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.
Seattle Pudge
October 17, 2011
There is no pudge like Seattle pudge. Sure, PDX has it beat in terms of variety, but there are a few indulgent delicacies that cannot be found outside of the rainy city.
Wayward Vegan Cafe – We gonna brunch like it’s 2am at Denny’s.
Did you ever expect to sink your herbivorous teeth into a vegan omelet? Cheese blintz? Fake ham & turkey sandwich with French toast for bread? I know, you wish I were kidding. But it’s all here in Seattle, it’s bigger than your face, and it costs less than $10.
Objects are just as large and can’t-stop-eating-even-though-you’ll-clearly-regret-it-in-a-matter-of-minutes as they appear.
Field Roast
For your sake, I hope you’re already well-acquainted with the utter deliciousness that is Field Roast’s Apple Sage Sausages (if not, head to the nearest Whole Foods ASAP). What many people don’t realize is that Field Roast, which is headquartered in Seattle, is cruelly depriving the rest of the country of their other delicacies. Right across the street from Wayward Cafe is Side Car Pigs for Peace vegan grocery store (completely awesome in its own right – all the proceeds go to a pig rescue organization), which carries every Field Roast product imaginable for shockingly reasonable prices. Foodie it up with vegan pate, gourmet cheese balls, and porcini dijon cutlets.
Hella classy.
Mighty O
And, of course, no self-respecting trip to Seattle is complete without a trip to Mighty O Doughnuts. Portland donuts (from Voodoo and Sweet Pea) have a better texture than Mighty O, but Mighty O has more flavors and their ingredients are all organic!
p.s. In case you’re not sold on Seattle yet, we spied this while walking down the street:
O HAI casually placed vegan info chillin’ next to the classifieds like it ain’t no thing!
The Birth of Portland Pudge
July 15, 2011
I thought I was moving to Portland for the summer to experience the city. I quickly discovered that I will be steadfastly dedicating my time to eating. And eating. And maybe taking sugar-coma-induced naps.
So for those of you who want to know what I’m up to and how my days are going, this blog will provide you with the most relevant info: what new delicacies I’ve been scarfing.
Hopefully this blog will also help fill in some of the gaps in digital documentation of the overwhelming options for vegan food in portland. At the end of the summer i’ll release my top 10/vegan bucket list.
pdxpudge 