Breaking News!
February 17, 2012
PDX Pudge just received this scoop… There’s going to be a new all-vegan food cart opening up in Portland! Called Tandem Treats, it will be all vegan, organic, and local, and it will be pulled around on a tandem bicycle. (I know it sounds like a ready-made Portlandia skit, but it also sounds awesome!!)
They’ll serve hot dogs, nachos, buffalo-ranch pizza, chili, sushi wraps, kombucha, and root beer. Uh… hell yes?
Rocks and Cicada, the couple behind the deliciousness, are trying to fundraise the capital for their project. Check out their painfully adorable video, then donate some monie$$: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/tandemtreats/tandem-treats-vegan-organic-local-food-cart-coming
If you donate money you’ll receive rewards like hand-written letterpress thank you cards, free food on your birthday, or your name written on the cart. Those all sound delightful. Plus, with the money they’ll eventually make from the food cart, they’re hoping to be able to open an animal sanctuary some day! Picture perfect. There’s less than 3 weeks left for their kickstarter, so donate a few bucks today!
City of Roses
February 7, 2012
My dear readers, I’m sorry to have abandoned you to the fate of unguided gluttony for so long.
The other day, while musing and munching, realization struck: it’s no mere coincidence that Portland is home to so much rose-flavored fare. Portland is the City of Roses! (I know, my powers of deduction are staggering.)
In honor of the lesser-known prize roses in Oregon, here is a list of PDX’s Best Vegan Rose Flavored Foods. Unlike Buff Beauty and Cardinal de Richlieu, these roses taste as delectable as they smell.
Rose Flavored Fare with Flare
1. Pistachio Rosewater Mini-cake, Back to Eden Bakery
As I wrote in my Back to Eden post, this is my favorite cake of all time everywhere always. Sometimes in mini-cake and sometimes in regular-cake form, but always vegan and gluten free, this cake has an incredibly delicate balance of uncommon flavors.
2. White Rose Kombucha, Townshends
Second only to Townshend’s Nutritonic kombucha, the white rose kombucha is floral and sweet but still has the kombucha kick to it.
3. Rose Collins, Portobello
For vegans, Portobello is as important a tourist destination as the Washington Park Rose Garden. Lauren, the bartender, has carefully crafted infusions, tinctures, and juices to create some of the best cocktails and mocktails in Portland. Continuing the rose theme, I got the Rose Collins*, made with rhubarb-infused gin and rosewater, with a single floating blueberry.
Photo from portobellopdx.com
*Apparently the Rose Collins is no longer on the drink menu, but they have a house infusion of white lavender rose tea gin!
4. Rose Quartz, Central
Central is somewhat hidden, but it’s not too hard to find because it’s right around the corner from Voodoo Donuts. While sitting at a table in the converted alleyway, I sipped the Rose Quartz, which had gin, bitters, and rose syrup.
5. Pistachio Rosewater Cookie, Back to Eden Bakery
You can’t go wrong with the pistachio/rosewater combo, and the cookie has its own appeal. Back to Eden’s cookies have the perfect crunchy to chewy ratio, with crip edges and soft centers. Plus, the cookie is slightly less sweet than the cake, making it easier to eat on a daily basis (& that’s my baked good time frame, let’s be real).
Photo from Back to Eden's blog, pistachio rosewater second from left.
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