This weekend, my fiance and I had a vegan adventure we won't soon (if ever) forget. He won an all expense paid trip to Tofurky's 1st annual Tofurkyfest and new manufacturing center dedication in Hood River, Oregon. I had enough frequent flier miles to make this a rare little cost weekend getaway, but that wasn't even the half of it...
When we landed at PDX, we made a bee line into Portland to soak in the vegan offerings. First up, lunch at Los Gorditos with a vegan menu chockful of options (good vegan Mexican food can be hard to find.) I got the empanadas rellenas - corn masa stuffed with vegan cream cheese and jalapenos and served with rice, beans and deliciously savory soy curls.
Stuffed, we went to SE 12th and Stark to visit a vegan mini-mall featuring Sweet Pea Baking Company, vegan bakery and cafe; Herbivore, clothing and accessory store; and Food Fight, vegan grocery where I always find something new to try. What I love about Sweet Pea, is they're not just vegan-friendly...they're vegan besties with everything in the case being vegan, including the bacun cheddar croissants!
Next, we headed to Hawthorne to check out some stores and build up an appetite for our next stop: happy hour at Blooming Lotus, a vegan fusion restaurant with both raw and cooked options using organic ingredients. I couldn't eat another bite despite my best effort at burning off the earlier meal with power shopping, so I ordered the "What's the dill?" cocktail with Ransom Gin, Cocchi Americano, cantaloupe white balsamic shrub, lemon and ginger juice, soda water.
We felt like we'd won the vegan lottery, but our weekend was just getting started.
That empanadas rellenas is looking so savory I want to try them too. Thank you for sharing this wonderful experience. I am a vegan and Leafy Souls Collections is my favorite vegan site you might love them as well.
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