Yes, you read right.
Portland, Oregon consistently ranks as one of the most vegetarian-friendly cities in the U.S, even ahead of San Francisco. It’s also known for being hip and progressive. During my stay there over Labor Day weekend, I experienced all these and more.
Nowhere I’ve been takes vegetarians and vegans more seriously than Portland. I rarely have problems finding things to eat at restaurants in the U.S., but in many cases I need to ask whether a dish contains meat. In Portland, restaurants indicate vegetarian and vegan options clearly, not to mention the large number of vegetarian spots, given Portland’s small size. You won’t draw a blank look if you tell people you’re a vegan.
Vegetarian food in Portland is not only abundant, but also creative and affordable. This is most evident from its 500+ food cart scene. While some carts serve regular fast food, many pride themselves on artisan/gourmet/one-of-a-kind offerings normally found (or not found) in restaurants. My most interesting meals in Portland were all from the carts.
The carts are clustered in “pods” scattered across the city. There is usually a communal dining area with picnic tables in each pod. I checked out various pods, and liked the two in the residential area where I stayed in northeastern Portland the most.
In the Mississippi Marketplace pod, I tried the chickpea sandwich ($6.5) from the Garden State cart. The made-t0-order sandwich consisted of a fried chickpea patty, shredded carrots, radishes, lettuces, and lemon aioli layered between ciabatta bread. The sandwich had a great bite, the fillings were warm and crunchy, and the crispy bread soaked up the creamy aioli sauce. It was the first thing I ate in Portland and I was blown away.
Then I had the quinoa pancake ($4.5) from the organic, all-vegan Ruby Dragon cart. The cart owner wore a thick beard and dreadlocks – probably what a visitor expects Portland’s hippies to look like. But Ruby Dragon puts out seriously good food. The “Tiger’s Paw” pancake is made from fresh ground quinoa flour and hempseeds, with blueberries and walnuts mixed into the batter. Also made-to-order then topped with maple syrup, it had a fragrant, nutty flavor and complex texture. One of the best pancakes I’ve ever had.
For dinner, how about a Venezuelan platter from the Fuego de Lotus (literally fire of lotus) food cart in the Alberta Arts District? This was the first time I had Venezuelan food and I loved it. The “Revolutionaries Plate” ($7) included arepas (masa cakes), cilantro rice, black beans topped with cotija (a sharp, white cheese of Mexican origin), and cabbage salad. The warm, homey food was the perfect antidote to a breezy night.
Another upside of this pod: diners eat under a cabana-like structure with decorative light strings dangling over the beams. It felt DIY yet elegant. I could see the sky and a few lonesome stars when I ate. With music blaring in the background, this would be a wonderful date spot.
The other night I got a slice of vegan pizza ($3.5) at Bella Faccia Pizzeria on Alberta Street. The pizza was decent: tempeh crumbles, onions, bell peppers, tomatoes on top of a “cashew/roasted pepper/tomato base” and thin crust. A very small but growing number of pizzerias now offer vegan pizzas, but you usually have to order an entire pie. I was impressed that Bella Faccia had vegan slices readily available.
But there were misses too. One was the vegan poutine ($4.5) from the popular Potato Champion cart in the offbeat Hawthorne District. Poutine is a classic Quebec dish of Belgian frites and cheese curds doused in gravy. Maybe I should have tried the regular version, but the gravy smothering the frites and tofu (instead of cheese) in my vegan version was too thick. I could almost taste the cornstarch in it.
Most food carts in Portland are run by young people about my age. I wondered whether they did this as a career, or a stepping stone to something else, like becoming a chef at a restaurant. I felt it’s the former.
Running a food cart is tough – almost like running an outdoor restaurant – but the cart owners seemed content with it. They chatted with one another in the pod over cigarettes and beer during downtime. Their life looked carefree to an outsider. Is this what being a hippie in Portland means?
My best food experience in Portland, however, didn’t require psychoanalysis and was strikingly simple. I came across Freddy Guys Hazelnuts at the Portland State University Saturday Market, the city’s flagship farmers’ market. The dry roasted hazelnuts ($5) I bought there were heaven.
The hazelnuts had a fresh, intense, slightly sweet flavor, and were super-crunchy after they were roasted. Salt was unnecessary. After I opened the package, I couldn’t stop eating. (Well, this happens whenever I eat nuts.) California produces top-quality almonds and walnuts – but no hazelnuts. I will probably order from Freddy Guys in the future.
Stay tuned for my second post on my trip to Portland. You might have noticed that a whole category of food is conspicuously missing from this post…
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