Portland has so many vegan and vegan-friendly restaurants\nthat choosing where to eat was both daunting and exciting. <\/p>\n\n\n\n One night, we ate at Ichiza Kitchen<\/a>. This cozy,\npan-Asian vegan restaurant features small dishes (including dumplings and buns)\nand large bowls (rice bowls, stews, soups). \nI opted for Cheung Fun \u2013 super-wide rice noodles wrapped around a\nflavorful filling that included mock shrimp, bacon, and pork. The shrimp looked\nso much like, well, shrimp, that we asked our server if they were a commercial\nproduct. We were told that all Ichiza Kitchen\u2019s mock meats are made by the\nowner\u2019s mother. Hmm \u2013 noodles as a wrap for fillings \u2013 can\u2019t wait to try that\nidea. My daughter, who was getting over a cold, went for Ichiza Noodle Soup\nwhich was a huge bowl of noodles, \u201cchicken,\u201d and vegetables in a broth with \u201c13\nmedicinal herbs and spices.\u201d Something worked \u2013 she didn\u2019t cough through the night\nfor the first time in a while.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While at Ichiza Kitchen, we noticed their next-door\nneighbor, Vtopia<\/a>.\nFinding ourselves nearby and hungry the next day, we stopped in for a light\nlunch that included a colorful cheese plate with a variety of flavors. On the\nday that we were there, the plate included sliced carrots, crackers, bread,\nolives, dolmas, blueberries with a drizzle of jam, and a wedge of Vtopia\u2019s\nvegan House Cheddar Cheese. The cheese was one of the best I\u2019ve tasted, with a\nlot of umami and a smooth mouthfeel. It spread easily. Vtopia also sells their\ncheese by the pound. After tasting a green Scarborough Fair cheddar (flavored\nwith parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme) and a roasted garlic cheddar, we opted\nfor a whiskey-smoked cheddar that we ate later with apples.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The last time that I was in Portland, I had a memorable\nbrunch at Blossoming\nLotus<\/a>, a vegan restaurant featuring organic, locally-grown\nfood. We made a return visit on a rainy\nThursday night. Despite the rain, every table was filled \u2013 a testimony to this\nrestaurant\u2019s popularity. I had a simple meal of Chickpea Soup and a salad and\nmy daughter enjoyed the Roasted Beet and Apple Salad which came with a house-made\nch\u00e8vre\nand massaged kale. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Weekend brunch is a Portland tradition. We opted for Sweetpea Baking\nCompany\u2019s<\/a> brunch. Menu choices include waffles, scrambled tofu,\nbreakfast sandwiches, bagels, doughnuts, Danish, croissants, and biscuits \u2013 all\nvegan. We ordered the Breakfast Quiche which had a mild, savory taste and a\ncreamy texture. Sweetpea Baking Company was Portland\u2019s first all-vegan retail\nbakery; they also serve lunch and sell all sorts of vegan baked goods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the same block as Sweetpea, we found Herbivore<\/a>,\na vegan clothing company (loved the pomegranate earrings!), and Food Fight! Grocery<\/a>\n\u2013 a great place to pick up vegan treats for the folks back home. <\/p>\n\n\n\n We had heard of a pop up featuring vegan cinnamon rolls so\nwe headed for Hail\nSnail<\/a>, a queer, family owned cinnamon roll shop. The owners hope to\nopen a permanent shop soon. We were faced with choices \u2013 1 large or 5 mini\nrolls? Toppings? Think sprinkles, peanut butter, pretzels, bananas,\nmarshmallows, nuts, carrot bacon. How to decide? The rolls are tasty (we both\nthought a bit more cinnamon would be good) and it\u2019s fun figuring out your\ntopping combination. Hail Snail has sold out every time it\u2019s been open \u2013 a good\nomen for a new vegan business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After a long walk by the Willamette River, we went for vegan\npizza and ice cream at Virtuous Pie<\/a>. We shared the Ultraviolet Pizza which has an\narugula pesto, cashew mozzarella, dried tomatoes, kale, and caramelized onions.\nWe couldn\u2019t resist a scoop of vegan ice cream for dessert. I\u2019m a vanilla person\nand appreciated the clean flavor with no aftertaste. I heard the Mint and Dark\nChocolate was superb.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lest you think that we did nothing but eat, we also enjoyed exploring Portland. One highlight was the serene Portland Japanese Garden<\/a> in Washington Park where plantings are planned so that there is beauty for each season. Another highlight was Powell\u2019s Bookstore<\/a>, Portland\u2019s legendary independent bookstore which has 2 floor-to-ceiling shelves of vegan books including some of The Vegetarian Resource Group’s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Ichiza-dumplings-598x1024.jpg\")
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