Is this a trap?

I think this might be a trap.

How about a subset position for a vegan food blog writer? We could really use that around here.

There, I said it! Expecting to be told to shut up in 1... 2...

@Fruit Cup, actually, I was thinking the same thing. There's a real lack of vegan restaurant coverage. Grant Butler does some nice vegan writing at the O, but he doesn't do any/much reviewing. It would be great to see some real reviews of places other than Natural Selection that aren't just "they made a vegan version of this!"

Plus, more vegan food, please.

Find a vegan food blog writer who lives in LO, that way they can be called "The Lake Osvegan."

@4, yes completely. Not to mention the local vegan blogs (looking at you Stumptown Vegans) have pretty much abandoned the job. It's impossible to count on Yelp, either, for finding new/interesting vegan spots.

Hell, I'd be interested in highlights of menu items at places you wouldn't expect to find a vegan option (the delicious vegan wings at FOTM spring to mind).

For you vegans, a catch-all site.


http://epicuriousvegan.com/

@#6, I heard those vegan wings at FOTM are frozen packaged stuff, so I've never tried them. If someone can confirm that they make them in-house and tasty, I'll be there this weekend.

I do like your idea of unlikely-vegan-options-on-omni-menus coverage. That'd be nice for when my parents want to load up the SUV and haul in from the suburbs for a holiday/birthday/briss/pre-Blazers-game dinner.

We really wanted to like them, but FOTM's vegan wings are gross, in my opinion.

FOTM's meaty wings were on my very short list of "food I really missed as a vegetarian," so when I went back to the dark side, I had them - and they were so much less delicious than I remembered. The bottom line for FOTM for me is that they have delicious sauces, but I think they use truly industrial-grade chicken parts for the wings themselves.

The smoked wings at NEPO 42 on the other hand, were exactly as awesome as I remembered.

@8, They actually have two vegan wings on the menu. The "Portland Wings" are definitely frozen/pre-packaged. The "Vegan Drumsticks" are constantly on special (only on the proper menu at the new Fremont location). As far as I know, they're made in-house. They're somewhat reminiscent of the wings they used to do at the African food cart on 4th and College (before they closed). They're more expensive ($6.95 for 6) but pretty good. Especially when you consider the beer menu is also quite good (Mondays are $3 pint nights, btw). It’s definitely where I go to fill my not-horrible vegan bar food at a place with good beer fix.

Something else to consider is that the sauce is what makes FOTM shine. Most of the sauces are vegan, but ask if you’re not sure. Stay away from the conventional sauces (Mild/Medium/Hot), as they have dairy. If you’re real sweet, they’ll let you sub the Vegan Drumsticks onto their Jamaican Jerk sandwich (it has a pineapple ring and jerk sauce). Pretty tasty.

@CC, even if I ever went back to the dark side, I could never eat a chicken after watching Food, Inc. over the weekend.

That jerk sammie does sound good. I still haven't had a vegan jerk sandwich in Portland that can hold a candle to one I had in Louisville, KY a few years back.

For vegan pub grub I just keep bitching at my neighborhood bars and then ordering chips and salsa. It's a sad existence.

SHUT UP, VEGAN.

It's a good sandwich. It probably won't hold a candle to something more authentic. But it's quite good for pub grub. Since the place isn't natively vegan, they don't seem to add the "vegan mark-up" that most places seem to add to their food (here's looking at you Hungry Tiger).

Damn, now I want a sandwich. Blogtown Banh-meet-up?

Damn, now I want to punch a vegan.

@15, You missed the Old Gold meet-up! That was Banh-mi-riffic. The tofu is good. Although they could definitely adjust their crunchy bits to bread ratio. If they fix that, they'd beat out the Sweet Hereafter at a lower price point.

@16, I think you meant to say you wanted to "hug a vegan." I only assume such because you seem like a nice guy. Not the type that would stoop to threatening violence because people eat different things than you. I mean, it's food. The stakes just aren't that high.

Admittedly my bias is fairly blinding, but I think the Old Gold's banh mi is better than the Sweet Hereafter. (I ate both last week!)

Ok, ok, so I need to make it to the Old Gold. Guess I can saddle up and catch a Blazer game there soon. But now I'm thinking Sweet Hereafter for dinner tonight. Because cooking at home is for the 99%.

@18, I've had both. But admittedly I've only had the Sweet Hereafter during the first week. Sweet Hereafter has been spotty as hell since opening. I assume it's because they've been splitting staff between Sweet Hereafter and the Bye and Bye (they definitely have an A Team and a B Team). When you get a sandwich from the A Team, it's one of the best things going in town.

I'll be revisiting the Old Gold Banh-mi later this week.

@21, It's true, I fruit-jacked the thread. I do that sometimes.

I assume we won't be seeing any stories decrying "big box" retailers or any other soulless corporations for not paying living wages to their employees.

Showstopper's just jealous because Carrie Brownstein thinks we're cool.

Re: Blazer games at the Old Gold—they have $2 Rainiers during games, served in those Dairy Queen Blazer caricature glasses from the '90s. (Ezra should be paying me for this shit.)