It’s been a long time since I did a PDX Sites & Eats feature and well I have a few more pending. This weekend we headed to the annual Northwest VegFest. This was the 10th year of the fest and I imagine it was their best. We went last year and thought it was okay. This year however was a huge improvement.
We stopped in and chatted with lots of vendors and of course tried lots of samples (some yummier than others).
We stopped in to grab a sample of Made in Nature‘s new Fusion snacks and remember how I was talking about wanting to try the Mediterranean one? Well I picked up a sample and it will be one of my snacks today (I will report back).
We tried stopped into try an old favorite, Vital Juice Co (see my post here), and tried a few of their new flavors. We were loving the new Vital Almond with Citrus; it would be a perfect start to the morning. We also had to have a sample of the coconut water because it’s seriously the best coconut water I have ever had. I just saw that they have a kids line and I must locate some for Edith because I think she would go nuts for them.
We had to stop and try a few new things like olive & sea salt, pepperoni and cheese pizza kale chips.
And we tried a new yummy bar from Nii Bars that we are on a mission to locate. Edith tried just about every bar and we had to actually pick her up and remove her from the table are because she was ready to swipe a plate. I loved all the flavors but my favorite was the Almond Chocolate Chip.
We didn’t end up making it to see any of the speakers just due to time and having two little children in tow. We were going to try and take Edith to the kids yoga class but I went to yoga in the morning and then we were just running a little behind and didn’t make it over to VegFest until the class had already started (or maybe even ended). We had a great time visiting all the exhibitors, trying new products and running into friends. Looking forward to going again next year!
Local friends did you make it out to VegFest? Non-local friends have you ever been to a VegFest? Neil and I always wanted to go to VegFest in Toronto but never made it when we were back East. We did however make an (almost) yearly trip to Boston VegFest before Edith was born.
Wednesday afternoon I opened my e-mail to find an invite to the Warby Parker Class Trip kickoff party, of course I wanted to go. After sending a quick e-mail over to check and see if Edith could come as well, I heard back with a big YES and I confirmed we would be attending. I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to check out Warby Parker‘s newest glasses. Although Neil and I just bought new glasses in December I am in need of a pair of prescription sunglasses for driving.
After checking out some of the glasses we decided to head inside to the party. We arrived early since Edith was with us so luckily there wasn’t much of a wait for our (free) cocktail that was so delicious. We hung around the space for awhile and of course Edith was a hit with everyone, that girl can make anyone smile. We danced and Neil enjoyed a second cocktail before heading home.
Let me just tell you it was just what we needed, a night out even if it was just for an hour. We got out and socialized a little, had a great cocktail and did something besides go to baby playgroups. I can see us doing more of these types of things in the future.
As for the glasses we had wanted to stop in and check them out once more before leaving but the bus was packed, we should have known better! Oh well! Luckily the bus is here for a while longer so we are going to go find it this weekend and try on a few more styles before making any decisions.
P.S. UNION/PINE is an awesome space and after doing some lurking I found out that there is the Portland Flea there this Sunday <– so going! Also it seems to be a popular wedding venue if any of you are planning to get married and need a fun space.
Do you have a pair of Warby Parker glasses? What do you think?
Do you go out on weeknights? Do you like to bring your kids with you?
This past weekend Neil and I headed out for our last getaway before the baby arrives. For the past 3 years we have gone to Portland Maine for our anniversary but since this year Neil is running the KeyBank Vermont City Marathon and I’ll be 34 weeks pregnant we decided to make our trip a month early. Initially we had planned to stay Saturday night but then decided to head to Maine after work on Friday night, but then we woke up Friday morning and decided to take a spontaneous vacation day from work and we headed out early- best decision ever.
We got on the road and made it to Concord New Hampshire just around lunch time so we decided to stop into Cafe Indigo a vegan bakery and cafe. Neil and I decided to share two different items and a cookie- it is a bakery after all. We shared the Veggie Cakes Cafe Indigo‘s version of crab cakes with tartar sauce, cornbread and slaw (my choice) and a Falafel Burger on a whole wheat bun with a lemon tahini sauce, slaw and blue corn chips (Neil’s choice). I thought the Veggie Cakes were really tasty and the tartar sauce was delicious, I have to say though the tempeh crab cakes from Vegan Brunch are closer to what I imagine Crab Cakes to taste like. Neil really liked the falafel burger but I wasn’t a huge fan of it, I thought it would have been better in a wrap than on a roll and it was a little dry. We both enjoyed the cornbread and the slaw but we didn’t really touch the blue corn chips. The best part of the meal was the ginger cookie- AMAZING.
Next stop on our journey was to Whole Foods to pick up an iced coffee for Neil and an Arnold Palmer for me before making it to the 3pm brewery tour at Allagash. There is really nothing more depressing than watching a group of people sample a (four) wonderful brews and having to stand there and watch it all happen. Neil enjoyed the samples and then we took a walking tour of the brewery. Since I couldn’t partake we picked up a bottle of Allagash Old HLT, a sour cherry beer, to share later this summer. Although I couldn’t enjoy the samples it was one of the best tours that we have been on and would recommend it to everyone. Tip: you can call ahead to be put on the list for the tour as I imagine they fill up fast!
After the tour we checked into our hotel and then I decided that it was time to take a nap before dinner. We walked downtown from our hotel (rather up a giant hill) to Green Elephant, a wonderful vegetarian restaurant in Portland. I have been a number of times and Neil has been once before and we have always enjoyed it. We lucked out and arrived just moments before the dinner rush, although it is worth the wait.
We started off with the Fresh Rolls-Lettuce, carrots, avocado, rice vermicelli, and mint wrapped in rice paper, served with peanut sauce, they were wonderful. For our entrees Neil ordered the Crispy Breaded Soy Filet stir-fried Chinese broccoli, Chinese broccoli carrots and thai bird chili in a brown sauce. I stole a few bites (of course) and I have to say that this is now one of my favorite dishes I have had at Green Elephant.
For my entree I couldn’t decided on what I wanted (too many choices) so I decided to get a soup and an appetizer. I ordered the Fragrant Coconut Soup with tofu & baby bella Mushroom, cherry tomatoes, onion, scallion, and cilantro and Roti Canai an Indian style pancake. with vegetable curry dip. This was my first time having the soup and it was so tasty, I didn’t love the tomatoes in it but otherwise it was great. The roti is an old favorite of mine and it was just as food as I remembered.
After dinner we decided to stop into Local 188 for an after dinner mock-cocktail and brew. Neil ordered a local microbrew (I can’t remember the name) and I had a virgin Basil Lemonade, which was amazing and I have to replicate it at home!
After drinks we headed back to the hotel to rest up for a busy Saturday. Stay tuned!
We did it! Neil and I ran our first 5k this past weekend in Portland, ME. It was an amazing experience and we both did really well.
The race started off on a hill. I was feeling nervous because I had only done one kill run during my training so I wasn’t sure how I would do. To my delight and both Neil and my surprise I actually crushed that hill. The course went onto a slightly inclined area and eventually to the stairs which you can see here. I shocked myself on the stairs. I didn’t stumble, fall flat on my face or run into anyone; WIN!
Then it was on to the next section of the course which was on a bike path right along the water. This area was described to us as “flat as a pancake”; well it was only “flat as a pancake” if pancakes have lump inclines. I really hit my stride at the last mile and it felt great. When I got to the last .1, right before the finish line, I decided to give it all I had and pass the 2 people in front of me to come in at a 37:36 giving me a 12:05 pace per mile. This was huge for me since my last 3.1 mile training run was 40:30 and the one before that 39:30! There were 17 finishers in the Female 25 to 29 age group and 185 finishers in the race. My overall finish place was 158 and I placed 16th in my age group (I didn’t finish last overall or in my age group- WAHOO).
Neil crossed the finish line at 28:49 and came in 5th out of 8 in his age group and 93rd overall. He rocked it.
After Race Complimentary Beers
After race brunch at Whole Foods (kale salad, home fries, roasted mushrooms, tomatoes, vegan chicken salad, fresh roll, macrobiotic dumplings and a vegan sesame chicken nugget)
After our night/morning in Portsmouth we headed to Portland to do a little site seeing, eating and getting ourselves prepped for our race. Our first stop was to pick up our bibs and race shirts and then we headed downtown for a beer and a snack at Novare Res Bier Cafe; a great beer bar in Portland.
We chose our beers and decided to get the Mediterranean plate to share; so good on a ridiculously hot day.
After beers and a snack we did a little shopping around downtown and the mall before heading to Whole Foods for dinner. Yes, Whole Foods. We love the Portland Whole Foods and it has an amazing number of vegan options at the hot/cold bars as well as a burrito bar, sushi bar and burger bar (all with vegan options). We could (and have) easily eaten all of our meals at Whole Foods but we only ate three there this weekend.
After dinner we decided to go drive the course and see what we were up against. Well to start the course is on a hill and then to a short incline and then to these stairs.
I was a little nervous that these stairs were going to be a bit of a challenge for the race because they were steep and the gravel around the stairs loose. Oh well!
We made our way back to the top of the stairs and watched the sunset. Stay tuned for the race recap.
We are headed to Portland,ME (not Oregon) for the weekend to run a 5K and I decided to do a little lot of research of dining options. Here is my guide to Portland, ME Vegan Friendly Dining (FYI this gives you an idea of what you can eat at these restaurants it is not a review of the restaurant because frankly I haven’t been to all of them- I will do a review of the ones we do visit upon our return):
Rating system:
1 –> 3 or less vegan options 2 –> 4-5 vegan options (at least one entree) 3 –> 6-7 vegan options (at least one entree) 4 –> 8-9 vegan options (at least two entrees) 5 –> 10+ vegan options (at least two entrees)
Green Elephant: 608 Congress St, Portland ME Rating: 5 (vegetarian, mostly vegan)
The staff will let you know for sure which options are vegan there are a few I am not sure about- the skewers are though and they are good! So just double check; below are the vegetarian options which are most likely vegan or can be made that way.
House fried peanuts seasoned with Thai herbs
Fried taro sticks seasoned with sea salt. Served with spicy chili sauce
Steamed assorted vegetables with “Nahm-Prik” (eggplant relish)
Tofu skewer rubbed with teriyaki sauce
Shiitake skewer with teriyaki seasoning sauce
Portabella mushroom skewer rubbed with sesame oil & mushroom sauce
Thai sticky rice with soy sauce, pepper, scallion, and garlic
Stir-fried wide rice noodles with onion, tomato, pepper, bamboo shoot,Chinese broccoli, Thai basil, and tofu
Organic tofu, bamboo shoots, red and green pepper, squash, baby carrot, green beans, Thai eggplant and Thai basil in homemade green curry
Personal Experience: LOVED this place. (same owners as Green Elephant) Sebago Brewing Company: 211 Fore Street Portland ME
Rating: 2
Vegan Options:
Beer
Pub Pretzels: they are ok-but without the dipping sauce.
Hummus & Tzatiki (without tzatiki)
Greek Falafel (no feta): This salad is fine but with a different
dressing-the dressing it is listed with contains feta. The falafel is pan
seared with oil.
Dressings that are ok:
Balsamic ving.
Italian
Cianti Ving.
Hefeweizen Ving? (contains honey)
Pesto Ving.
Panzanella Salad (no chicken): without the cheese. suggest adding the falafel to this
Vegetable Stir Fry: this dish is fine w/o rice could sub pasta
Linguine-prepped with margarine
Falafel burger w/o bun or tzatiki – sub wheat wrap
Veggie quesadilla without any cheese
FYI: the onion rings (not vegan anyways), chips french fries & sweet potato fries are deep fried in the same oil as fish
Fruit Gelatos (Sorbettos) that are completely milk free, egg free and fat free. Our fruit flavors are made using exclusively fresh fruit, water and different kinds of natural sugars. Usually, we produce :
Vegan Triple chocolate layer cake with white and chocolate frosting
Vegan Sweet Dreams – Fried plantains, maple syrup, toasted pecans, toasted coconut & a dash of cinnamon, add Soy Ice Cream or Rice Ice Cream
Mug O’ Rice Ice Cream
Mug O’ Soy Ice Cream
The Veganotor Scramble- Sauteed tofu with mushrooms, green & red peppers, onioins, broccoli then finished with a vegan spicy sauce and served with red beans and salsa on the side.
ZoomaZoom Wrap (vegan) Falafel with spicy vegan spread, spinach, lettuce, tomato, onion and black olives
Tempeh Thru The Tulips Wrap (vegan) Spinach, tomato, fried tempeh and sauteed veggies du jour in creamy basil sauce
Garden of Eatin’ Appetizer (vegan) Silly made hummus served with carrots, broccoli, green& red peppers, falafel and crunchy flour tortilla chips, -made fresh daily-ask for it without the cuke dill
Vegan Decadence Appetizer (vegan) Creamy vegan basil sauce spread atop grilled bread topped with Greek olives, roasted red peppers, fresh tomatoes & garlic then toasted to perfection
Sweet Plantains Appetizer – Fried- (vegan) Can be gluten free if you tell us….
Rings of Fire Appetizer (vegetarian) Breaded & fried jalapeno rings with a side of sour cream **(vegan)-sub spicy vegan dip
French Fries Appetizer (vegan)- Handcut Can be gluten free if you tell us…
Hobo Pie Dinner (vegan) Flour tortilla chips topped with sweet potato millet blackbean vegan chili, salsa, tomatoes & scallions –Must ask for soy mozz substitute and no sour cream.
Tofu in a Dinghy Dinner -(vegan) – Thai ginger peanut sauce, rice noodles, fried tofu, vegan mozzarella cheese, mushrooms and scallions wrapped in a flour tortilla and deep fried in a chimi style.
Gone Bonzo Dinner-(vegan) – A panfried bonzo cake (chickpea flour spiced pancake with flax seeds) topped with sauteed veggies in a creamy spicy Thai peanut coconut sauce and garnished with julienne carrot.
Tempeh of Doom Dinner – (vegan) – Layered rice, red beans, fried tempeh, vegan bbq sauce, fried onions, hot sauce, vegan cheddar cheese and jalapenos.
Rest in Pizza -(vegan)- Spicy vegan spread, fried veggie burger, jalapenos, pineapple, garlic, hot sauce & vegan mozzarella cheese
Good Golly Miss Bolly Dinner (vegan) Sauteed veggies, fried tofu, fried sweet potato and white potato, in a coconut mango curry sauce over rice garnished with cilantro and toasted coconut.
Et Tu & Fries Dinner Dinner– (vegan) – Breaded organic fried tofu & hand cut fries served with spicy vegan dip or make it buffalo with spicy vegan dip
Garden Salad – (vegan) – Lettuce, spinach, tomatoes, onions, carrots, green peppers, scallions, broccoli, & mushrooms-available in demi size
Blue Mango Veggie Burgers
Papou’s Falafel fabuffel burger (falafel with buffalo sauce)
Your choice of a
single
double
Triple
All Burgers are served on a hamburger and are topped with lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles & served with Silly’s hand cut French Fries.
Quote from the restaurant “We do have a few salads on the menu for vegans, however, if you want to come to the restaurant, the chef prefers to cook strictly for you. to be honest there are very few things actually on the menu that are vegan, but we are happy to customize the menu for you. if you would like further information please call us at 207-761-0555. again, the chef takes all dietary restrictions/allergies very seriously and would be happy to accomodate you.”
Rating system:
1 –> 3 or less vegan options 2 –> 4-5 vegan options (at least one entree) 3 –> 6-7 vegan options (at least one entree) 4 –> 8-9 vegan options (at least two entrees) 5 –> 10+ vegan options (at least two entrees)
I was a little nervous that these stairs were going to be a bit of a challenge for the race because they were steep and the gravel around the stairs loose. Oh well!
Check out their menu 
Vegan Options:
