Vegan Mofo Day 12: Portland 7

Voodoo Doughnut

What's a trip to Portland without a visit to Voodoo Doughnut? This time we went to the second location at 1501 NE Davis, which is in a freestanding building and a lot bigger inside than the downtown location (very nice when it's raining!). There was only one couple in line ahead of us and we got to order without much delay at all. We got a half dozen so I could bring some home to Kirk, his only request for this trip. Mum picked out a buttermilk bar, and I picked out five vegan doughnuts (thank you, Voodoo Doughnut for spelling doughnut correctly!)

Clockwise from top right: Voodoo Doll, McMinnville Cream, Chocolate Coconut,

Triple Chocolate Penetration, Maple Blazer Blunt

Food Fight! Vegan Grocery

After leaving Voodoo Doughnut, we stopped by Food Fight! Vegan Grocery, which is fairly close by, but because of one-way streets it took us a while to get there... I was hoping to find some Secret Aardvark Habanero Hot Sauce, but they were sold out :(  But I still managed to find some different local Portland hot sauces, along with a few other things that were priced significantly less than at home.

1. Secret Aardvark Drunken Jerk Sauce

2. Aunt Patty's Raw Organic Agave Syrup

3. Dandies Classic Vanilla Flavor Marshmallows

4. Flameboy XXX Hot Sauce

5. Flameboy Hot Mango Sauce

We'll see if Flameboy is as good as Secret Aardvark - I'm especially looking forward to trying the Hot Mango Sauce. And I think some rice cereal treats are in my future - I've never had vegan marshmallows before!

Vegan Mofo Day 11: Portland 6

There was a Chevy's Restaurant right beside our hotel, and being a slave to my love of Mexican and Tex-Mex food, of course we had dinner there one night! Chevy's is a chain restaurant, and I've eaten there before, in San Francisco and somewhere else that I can't recall at the moment. Every single time I eat way too much because their portions are obscenely large and I have no self-control. But it's so good!

While you wait for your order they serve you fresh salsa and chips. The salsa is delicious, and I think must be made with roasted tomatoes, judging by the colour and the slightly sweet undertones. And the thin, white corn tortilla chips come warm and lightly salted. I love them!

Chevy's makes their own Smokin' Hot Habanero Hot Sauce. It's no Secret Aardvark, but it is good.

I had the veggie burrito - which as far as I can tell is one of the only veganizable items on the menu - with no sour cream or cheese and with black beans. It was tasty and gigantic and I ate just over half and left with a bit of a tummy ache. I need to learn to ask for a doggy bag when my food comes and package up half right away. Maybe next time...

Vegan Mofo Day 10: Portland 5

I love finding funky local restaurants a little off the beaten path in cities I'm visiting. Hungry Tiger Too is one of those places. Half bar and half pub/restaurant, it seems like a hang out for twenty-somethings and college students, with crazy murals on the walls and mismatched cutlery and dishes. We walked right in and sat ourselves in a booth and got prompt and attentive service. I really liked the place, and although we didn't quite fit in with the hipster vibe, our tattoos acted as a good cover.

Hungry Tiger Too is located at 207 SE 12th Ave. As far as I can tell from the internet, there was an original Hungry Tiger, but it's no longer open.

 They definitely cater to us veggies, as they have two menus, a classic menu and a vegan menu. Both menus feature classic pub fare, including burgers, nachos and sandwiches.

A very respectable selection of condiments on the table, including Secret Aardvark Habanero Hot Sauce (see below).

Secret Aardvark Trading Co is a local Portland company that makes a couple of sauces and marinades. I can say from experience that the Aardvark Habanero Hot Sauce is great. It's not kick-in-the-pants hot, but a nice combination of rich spiciness and a bit of smoky tomato flavour. I'm going to see if I can find some to take home before we leave Portland, because I would put it on anything!

I had never before in my life eaten a corn dog, so when I saw vegan corndogs on the menu I pounced! And anything that comes with a side of tater tots is alright in my books... Verdict: I love corn dogs! I topped them with yellow mustard and habanero hot sauce, and they were delicious - crispy on the outside and moist on the inside. Not something I'd eat every day (notice that there is no colour other than brown in my meal, save the mustard), but a great treat. I washed the dogs n' tots down with a pint of Rogue Dead Guy Ale, a nice, slightly hoppy brew from the famous Portland Brewery, also brown.

I really want to try Hungry Tiger Too again - I need to try their Mac n' Cheeze and Biscuits n' Gravy! Guess another trip to Portland is necessary...

Vegan Mofo Day 9: Portland 4

So who among you, my American readers, wants to sponsor me to come live in the States, because I want to move to Portland!

My newest interesting Portland discovery is NE Alberta Street (aka Alberta Arts District), a funky, artsy neighbourhood with myriad cafes, art supply stores, bookstores, boutiques... and Tin Shed Garden Cafe. We had breakfast there, and despite the long wait for a table and super-slow service, it was fantastic!

The Tin Shed is at 1438 NE Alberta Street. You can't miss it - it's covered in corrugated tin and there's probably always a line up outside. We got there at 8:15 on Sunday morning and there was already a 20 minute wait for a table!

They have a serve-yourself coffee bar with their own Tin Shed blend and decaf for us wussies, which you're welcome to use even when you're waiting for a table. That makes the wait a little more bearable, although it also means if you want a refill after you're seated, chances are you're going to have to get up and get it yourself.

 An okay selection of condiments on the table, and a super-cool drink menu with hand-decorated wooden covers. Each one was unique.

I had the "Tim Curry" and this photo absolutely does not do it justice! It was tofu, yam, zucchini, mushroom & onion in a coconut-curry sauce, served over a bed of spinach & topped with roasted peanuts & avocado, with potato patties on the side. It also comes with raisins, but I had it without. It was sooo delicious!

Mum had a half order of the "Belly Pleaser" - rice pudding made with jasmine rice, coconut milk, ginger & vanilla and topped with fresh mango & cinnamon - and a fruit salad. Although the fruit salad was good, she wishes she got the full order of "Belly Pleaser", as it was heavenly. She has a lower tolerance for slow service than I do, and even she thought it was worth the wait!

All in all, NE Alberta Street is a cool neighbourhood, and Tin Shed is a great place to eat. Check it out next time you're in Portland.

Vegan Mofo Day 8: Portland 3

Before going to Powell's, which is the marathon of book shopping experiences, we decided to grab some lunch at Noodles & Company, a nice, inexpensive little noodles place which is apparently a chain, but I've never seen another location. It's right around the corner from Powell's and has quite a few vegan options.

 They post what local ingredients they're using that week, which is unassailably cool.

Pretty well any place that has Sriracha on the table is alright by me!

I had the Bangkok Curry with organic tofu. It was great, and kept me going for the whole afternoon of shopping.

Vegan Mofo Day 7: Portland 2

Okay, I'm going to drag this Portland thing out into several posts. Portland is one of the veganest cities in America, and there are sooo many good eats to be had here! One of my favourite experiences so far was at Cacao Drink Chocolate, and it was completely by mistake! After shopping at Powell's we really needed a break and decided to go to Stumptown Coffee for a restorative drink and rest. But Stumptown was packed full of people, as it often is, so we kept walking and ended up at Cacao. Wow! I had a dark hot chocolate made with soy (it's not on their menu, but if you ask, they'll make it for you for an extra 50 cents) and it was heavenly. They melt pure top quality drinking chocolate for their hot chocolate, and it's fabulous - you can't taste soy at all, just rich, dark chocolate. They also sell good quality chocolate from around the world in their store. It was all I could do not to buy them out of preserved ginger chocolates, but I controlled myself!

 Absolutely delicious hot chocolate.

Vegan MoFo Day 6: Portland 1

Mum and I are in Portland right now for a long weekend of shopping! Today we went downtown to the Portland Saturday Market (a huge, amazing market on the waterfront with tons of artisans selling their wares - I bought a surprise for Kirk and catnip toys for the kitties), Powell's City of Books (the most amazing independent bookstore ever - it's friggin' huge) and the Pearl District. We shopped 'til we dropped.

 

At Powell's I bought "Growing Vegetable Soup" by Lois Ehlert for my children's book collection (among other things), and at Penzey's Spices I bought Breakfast Sausage Seasoning (for my vegan sausages) and Aleppo Pepper. I can't wait to get home & cook!

The Saturday Market sign with some happy shoppers.

Me on the Portland waterfront.

Pretty trees along the waterfront.

Neither of us smoke, but we thought this cigarette truck was really funny. We've never seen a cigarette truck before!