Portland Vegan Breakfast Showcase

Day 2 of Vida Vegan Con started off with the promise of a Breakfast Showcase featuring a bunch of different local restaurants, bakeries, etc. This was the conference meal I was most excited about! We made sure we got there early and lined at Portobella Vegan Trattoria’s table first. I am not sure what exactly they served. It involved potatoes, peas, edible flowers, a radish slice and a sauce. Whatever it was it didn’t disappoint!  Next I hit the A.N.D. Cafe table for a meatloaf benedict that was out of this world. I then headed over to Back to Eden and picked up a Smoked Tempeh Mozzarella Fig Scone, simply amazing.  Near Back to Eden was Diving Pie where I tried a few samples of their raw and whole foods pies. A bagel from Blackheart Bagels and a green juice from Portland Juice Press finished my first round of the showcase. After I sat at my table some of my table mates were raving about a  Broccoli Cheddar and Smoked Tempeh Quiche from Back to Eden so I paid them a visit for the second time to pick one up. I’m glad I did because it was my favorite of all the foods I tried at the showcase.

My one disappointment was that I didn’t get to sample Sizzle Pie’s breakfast pizza or the sliders offered up from White Owl Social Club. The line for them was so incredibly long!

Portland-Style Build-a-Bowl

Lunch on Saturday was Build a Bowl meal. I loaded my bowl with greens, quinoa, Upton’s Naturals chorizo, tofu, beans, raw walnut meat, Teese, Nacheez, salsa, a super garlicky condiment that the organizers actually got up on stage to announce that it wasn’t a dressing and not to pour it all over your bowl unless you wanted to smell like garlic for days! I had to try it just because of the “warning” and it was so good that it was worth the garlic breath. Thankfully I had some gum to chew afterwards.

All Hail Kale w. Blackened Vegan Chicken

After the conference on Saturday was the Galarama and Silent Auction for Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest. We had some time kill between events so Dianne and I took our free entree gift card for Veggie Grill out of our swag bags and headed there for dinner. Feeling like we needed some greens, even though I loaded up on mesclun at lunch, we each got a salad. I had tried the All Hail Kale salad at the Veggie Grill reception the night before and loved it so I ordered it here and the lovely man behind the counter recommended I add the vegan chicken. I’m happy I did. It was one of the best restaurant salads i’ve ever ordered. I can’t wait for Veggie Grill to open some East Coast restaurants.

VEGAN CHEESE TRAY!!!

I think the best thing that has ever been served at any event I’ve ever been to happened at the Galarama. Miyoko Schinner, who wrote the book Artisan Vegan Cheese, made a ton of her artisan cheeses and put together these really amazing cheese trays. VEGAN CHEESE TRAYS! I don’t think anything can ever beat that. Every cheese I tried was my favorite. Thank you Miyoko. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Ice Cream Sundae Bar

After eating too much of Miyoko’s cheese I headed over to the So Delicious Sundae Spectacular. It featured brownies from Capital City Bakery. Full disclosure..I ate one of the brownies san’s sundae while I was headed over to the Cheese Trays. I then ate another when I made my own sundae. There was everything you could ever want to put on a sundae there. Marshmallows, nuts, whipped cream, sprinkles..etc…

I’m pretty sure this day was one of the best food days of my life.