We ventured south to Eugene, home of the Oregon Ducks. Eugene has that environmental, alternative lifestyle vibe.

We visited the Cornbread Cafe for lunch. A 100% vegan comfort food diner. How cool is that? This place is small and eclectic. This isn’t your healthy garden salad with a side of steamed broccoli kinda place. Vegan comfort food, think old fashioned diner for vegans. Calista had the Shredded Barbeque Seitan sandwich which she said was delicious, the barbeque had just the right amount of sweetness and spice. Mike had the Eugenewich, which had a fried tofu patty, Daiya cheddar, deep fried carrot slices, onion rings, lettuce, tomato and a smoky sauce. He really enjoyed all the different flavors going on. I had the build your own meal, where you get a choice of phish sticks (my choice, soo good, breaded in cornmeal and fried, perfect imitation of fish sticks but, better), southern fried tofu, chicken fried tempeh & gravy, or barbeque pull-a-parts. Next you choose your first side; mac and uncheese (my choice, so good, creamy, subtle, yum!), mashed potatoes and gravy, or crinkle fries. Then you choose either sauteed greens or sassy slaw. I went with the slaw which tasted just like non-vegan slaw. Finally a choice of cornbread or biscuit. I opted for the biscuit. This place is big on charm with lots of sandwich, salads and create your own plates. If you are in Eugene, give this unique vegan diner a try.
 
After limited exploring we stopped by the Divine Cupcake,  this 100% organic vegan bakery had lots of cupcake options; we got several to go; holiday dream, red velvet, peanut butter cup, warm fuzzy, holiday eggnog, and chocolate vanilla. They had lots of options, and many cupcakes are seasonal. The eggnog was our favorite by far, the frosting was soooo good. Overall the cupcakes were good and flavorful but, all were a little on the dry side. There is nothing better than biting into a moist delicious, vegan cupcake. A little tinkering with their recipes would probably deliver the desired moistness. Having said that, I would definitely go here again for their delicious espresso drinks, the iced pumpkin and hazelnut soy lattes were very good, and their inventive cupcake flavors make we want to try them all. Support your local independent bakery and have a cupcake.

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Portland Vegan Eats

We arrived in Portland early evening and battled traffic and rain to find Proper Eats in the St. John’s neighborhood. This eclectic little gem was just what we needed. The front part of the building was an organic market with fresh vegetables, fruit, vegan products, and delicious looking desserts. The restaurant is not 100% vegan as they do offer some dairy items. The back part of the building is the restaurant, there is a funky, laid back atmosphere to this place. The menu is loaded with sandwich and salad options, along with some speciality plates like Shepherd’s Pie, Chana Masala, and a Cornmeal Tempeh Plate. Mike opted for the Tempeh Reuben with marinated tempeh, carmelized onions, homemade kraut, reuben sauce on rye bread. He said it was very good, lot’s of flavor. Calista had one of their nightly specials, chili and cornbread. She is quite the picky eater and quite the chili connisseur. She loved the chili, even though it had lot’s of vegetables, there were 3 kinds of beans, and it was on the spicy side, very good. It came with a slab of vegan cornbread which she devoured. I had the vegan nachos which were sooo good. Blue corn chips, quinoa, black beans, salsa, vegan cashew cheese (so good, tasted just like nacho cheese sauce), corn-pumpkin seed relish and guacamole. You can add tempeh or tofu sour cream, but it did not need it. Have I mentioned I love Mexican food?!! These were so good, so full of flavor, I was so full I couldn’t finish them, but Mike and Calista did, Mike even used his spoon to get the last bit of “cheese” sauce. If you are looking for delicious vegan food in a casual environment in Portland, check out Proper Eats.

The next morning we travelled to the Alberta neighborhood to Dovetail Bakery. OMG an actual working vegan bakery. They obviously do a huge wholesale business, with only a few fresh items out front. It smells like heaven in there, yeasty, sweet, yum! The place is really tiny with only a few tables, but, this is worth the trip, get your food to go if there is no place to sit! Calist had the lemon poppyseed muffin which was very moist and delish, and Mike and I had the pecan sticky buns. These are the best pecan sticky buns I have ever had. SOOOO luscious. They were fresh, warm, and gooey. Put this on your must stop at list if you are in the Portland area.

Finally we checked out Native Foods Cafe. Actually, we liked this place so much we went a second time before we caught our flight back to AZ, and I bought the cookbook! This place rocks. The Portland location is in Bridgeport Village in Tigard in a busy shopping area. They have several locations thoughout California and several in the Chicago area. If you live close to one and haven’t checked it out yet, do. Being that this location was in a busy shopping area it was pretty crowded both times. However, the service was fast and friendly. On our first visit, Mike had the Rockin’ Morroccan Bowl with their housemade chicken, grilled veggies, quinoa, currants, toasted almonds and morroccan sauce. He said it was delicious. Calist had the Scorpion Burger, their blackened tempeh burger with chipotle sauce, romaine, carrots, avocado, and onions, she had Daiya cheddar, she said it was really good and the only thing she would change would be no Daiya next time, said it was a little too much of a good thing. I had the baja tacos. They were subperb. I would eat them daily. The tempeh was breaded and fried and tasted like fish, without the cruelty or fishy smell! It had this delicious caper tarter sauce, lettuce, tomatoes, avocados, and hot sauce, all served in corn tortillas. On our second visit, I loved them so much I had the baja tacos again, bad, I know, my daughter was disappointed that I didn’t want to try anything new, hmmph! Mike had the portobella and sausage burger this time, grilled portabellos, housemade sausage seitan, carmelized onions, salsa, roasted garlic, pumpkin seed pesto and mayo, yum! Calista had the Oklahoma Bacon Cheeseburger; thinly sliced housemade seitan, melted Daiya cheddar, carmalized onions, housemade bacon with bbq sauce, ranch dressing, romaine, carrots, onions, and tomato. Her only complaint; it was a really decadent! We shared a vanilla and chocolate cupcake, relax we took them to go as we were simply too full to eat anymore. The vanilla cupcake was incredibly moist and lucisious. The chocolate cupcake was a little on the dry side but had great chocolate flavor. If you have a Native Foods Cafe near you, run, don’t walk and get your vegan grub on! I so love to go to an all vegan restaurant and order anything off the menu.

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We started our Christmas vacation in Bend, Oregon, it was one of 3 cities on our list of cities to check out where to move in Oregon. We are originally from Salem, and have camped a lot near Bend but, never really spent that much time in the city. We had a list of criteria that the city we moved to must have and my diligent, type A daughter (Calista), was in charge of the list.

We stayed at the Oxford Hotel in downtown Bend, which was great . Bend’s small downtown was awesome and quaint. There were numerous independent restaurants and shops.

We ate at Joolz the first night.  Joolz is a colorful, mediterranean bistro which was busy even at 5 pm. The spicy smells were intoxicating. There were lots of vegetarian and vegan options, some of the vegetarian items could be made vegan by simply leaving out the cheese. We started with the baba ghanouj, which was delicious. Smoky, creamy, full of flavor. My eggplant hating daughter even liked it. There were numerous other vegan options on the appetizer menu, of course hummus and a delicious looking oven roasted cauliflower served with a lemon tahini sauce, the table next to us was enjoying every last bite of theirs. I had a light dinner of tabbouleh with some pita on the side. The tabbouleh as was just the light entree I was looking for. However, it was not for the faint of heart. It was loaded with lemon and parsley and quite tangy. It was a small plate and served with 2 dolmas. I verified that the dolmas were vegan, they were. I love dolmas. The family, not so much, but they were perfect, briny and creamy at the same time. My husband (Mike) and Calista both had the falafel which they consumed, pretty standard, with lots of onions and tahini sauce. A nice plus, the pita was softer than the usual falafel vehicle. If you are ever in Bend, give this place a try, vibrant and delicious.

The next morning, Mike graciously braved the cold and walked across the street to Thump Coffee. Alas, no vegan eats but, they did have 3 non-dairy milks; soy, oat, and hemp. We all had caramel soy lattes, 2 iced, 1 hot, and they were good. Since we can not live on coffee alone, and I feel like a really bad parent letting my 13 year old drink coffee except as a sometimes treat, we headed out in search of smoothies.

We found Mother’s Juice Cafe. Which is located in a converted house. There was a fire in the fireplace and beanies on the workers. It had a cool, independent vibe. They have lots of non-dairy smoothie options and several food items that could be made vegan with some tweaking. Mike and Calista had the Tropical Fuji – pineapple, banana, mango, organic coconut, sorbet and oj. I opted for the Pink Lady – peach, banana, strawberry, sorbet and oj. Tasty, not too sweet, and just what we needed to fuel up for the day.

Next we tried out Deschutes Brewery Bend Public House. I do love to support local businesses! This place had the typical brew pub vibe but, was pretty quiet since it was the middle of day. We had the only vegan entree, unless you want to tweak the salad’s a lot to make them vegan-friendly, the Luv burger. It is a housemade vegan patty with black beans, veggies, spelt, and an avocado-tomatillo salsa. It was very good, moist, not too dry, did not crumble all over the plate. Calista loved her sweet potato fries and their regular fries were crisp and tasty too. I think better than the burger may have been the fried chickpeas, obviously, not as healthy as baked, but delicious, they were bursting with lemon peppery, salty goodness. A must try!

So many coffee places, so little time. We also tried Strictly Organic. Again, three different types of non-dairy milk; rice, soy, and oat – why can’t the big boys offer more choices? Another reason to support your local, independent businesses. Hazelnut and vanilla soy lattes for the adult’s, the health-conscious teen opted for water. Looks like they have a veggie hummus wrap and some other options that could be made vegan.

On our last day in Bend we headed about 30 minutes to the artsy, tourist town of Sisters, Oregon. We have been to Sisters many times but, this time we went specifically to check out Angeline’s Bakery. This mainly vegan, there are some vegetarian and very few meat options cafe is a gem in an unlikely place. They had vegan donuts, cinnamon rolls, coffee cakes, scones, cookies, and bagels, oh my! I must come back for lunch because the kale salad and quinoa salad were calling to me. There was an older gentlemen happily playing acoustic guitar. The place is small and quaint, perfect for a very small town. Mike and I opted for the cinnamon rolls, which were huge and delicous, almost too sweet for me, combined with my soy vanilla latte it was almost too much sugar, not so for my more the better sweets loving husband. Calista had the chocolate chip coffee cake which was not as sweet as the cinnamon rolls and was dense as a good coffee cake should be. We bought some bagels to go to munch on before our flight and share with the geese. If you are in the Sister’s area, please support this small local business.

My next post will continue on with our vacation in Portland, OR and Eugene, OR.

Enjoy!

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