Departure

A small fancy dinner with my two favorite ladies at Departure was in order for my recent 25th Birthday. This pretty swanky sky-high lounge and restaurant is located on the rooftop of The Nines Hotel in downtown Portland with incredible views of the city. The theme is Asian fusion and what originally drew me to this place was the delectable vegan menu, but what made this experience even sweeter was walking up the hallway (and even their bathroom!) reminiscent of my favorite ride, Space Mountain.


crispy tofu // smoked chili glaze, sweet & sour pineapple


bbq tempeh steam buns // korean bbq sauce tempeh, spicy slaw


garlic fried rice // sunny egg, scallions


a whole mess of birthday soosh


maguro karai roll // big eye tuna, sweet & spicy sauce


big eye poke tuna // chili, avocado, white ponzzu, rice crisp




custom cake from sweetpea, thanks guys

Sushi Ichiban

This is the fourth Ichiban sushi establishment I've visited, all unrelated, and each one has given me an experience I'll never forget.

A lot of my vegan friends have recommended this spot and now I see why. I've always been kind of weirded out by the circular conveyer belt that goes round and round until you decide something looks appetizing enough to snag up. It took some coercing on my friends' part to get me to come here, but with promise of being able to order off menu my mind was put at ease. I was blown away by how good their veggie rolls actually were. This isn't somewhere I'd particularly want to eat fish from (cheap and dirty), but I was into their flat rate plate pricing for everything, $1-4 per plate depending on color. It's awesome when you're on a budget or want to look like a conquistador at the end of your meal with a mile high stack of plates that only cost you $20-30.






The star of the show and must have if you ever visit is the Eliza roll. Yum!

Foodie Friday: A N D Cafe

One of the places I was most excited to try the moment I moved to Portland was A N D Cafe. All vegan/vegetarian and full of deliciousness, this cafe was right up my alley. From an adorable menu with cute names for entrees, such as the "hot nest", to the pure aesthetics of the food that came out, this spot is top notch and by far one of my favorite go-to's for brunch in this city.



bennie in a mess: tofu scramble, tomato, spinach, homemade biscuit, hollandaise
[meatloaf benedict in the background]

meatloaf benedict: two eggs poached, walnut "meat"loaf, toast, hollandaise

full nest: 3 nests, veggies, tofu scramble, veg sausage, hollandaise, homemade biscuit

feast waffles stuffed with veggie sausage, potato & vegan mozzarella topped with hazelnut sausage gravy, tofu scramble annnnnd a side of nests

Tiger! Tiger!

Before leaving San Diego, it was vital that I tried a favorite brewery amongst natives, Tiger! Tiger!. Not the most vegetarian friendly, but I took the opportunity to get brunch on a lovely Sunday.

The biscuits and gravy had to have costed all of $2 to make and there was no fake meat, just a melted cream cheese sauce over two flaky pillsbury-looking biscuits. HOWEVER the potatoes were amazinnngggg. The prices were decent, the housemade lemonade was yummy and I loved loved that they let me "taste" the St. Louis Framboise beer that they had on tap... it was delicious. Take note that they have some awesome specials on beers throughout the week!

Milo's City Cafe

The day after moving to Portland, worn out and hosting two of my favorite people, I was taking advantage of all the new restaurants in my area via Yelp. Craving diner-ish food and not too expensive for a quick yet sit down meal, Milo's City Cafe popped up and this place really surpassed all of my expectations.

Not sure why I was under the impression after glancing over their website and skimming reviews that this was an older diner, nothing to really write home about, but boy was I wrong. On top of the spectacular food, almost every table was full while we dined in, but generally no wait...on a SATURDAY. Talk about awesome and practically inconceivable.

I got the smoked salmon benedict (the hollandaise sauce was what dreams are made of), fresh fruit & potatoes. I had no trouble picking out a few items I'd like to try when I return.





the best date!

Hi

Well, I did it. I moved to Portland.

I've been out and about, meeting new people, seeing new things and most importantly, eating all the wonderful and amazing food that Oregon has to offer.

I'm hoping to hop back on this gravy train and rekindle my love for blogging about all the places and things that make this little lady HAPPY. With that said, here are a few photos from my recent move and look forward to a plethora of upcoming food posts!
home ♥







my neighbor



before we left; all packed and ready, my babe did such a good job