visitin’ the vegans’ paradise

We try to be prompt people.  We really, really do.  But it just doesn’t work out for us.  This is pretty much a constant problem for the two of us.  And you would think that perhaps we would influence each other to be more on time because the two of us being together would make us hyper-aware of the lateness situation.  This has not happened yet.  So, when we leave hotel rooms, we more often than not call and ask if we can have one more hour.  Luckily, no calls had to be made in Seattle.  Nobody was set to be in the studio directly after us, so we had a lovely, leisurely morning today getting out of the studio, and it was so nice.  We woke up later than I’d care to admit and set to re-packing and re-configuring the car.  If you know me, you’ll know how exciting this was for me.  I really like organizing and it was great to take everything out of the car and repack before heading back on the road.  We finished our leftover Indian food from the night before last and then went off to Portland.  The drive was easy, and we got here right around time to start planning for dinner (naturally, we pretty much plan our lives around meals).

We got to McMenamin’s Kennedy School and were absolutely amazed.  This is such an incredibly cool hotel, I can not even begin to describe how much I love it here.  So the McMenamin brothers started renovating old buildings to keep them from being demolished and now have a virtual kingdom of awesome hotels, brew pubs and concert venues.  This company is just so unique and awesome, and in a way, I think has a really noble way of running their business.  So we got here and got settled just in time for my first college roommate and good friend, Lauren to arrive, ready to lead us around Portland in search of the perfect meal.  We first had drinks at the Boiler Room Bar in our hotel and then headed over to Alberta Street to find somewhere to eat.  After walking a few blocks (yes, we walked to dinner, very Portland of us), we landed at Vita Cafe, a vegetarian and vegan restaurant (with a few meat options) that boasted everything from thai noodles to a burger with bacon and egg.  Joellen and I shared the club sandwich (fully vegan, with vegan mayo, vegan bacon and vegan turkey) and the vegan mac and cheese, and we shared the vegan nachos as a group.  I was really surprised at how much I liked everything.  As a meat and cheese lover, I was a little skeptical, and although I will happily eat a vegetarian meal most all of the time, I am still unsure about vegan cuisine.  Not gonna lie, I almost ordered the one meat option: a burger.  But I didn’t.  I decided to dive in head-first and have a totally vegan meal.  And you know what?  It was actually really good.  The sandwich was my favorite part–absolutely delicious, with a delightfully salty, smoky flavor and a nice, meaty texture.  I give that dish two thumbs way up.  The mac and cheese with faux cheese was also really tasty, with a creamy, garlicky sauce; I had a hard time putting down the fork.

We walked back to the hotel and stopped at one of the restaurants for another drink.  We befriended some guys and I shamelessly plugged our blog and road trip and told them upwards of a dozen times that they should really check it out.  Overall, I’d say that we had a great introductory evening to Portland.  I can’t wait for all that tomorrow promises–good food with good friends in a great city.

❤ Amy