Portobello: This is how it's done.

Most vegans will cringe at the option of a portobello. Generally either unseasoned or soaked in balasamic vingear and cooked beyond recognition, it can be an affront to all the senses. Doing everything they can to change this stereotype is Portobello Vegan Trattoria, located in Portland, Oregon. This is fine dining at its best- delicious food, cozy yet elegant atmosphere and down to earth service. With a rapidly changing menu, that varies with the season, Portobello offers some of the best vegan food I've ever had- not only delicious, but also creative and stunningly original. My dinner consisted of English pea ravioli with morel mushrooms, along with mint, while my dining companion's dinner was gnocchi with spring vegetables. A meal at Portobello is the kind of meal that you eat as slowly as possible, using a knife and fork to make everything last as long as possible.

An added bonus to dining at Portobello is the fact that they have fancy drink options for those of us that don't imbibe. I got the Sea Shepherd, the purchase of which also facilitated a dollar donation to Sea Shepherd. These mocktails are definitely not afterthoughts to the drink menu, all lovingly created to enhance the meal, without alcohol. In short? Don't skip this Portobello meal option, it's definitely one of the good ones.

Ten things that make me happy: Portland/Seattle Edition

Continuing the list- here's 21-30, all in the Pacific Northwest.

1) Sweetpea Bakery: Again, if you're vegan, I shouldn't really need to explain this. I love Sweetpea and their delicious baked goods and their kick-patootie sandwiches and their amazing brunch. I spent six hours in a row there on a single day during my last trip.
2) Powell's Books: This is a bibliophile's mecca. The main store covers a city block and is four stories. I can easily spend hours in there and only hit a few rooms. One of my favorite rooms is the rare book room, which is located on the top floor and houses first editions and signed copies of rare books, classics and modern classics. If all of this is a little too overwhelming, Powell's has several other locations within the city, some smaller versions of Powell's, others specializing in a certain type of book. If you like books, go there, but proceed with caution.
3) House of Vintage: Ever since Fairmont Antiques closed (Omaha people, you know what I mean), I have missed the hodgepodge that you could find there. Portland (of course) has my antidote. A giant, giant building full of different vendors selling their wares. Note: the vendors are not actually present, even though I made it sound like they are. I scored a sweet Garfield tote bag, a lovely belt and two fab pairs of shoes, all for completely reasonable prices.
4) Slugs! Slugs slugs slugs! I love giant Portland slugs!
5) Copious amounts of bubble tea: Thank you, Fat Straw, for indulging me. I will always appreciate it.
6) Blush Beauty Bar: Located on swanky NW 23rd, this is basically a local version of Sephora. I credit this place for my discovery of Zoya nail polish.
7) Pogs! Pogs pogs pogs! Pogs for sale in Portland! Unfortunately, there were no slammers for sale, or I would have quite a collection right now.
8) Seattle Art Museum: I love the modern art collection here, and I always find something new here that I love. This time, my favorites were the Warhol portrait collection and the discovery of James Ensor.
9) Sci-Fi Museum and Hall of Fame: For someone who insisted on being called Leia (as in Princess Leia), this place is the motherload. Props and costumes from a plethora of sci-fi movies and tv shows, first edition books, the first science fiction fanzines and amazing displays, any fan of science fiction, even the casual one, needs to make a stop by this museum. Additionally, admission covers entrance into the Experience Music Project, which is like a smaller version of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
10) The scenery: I am not normally a fan of scenery, perhaps because a good chunk of the scenery I see is in Nebraska, the Pacific Northwest has some of the most beautiful scenery I have ever witnessed. One of my favorite stops along the way is Snoqualmie Falls. Higher than Niagara Falls, you can hike all the way to the bottom for a gorgeous view.

Coming up: Pike Place Chowder (or chowdah, depending)

Los Gorditos, Sweetpea, Native Bowl, Hungry Tiger Too, Blossoming Lotus.

Let's knock the rest of these out, okay? I'm going to show you a photo collage, then I'm going to talk about all the restaurants. Let's do this (click for full size).

1, 2 & 3) Blossoming Lotus! The new location changed everything- there's a much more relaxed atmosphere and you can leave your shoes on when you go to the bathroom. Also, there's a significantly reduced chance of nudity while in the bathroom. A win all around! The food remains the same- high quality, great taste. I opted for the live pasta, while my friend opted for the BBQ tempeh platter.

4, 6 & 7) Sweetpea Bakery! Did you know Sweetpea does sandwiches now? You probably did. Sweetpea's sandwiches are fantastic and fresh, with generous portions. I got the Katie John Rainboots sandwich, and loved it. Their baked goods need no introduction and, really, no discussion. Super good, end of story.

5) Native Bowl! Native Bowl is the wonderful Julie Hasson's food cart. Everything here is prepared fresh to order and is fantastic- words cannot describe. I got the Broadway Bowl and it was perhaps the best meal I had in Portland. Go there!

8, 9 & 12) Hungry Tiger Too! Hungry Tiger Too is my #1 place for faux meat based bar food. There are other options, such as scrambles and salads if you are wanting lighter fare.However, my belief while I travel is to go big or go home, so I opted for their vegan club sandwich, which is huge. It's good, hearty bar food made vegan. This is also a good place to take people who eat meat, as there are plenty of options for both sets, plus you are right by the vegan mini-mall.

10) Fat Straw! I love bubble tea. I would probably be totally satisfied with boba in water, but it's nice to have a little flavor too. I like kiwi and blueberry.

11) Los Gorditos! Los Gorditos is a place that I've been hearing about for ages, but never went to for some strange reason. I made up for this by eating there twice on my last trip. I got the enchiladas and the nachos. Both were flavorful, well spice and just what I had hoped for. However, if you go to the street cart location wanting enchiladas, you may want to bring your own fork- the plastic ones didn't really cut it. It would totally be worth it though- promise.

PS- The guy at the Gorditos cart has dreamy eyes. FYI.

Next up: ten things about Portland that make me happy, and then onto Seattle!

Eating my way through Portland: Like I would do anything else

Hello blogging hiatus! I have been busy with moving into a new place (sad excuse I know), but now I am back to brag on the food of PDX. Let's start with an old favorite of mine: Vita. I got the buffalo tofu wrap and french fries on this visit. If I had to do it over, I would have skipped the fries, not because they weren't delicious (they were) but because that wrap is enormous. Enormous and filled with crispy tofu soaked in buffalo sauce, surrounded by lettuce, tomatoes and ranch dressing. It's pretty epic. I'd eat it once a week with no problems.

Although I was stuffed silly after eating my giant wrap and french fries, I headed down to Back to Eden for soft serve. Just a small dish. However, somewhere between Vita and Back to Eden, my attitude turned into 'go big or go home'. So, I ordered a dish of chocolate soft serve with gummi bears and dandies. Obviously, this was a delicious thing, so I will show you a picture and call it good.

Another location I hit up in Portland was Flavourspot- a waffle cart! Yay! I am not normally a fan of waffles because I like to put syrup in each square and that takes quite some time and I'm not that patient with food. Fortunately, I can get a waffle sandwich here, which eliminates the need for such specifics. I went with the PB & J waffle and it was the perfect start to my day. Highly recommended for a rainy morning.

Coming up: Sweetpea, Los Gorditos, Native Bowl, Hungry Tiger Too. Prepare for a tidal wave of yum.

Portland Food: Here we go again!

I know. I'm spoiled by my recent travels. Here are some vegan delights on the opposite coast (the west one).Though my journey to Portland was all about seeing old friends and revisiting favorites, I did manage to squeeze in some new places.

One example of this was brunch at Tube. They had a vegan menu (think tofu scrambles and breakfast burritos), in addition to their full brunch menu. However, what set Tube apart for me was the fact that they had vegan "egg and cheese" sandwich, an homage to egg mcmuffin of my past. There was nothing really surprising or creative about this dish, with the exception of the American flags added to my meal, but getting two "egg and cheese" sandwiches and a healthy side of hash browns for $7 definitely made me happy. With prompt, friendly service, generous servings and hearty food, I would probably make this my brunch location of choice if I lived in Portland.

Another unusual aspect of my trip to Portland was trying to find restaurants that would please my meat eating father, and I think Laughing Planet would have fit the bill. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to test this theory with my dad, but I did get a chance to go there on my own and eat the Black Jack quesadilla. I was a little nervous about getting this because of a lack of fake cheese, but the black bean dip created a supremely creamy base for the veggies that filled this bad boy up, and when smothered with their house salsa verde, this was a champion in the world of quesadilla, vegan or not.

An additional aspect of Portland's food scene that I had previously left unexplored was food carts. My first experience with this impressive scene was a blueberry hand pie from Whiffies. Oh man. They have a separate fryer for vegan pies, and all choices, both sweet and savory, are marked on the menu. There's not much I can say about this place except that it is delicious, filling and that the owner is super nice. There are tables with tents in the immediate vicinity, so order a pie, sit down, relax and enjoy.

Coming up next: potluck brunch, Vita, Back to Eden bakery