fantastic creative vegan options in five locations in Southern California that are not to be missed. Since I do not know much about the area, the only other place I can recommend is the 1970’s feeling health food store around the corner – Health Nutz. But check-out Palm Desert’s Native Foods for a great sit down dining experience after purchasing your must-have seasonal canvas Gucci hand bag. Or check out Tanya Petroyna’s cook book at your local branch library and enjoy the food without the travel.

Native Foods:
Native_Foods