Portland Vegan Reubens

Tempeh Reuben, The Plant Cafe, San Francisco, CA

2010-08-21T10:00:00.000-07:00

Though the Plant Cafe is perhaps most famous in veg circles for their house-made Plant Burger, I'd heard good things about their Reuben as well. At 9 bucks, the Reuben is easy to veganize (they just leave off the cheese).

My first impression was that the sandwich was light yet creamy at the same time--like a toned down version of the hearty, messy, unapologetic reuben, rather the tempeh reuben you would serve at tea. Definitely not very messy, and the portions weren't very large, but I thought the flavor balance was good. I found the sandwich had a surprising hint of olive flavor---maybe it was the kraut or they use olive oil in the vegan Thousand Islands. The sandwich was a light caraway rye, crunchy and warm. The side salad was generous and the complementary "pickle" was actually some slices of cucumber that I assume they brine in the store, nestled atop the salad. They tasted of dill and were not bad at all. The tempeh was understated, not bland but not memorable.

B. was not impressed. He said he would give it a 2.5. He found the sandwich too dry and observed that the kraut was not evenly distributed. He also didn't like the addition of a slice of tomato, commenting that it dominated the sandwich. I didn't mind the tomato, or the lettuce, but again, the effect was a sandwich pretty different than what we've come to expect. I think we both liked the Plant Burger better.

The Plant Cafe is a pretty nice dining option for the Financial District, if you don't mind the expense. The menu is extensive, very vegetarian and vegan-friendly, and the staff are warm and cheerful. The food is consistently fresh and flavorful (and I think all organic). Next time I'll go for one of their salads or bowls, though.

The Plant Cafe
101 California Street (actually at the corner of Pine and Front)

The Cafe is only open for lunch (and is often crowded, though service is quick). There is also a Plant Cafe restaurant on the Embarcadero which is open later.

TRUEBEN: Homegrown Smoker Food Cart

2010-07-30T09:00:00.000-07:00

The Third Annual Try Vegan Week PDX is coming up in two weeks! What better way to observe it than engaging with the varied, vegan-friendly and much-lauded Portland food cart scene? Consider it a challenge--can you not only try vegan for a week, but try a week's worth of novel food cart creations?

Homegrown Smoker would be the ideal place to start. This cart is a dream come true for the vega-loca-cartavore; most everything seems to be from scratch, including the home-smoked fake meats, the servings are ample and well-priced, and not to mention bursting with flavor and deliciousness. I had almost given up on hounding out another vegan reuben in Portland to review, but on a brief visit early this summer, a post about a reuben special at HGS caught my eye. (Twitter is good for something). HGS serves quite a variety of Southern BBQ and comfort-food type dishes, and I'd been interested in visiting for awhile. Needless to say, this announcement trumped any reluctance I had to journey over to the PSU-region of Southwest Portland.

I could hardly wait to dig in to this unique take on my favorite sandwich, served to me by the owner's own sons. It hits all the right notes---messy, juicy, good temperature and ingredient balance (especially impressive considering it was constructed in a cart), and at 7 dollars, a good deal. 7 bucks is especially a good deal when you take into account the big side (and there's a lot of choices here, no 'salad or fries' but a variety of Southern-styled goodies). By comparison, it's more food than Vita Cafe, at a few dollars less. The bread was good, and we definitely enjoyed the fact that pickles and seared, grilled mixed peppers were snuggled up to the seitan pastrami. My only complaint would be that the meat flavor was a little hidden. The Daiya cheese was creamy and welcome, but I think the HGS-meister uses a Cheddar-like flavor as opposed to the Mozzarella-like flavor--maybe if the milder light cheese was used the smoky meat flavor would come through more.

We give this a 4.5, hats off again to the price, cart-ness, and the home-made smoked gluten pastrami. And let us not forget that this is an all-vegan establishment! I hesitate to rate this the best in PDX, but taking into account the price, novelty and DIY awesomeness, it's definitely tough. I'm a little on the fence--if the flavor was kicked up a bit, the meat made a little bolder, I think I could easily tip over into rating this the best vegan reuben in Portland.

Homegrown Smoker
SW 4th and College

Vita Cafe, Round 2

2010-07-03T14:00:00.000-07:00

A few things seem to have changed at Vita Cafe since our first visit, right at the start of this blog. The restaurant relocated, just across the street, to a slightly more intimate but relatively similar building. The Reuben (available with vegan cheese or regular Swiss, but always with vegan protein and vegan dressing) is now available with house faux turkey, as well as with tempeh. I didn't recall the faux turkey being an option before, and was surprised to note it when perusing the Vita Cafe's menu recently. I felt compelled to return to Vita and review this iteration, especially because we found the tempeh version to be somewhat underwhelming, especially in contrast to the sandwiches we would go on to try for the blog.

The Vita reuben still comes on grilled marble rye, with kraut, vegan Thousand Islands and a vegan cheese that it neither bad nor particularly memorable. It doesn't melt much---clearly Vita has abstained from making the Daiya switch so many Portland restaurants have latched on to. I feel the Vita automatically loses points for having a fairly expensive sandwich (7.50 before veganization, a dollar extra for vegan cheese), that comes with no sides. With the Reuben, they do include some pickle slices nestled next to the sandwich, which other sandwiches there, such as the BLT, do not enjoy.

Though my memory of the tempeh reuben sampled at the Vita Cafe years ago was hazy, the version with faux turkey (basically a mild seitan that doesn't particularly resemble turkey but I guess resembles it just as well as any other sliced meat), was better. Instead of a bland hunk of tempeh you had a somewhat greasy, salty, chewy seitan layer pressed between the kraut, cheese and dressing. Again, the bread fell apart a little, which isn't entirely bad (but again caused B. to comment that he doesn't recommend a marble rye for a reuben). Though I enjoyed the sauce and cheese flavor combo, I would have recommended that this sandwich be a bit meatier (that is, add more seitan!)---both to balance the sandwich and make the price a little more worthwhile.

This version of the Vita Cafe reuben gets a 3.5, compared to the 3 we awarded the tempeh version.

The Chicago Diner, Chicago, IL

2010-06-20T13:57:00.000-07:00

Yes, finally, the time has come. I know I'm certainly not the first vegan blogger to write about the Radical Reuben at the Chicago Diner. It seems as though every vegan who visits the windy city (at least, every vegan who also happens to write online), is careful to make a stop at this famed restaurant, serving delicious vegetarian and vegan cuisine since the 1980s, and almost all of them seem to know to try the Reuben.

Finally, I can get over my jealousy. (Of course, now I'm just jealous of those who live in Chicago and can visit the Diner on a regular basis). This sandwich is certainly special. It's been called the best vegan reuben in existence and even though VegNews published their recipe, replication is not easy, as Upton's seitan, the brand they purportedly use, is not available in stores.

After an evening in Hyde Park, and on our way north to Milwaukee, I had to insist we make a stop. After a 30 minute wait (not bad for what I believe was a Saturday afternoon), we got a booth and I was able to sample not only the famed Radical Reuben, but it's counterpart, specially available for the spring/summer only, the California Reuben.

The California Reuben is similar to the Radical Reuben except that the seitan is marinated and prepared to resemble 'turkey' rather than corned beef or pastrami (being from California, I had to laugh), and instead of kraut the sandwich is topped with a crunchy slaw. I was also somewhat confused when the sandwiches arrived, as with the Radical Reuben the dressing for the sandwich was on the side, whereas with the California Reuben, I suppose it's mixed into the slaw. This led to me demolishing my half of the Radical Reuben without even adding the sauce. What can I say, I was hungry and it was still incredible.

The Chicago Diner has also wisely adopted the popular Daiya cheese on their sandwiches. I am a fan of Daiya in general, but I do feel it has a slightly sweet flavor that now I notice it, can be a little distracting. Not being a big fan of fake cheeses in general, I don't claim to be an expert, but in my limited experience, I do feel Daiya is the best and approve of this choice.

I'll just get the obvious over with and reassure you that yes, the Chicago Diner Radical Reuben is just as mind-blowing as everyone says. I think I was literally speechless after my first couple bites. It is very meat-like, which means that vegans with an aversion to the texture and appearance of meat may be put off by it. But those of us with some nostalgia for this messy, hearty deli sandwich, it hits the spot. (And I am in no way a vegan that 'misses' meat or cheese--not at bit).

That said, the sandwich is very juicy, so the bread got a bit soggy. But over all, the proportions were good, the flavors were perfect, the sandwich was very filling and satisfying...and you even got a nice range of choices on sides.

In case you were wondering, the California Reuben was different -- the seitan didn't just have a different color, but tasted different, too, though it was hard to pinpoint in what way exactly--slightly more 'chickeny' perhaps. It was just as juicy and delectable as the Radical, and the slaw instead of kraut was a nice variation. If you can only choose one, I leave it up to you. You can't really go wrong with either.

All in all, it seems redundant to try to rate it. I understand why this is the best, and I certainly urge another in the area to try it out. Followed by a Temptation soy ice cream shake, no matter how full you are.

The Chicago Diner
The Radical Reuben - Seitan, onions, peppers, sauerkraut, vegan Thousand Island, cheese on marble rye. (May need to specify vegan cheese).
The California Reuben (available Spring-Summer 2010) - Roasted agave mesquite "turkey" seitan with vegan coleslaw and cheese on marble rye.
Both 10 bucks.

Served with one side.

And a pickle!

Adventures in Milwaukee

2010-05-27T15:50:00.000-07:00

To celebrate finishing graduate school, I prolonged my journey back to the West Coast with some stops in Illinois and Wisconsin, to visit friends and family. Milwaukee was a pleasant town with a surprising number of intriguing vegan options, including at least three vegan reubens. However, we found that--perhaps in order to deal with the brunch crush familiar to many Stumptowners--various places modified or limited their menus on Saturday afternoon, making the delicious sandwich seem at first unattainable. With my good friend and native A. as back-up, we made a few rounds before finally achieving success in the evening.

With a vegan reuben not really described on the menu (denoted only by a * next to their traditional reuben advertising it could be made vegan for a $1 extra), but lauded by many on Yelp, Comet Cafe seemed to me to be the first choice. Though the menu wasn't very specific, it gave me good reason to believe that the reuben was made with Field Roast, which, while I'd tried this combination before in Seattle, made it more interesting to me than the typical tempeh reuben common about town. Unfortunately, at brunch-o-clock, Comet was our first fail. After waiting half an hour for a table, we were told that they don't serve the Reuben before 3 pm on weekends.

We had just been wandering around Riverwest, a sort of up-and-coming hipster neighborhood, and had stopped in at the Riverwest Co-op to investigate and drool over the number of tasty sounding vegan options on their small cafe and deli menu. After deciding to move on from Comet, we returned there, since we recalled a tempeh TRUEBEN listed under lunch. However, what we didn't recall with such clarity was that this place, too, only served breakfast until much later in the afternoon. With an extremely small kitchen, the cooks were firm on this. Foiled again, we settled for vegan biscuits and gravy and a take on bi-bim-bop, incorporating tofu, that was actually quite satisfying.

Somewhat disappointed but not entirely deterred, we resolved that we could get a tempeh vegan reuben at Beans and Barley, a frequently recommended, veg-friendly spot also part of a market, which was already under consideration for dinner that evening. After a local brewery tour (hey, this is a Portland-based blog after all) and various shenanigans, we showed up at Beans and Barley that evening, a little toasted. Again, there was a lengthy wait---which gave me time to scrutinize the menu. One reason Comet had been first on my list for a reuben despite the numerous folks who pointed me towards Beans and Barley was that the menu at Comet made clear that veganization was straightforward and easy. Clearly vegan-friendly, I anticipated no hurdles with this place, but asked the hostess anyway, since the tempeh reuben listed on the menu clearly included real Swiss cheese. Without batting an eye, and extremely cordial, she assured me that veganizing it would be easy -- just substitute the rye bread for white.

What?!

That stopped me in my tracks. Dear readers, you probably know that rye bread is typically vegan. You probably also share my feeling that a reuben is not a reuben if it is not on rye bread. In fact to reprise the definition of a vegan reuben, my standards only include: a vegan protein, sauerkraut, rye bread and a vegan sauce of some sort. I've even been known to accept mustard when vegan Russian or Thousand Islands is not available. But white bread? This could not stand.

Fortunately, A. is very patient and flexible (in case you are wondering, my usual dining companion, B., was busy driving all of our stuff back across the country), and we high-tailed it back to Comet again, full of anticipation.

The place was still crowded, but we avoided a wait and snagged seats at the perfectly comfortable but admittedly dim bar, where we continued to get inebriated and ordered the vegan reuben as well as the vegan gyro.

Man, that is a lot of Field Roast and I have to respect it. The bread was a light caraway rye and probably grilled coated in margarine, as it was quite crunchy and salty. Though B. was not present, he would have appreciated the presence of a pickle spear. The heap of fries was very generous. I found the sauerkraut to be a little sparse, but perhaps that was in contrast to the huge slabs of Field Roast. Despite the excessive grease and salt (or perhaps because?), it was pretty tasty. Admittedly, given the lack of light and the speed at which I wolfed it down, I didn’t notice too much about the sauce (or whether or not there was vegan cheese, which I doubt). A. however, recalls the sauce being “really good” (he also agreed there was possibly too much Field Roast, though it paired well with the rye). All in all, I was quite satisfied, and not to mention pleased that our Milwaukee vegan reuben quest had ultimately been successful. The gyro wasn't bad either, also generously proportioned, though with not quite as high a ratio of the chewy seitan to other ingredients.

Thanks to A. for the phone shot, as my camera was not coming through.

Comet Cafe
1947 N. Farwell, Milwaukee
Veganized reuben (Field Roast with kraut and Reuben sauce on a light caraway rye, fries included). $9.50.

Important news!

2010-05-20T13:35:00.000-07:00

For one, I am back in Portland, albeit only for a few weeks. In the process of re-immersing myself in the vegan food culture (that is, acquainting myself with all these new food cart options), I have good news in that I have discovered a new vegan reuben to review, one which sounds quite unique and exciting. Just when I thought I'd exhausted the possibilities here in Stumptown! Look for that in the coming weeks.

Meanwhile, you should know that the Radical Reuben at the Chicago Diner will soon be featured on TLC in an episode of Best Food Ever, a new food series narrated by John Goodman. The Radical Reuben has been praised up and down by various vegetarian and vegan outlets--about time the general public got a closer look, too. Don't miss it on Monday, May 24th--check your local listings for the air time.

Til later!

Corned Seitan Reuben

2010-04-23T14:54:00.000-07:00

I modified this recipe:

1/2 cup pinto beans, mashed well
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp rice vinegar (didn't have any apple cider vinegar)
1 cup water combined with 2 teaspoons miso to create broth
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp liquid smoke
2 tsp paprika
1 tsp caraway seeds
1/2 tsp cracked black pepper
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp molasses (optional)
1/4 cup nutritional yeast flakes
1 1/4 cups vital wheat gluten

Mix the wet ingredients and dry ingredients in separate bowls, then add the wet to the dry, mixing well with your hands.

I used my pressure cooker to cook the seitan. The cooker I purchased in India has a metal insert, essentially two small stacking pans that fit inside the cooker, used to cook dal and rice at the same time. I thought the steel cylinder would be a good stand-in for the foil wrapping called for in the original recipe.

I kneaded the seitan dough then shaped it into a rough ball and plopped it into the cooking container (the lower of the two sections). I added a bay leaf to the steaming water. Instead of steaming for 50 minutes as the original recipe calls for, I pressure cooked it for about 45 minutes.

The unusual, um, texture you see there is the fact that my home-cooked, fork-mashed beans were not quite as well mashed as they could have been.

After cooking the seitan had expanded some, but not a ton, but was nice and firm so I pulled it out and let it sit.

We made the standard dressing of 2 parts vegan mayo, 1 part ketchup (or if like us, you don't use ketchup often enough to have it in the house, use tomato sauce), 1 part mustard, 1 part capers or minced pickle and 1 part minced onion.

B. baked this rye bread from a recipe I found online -- we just happened to have all the ingredients. Pretty good for a first attempt at baking bread (though he's become an expert bagel-baker).

After letting the seitan sit for about 20 minutes, we toasted the bread (the loaves were small, per the recipe, so a sandwich was about the size of a half sandwich), warmed up the kraut on the stove, and assembled!

Over all, I thought the recipe was pretty solid, though not too much different from other steamed seitan recipes I've tried. I like that I now have a method of cooking seitan that doesn't involve using tin foil, and look forward to experimenting to see if I can get a denser, firmer 'meat' by cooking longer. B. thought the cloves were a bit strong, so I might leave those out in the future. I've made steamed seitan before, and can't believe this is the first time I've offered a recipe. It's no Chicago Diner, but not bad, and incredibly easy. We recommend the bread, too!

TRUEBEN: Tempeh Reuben on Rye at The Green Sage (Asheville, NC)

2010-04-09T06:25:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the bad photo--the Green Sage had a nice atmosphere but was admittedly a bit dimly lit.

Here, however, is a beautiful photo that I found on Flickr.

Though ultimately the tempeh reuben at Green Sage was nothing revelatory, after various veganization fails, I was grateful to finally sit down to this hearty and comforting, though familiar, vegan reuben.

Though the Green Sage is clearly very vegan friendly (as well as environmentally friendly, like most places in Asheville, with composting and bike delivery), you do need to request the reuben vegan. (I'm labeling it a trueben nonetheless because the vegan option is clearly indicated on the menu and easy to order). There are four side options, all vegan: regular fries, sweet potato fries, soup (they have a vegan vegetable lentil) and salad. We went for the salad, which you can tell from the picture, was pretty generous.

Though the website claims they are open late, and that the kitchen is open til close, I would call if coming for dinner. Our first attempt to go failed because I called ahead and the staff informed me the kitchen was closing shortly, well before 9 pm.

As for the sandwich, it includes tempeh, sauerkraut, russian dressing and a modest amount of avocado on a light caraway rye. B. thought the tempeh had a slightly mushroomy flavor. I definitely detected a lot of soy sauce in the marinade. Over all the sandwich was pretty well-balanced. The tempeh didn't overwhelm, but I might have liked a little more kraut.

Over all this is a solid sandwich, and if in Portland, we'd probably give it a 3.5. There are more exciting options in Asheville, to be sure, but I appreciated the easy veganization (including a clearly marked menu) and hearty portions at Green Sage. At the price (8 bucks) it seemed like a good deal, and avocado was subbed for cheese without any fuss. Also a nice local beer, Pisgah Pale, is to be had on tap. The Green Sage seems like a good spot for various dietary inclinations--the vegan breakfast menu looks great and they also offer omni as well as gluten free options. In the heart of downtown Asheville, it's a convenient spot for visitors, especially those of us who like to eat healthy, local and organic, to grab a bite.

The Green Sage
5 Broadway Street
Asheville, NC

March Reuben Roundup

2010-03-20T12:37:00.001-07:00

Okay, and yes, I can't help reporting that Ruben Studdard has gone vegan.

In Chicago, a new brewery offers a Tempeh Reuben with cheese, but vegan russian dressing and bread--begging to be veganized. Though some may argue that Chicago doesn't really need another vegan reuben, I am willing to bet that the offering of Cafe Samana, in Tulsa, OK, is probably welcomed by local vegetarians and vegans. Meanwhile, The Urban Housewife chimes in on some L.A. reuben finds. And if you are ever driving from Providence to New York, check this place out. The Cornell Daily Sun reports on a tasty-sounding spicy tempeh reuben at the Giving Tree Cafe. Those in Ohio should seek out the Mustard Seed Cafe, according to this blogger. Upscale vegan dining in West Virginia's oldest town at the Stone Soup Bistro, tempeh TRUEBEN included.

Earlier I blogged about new Berkeley addition, Nature's Express. Check out this review.

And on to the recipes!

For a change of pace, and in honor of St. Patty's Day, here's a fresh kraut recipe, recommended for vegan reubens.

Here's another recipe I haven't posted yet--a seitan reuben.

Not that you need more instruction, but here's another vegan tempeh reuben, this one poached and fried. And here's another creative tempeh reuben recipe that bears mentioning. Though I often prize my IPA too much to cook with it, this seems like a tasty approach to a tempeh reuben marinade.

This one looks good, too.

After all that, I for one intend to test this recipe for corned beef seitan myself!

The Crunch and Munch at the Green Republic, Key West, FL

2010-03-15T18:54:00.000-07:00

We entered this spare, hip, eco and veg-friendly sandwich, salad and smoothie shop in Key West because we'd heard it was one of the top three destinations on the island for vegan food. When I saw that the sandwich called the Crunch and Munch was essentially a reuben -- with vegan "corned beef," sauerkraut, cheese and mustard subjected to a panini press -- I knew I had to try it, despite the fact it was $5.95 with a $1.50 bump to make it vegan.

I have to admit, I was a little disappointed, and not so much about the price of this slender sandwich (you can make it a double-decker for a total of $8.95, before veganization), but the lack of imagination. The bread, a light caraway rye, was warm and crispy, but the insides were still a bit cold. B. agreed it would have been better cooked more. I was surprised that it contained such a small quantity of vegan meat and cheese, with a modest application of kraut and mustard. Over all, I would say it was a good sandwich, but not great, and there are probably better options on the menu, which was extensive and creative. Truthfully, we had a vegan Cuban (Fidelito) first, and perhaps the Crunch and Munch simply paled in comparison to that flavor combination.

Isn't a Cuban sandwich -- with ham, swiss cheese and pickle -- basically a Latin Reuben anyway?

Green Republic
521 Fleming
Key West, FL

February Reuben Round-Up

2010-02-14T12:00:00.000-08:00

"Healthy vegan fast food"? Apparently Nature's Express, founded by an oncologist in Yuma, Arizona, is expanding across the U.S., including a location recently opened on my hometown drag of Solano Ave in Berkeley, CA. Existing locations in Rancho Mirage and Yuma boast reubens on the menu, so something worth keeping an eye on.

This veggie mom brings us a Vegan Reuben Salad recipe--yes, I think it's worth scrolling down to the bottom past all the pics of her rugrats. (She understands the importance of a pickle on the side).

We have more to come on L.A.'s vegan reuben wars, but apparently folks go crazy for them in NYC, too--or one in particular. The news that Park Slope eatery Organic Heights is re-opening as Sun in Bloom had writers at SuperVegan fretting about the fate of their well-loved tempeh reuben.

Speaking of tempeh reubens, here's another recipe for you to try.

Here's another recipe, unlike anything I've seen before (involving TVP and an everything bagel!)

Even though Quarry Girl has moved on from the reuben reviews after declaring Locali a clear favorite (and various Yelp users agree), others are still discovering new L.A. vegan joint, Elderberries.

A blogger in Dallas gives us a recipe for a portobello mushroom reuben, a unique turn I appreciate and would like to try, but B. is not a big fan of the mushroom cap as meat replacement. I appreciate the recipe, but not the fact that I am apparently "some guy in Portland" (female, thanks) and...how could anyone find the idea of a tempeh reuben disgusting? I mean, tempeh wrote the M.F.-ing book on vegan reubens! Maybe he should try this recipe--yes, another tempeh reuben recipe, but can you ever get enough?

Well, I guess portobello reubens aren't as unique as I thought, because here's a recipe for another one. I'll just assume that because the authors claim to be vegan, they mean fake when they reference Swiss cheese. Sundried tomatoes sound like a nice addition, too!

Okay, forget portobellos, did you know there's a recipe that doesn't just put avocado on a reuben, but is pretty much just avocado? A little rich for my blood, but probably tasty.

If you are poking around the DC-area, here is a PPK forum post on vegan options in Falls Church, VA, including Mike's Deli, which serves...you guessed it.

If you are looking for other restaurant options in the South, The Wild Cow has a much-praised vegan or vegetarian reuben. My favorite thing about the website though, is the section, "What's tofu?"

And apparently other restaurants are trying their own take on the Field Roast reuben--like The Swan Dive in Louisville, Kentucky, reviewed in this local rag. With the microbrews on tap and the vegan options, almost sounds like it should be in Portland. But the news keeps coming from Kentucky. Apparently, this new joint, Veg-O-Rama, also has a reuben to offer.

Last but not least, for you Oregon residents, our new favorite, Viva Vegetarian Grill in Eugene, has a Facebook page, so go become a fan!

Recipe: Baked Tofu Reuben

2010-02-06T11:58:00.000-08:00

After B.'s mother served us a delicious dinner that involved baked tofu with braised peppers and tomatoes, B. discovered a new appreciation for the soy food and requested we make another attempt at tofu reubens. I combined our tested and true approach of the marinate and bake method with this reuben recipe by Vegan Dad. Basically, instead of pan-frying and simmering tofu, I sliced it ultra-thin and used a slightly altered version of Vegan Dad's "corned tofu" seasoning mixture as a marinade. I also added apple juice to the marinade since we've had such luck with it in the past.

Slice a block of firm tofu (about a fourth of a block of tofu per person) thinly, into rectangles about a quarter inch thick. The orientation and size doesn't matter too much. If desired, press tofu with a heavy weight while you make the marinade.

Marinade:

1/4 cup frozen apple juice concentrate
1 1/4 cup water
4 tsp seasoned salt
4 tsp paprika
4 whole cloves
1 tsp allspice
2 tsp dried mustard
1 tsp garlic powder

Bring to a boil on the stove-top and then cover and turn off. Meanwhile, make the dressing: equal parts minced pickle, vegan mayo, ketchup and mustard (we did about a quarter cup each, not worrying about having extra). Chill spread until ready to eat.

Arrange the tofu slices in a single layer in a Pyrex baking dish. Pour the warm marinade over the tofu and set aside to marinate (refrigerating is probably not necessary--we didn't have room so we stuck it in the wintry-cold garage), for at least 3 hours.

Bake tofu for 45 at 375 (this was an experiment, all our marinade had evaporated after 45 minutes---I would have done it longer). About 15 minutes before serving, slice and caramelize half an onion. Add sauerkraut to the pan and warm through. Prepare the bread by sprinkling about two tablespoons of Italian Blend Daiya cheese on one piece of bread per sandwich, and toast in a toaster oven on medium. Toast other half of bread and spread with dressing. Layer tofu, sauerkraut and onion on top of cheesy bread, add the other piece of bread and grill briefly. Slice in half and serve with a petite dill pickle.

As a change of pace, we used Alvarado Street Bakery sprouted rye (a nice, healthy vegan option found in most grocery stores these days), and some standard jarred kraut. Mostly this was an excuse to try out Daiya cheese--I had heard varying things about it, but one theme was that it's better the more melted it is, hence the open-face toasting to get it good and melty.

As for the review, the sandwich was good, one of the better tofu reubens I've had, though the tofu could have marinated and baked longer. We should have increased the marinade. It's always better to have too much rather than too little. As it was, after 45 minutes the marinade had evaporated. While the tofu had a lot of flavor (and actually, I thought was a little too salty), we would have liked it even chewier and more saturated. We were also a little overly hesitant with the Daiya--I could taste the light layer of shredded cheese but not quite enough to really evaluate its contribution. We'll probably try this recipe again. B.'s parents, open-minded omnivores, claimed to enjoy it.

***

We used up the Daiya cheese for pizza night, but wanted to give the tofu another try, especially since we had extra Reuben sauce. We used about 1/3 of a cube of tofu (previously frozen) and the following marinade (basically just increasing the water and apple juice concentrate):

Marinade:

1 cup frozen apple juice concentrate
2 cups water
4 tsp seasoned salt
4 tsp paprika
4 whole cloves
1 tsp allspice
1 tsp dried mustard
1 pressed garlic clove

Like before, I brought the marinade to a boil and then let it sit for about 5 minutes before pouring it over the tofu, which I had sliced thinly and arranged in a single layer on a Pyrex baking dish. I did this all at about 5 pm the night before we planned to eat the reubens for lunch, letting the tofu marinate for about 19 hours. I only baked it for about an hour at 350. B. was really interested in getting a chewy texture on the tofu, so we finished it off by pan-frying it in some olive oil right before we put the sandwiches together. The steps were:

1. Remove tofu from oven
2. Caramelize onion (about a third of an onion for two people) and set aside
3. Pan fry tofu slices in olive oil until browned
4. Deglaze pan with some sauerkraut juice; add desired amount of sauerkraut to pan with onions and warm through
5. Meanwhile, toast bread and spread with Reuben sauce
6. Construct sandwiches and enjoy!

This worked out pretty well. The tofu and kraut-onion mixture were warm enough to give the sandwich a good temp despite the fact that the toasted bread had time to cool down. B. liked the approach of marinating and baking and then pan-frying, and thought that slicing the tofu a bit thicker would give it a good variation of textures--chewy on the outside, soft on the inside. The tofu was chewier and more flavorful than the first attempt, due to a very long marinating period and extra apple juice. I also think the fact that the tofu had been frozen and then thawed before marinating made it a bit chewier as well. Over all, a pretty good sandwich.

A Reuben Round-Up for the New Year

2010-01-16T14:44:00.000-08:00

Yes, it's hard to believe, but the reuben news just keeps coming. I hope to bring you more reviews and recipes soon, but I'll take advantage of this holiday break from school to let you know what's been going on in the world (wide web) of vegan reubens. As always, in no particular order.

I've had the vegan philly cheesesteak at the Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia, but apparently this lively open-air gastro-paradise is also a good source for vegan reuben ingredients. This blog post from My Life in Sandwiches focuses on bbq, but holds some good ideas for reuben-loving yinzers.

Maybe not as exciting as the reuben wars in L.A., but diner rivalry is alive and well in New Haven, and healthy vegan food -- including a tempeh reuben -- plays a role. "Georgie’s is old school and new school at the same time, offering vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free menu options alongside traditional takes on omelets, hamburgers and fries." Here's a little more on Georgie's from a local vegan chef.

From CT to Hawaii, and this review of a new macrobiotic restaurant called Hale, tempeh reubens are garnering praise. Even in Minneapolis. And Ohio. And if you find yourself in Tampa, here's a good bet. Whereas, as well as know by now, seitan is the protein of choice in Chicago.

This should come as no surprise, but did you know there's a recipe for Tempeh Reubens in The Complete Idiot's Guide to Vegan Cooking? But if you aren't feeling like a complete idiot, luckily Julie Hasson, that vegan internet cooking show maven, has some ideas for you as well. And for gluten-free vegans in Portland, this new bakery might be a good source for your sandwich bread.

And one last bit from the Pacific Northwest, Hillside Quickie, which B. and I visited long ago and which I noted at the time didn't have a reuben, but did have a tofustrami sandwich that sounded much like one, has reopened under the name Sage Cafe. And lo and behold, a reuben is now on the menu. Something to note if we make it up North again.

Just to make this post a little more interesting, here's a cashew cheese I invented a couple months ago -- my first real attempt! I imagine it will find its way into a reuben sooner or later and I'll share the recipe if and when that happens, but here's a hint: it's mostly raw cashew pieces and nooch.

TRUEBEN: Tempeh Reuben at Viva! Vegetarian Grill, Eugene, OR

2010-01-03T09:00:00.000-08:00

It's fun to learn about a new vegan-friendly joint and be able to hop to reviewing it in a timely manner. I first learned about the Viva! Vegetarian Grill food cart just a few days ago, thanks to the warm reviews on Yelp, and with Corvallis as home-base, it was easy to convince B. that we should take the 45 minute drive into Eugene for a lunch-time review. I'd never really been to Eugene, and with 30-degree weather we didn't hang out long, but it was nice to get a glimpse of this college town which I really only heretofore knew of as the Asheville of the West Coast.

With no listed address, the cart was a little challenging to locate, but once we found the right intersection, the green sign emblazoned with a hot dog at the entrance to the parking lot led the way.

Despite the cold temperatures, the owner Dave seemed relatively busy, but took our order quickly and efficiently with just the right amount of conversation. The menu had a number of options, all vegan. The sandwiches were served up with a minimal amount of paper; we couldn't help polishing off the first order while waiting for the star of show.

Back at the car, with the juicy vegan cheese-steak as an appetizer, we dug into this trueben with gusto. B.'s first comments were compliments to the bread and the kraut, the latter of which he swore had an especially good flavor. He also appreciated the temperature and moisture of the kraut--cool, without too much liquid, but not too dry either. He also said it was the right amount, which might be a first. Most reubens seem too low on kraut in comparison to other aspects. He also enjoyed the flavor of the tempeh. We were both impressed at how well put-together the sandwich was, especially considering it came from a cart with limited amenities. The tempeh was marinated and grilled, which gave it a slightly crunchy exterior; the bread was warm and perfectly toasted. The dressing was great, too. It reminded me of the cashew cheese that had been wonderfully slathered on our cheese-steak and I suspect it was a similar base, with some tomatoey-ness added to make it into a Thousand Islands dressing. It was creamy and savory without the heavy unctuousness of veganaise.

B. loved the sandwich--well worth the drive, I gathered--and his only recommendation for additions would be more dressing and a pickle on the side. I agreed that more dressing wouldn't hurt. For me, this sandwich was quite good and presented a worthy rival to various reubens in Portland (for example, the Red and Black, which also uses tempeh and I think the same bread). The tempeh did seem a little dry, something which perhaps a bit more dressing would fix. Even with no side, $5.50 is a good deal in my book, and the service was friendly and lightning fast---definitely more than I can say for the Red and Black (or most vegan reuben-serving restaurants in Portland, for that matter).

We have to give Dave extra points not only for being a cart, but for being an all-vegan cart (definitely try the cheesesteak--the hot dogs seemed to be selling well also, and the tempeh satay presented a unique yet intuitive and tempting option). Ultimately, we give the Tempeh Reuben 4 points out of 5, and encourage you to check it out yourself. Though it has a long history serving veggie dogs at events, the cart itself has only been in place for about a month--let's keep it going! (Even better, get $1 off for biking, being a student, or showing up in the rain).

Viva! Vegetarian Grill
E 12th and Willamette Street
Eugene, OR
11 am - 4 pm, Monday-Friday
Tempeh reuben on Dave's Killer Bread with kraut and vegan Thousand Islands.
$5.50

L.A. Vegan Reubens, aka the Reuben Wars

2009-12-19T08:19:00.000-08:00

Long in the making, a war began brewing...and despite my slowness in coverage, it seems to be mounting. A controversy amongst our vegan friends to the South: Which is the best vegan reuben to be had in Los Angeles?

Flore, Follow Your Heart and Cafe Flourish are all oft-noted contenders...but in early November Quarrygirl posted a review of a new entrant, the Cafe Muse reuben.

She admitted it wasn't the best, but perhaps the best deal at under ten bucks. (Yeah, this is L.A.).

On December 2nd, Quarrygirl posted again. With yet another reuben. (Portland, you need to step it up). This picture kinda made me drool. She says it's the best, and looking at that crispy marble rye and a "meat" with red to rival the famed Chicago Diner's Radical Reuben, I believe her.

The thinly sliced "pastrami" reminds me of the Liquid Earth vegan reuben in Baltimore that B. and I sought out upon the recommendation of a television character. The fact is has the oft-praised Daiya cheese also bears mention. (Look for a future recipe post in which we try this mythical cheese, procured not too long ago from Food Fight--and check out this New York Times article on veganism in Long Island that refers to it.).

Meanwhile, Elderberries has entered the scene. While no contender, it clearly adds some variety and innovation.

As to whether this is really a "war" or not, I'm not so sure. I haven't heard much argument, and neither is there evidence of overt competition between the various providers of reubens. In fact, Portland probably still has more vegan reuben restaurants than L.A., I would wager. But we do seem to lack a drive to up the ante. I'm a big fan of the tempeh reuben, but maybe it's time to get a bit more creative.

Recipe: Jackfruit Corned Beef Reubens

2009-11-13T10:57:00.000-08:00

Like most vegan bloggers, I've heard a great deal at this point about the wonders of jackfruit. A South Asian tree fruit, you can find it canned in Asian markets either sweet or in a brine. Some genius discovered that when cooked and pulled apart, the young jackfruit, canned in brine, bears an uncanny resemblance to carnitas or pulled pork. Prior to marinating and cooking, the flesh of the fruit is white and basically flavorless. When I first heard of jackfruit carnitas, I became interested in trying a slow-cooker jackfruit "corned beef," as while it doesn't exactly follow the same texture as carnitas or pulled pork, corned beef does have a somewhat fragmented, sinewy appearance in many cases. Properly colored and flavored, I thought jackfruit had potential, and with the many Asian markets in this neighborhood of Portland, finding the ingredients would be a cinch.

Corned Jackfruit Broth:

juice from 1 15 oz can of sliced beets (reserve beets for another use) (about 1 cup)
2 tablespoons pickling spices (mixture can be purchased in bulk bins at New Seasons)
1 cup red wine or vinegar of choice (I used some extremely old red wine found in the cupboard)
4 tablespoons miso paste
1 tablespoon liquid smoke
1 20 oz can young green jackfruit in brine, drained
1/2 medium yellow onion, sliced

Lay jackfruit pieces flat in crockpot. Mix all ingredients except onion in a bowl, dissolving miso. Pour over jackfruit pieces. Lay onion pieces on top. Set crockpot on low and cook for at least 6 hours. Remove the large triangles of jack fruit from the spices, onion and broth. Tear into smaller chunks as desired.

We created a reuben sauce by combining some noochy sauce I'd created earlier in the week (basically miso broth, nutritional yeast and mustard) with equal parts mustard, ketchup and minced pickle. Nothing fancy, we served it on simple dark rye, grilled on the stovetop, with some warmed grocery store kraut.

Both of us I think were a little trepidacious, and were pleasantly surprised at the result. Though it had been in the slow cooker for about 8 hours, the fruit was perfectly tender and not mushy at all. The texture was great; I didn't fully shred the jackfruit as I might have if I was making vegan pulled pork or carnitas, just broke it into smaller chunks, seeds included. I thought it certainly resembled the texture of chunks of meat, if not a bit more tender and juicy. The sandwich was messy in a good way, without being greasy, and was easier to handle than I expected. The jackfruit doesn't absorb the broth or brine, so you don't end up with bursts of liquid when you bite in, as you might expect. Just a soft yet firm mouthful that is not at all soggy or mushy.

In the future I would definitely tinker with the broth. It just wasn't nearly as flavorful as it could be. Perhaps more miso, or a cube of bullion would help. I would also reduce the pickling spices by half, but only because the cloves definitely overshadowed the other flavors. Consider replacing the red wine with apple cider vinegar, or another flavorful vinegar. Spices such as peppers and garlic would make it more interesting. I couldn't really taste the influence of the red wine or even the tablespoon of liquid smoke. I'm kicking myself for not thinking to include a bay leaf. The moral of the story is, don't be shy with the flavorings. Or perhaps combine the jackfruit with other flavorful components after slow cooking; for example, toss in a pan with mushrooms or caramelized onions (B.'s suggestion); the mild flavor of the jackfruit is an opportunity for other components to shine, while retaining a wonderful meaty texture. Using a bit of oil might give a crispy texture to the "meat" as well. I would also hesitate to use sliced onions in the slow cooker in the future, unless I made the pieces really big and easier to remove. It was a little of a hassle separating the jackfruit from the mess of pickling spices and onion.

Though it doesn't provide the protein of tempeh or tofu, jackfruit is an easy and versatile replacement for meat. Just serve with a bean-heavy salad if you want more legumes with your meal.

The Portland 100

2009-10-30T07:02:00.000-07:00

Kinda couldn't resist. I'm bolding everything I have had. I'm technically supposed to cross anything out I would never try, but while there's certainly vegan foods I prefer over others, even though I'm not a huge fan of fake meats or cheeses or even tofu really, I've been known to eat them out, and there's virtually nothing vegan I won't try once.

Here's how it works:

1) Copy this list into your own blog, Facebook or website, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
4) Post a comment here once you’ve finished and link your post back to this one.
5) Pass it on!

1. Fries with spicy tofu sauce at Dots
2. $1 Corndog from Hungry Tiger Too
3. Chick-o-Stick doughnut from Voodoo Doughnuts
4. Tiramisu from Portobello
5. Vegan Mulita from Gorditos or Gorditos II
6. Nanotear Ham and Cheeze sandwich from Tube
7. Milkshake from Sip
8. Gnocchi from Portobello
9. Caramel Nut Bar from Sweetpea Baking Co. (I don't think so, but the danishes rock me.)
10. Soft serve from Blossoming Lotus
11. Local cherry tomatoes from a farmers market
12. Dong Po Tofu from Bay Leaf
13. Jerked chickun from Assase Ital
14. A Big Big Lunch Special from an Indian cart
15. Soy latte made with Stumptown espresso
16. A crappy tofu scramble
17. Cornmeal pizza from Dove Vivi
18. Weeping Tiger sandwich from Bye & Bye
19. Bye & Bye or Floor Punch from Bye & Bye
20. A Bowl meal from a cart
21. Vegan nutella from Freddy's hazelnuts
22. Soy curls in bulk from Food Fight or Proper Eats
23. Buffalo wings from Vita
24. The weekday vegan pancakes from Laurelthirst
25. Maple vegan sausage waffle from Flavourspot
26. Drunken noodles with pepper steak from Thai Food Cafe
27. Macnocheeto from Homegrown Smoker
28. Veggie platter from an Ethiopian restaurant
29. Blackberries picked from a public place
30. Baba Ganouj from Ya Hala
31. Coconut Mashed Yams from Papa G’s
32. Butternut Squash Wontons from Hungry Tiger Too
33. Vegan slice from Bella Faccia
34. Apple pie from Whiffies
35. Chili dog from Zach’s Shack
36. Vegan poutine from Potato Champion
37. Missionary Chocolate Truffle
38. Apron Activists 4-Course Dinner
39. Hot Wok at New Seasons
40. Che Guevara Burrito from Laughing Planet
41. Bryan’s Bowl from Por Que No?
42. Pad Thai from Pad Thai Kitchen
43. Cupcake from a stand at Last Thursday
44. The Giant Pancake at Hungry Tiger Too
45. TLP from Red & Black Cafe
46. Cornmeal tempeh plate from Proper Eats
47. Tofu Po Boy at Palm State Gumbo
48. Maple Walnut Scone from Back to Eden
49. Vegan Mezza platter from a Lebanese restaurant
50. Crispy eggplant from Fujin
51. Lemongrass Tofu Sticks from Van Hanh
52. Tofu Salad Bun at Pho PDX
53. Cocktail made with local liquor
54. Biscuits and Gravy from Paradox
55. Smoky soy curls from Homegrown Smoker
56. Field Roast sausage
57. Secret Aardvark Hot Sauce
58. Toddbot's Triangles
59. Local microbrew
60. Hot Lips soda
61. Herb Crusted Tofu with Mushroom Marsala from The Farm Cafe
62. Had a picnic in Laurelhurst Park
63. Burrito from Shelley's Honkin Huge Burritos
64. Eggplant tibs from Bete Lukas
65. Tator Tots before noon or after midnight
66. Lone Ranger from Chaos Cafe
67. Sunday brunch at Sweetpea!
68. Tofu at a BBQ place (for example Derby Mustard Sauce Tofu at Russel Street BBQ)
69. Mint Fava Falafel at Nightlight Lounge
70. An unexciting hummus plate at a bar.
71. Vegan meatball sub from Aalto Lounge
72. Koi Fusion spicy tofu tacos
73. Veggie dog from the Vegi dog stand
74. Sesame chicken from a vegetarian Chinese restaurant
75. Bagel with Bacun Scallion cream cheese from Sweetpea
76. Vegan savoury crepe
77. Veggie kibbeh
78. Club Vegan at Backspace
79. Ice cream sundae from Back to Eden
80. Raw fudge from Blossoming Lotus
81. Tempeh reuben
82. Pause vegan burger
83. Vegan ribs
84. Something baked with local marionberries
85. Veggie bento box
86. Dave's Killer Bread
87. Higher Taste Buzzitos
88. Thai food that the server swears is vegan, but you taste fish sauce
89. Elephant ear from the Saturday Market
90. Dovetail sticky bun
91. Savory pie from Nicholas restaurant
92. Salad rolls from the Just Thai cart
93. Vegan torta from Gorditos II
94. Nutritional yeast on your popcorn at a movie theater
95. Vegan grilled cheese from The Grilled Cheese Grill
96. Pasilla burrito from El Nutri
97. Something from the vegetarian menu at Andina
98. Vegan Steak and Cheese from D.C. Vegetarian
99. Dragon Noodles at Red & Black Cafe
100. Falafel from Wolf & Bears

Quick PDX Vegan Reuben News

2009-10-28T16:42:00.000-07:00

I have a few more posts lined up, waiting for when I have time to fine-tune them, but I wanted to alert you all to that fact that, according to a photo text message from my former roommate, the Fuel Cafe in Portland recently served a Field Roast Reuben--only the second time I've heard of one being served in a restaurant, the first being that place in Seattle. However, it seems as though Grand Central has taken their tofuben (which I sadly never got to try my hand at veganizing) out of rotation as a winter seasonal special. All which makes me ask, what will be in store when I return to Portland for Christmas?

TRUEBEN: Vegan Reuben at the Remedy Diner (Raleigh, NC)

2009-09-06T05:55:00.000-07:00

Veggie Reuben. Marinated tempeh grilled on buttered rye topped with avocado, sauerkraut, thousand island dressing, dill pickles, and melted swiss. 8.95 Make vegan for 2.50 extra.

They were out of vegan cheese, so I got it sans cheese, and paid 1.25 extra for vegan dressing. I didn't mind they were out of cheese---in fact, prior to ordering I was wondering why it cost so much to veganize, and was contemplating asking for no cheese if that was the only change. I found it surprising that they bother having a vegan and a non-vegan dressing, and that they charge so much for a vegan one. B. and I are not big fans of vegan cheese anyway, so if we were in charge of the menu, we'd eliminate non-vegan dressing (can you really tell the difference?) and the vegan cheese option.

Still, this is North Carolina, and it is very nice to have a restaurant with such extensive vegan options, and one which makes veganization so easy and worry-free, even if it comes with a high price tag. The Reuben was already one of the most expensive sandwiches on the menu; for example, the Vegan Chicken Salad was only 7.50 and about the same amount of food.

As for the sandwich itself, I was neither disappointed nor impressed. It was a familiar, flavorful sandwich. The dressing was mostly Veganaise, somewhat creamy, and the avocado, as always, was welcome. Though the Remedy Diner will add a pickle spear on the side upon request, no extra charge, the Reuben actually has sliced dill pickles on it, in addition to the kraut, which I liked. The tempeh was marinated. Though not overly flavorful, it was sliced into smaller pieces, which B. and I have come to prefer over the uniform slab. The bread was a light caraway rye, extremely thin and crispy, but still servicable. All in all, it reminded me of many sandwiches I've had in Portland, albeit with a heftier price tag.

The Remedy Diner is a restaurant I may return to, or would if I lived in Raleigh, if not for the sandwiches and make-your-own salads, then for the beer on tap and the vegan key lime and coconut cream pies. But I would be much more enticed if they revised their pricing structure. $1.25 for a single slice of vegan cheese, and another $1.25 for egg-free dressing, when sandwiches that appear to be mostly cheese (like the Cheese Foccacia sandwich) are only $1.25 extra to veganize, doesn't seem to make much sense.

All in all, B. and I give this a solid 3. For a vegan visiting Raleigh, it's worth a try, and I must promote any establishment where a vegan can order with peace of mind (though this restaurant also has extensive, traditional "omni" diner food for your pastrami-loving friends). The location right in downtown is convenient for museum-going, people-watching or a night out. Plus, the atmosphere was kind of hip and the service was nice, and they have $1.50 cans of PBR. Hell, it was almost as if we were dining in Portland (except for the nice service, of course).

The Remedy Diner
137 E. Hargett St.
Raleigh, NC
Marinated tempeh reuben, with corn chips and house Pico de Gallo on the side.
Rating: 3

Back to School Reuben Round-Up

2009-08-17T13:50:00.000-07:00

I'm back in North Carolina, with a fast internet connection and quite a backlog of vegan reuben news.

Let's start with the restaurant reviews. Fort Collins vegans are encouraged to check out Tasty Harmony, which, in addition to tempeh reubens, is bringing jackfruit Mexican-style food to the people.

A somewhat perplexingly named article ("Southwest" does not refer to an arid region of the United States, but maybe a neighborhood in the Twin Cities?), points Minnesotans and visitors towards some good vegetarian eats, including our ubiquitous friend, the tempeh reuben.

And yet another news item from Detroit. The Russell Street Deli doesn't have a TRUEBEN, but the article alone seems like a resource worth sharing.

If you're one of the lucky and have tried the Radical Reuben from the Chicago Diner, and are hankering to reproduce it at home, The Urban Housewife reveals the company behind their seitan, Upton Naturals.

In the blogs, aside from the attempted veganization of a vegetarian reuben in Tampa, Chicago and California get all the attention. Happy Herbivore joins the ranks of Radical Reuben samplers. Portland has a lot of vegan reubens, but Los Angeles has actual reuben wars! Meanwhile, Green LA Girl also opines about Chicago eats, and C'est La Vegan checks out Follow Your Heart. In case you were wondering, Sick of Lettuce confirms that the new Daiya cheese goes great on a reuben. Clearly, Portland Vegan Reubens needs to take some fact-finding missions to Chicago and L.A.

Finally, this article wins my heart for multiple reasons---not only does it reveal that a vegan reuben exists not all that far from where I currently live, but touts public transit as well! Oh, Indy. Good for so many reasons. Look for a review of the Remedy's TRUEBEN in the near future. Here's another review of the Remedy Diner, for good measure.

Veganization: Vegetarian Reuben at Cup and Saucer

2009-08-05T11:40:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, you just have to take one for the team.

I enjoy the fact that this blog is very specific. And I have a goal that it be very comprehensive as well -- meaning that I not only review every vegan reuben in Portland, but do my best to veganize every vegetarian reuben in Portland. This goal sent me to such unlikely places as the Goose Hollow, where I ingested a very dry vegetable and sauerkraut sandwich. Obviously, you draw the line somewhere. I would never blog about a sandwich that was basically just sauerkraut on rye. But when you hear that a place like the Cup and Saucer offers a tofu reuben, this being an establishment that is pretty vegan-friendly and well-loved by many brunching stumptownie, you feel compelled to go forth and document. It makes me a little jealous of sites like Stumptown Vegans, who probably only feel compelled to go out and review vegan food that is potentially good. But I console myself by thinking that I am still doing a service for the vegans and vegetarians out there by investigating even the less promising possibilities.

But I was certainly not excited. You won't even hear B.'s take on this sandwich, as I didn't force him to sample it (he doesn't like tofu much to begin with). I heard about the reuben when I led the vegan pub crawl ride for Pedalpalooza about a year ago. Someone on the ride heard about this blog and told me about a really bad tofu reuben they'd had. "I think the tofu was like, steamed or something." I think my response was, "Nooo! Why did you tell me? Now I have to go eat it and review it." Back in Portland for perhaps the last time in awhile, I made it over to the Cup and Saucer's northeast location.

The vegetarian reuben is described as a vegetarian version of their classic reuben, with the meat replaced by tofu. I already knew the dressing was not vegan, so when the waitress said, "So you are basically getting a tofu and sauerkraut sandwich on toasted rye," I didn't bat an eye. To her credit, she was nice about it. Note that she clarified about buttering the bread or not -- something to keep in mind if you are ordering at hot sandwich at this joint. I was already eying the various hot sauces on the table as candidates to doctor this bland meal. I also asked for stoneground mustard on the side, and she brought me a whole squeeze bottle. The sandwich is $8.50, and I do respect that you can have soup, salad or fries on the side, though the soup of the day is not always vegan. I asked for sherry vinaigrette on my salad, expecting it to come out in a little cup so I could maybe drizzle a little on the sandwich and see if subbing a vegan dressing for the Thousand Islands might work -- unfortunately the salad came already dressed and the dressing was either really bland or of a small quantity, because I could barely taste it.

To be honest, after my first bite, my initial impression was that it was not as bad I was expecting. The bread and kraut were fine. Unfortunately, the tofu was essentially a thin slab that had apparently just been lightly browned on the grill. This is a good example of the failing of many a vegetarian reuben (less so TRUEBENS, I think): YOU CANNOT JUST REPLACE THE CORNED BEEF WITH SOME RANDOM PROTEIN. Many vegetarian reubens rely on the cheese and dressing to essentially mask the lack of flavor. This is a cop-out and not respectable at all. I'm not saying all vegetarian reubens must be just as good vegan -- they are, after all, vegetarian reubens, not vegan reubens. But it's really lazy to just slap a random bland vegetable or protein on there (for example, the tomato vegetarian reuben at the Widmer pub in North Portland), and call it good. No wonder so many meat-eaters scorn vegetarian food.

But anyway, yes, the first bite was not as bad as expected. Of course, I had already slathered that portion of the sandwich with mustard. The pure tofu and kraut and rye bite was pretty horrible. I ended up employing both Aardvark and Chipotle Tabasco hot sauce to make it edible. The salad was generous, and fine, aside from the bland dressing.

So the lesson...if you are vegan, never order this sandwich. If you are vegetarian, you should probably never order this sandwich was well. Go for a tofu scramble or a vegan cornmeal pancake or even the veggie burger, which is cheaper and sounds a lot more appetizing, even if it is a Boca patty or something. And if you think you would like to try your hand at your own vegan or vegetarian reuben, learn from the mistakes of the Cup and Saucer. Be thoughtful about your meat replacement. Marinate!

Cup and Saucer
Locations in NE and SE Portland
$8.50 for a tofu reuben with side salad, soup or fries, leave off dressing and cheese.
Rating: 1

TRUEBEN: Darth Reuben at the Georgetown Liquor Company, Seattle, WA

2009-07-10T23:00:00.000-07:00

I first heard about the Georgetown Liquor Company, a bar in South Seattle with many vegan and vegetarian options, through a review in The Stranger, Seattle's alternative weekly. The sandwich sounded awesome -- the first time I'd heard of someone utilizing the "artisan" fake meat Field Roast in a reuben (but of course, not the first time the combo had occurred to me). The review praised the vegetarian version, and noted that it was available with vegan cheese. B. and I dropped in on the place on our way up to Canada -- it reminded me of a smaller, dive-ier Backspace. They had a few arcade games, a pin ball machine, and three or four game systems hooked up to TVs for patrons to use. It's essentially a dark, hip bar with a pretty large food menu. We split the Darth Reuben and the house vegan burger over a couple of Pabst.

The Darth Reuben (all the sandwiches reference sci-fi movies or TV shows) is Roasted Tomato Field Roast and kraut on marble rye with "remoulade" and cheese (sub vegan). It's 10 bucks, kinda pricey in my book, but probably normal for Seattle. You can choose a cup of soup, salad or chips and salsa as a side -- a cup of soup alone runs 4.50, chips 3, so maybe this justifies the price. And the sandwich is large. I certainly wasn't disappointed with the portions. (The veggie burger was smaller -- maybe this is why they felt compelled to add a pickle spear on the side. No pickle with the reuben, though.).

The sandwich looked fantastic, and with the extremely dark lighting in the bar, I'm surprised the pictures turned out as well as they did. Though it took the bartender a few moments to take our order and then bring us our beers, the sandwiches came out very quickly. In my mind, the bread was probably the best aspect of the sandwich. It was a square marble rye yet thick cut and crusty -- an artisan marble rye? It was thick and crispy with hints of caraway. I was as pleased with the Field Roast, as I expected I would be. Flavorful with a dense, meaty texture, it's a great stand in for corned beef -- maybe a little too dense and chewy. The only thing about the sandwich I wasn't so sure of was the dressing. It was plentiful and not bad, but much sweeter and tangier than I am used to. It reminded me of Kraft's California dressing. B. also was iffy on the dressing. He liked the bread, but he wanted more kraut to balance the Field Roast. I didn't expect to complain about too much Field Roast, as many places will skimp on stuff like this, but I found myself agreeing. More kraut would have balanced the sandwich a bit more. B. also thought this vegan cheese here was not as good as that at Liquid Earth -- so far we haven't been too excited about vegan cheese on reubens, as usually it is barely detectable and completely bland. Liquid Earth somehow managed to offer a melty vegan cheese that really added to the sandwich.

Though B. seemed less than impressed -- truthfully, I think the Liquid Earth tofu reuben is the only sandwich that trumps tempeh in his book -- I thought this was a hearty, flavorful and creative sandwich, and so I give it at least a 3. In any case, Georgetown Liquor Company is worth a stop for any vegan on their way north from Portland -- the enticing menu, with truly a wealth of vegan options, is excuse enough, if not the booze.

June Reuben Round-Up

2009-07-02T06:48:00.000-07:00

June rolls around and despite being in India, and thus half a day ahead of the U.S., I'm still posting a bit late. Blame slow internet and infuriating internet cafe keyboards. There's a lot going on this month in the vegan reuben arena. Unfortunately, what I've got is mostly a bunch of links-- reviews from other cities, blog posts, the usual, and the "broadband" here is just not up to snuff. So I'll have to postpone until I can get a faster connection.

Check back in a week or two---I've got a couple reviews and recipe stashed away.

TRUEBEN: Tempeh Reuben at Chaos Cafe and Parlor

2009-06-23T21:55:00.000-07:00

It's clear that I'm amped to be back in Portland, on a mini-summer vacation from graduate school, tying up loose ends so to speak -- that is, hitting those restaurants with vegan reubens I didn't have time to try. Or, in this case, reviewing the reubens that have popped up in my absence. What B. and I didn't expect, upon delving back into this task, is that some truly interesting and innovative reubens have emerged.

While the vegetarian reuben at Nearly Normal's in Corvallis was hearty but a little ho-hum, I was very impressed by Backspace -- it seemed to fill the gap left by Veganopolis' departure by providing an attractive, creative somewhat gourmet reuben but with a bit more substance. Few reubens have achieved the score of 4.5 -- none have achieved the highest possible score of 5, yet, so 4.5 is considered the pinnacle. Previously this was only occupied by the Red and Black Reuben, a sandwich which won us over with its simplicity and price (and of course, taste). After munching on Backspace's smoky, dilly, creamy tempeh reuben I felt we had met a challenger. I did not expect Chaos Cafe to raise the bar even further.

I will start off saying that in theory I love Chaos Cafe, a funky little restaurant on an otherwise fairly unattractive portion of SE Powell. They are similar to the Red and Black in that they are almost entirely vegan, and use mainly organic and local ingredients. Their menu also has a sort of hearty, healthy theme, heavy on the greens and whole grains -- as well as tempeh and tofu. Their menu strikes me as nearly perfect -- I don't think it has a single vegan entree that does not appeal to me. The only downsides are that it's a little more expensive than the Red and Black, and it could quite possible offer the slowest service in Portland (and the Red and Black has recently become a contender for that title as well).

The tempeh reuben is $8.75, and does not come with cheese -- cheese can be added for $1 and avocado can be added for $2. I don't know if they offer vegan cheese, but I wouldn't be surprised, as they have nachos on the menu that come with vegan sour cream in addition to cheese (wouldn't it be counter-intuitive to have vegan sour cream but real cheese?). The sandwich is described as grilled marinated tempeh with caramelized onions, house-made dressing, and sauerkraut on rye. Chaos immediately got points by offering a side salad or chips, like Backspace (Chaos' salad was fresher and more plentiful, I will say). Again, no pickle though.

My first thought upon biting into my half of the very pretty sandwich was, "Woah. No cheese necessary." My second was, "B. is going to love this." And my third was, "Do we have a new #1 sandwich?" The dressing was great, somehow both creamy and drippy-thin, with an oiliness that gave the sandwich an unctous moistness. The cook slathered the dressing on both pieces of bread, which worked well. The bread was a sandwich rye, not too light, and nice and crunchy, and it kept my hands clean. The onions were sweet, a great touch, and didn't overwhelm the kraut. I was also very impressed by the tempeh. Another commonality between this sandwich and the Backspace tempeh reuben was a similar treatment of the tempeh. Instead of keeping the tempeh in a slab, as we often do when we're cooking, and as other restaurants such as Vita Cafe and Nearly Normal's do as well, both Backspace and Chaos broke their tempeh into chunks. The Red and Black does something like this, too. Their tempeh filling is actually a mixture of mushrooms and tempeh. I think this might be a good way to go. Though probably slightly more work in preparation, I think the flavor gets distributed better, and it makes for a more interesting and pleasant mouth-feel when you bite in.

B. shared most of my feelings about this sandwich. He said it was a clear 4.5, tying it with our earlier #1 choice (though he also said he thought this sandwich was better than Backspace, calling into question the 4.5 rating I assigned that sandwich). Yes, it is one of the more expensive reubens we've reviewed, especially if you opted for avocado or cheese, but I'm starting to wonder if the extra price doesn't make it worth it, especially when the restaurant is committed to local and organic ingredients (and a good side salad ups the value as well). While I had virtually no criticisms of this sandwich, B. felt that perhaps the tempeh was unevenly marinated in places, as some chunks were larger and less flavorful than others. Aside from the lack of pickle on the side, this was all around a very satisfying meal. (Followed of course, by a delicious house-made vegan dessert).

Chaos Cafe and Parlor
Corner of SE Powell and 26th
4.5!

TRUEBEN: Tempeh Reuben at Backspace

2009-06-07T07:20:00.000-07:00

FINALLY.

Don't ask me why, but I've been downright obsessed with the tempeh reuben at Backspace for awhile now. I guess because it's been out of reach for so long. But residing in North Carolina has not prevented me from obsessively reviewing the all vegetarian menu of this computer geek oriented cafe in PDF form. Finally, on a sunny Saturday morning, B. and I managed to sit down to what is now one of my favorite reubens in town. Truthfully, this reuben almost gained #1 status is my book. Probably the only real hinderance was the pricyness, though I'll admit, the sandwich isn't perfect.

Almost, though. First of all, Backspace happily veganizes this dish (and many others) without any extra charge. Second, though there is no complimentary pickle, I greatly appreciate that there are options for sides other than corn chips (in this case, green salad or pasta salad) again, with no additional charge. True, the fee is $9 for this wonderful sandwich, and with the price of vegan cheese, this seems reasonable to me (however, some of us, i.e. B. would argue that the vegan cheese added little to the sandwich and should probably be scrapped in favor of avocado anyway).

On to the sandwich. The bread: some of the best we've had, I think. A marble rye that manages to be crispy and flavorful and not taste like it came straight from a plastic bag. The kraut, I'm almost ecstatic. Fresh and crunchy and heavy with dill. The tempeh is nothing to be scoffed at either: extremely flavorful (though maybe a tad too salty), with an assertive, delicious presence despite the fact the portion was a bit more modest than we are used to. I was a fan of the dressing. It's on the creamier side, more like a spread. B. seems to have developed a taste for the runnier dressings, and he thought this sandwich was a little dry, but I had no such complaint. The sandwich was plenty grilled, the bread even slightly charred, which gave it a smoky flavor I enjoyed. Though the cheese was a little odd, unmelted as soy 'rella frequently is, I thought it contributed to the sandwich well, though I could probably be convinced that avocado would be better.

As it is, I wholeheartedly give this a 4.5. I would be tempted to rate it higher, maybe even higher than our erstwhile favorite, the Red and Black Reuben, because of the nice green salad side and the fact that service was fairly prompt and obviously thoughtful. Though the Red and Black is more affordable, I've grown less patient lately with their lackadasical service. The Backspace reuben (also found at the Someday Lounge next door) is as gourmet and carefully prepared as Veganopolis, but definitely feels like more bang for your buck.

Backspace
115 NW 5th, Old Town Portland
Tempeh reuben with house dill kraut, vegan russian dressing, on marble rye. Swiss cheese or vegan mozzarella.

P.S. Stay tuned for our next review, of a reuben which B. argues is even better, drawing into question the 4.5 point assignment! Portland vegan reuben establishments, you have officially raised the bar, giving our modest yet hearty 'lil Red and Black Reuben, the erstwhile champion, a run for its money.

May Reuben Round Up

2009-05-31T10:45:00.000-07:00

Yarp!?, a new food cart at the ever-increasingly vegan-friendly food cart hub at SE Hawthorne and 12th, recently announced a vegetarian, mushroom-based reuben. Right now their dressing is not vegan though...but I like the idea of more mushroom-based reubens emerging. According to their blog, they are working at concocting more vegan options, so surely a vegan reuben is on the horizon.

If you find yourself in Minneapolis/St. Paul, check out the Hard Times Cafe, which serves many a vegan and vegetarian sandwich, including a tempeh reuben. See the newspaper from earlier this month here.

Apparently the midwest is rocking the food carts as well. Madison rag "The Daily Page" clues us in on a cart called The Dandelion, which serves up its own mushroom reuben (Portobello, to be exact).

Speaking of portobellos, here is a reuben recipe I stumbled across, though while we may question the use of Swiss cheese and the typographical aptitude of the scribe, might provide some inspiration for a new twist on the classic.

And another article for you, here a Fort Collins journalist waxes ecstatic in his review of Tasty Harmony, a raw and vegan joint that also offers, you guessed it, a tempeh reuben.

Veganization: Nearly Normal's in Corvallis, OR

2009-05-22T08:36:00.000-07:00

Though Corvallis is obviously not Portland, it gives me great joy to finally review this reuben, which I have been in pursuit of for at least a year. Orchestrating a successful sampling of course was not that hard -- Nearly Normal's eluded me more than once simply because B. and I typically found ourselves in Corvallis over the weekend and found it difficult to grasp that a place seemingly so appropriate for brunch would be closed on Sundays. Now that we both no longer have strict schedules, we were able to pop in a Thursday morning to try it out. Luckily, Nearly Normal's serves their lunch menu all day, though breakfast stops at 2 pm.

For all its creative menu naming and apparently hippie history, Normal's is not nearly as odd as I was expecting. After ordering at the counter, we sat upstairs in a comfy, well-lit dining room that could have been in any other breakfast establishment. I appreciated that the menu had a little laminated mini menu-guide to let you know what you could eat, or easily modify to order, if you were vegan or gluten-free. This confirmed that the only non-vegan aspect of the tempeh reuben was the cheese. I didn't bother to ask to sub avocado for cheese, as avocado on the menu was $1.95 to add and I noticed a little note posted on the cash register that dictated which substitutions were free -- avocado for cheese was not (though tamari tofu for eggs is, if you ever go in for breakfast, the menu is not explicit about this).

The tempeh reuben at Nearly Normal's is "seasoned tempeh" on a light deli rye with lettuce, tomato, stoneground mustard and kraut. B., who is becoming a bit of a reuben purist, of course was not that happy with the tomato, not to mention the lack of sauce. But he agreed that the bread was good, the tempeh was exceptional, and the kraut was good both in taste and portion size. I agreed on all those three counts, but also found myself not missing the dressing, surprisingly enough. As it was the sandwich was crunchy yet pliable and juicy -- dressing might have made it a bit too messy. The stoneground mustard was pungent and the seasoning which coated the exterior of the tempeh was wonderful. Admittedly, the sandwich was slightly dry. This was assisted by the tomato and lettuce but I think avocado would have made this sandwich a true home run (and probably bumped the rating up a good point). The sandwich came with a copious amount of decent chips, but sadly, no pickle.

Nearly Normal's
109 NW 15th Street, Corvallis, Oregon
Open approximately 8 or 9 am to 8 or 9 pm, except for Sundays (check the website).
Tempeh reuben, no cheese, runs you about $8.

We give it a 3. Though the tempeh was skillfully seasoned, the portions were generous, and the service was friendly and amendable, B. disapproved of the use of mustard instead of dressing, and though it would have be wonderful with avocado to replace the cheese, that undoubtedly would have upped the price quite a bit. I have to admit though, if someone were to ask me to choose between Nearly Normal's tempeh reuben and the one found at nearby Cafe Yumm, I'd be torn. Though Cafe Yumm, with their vegan button on the cash register, yields a better Veganization, Nearly Normal's scores points for the tasty, hefty tempeh portion and kraut. Cafe Yumm does have a delicious, delicious vegan reuben sauce -- if only their tempeh was moister and more flavorful. It's really hard for me to say. You'll have to try them both for yourself!

Update: Papa G's Organic Vegan Deli

2009-05-21T07:47:00.002-07:00

Last summer, B. and I reviewed the tempeh reuben at Papa G's, then a relatively new all vegan, all organic restaurant in Southeast. At 5.99, the modest sandwich didn't seem like a great deal, but I appreciate Papa G's dedication to fresh, organic and local ingredients, despite the fact that those often come at a price.

Whereas before the only sandwiches available at Papa G's were found in the deli case, wrapped in plastic, recently the establishment announced hot, made to order sandwiches. Check out their website for an updated menu (and a coupon for 10% off). The tempeh reuben is an option, now 2 bucks more (though the ala carte sandwich is still available for $5.99). The menu says the hot sandwiches come with "gigantic chips" but I can only assume this isn't the only change. Undoubtedly a freshly-made sandwich will taste better, but I hope they also add more kraut and maybe jazz it up in some way, though the description sounds just like the burger-like reuben we tried back then. I encourage folks to stop by and check it out, maybe drop us a comment to let us know what the deal is. Whether in search of a reuben or not, it seems like the expansion definitely merits a visit.

Daiya Cheese

2009-05-19T12:45:00.001-07:00

On vacation, perusing the blogs, I've learned of a new vegan cheese that almost sounds too good to be true. Here's a pic from Vegansaurus' product review.

Daiya apparently has great melty, stretchy texture and cheesy flavor. I don't usually go for fake cheeses, but the fact that this product seems to have very natural ingredients (like cassava) and is not soy-based, makes it pretty attractive. It's produced in Canada, and until recently was only found in Vancouver restaurants such as the Naam. We're headed back to Vancouver in a couple weeks -- even though we've already reviewed the Naam's reuben, might be worth dropping in try it again, as previously the Naam didn't offer vegan cheese (only real cheese, and a non-vegan fake cheese).

Tamarind Reubens with Zukay Relish and Avocado Spread

2009-05-14T13:20:00.000-07:00

The school year is winding down. I have much more free time, but I'm also anticipating being gone from North Carolina for three full months. So this means packing up all my belongings yet again, and the requisite cleaning out of the fridge and freezer. Ever since I got my Blendtec, I've loved making a quick, easy tamarind sauce from water and wet tamarind for Indian and Mexican-influenced cooking. My wet tamarind lives in the fridge though, along with my ever-ripening tub of miso, so I'm using them both up as quickly as I can. Tamarind is tangy and flavorful, and seems like it could go great with tempeh. Hence, the inspiration for this marinade.

Tamarind Reuben Marinade

2 cups water
3 tablespoons wet tamarind
2 tablespoons miso paste
6 stems of fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon maple syrup
4 garlic cloves, peeled

1 teaspoon whole cloves
1 teaspoon of paprika
several grinds black pepper

I blended all ingredients, except the spices, in my Blendtec until smooth. I ended up adding more water (hence the 2 cups, originally it was only 1/2 cup) because I thought the marinade was too thick. If you don't have a high-powered blender or access to wet tamarind, you can purchase tamarind concentrate or tamarind juice in a well-stocked Asian market. Also, if you lack a strong enough blender, press the garlic and finely chop the cilantro. Stir the spices in last. Cut tempeh in half and carefully slice length-wise as well, to make smaller slabs. Place in a flat pan or Pyrex dish and pour the marinade over the dish. This marinade more than covered all the of the tempeh. Let sit in the fridge at least 24 hours.

I also had some avocado pureed with lime juice in the freezer. Though it's a popular cheese substitute when eating out, I don't often use avocado on reubens at home. However, when I had an overabundance of cheap avocados recently, this seemed like a no-brainer. Though I usually whip up some type of Russian or Thousand Island dressing, being pressed for time, and not wishing to purchase new ingredients, I settled for a stoneground mustard instead.

Next, we have two varieties of Zukay relish to test on our reubens. Zukay graciously sent me both their cucumber relishes as well as a mild and a hot salsa. The first cucumber relish is garlic dill relish, and consists basically just of cucumber, apple cider vinegar, the requisite seasonings and live cultures. There is also a horseradish dill relish. This relish is unique from kraut in that it is "live" and raw. As a fan of raw and cultured vegan foods (such as kombucha and kimchi) I'm excited at the chance to pair these condiments with my favorite sandwich.

In a unique turn of events, this is the first reuben review where B. and I are joined by someone...other than B. and I. We had two pals, one vegan, one not, join us for this meal. Though I didn't plan it this way in advance (I wouldn't normally test a reuben recipe out on folks other than myself and B.) I thought this was fortunate, a chance to inject some new insight into this blog, and especially, to get a survey on a product we were sampling for the first time.

In terms of the Zukay relishes, we were evenly split between favoring the horseradish variety or the garlic. The best thing about both relishes was the fresh, cucumber flavor. Though I loved the taste, I realized I may have been a little misguided in thinking they were great for reubens, because the relish is fairly liquidy, as relishes tend to be. Post-sandwiches, we enjoyed small amounts of the relish alone on bread. I liked the horseradish best, because although the horseradish flavor itself is not noticeable, this relish has a sort of deep, earthy flavor. One other member of our party also liked the horseradish better, but said it was because he likes the cucumber flavor, and it comes through more in the horseradish version. B. and our other friend ranked the garlic higher than horseradish, I think mostly due to the complaint that you couldn't really taste horseradish in that relish.

In terms of the reuben itself, I liked the flavors, especially the creaminess of the avocado spread and the garlicky dill flavor of the relish, but by the time I was done wandering about the house trying to get a good picture despite a paucity of natural light, my bread was soaked through. (For this experiment, we used up the ends of two loaves--both of which I've blogged about in the past. The remnants had lived in my freezer until this opportunity). I couldn't really judge the marinade very well; I felt its flavor was obscured by the generous amount of relish I had applied. B. liked the tamarind flavor ("sort of citrusy") and credited that to the fact he used less relish than I did.

The general consensus that though it was a tasty sandwich, it strayed a little far from a reuben. It lacked both the crispy, chewy texture of the cabbage and the creaminess of the Russian or Thousand Island dressing (the latter of which, I can only blame on my lack of preparedness). B. in particular has been vocal in the past that it is not really a reuben unless it has a creamy dressing; my friend was in agreement, but also in the case of the use of dill relish instead of kraut. He believes kraut, its texture and saltiness, are crucial to a reuben; of course, he was the first to admit that since he doesn't eat vegan reubens regularly, he may be less appreciative of iterations that stray from the traditional. B. did concede that the moistness of tempeh was good, which was probably due to the large amount of marinade that kept the tempeh completely submerged during baking. We wondered if maybe in the future we should try baking the tempeh in a covered pan.

This was the best picture we could get. Sorry. Tamarind tempeh, Zukay relish, avocado spread and stoneground mustard on light deli rye. On the side, a version of this salad from Fat Free Vegan (I used lime juice instead of orange and omitted the nuts and orange segments -- quite tasty, still!).

It wasn't until later that I had the notion that Zukay relish would have been an ideal ingredient in a Thousand Islands dressing. If I'd had ketchup or another tomato base on hand, we could have mixed relish and a few other ingredients with it and had a wonderful dressing. Since B. and I are leaving town shortly, the remainder of the relish got packed up and sent on with one of my friends who was having a vegetarian/vegan grill out the next day. (It received high praise there as well).

Since so many of the foods utilized in this post were stored in the freezer until the opportunity arose to put them to good use, I feel compelled to link to this Bittman article you probably have already seen. I'd also like to let you know about Veggie Thing, which seems like a great new online resource for vegans nationwide.

I'll post again soon, with some dispatches from Portland!

April Round-Up

2009-05-01T19:26:00.000-07:00

"...indisputable evidence..."?

...that vegan leprechauns do exist?

Wedding season is coming up, and here's a resource for vegan wedding hors d'oeuvres-- I have to admit, the "Mini Open-Faced Vegan Reubens" sound pretty good, and apparently can be frozen for later.

You, too, can finally enjoy vegan reubens, while camping!

I feel tempeh reubens are a bit over-represented on this blog, so here's another tofu one for you, at My Veggie Kitchen.

Lastly, I was happy to see this inventive and tasty new recipe pop up. Thanks, Rhymes with Vegan!

Yay Zukay!

2009-04-22T17:54:00.000-07:00

Sometimes it really doesn't hurt to just ask.

When I notified Scott of Zukay Foods of my love and infatuation with fermented foods (and okay, envy of other vegan blogs who got to review his stuff), he graciously agreed to send me some samples, to pair with one or two new vegan reuben recipes rattling around in the back of my brain.

Today four jars arrived, and I am hyped. However, B. is due for a visit in the not too distant future, so I am going to restrain myself and wait to break out the bubbly, live salsas and (best yet) dill relishes until he gets here and we can start the tempeh marinating in our usual tradition.

Could something like this be in my future? (A Melomeals post from January).

Meanwhile, check out Scott's blog, Get Your Ferment On, and scroll down for some recipes. In the next week or so I'll try to keep my tradition of Monthly Reuben Round-Ups going, but otherwise, see you in May!

Pacific Northwest still rules, yo

2009-04-09T08:09:00.001-07:00

In case you were afraid this blog was beginning to focus a bit too much on vegan reubens in OTHER places, like, say Maryland, or cyberspace, fear not. Portland is still tops for vegan reuben options, though we'll give a shout out to Seattle as well.

Truth is, I'm a little jealous that Stumptown Vegans got to review the Someday Lounge/Backspace reuben before I got a chance. I've been drooling over this sandwich from afar for much too long (I had hoped to go in December but weather and the resultant travel delays made that impossible). Seriously, I think I've downloaded the PDF of Backspace's menu multiple times over the past several months just to longingly read it over. Word of mouth says it is great, and now you can see some pics and an official review.

Part of what makes Backspace so intriguing (as an establishment in general---their reuben is tempeh) is its frequent use of Field Roast. Now, as I've said before, I'm not typically a fan of fake meats. Occasionally I'll eat a Tofurkey brat at a BBQ and then remember, oh right, these are gross. Field Roast is definitely an exception--anyone will tell you it's the best fake meat out there. And this is essentially because it's a gourmet, "artisan" meat analog. Which brings me to the second reason I want to try some of Backspace's Field Roast offerings. I don't have empirical evidence to back this up, but there are certain vegan ingredients that are pretty pricey were you to buy them in the stores. For example, Teese seems to have the same market rate per ounce as uranium, as far as I'm concerned. Field Roast is up there in price as well, though you can find it at most grocery stores these days.

I'll outright say it---if you are vegan and enjoy food and like to cook, most of the time you can make better food at home than you would find eating out. This is not as true in Portland as in, say, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, I'll give you that. But most stuff, be it cheeseless pizza or Chinese food, I can make at home better and cheaper and healthier than most vegan options dining out.

Which brings me to my drawn out point. Because stuff like Field Roast and some (especially imported) vegan cheeses are so expensive in the stores (or online, for folks who can't find it locally), a sandwich made with these components at a cafe like Backspace may actually be about the same price as if you bought all the components yourself and made it at home. Also, it's an opportunity to try said "substitute foods" without the large initial investment. Everyone says Teese is great; I have yet to try it. I'd like it if my first time was melted on a delicious, fresh Pearl Bakery roll with delicately-spiced lentil-based sausage served up with some fresh salad greens and a strong cup of coffee.

Is my Northwest envy showing? Is it possible to envy the place you consider home?

In case you were wondering, there is actually a Field Roast reuben out there. Which brings me to another notable establishment up North, this review courtesy of The Stranger (or, as we like to call it, Seattle's version of The Portland Mercury). The review sounds so delicious I almost want to quote it here, but I'll let you read it for yourself. Or just go check out Georgetown Liquor Company as soon as humanly possible.

Expect a part two to this post in a month or so when I hope to find myself back in the dear rainy climes, sinking my teeth into these very sandwiches.

March Reuben Round-Up

2009-03-30T18:53:00.000-07:00

I have a confession to make. I have Google Alerts e-mail me (supposedly) every time "vegan reubens" pops up on the internets. I personally think it's laying down on the job though, because lately, I seem to stumble across vegan reuben love more frequently than Google "alerts" me to them. And that's saying a lot. I don't have nearly as much time to wander the vegan blogs as I used to, these days.

The first happy stumble was over at Kamutflake Girl -- the one of the few food bloggers I really can't resist despite the fact she rarely posts recipes. This is certainly a recipe I would hit her up for, a lentil patty made with gluten flour. Like insta-tempeh?

The next stumble? Fellow reuben-addict Melody over at Melomeals (she's made it onto a round-up before) innovates with reuben pizza.

Maybe it's because St. Patty's Day got everyone thinking about corned beef and cabbage, but there's a lot of reuben-themed creativity in the air this month. Renae at i eat food serves up a reuben casserole-- the perfect thing if you are craving a reuben---and pasta?

I'll give a few sandwiches their due as well, as Google Alerts did deliver a number worth mentioning, namely this extremely pretty one from Cupcake Punk, another iteration of the Vegan Dad recipe.

And we have our requisite restaurant alerts. The Traverse City Record recommends half a tempeh reuben from Oryana Natural Foods Market as part of a "Lunch on a Lincoln" cheap eats feature. According to the blog Super Caloric Chalk Dust NYC restaurant 'Snice offers a good one, as well. Last but not least, wrapping it up with one more coincidental peruse, Tahinitoo gives you a reason to trek up to Seattle and visit the Wayward Cafe.

Reuben experiments and a vegan wine review!

2009-03-23T05:20:00.000-07:00

B. came for another visit earlier this month, to coincide with my spring break. A couple months ago I purchased a BlendTec Total Blender (and I've actually created a second blog devoted entirely to it). One thing I love about the BlendTec is the ability to reduce whole fruits and vegetables to juice, without any peeling or left-over pulp. Since we'd had good luck with apple-based marinades, I was eager to experiment with the blender in creating a marinade for reubens. We added beet, for the color mostly, and because I'd seen at least one other reuben recipe that employed beet juice.

Beety Reuben Marinade:

1 large apple, quartered and cored
1 medium beet, trimmed and quartered
1 small knob of fresh ginger, peeled
4 garlic cloves, peeled
1 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon mustard seed
1/2 teaspoon whole peppercorns
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

We tossed all these ingredients into the BlendTec and ran it on the Whole Juice cycle. The result was a very red, soupy yet thick marinade. We had about half a block of left-over tofu, which I sliced thin and laid in a Pyrex dish, then covered in marinade. We put thinly sliced white mushrooms in a bowl and added the rest of the marinade. Both sat in the fridge over night.

The next day, we baked the tofu for about an hour at 425, flipping part way. For the mushrooms, we first sliced up most of a medium yellow onion, sauteed it until softened, then added the mushrooms and sauteed until the mushrooms had cooked down a little. The marinade was so thick, it stuck with the mushrooms and turned out to be more of a sauce as well. It wasn't bad, but I don't know if it was preferable.

Both sandwiches got the same reuben sauce from this post, and this local raw sauerkraut, from Farmer's Daughter in Carrboro.

Tasty! We ate the tofu on a light deli rye baked at the local co-op, and the mushrooms went on the same dark 100% rye from the earlier post. Both toasted of course.

We tried the mushroom first, paired with some vegan syrah from Frey Vineyards that I'll get more into later.

The beet flavor was pretty strong, but the onions and mushrooms still came through. I liked the tofu the best I think---tofu is a great medium for a strong marinade, and of course takes on color quite well. I did end up adding a little Siracha hot sauce to my tofu reuben. After tasting the mushroom one, I thought it would be complemented by a little more spiciness. B., who is officially a tempeh fiend I think, missed the meaty texture that nutty soy product provides. I really like the raw, local kraut---the woman who runs Farmer's Daughter is a pickling genius in my opinion---but it is a little milder than your average kraut, and was perhaps a bit overpowered by the beet, in the case of the mushroom version at least.

I wasn't disappointed by either of these sandwiches, but I wasn't blown away either. I think in future experiments, I will use a minimal amount of beet, maybe just a few slices, and probably add more water so that the marinade functions more like a marinade and less like a sauce.

Now for the wine! I'm excited about this inaugural product review. And after visiting the Frey Vineyards website, I'm genuinely excited that this environmentally-friendly, vegan wine is not only delicious, but affordable. B. and I both immensely enjoyed the Syrah and the Chardonnay. I'm the type of person who rarely spends more than $15 on a bottle of wine, so when I found I really, really liked Frey's offerings, I assumed that it was an expensive, high quality wine that would typically be out of my price range. Upon investigating the website though, I found that at least currently, they have some great deals.

So, did you know that alcohol isn't always vegan? It's something that annoys me, but I often utilize a "don't ask, don't tell" type of approach, mostly just because there are very few alcoholic beverages that will state on their label whether they contain animal products (or used animal products at some point in processing) or not. Luckily, I enjoy hoppier ales as opposed to stouts, which more frequently include dairy. Frey Vineyards, which by the way was voted Best Vegan Wine by VegNew Magazine in 2007, states this on their website, "No animal products are used in the making of Frey Wines, such as egg whites, gelatin, or dairy-derived substances."

Like I said, our impressions of the wine flavors were very good. I like red wine over white typically---the syrah was complex and sweet, but not overly sweet. B. and I decided it would go well with a spicy, rich meal--probably would go great with a tempeh reuben with a lot of heat and spice. The Chardonnay was light and pleasantly dry, probably the best white wine I've ever had.

So check out the Frey Wines website. Located in Mendocino, California, their Organic and Biodynamic products have gained acclaim from the New York Times to the Wall Street Journal, and numerous wine competitions. And they are almost local to Portland!

Baltimore Vegan Reubens: Liquid Earth

2009-03-16T20:08:00.000-07:00

Get ready for the most realistic vegan reuben ever. And while I don't think I would give up other vegan reubens for this sandwich, that statement is closer to high praise than it is to condemnation.

Truthfully, there is something slightly pedestrian about this trueben. But that fact alone is what makes it so unique. Never have I tasted a vegan or vegetarian reuben that was so close to the real thing. The cheese, though mild and not overly applied (VeganRella, we were told), and the sauerkraut, in about the right proportion, the pale deli rye-- all were not memorable in their own right, but served as the appropriate backdrop for salty (but not too salty, thankfully), robustly-hued tofu "meat" that even B. thought tasted remarkably like the real thing.

This sandwich is a bit of a celebrity. It earned mention on Homicide, a cop show set in Baltimore. And with good reason. It seems exactly like the sort of thing a newly vegetarian cop would gravitate towards. We're more of the tempeh crowd, but still, this is a sandwich I would probably return for again and again, if I lived in Baltimore.

Located on Aliceanna near the Inner Harbor, Liquid Earth does feel a bit like the kind of coffee shop/juice bar/raw and vegan eatery you might find in Portland---reminiscent of places like Proper Eats and the Red and Black, but with a little East Coast edginess. The prices were sort of high, like Vita Cafe the sandwiches had no sides or even pickles, but were a buck or two higher than you'd expect in Portland. But man do they know their way around tofu-as-meat. The stuff was marinated, though appropriately dry, and thinly sliced to perfection, both in the Reuben and the Philly we had (the latter of which we ordered especially vegan, for a buck or so extra). Though there was a hummus sandwich and some nut meat raw tacos, I don't think I saw tempeh on the menu, tofu being the topping of choice. But if you do something right, by all means, keep doing it. In this case, simplicity was the ticket. As someone who obviously eats a lot of vegan reubens, I appreciate some innovation and play on the classic, with unique marinades, slaws instead of kraut, and stand-out sauces. But this sandwich reminds you of what it is all about: five relatively simple components that fit together just right.

Thanks to B. for catching the homicide reference (and having the friends in Maryland) that made this little spring break excursion to Liquid Earth possible.

February Reuben Round-Up

2009-02-27T17:27:00.000-08:00

I've got a wealth of recipes and reuben spottings for you this month, both from recent reviews and postings and from the krauty annals of the vegan blog-world. There's really a lot, so I'll just get started, in no particular order.

Tami at Vegan Appetite teases us with the Corned Seitan recipe, a tester from well-loved vegan cookbook author, Robin Robertson, raving that it's even better than the Chicago Diner. That's high praise.

And here's a recipe from almost a year ago from Diet, Dessert and Dogs, another inventive vegan blog, it's an adaptation of the VWAV tempeh reuben, and seems well-worth testing out.

I'm always somewhat entertained when a small-circulation journalist takes on vegetarianism or veganism as a challenge, and is immensely terrified. Check out this Philadelphia writer as he tries out a week without meat, and consequently, seitan reuben sliders at Horizons. Living on the Vedge also clues us in on a good spot for vegan reubens in Philly.

Man, and that's just the beginning. Here are some more recipes from the blogs. We've got suggestions from the likes of Vegan Parenting, Vegan Footprints, VegWeb, Awesome. Vegan. Rad., Smarter Fitter, ...but what does she eat?, and the Food Network, of all places! Note this one is only vegetarian, but easily adaptable of course.

Can I just pause in all this and say how shocking/awesome (pick one) it is that a Wisconsin restaurant called The Cheese Factory has a vegan reuben on the menu? Speaking of which, apparently the Comet Cafe is the place to go for a vegan reuben in Milwaukee. And Falls Church, VA, another somewhat unlikely spot, has a reuben option as well.

And just for the hell of it, I'll throw in a book review.

Along those lines, and something a little closer to home for me at least, the Indy Week just did a feature on a recent vegan cookbook. I swear, the Triangle gets more like Portland every day. But for you real Portlanders, I've got confirmation that Backspace does indeed have a vegan Reuben -- or something like it.

Vegetable Love contest poll opens!

2009-02-11T15:36:00.000-08:00

Just a reminder that you can vote for my entry in the Vegetable Love contest over at Fat Free Vegan now, through Friday. Susan got a whopping 34 entries, and as expected, a number were heart-shaped and used beets as well. But it's an impressive spread! Please head over there and vote for your favorite. Just for voting, you can be entered to win a Nava Atlas cookbook as well!

And while I'm at it, for a change of pace, Vegan Dad has created a tofu reuben recipe. Check it out.

Oh, and also, I have joined the club. The club of vegan bloggers owning high powered blenders. And I have a started a blog of recipes that utilize primarily this device, mostly experimental. See it at Three Horsepower Vegan.

A "Vegetable Love" Letter

2009-02-08T12:06:00.000-08:00

The first birthday of this blog passed last month, and I almost didn't notice. Maybe it's hard to imagine that I have somehow succeeded at talking about vegan reubens at least twice a month for the last 12. For the few of you that have been following this blog from the beginning, you've probably caught on that though I recently lived in Portland, Oregon, I have since relocated to North Carolina for a couple years of schooling. B., my partner-in-crime so to speak (he has accompanied me on nearly every review), who actually came up with the idea for this blog, has remained in Portland, though he visits about once a month. Not only did he inspire this blog, but when I moved, he advocated for it to continue ("PVR must not die!" I believe were his words.) So we've plugged on, posting less frequently of course, but I somehow keep finding ways to to talk about reubens since August, when I began classes here.

So when I saw that Susan of one of the my all-time favorite vegan blogs, Fat Free Vegan, was holding her Vegetable Love competition again this year, it seemed like a fitting opportunity this time around. After trying so many reuben variations, and not a few reuben recipes in the home, B. and I have developed some distinct preferences and ideas about what should go into our ideal reuben. This recipe incorporates what we've learned so far, while probably being the healthiest (yes, it's fat-free!) reuben recipe out there. It's pretty entertaining, but true, that I can't see a better way to honor the man I love from afar on Valentine's Day, than with a vegan reuben recipe crafted with him in mind (pssst--by the way, he doesn't know, yet). I've tried to consider his personal tastes (for example, I believe B. would say that a vegan reuben needs to start with marinated baked tempeh, mushrooms and caramelized onions on a dense, dark rye) but I'm also excited to experiment a bit with ingredients I haven't before (for example, I'm enamored of grated beets lately, and always wanted to try a dressing with white beans and no mayo or oil).

Thus I bring you my entry! Because I'm sure not enough people will incorporate beets and heart shapes into their submissions!

Tempeh Reuben Sliders with Raw Beet Slaw and Red-Wine Braised Mushrooms

I don't usually do cutesy things like this, but since it's a slider (yes, another B. inspiration) and Valentine's themed, I thought it would be fun to make them heart-shaped. However, this recipe does not need to be modified at all to make a normal-size, normally-shaped sandwich--in fact, if you actually make sliders, you will have left-overs.

There are a lot of components and thus a lot of ingredients and steps, but really, it's pretty simple! I'll try to present the information in the least confusing way possible, and more or less chronologically.

Before I get to the recipe, we might as well talk about bread choice. There are a couple different ryes out there-- probably marble rye, with its distinctive swirl, and "deli rye" which is usually a lighter bread, sometimes with caraway, are the most common. B. and I really like a dense, dark rye bread, because of its flavor mostly. But I also like that it probably has more fiber and wholegrain, and B. likes bread that can keep saucy dressings and kraut juice off his hands. I think our favorites have been the vollkornbrot from last month and the somewhat-local-to-Portland Abiqua Farms Old World Rye we used when trying out a recipe from Bazu's blog. But really dense breads can sometimes be apt to crumble, and after watching B.'s attempt to slice the vollkornbrot recently, I wanted a bread that wouldn't pose such a challenge during the delicate cookie-cutter procedure. After reviewing the options at the co-op, I settled on this.

I usually try to avoid imported foods, for environmental reasons as well as the fact that especially a bread is going to be less fresh, but this bread seemed to fulfill my criteria of dark, dense and resilient--plus it came thinly sliced already. And I'm not going to lie, the extremely happy looking woman on the package probably had something to do with it. Ultimately I was satisfied with the choice, but I think you should just go with whatever bread you prefer when trying this out. Any sandwich bread should work fine. Who knows, maybe I could have used the cookie cutter on the vollkornbrot with no mishaps. This recipe marks my first time using a cookie cutter on anything other than cookie dough (Crazy, I know!).

On to the recipe! Note that this recipe makes enough for two (normal-sized) sandwiches.

First, you probably want to marinate the tempeh.

Marinade:

1/4 cup of applesauce
1/2 cup of apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons stone-ground mustard
1 tablespoon soy sauce
4 pressed or chopped garlic gloves
1 tablespoon crushed red pepper or red pepper flakes

8 oz tempeh, sliced thin lengthwise

Mix the marinade together in a small bowl or large measuring cup. Slicing the tempeh to make a thinner slab can be tricky, a large sharp knife helps, but we find it greatly improves the sandwich. Place tempeh in a single layer in a Pyrex baking or casserole dish and pour marinade over it. The marinade is very thick; try to pour it so it distributes evenly over both pieces of tempeh. Marinate for a minimum of half an hour; we recommend overnight. Flip it halfway through if you can.

If you are going to take a cookie cutter to your tempeh, I recommend doing so before you put it in the marinade. I marinated the tempeh first because I had trouble finding an appropriately-sized heart-shaped cookie cutter and wanted to give the tempeh a day to soak while I tracked another one down. Then I realized that I probably didn't want to try to cut the tempeh when it was piping hot from the oven, so I cut it right in the pan before putting it into the oven. This worked fine, especially because you get bonus little marinated bits you can use in a salad or something else later, but doing it before marinating might just be simpler -- the tempeh tends to kinda stick in the cutter and you need to push the piece out. But the tempeh held together well and didn't crumble as you might expect. Man, now the possibilities are endless. Tempeh ducks, tempeh shamrocks, tempeh gingerbread men...

With the tempeh marinating in the fridge, I made the sandwich dressing next as these kinds of things are always better when they have a chance to "meld" in the fridge as well.

White Bean Reuben Spread

1/4 cup cooked white beans, cannelini, great northern or navy
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons minced white or yellow onion
2 tablespoons minced pickle

Blend all ingredients together in a blender or food processor. Alternately, you could probably mash the beans by hand, or use an immersion blender. If you have a powerful blender or food processor, you could save yourself a little work and toss the onion and pickles straight in there first. When blended, transfer to a jar and refrigerate.

If you're on a roll of making things in advance, you might as well throw together the slaw. This is my stand-in for sauerkraut. It definitely has more of a fresh beet flavor versus a pickled flavor, which I thought actually complemented the sandwich well.

Raw Beet Slaw:

1 medium beet, peeled
3 tablespoons red wine or sherry vinegar
pinch of salt
generous amount of fresh ground pepper
a couple pinches of dried dill

Grate or shred beet and toss with vinegar and seasonings. Refrigerate. Note that this slaw has a lot of juice. You might want to put some in a colander in the sink to drain while your tempeh is baking, before you construct the sandwich. The excess liquid didn't harm the slider, though, and if you don't mind a lot of red juice on your plate, don't worry about it.

Because the tempeh needs to bake for awhile, you can hold off on the braised mushrooms until you are just about to take the tempeh out of the oven.

Red-Wine Braised Mushrooms

Braising is basically cooking something over high heat for a few minutes to sear in some flavor, then reducing the heat and simmering for the remaining time. B. and I have also found we really like caramelized onions on our reubens-- caramelizing is a process of cooking onions over high heat until they start to break down and sweeten. Usually this uses a lot of oil. I thought this method would thus combine two of our favorite reuben toppings, and "red-wine braised" just sounds romantic. If you are worried about your onions burning and sticking, keep more red wine on hand to deglaze as you go. You could also probably use a good vinegar instead of red wine if you prefer.

4 large white mushrooms with stems on, cleaned however you prefer, sliced
1 small yellow or white onion, halved and sliced thinly into strips
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 to 2 cups red wine
salt and pepper to taste
Note: I'm sure this recipe would also be wonderful with the addition of some fresh herbs, like thyme, oregano or rosemary.

Heat a pan, a wok or cast iron skillet could work well, but you need to have a lid for it, and toss in your onions. Cook on high heat, stirring frequently, and adding red wine as needed to keep from sticking. When they start to brown, add mushrooms, garlic, salt and pepper. Stir and cook for five minutes. Reduce heat, add more red wine, and cover, allowing to simmer for about two minutes. For the last few minutes, cook uncovered until the majority of the wine evaporates.

When you are done marinating the tempeh, simply transfer the dish to a pre-heated 350 degree oven and bake for 30 minutes. Reubens are typically grilled and usually the kraut is warmed also. For this recipe, I recommend trying to put the sandwich together while the mushrooms and tempeh are still warm and the bread is fresh out of the toaster. It also might be good to let your spread and slaw come to room temp if they've been in the fridge.

Toast your bread. Top one piece with tempeh, mushroom and onion mixture, and then slaw. Slather the other piece with dressing and lay on top. Or feel free to use dressing on both pieces if you like. Enjoy!

Since this is a reuben review site, I feel compelled to rate my own performance, though I think that would be sort of awkward. Over all I aimed for a recipe that was healthy and relatively easy to replicate and I think I succeeded. And don't get me wrong, it was tasty! But this recipe is certainly nothing if not heavily open to adaptation. As you can see from the pictures, the marinade turned out quite thick -- I went with applesauce instead of say, apple juice or straight apple cider vinegar because I had an open jar and wanted to see what would happen (in case you couldn't tell, I didn't really test any of these recipes before this first trial run). Since applesauce is a popular ingredient in vegan baking, I figured lots of you would have it on hand as well -- but feel free to substitute at will, or include other flavorings, like ginger, pickling spices or sweeteners, to the marinade. Same goes for everything else really. I think the wine-braised mushrooms and onions was my favorite part, but take my note about fresh herbs to heart.

Thanks must go to Susan, for hosting this fun contest, all the vegan cooks out there whose various reuben recipes have informed this one in one way or another, and of course to you, for reading! Susan will post the entries on Fat Free Vegan on February 11th, when you'll get to vote. While the prizes look awesome, I'm just happy for the excuse to craft this little labor of love. See you next time (or in approximately a month, if you're B.)!

January Reuben Round-Up

2009-01-25T17:15:00.000-08:00

As the month draws to a close, here are a few tempting reuben images for you from the realm of vegan and vegetarian food blogs.

Brooke of simply vegetarian tracks what she eats and extols the delicacy of tempeh reubens (pardon the cheese, at least she uses vegan mayo).

Ate-Bit Vegan is apparently guilty of drinking and typing, but his passion for reubens and DIY seitan skillz make up for it. Also, I think his blog post title could be an allusion to yours truly.

Sick of Lettuce yet again makes me jealous of all the delicious vegan eats available in L.A. Despite the recent closing of reuben-offering The Vegan Spot, the options are obviously still plentiful.

And last but not least, some love from this PDX-N.C. team. B. just ended another wonderful visit here, full of delicious food, drink and merriment as usual, and of course one of the first things we did was whip up our own version of the apple-based Candle Cafe reuben again. Here you see B.'s attempt to polish off the excess kraut as well as a wonderfully dense rye bread called vollkornbrot, baked at the local co-op, with this marinated tempeh reuben slider. Cider vinegar instead of juice and a bit of Korean hot pepper in the marinade gave this reuben a bit more tang and bite than usual, and the squat little loaf resulted in a unique size that this picture probably doesn't convey. All around a tasty take on the classic.

With just a press of the 'Vegan' button: Tempeh Reuben at Cafe Yumm

2009-01-02T21:18:00.000-08:00

Always wanted to open a restaurant franchise? If you read this blog, and aren't too squeamish about cheese and meat, Cafe Yumm might be your opportunity. We discovered this place after attempting, yet again, to get the tempeh reuben at Nearly Normal's in Corvallis, post-vegan egg nog party with our friend ROB. ROB recalled a new cafe that had just opened and had lots of vegan options (ROB is not vegan, but perhaps finds it interesting--the vegan nog was great!). We wandered over. It was 10 am on Christmas Eve and I had pretty much given up on reubens for this trip. In fact, when ROB spotted it on the menu I thought he was pulling my leg. But there it was. Turkey or tempeh reuben. With red onion, tomato, house reuben sauce, swiss cheese and kraut on rye and a side of corn chips. $6.95.

The owner was very friendly and pressed various samples on us. Cafe Yumm's specialties are their rice bowls, wholesome concoctions of your choice of beans, rice and various veggies and condiments, topped with a trade marked Yumm sauce. There were a few varieties of sauce, all vegan and gluten free. The Original sauce reminded me very much of the lemon tahini dressing at the Paradox, unctuous and a little garlicky.

Obviously I had my sights set on the sandwich, though. When I inquired about vegan options, the owner informed me that they don't use mayonaise, only Veganaise, so the reuben sauce was already good. They even have a vegan button on the cash register to make sure no order gets screwed up. I believe a function of the vegan button is also that it automatically converts cheese to avocado. Magical!

A chain where a true vegan meal is not only assured but practically encouraged (there was even a vegan ginger spice cookie for dessert), options are healthy and plentiful, and substitutions earn neither resentment or extra charges. Could it get any better?

B. and I both enjoyed this sandwich quite a bit. The red onion and tomato were a nice touch, and the fact that they had an already vegan reuben sauce really gives this review a boost. The bread was light and crispy and not too oily. The portions were generous (avocado in place of cheese, always great!). The corn chips were freshly fried. The only detraction from this sandwich, I am sad to report, is that the tempeh (they use Surata brand) was surprisingly bland. It had a dark crispy exterior, which leads me to believe it was grilled or baked beforehand, but it really would have benefited from a good marinating. The slab of tempeh was ample, and the other garnishes were reasonable in proportion, so unfortunately the blandness really stood out for me. Maybe they avoid seasoning the tempeh too much as they also serve it on skewers with Yumm sauce--the sauce is pretty flavorful and intense and might make any additional flavoring unnecessary. We give the sandwich a 3.5, mostly a reflection of the vegan-friendliness of this establishment.

We're also excited to report that Cafe Yumm will soon open a location in Portland, near PSU in downtown (a location in Beaverton is already confirmed). This franchise, which started in Eugene and seems to be catching on across the state, offers a variety of healthy vegan meals--I for one would be happy to return frequently, and though I don't usually eat at franchises, the idea of a reliable, familiar and nourishing vegan meal being available in various cities in Oregon appeals to me very much.

Cafe Yumm
2001 NW Monroe Avenue, #109
Corvallis, OR 97330
Restaurant: 757-YUMM (9866)
Hours: Mon-Sat 10am-9pm, Sun 10am-8pm
(With new locations opening soon in Beaverton, and supposedly also near PSU in downtown Portland.)

Stumptown, under snow

2008-12-23T12:57:00.000-08:00

So, as those of you in PDX know (and those of you who may have had holiday travels that unfortunately put you through our airport) this place has gotten some heavy snow recently. Thanks to that, I arrived in Portland about 36 hours behind schedule. The snow also means that transportation within in the city is extremely difficult. So basically my plans of reviewing a Portland Vegan Reuben have been sadly dashed.

In the meantime, I think I can manage another blog round-up. But first, I just learned that Isa Moskowitz and her husband have come out with a seitan now available at Food Fight in Portland. I can assume a couple things, 1) it's probably much better than your typical grocery store seitan for those that don't make our own and 2) Probably makes a killer reuben. Buy local!

For those of you looking for a new tempeh reuben recipe to try, this one popped up online. Also check out a tutorial for DIY kraut on one of my favorite vegan blogs. The blog Vegetarianized! also offers us a recipe, creatively incorporating arugula (if you are the type that digs Reubens, you probably also dig this sometimes spicy, bitter green). Here's another recipe (from an online magazine called Glam, oddly enough), which incorporates seitan that you 'corn' ahead of time.

Anyone in the Boston area should check out this new restaurant that the PETA reported on this month. The idea of a maple-cured tempeh reuben with roasted tomatoes is just heightening my reuben craving...damn this weather!

And last but not least, 'Fixed gal' of the blog 'i like bikes' introduces me to the idea of a 'Georgia reuben.' I like that. I've often thought about different regional interpretations of the reuben calculus. I might do a post just on that someday.

Asheville, continued

2008-12-05T09:48:00.001-08:00

B. and I had two vegan reuben experiences in Asheville, NC, back in mid-October. I posted a couple times about the trip, but then got a bit distracted by school, hence the lag in posting about the second of our two sandwiches.

The day after we visited Rosetta's Kitchen we had lunch at The Laughing Seed, which appears to be the restaurant everyone recommends to vegetarians and vegans visiting Asheville. And with good reason. The Laughing Seed kind of reminded me of the now-closed Veganopolis in Portland, because of its prices and careful food presentation, but also reminded me a lot of Blossoming Lotus, because of its eclectic menu, slightly fancy dining atmosphere and international flavor. At brunch-o'clock on a weekend there was bit of a long wait, but over all it was worthwhile.

The tempeh Reuben at the Laughing Seed isn't really a trueben, as it comes with actual Swiss cheese. However, the menu clearly marks it as having a vegan option, and the Russian dressing is already vegan, making the cheese the only necessary change. The waitress was very amiable and helpful with regards to substitutions. She suggested their "Havarti almond spread" to sub for cheese, and barely batted an eye when I requested Havarti almond spread for the Reuben and avocado for the other sandwich we veganized, a tasty "Havana Cuban" that also came with Swiss on the menu. I really appreciated that we weren't charged extra for the substitutions, despite the fact adding avocado would have run a couple bucks, according to their menu. Readers of this blog have probably picked up by now that in my mind, a good vegan meal really depends on how understanding and accommodating the restaurant is -- I hate to feel like I'm being penalized or paying extra simply because I want to be healthier and more ethical. The great treatment at The Laughing Seed came as no surprise, as they are a vegetarian restaurant and clearly set high standards for themselves.

I really enjoyed the Havarti almond spread, it was definitely the highlight of the sandwich for me. I also really enjoyed the side salad, and the vegan creamy apple horseradish dressing that came with it was memorable. We got the other option -- jalapeno onion fries -- with the other sandwich, and enjoyed those as well. B. still liked the chips at Rosetta's Kitchen more, though. With the two sandwiches at The Laughing Seed, and the samosa appetizer we'd been unable to resist, we had a good deal of food (sadly, again, no room for dessert). The bread had a nice, crispy crunchy texture -- but maybe a tiny bit too crunchy, and a little greasy, like maybe a tad too much oil was used when grilling. The caramelized onions were a nice touch. Again, the house-made purple kraut (alluringly made with juniper and caraway, according to the menu) seemed subdued by the other flavors. And though the Havarti had a full, pungent, delicious flavor, I didn't really notice the Russian dressing. Maybe it was because we'd just had a great reuben the day before to compare it against, but though I really enjoyed the options and service at the Laughing Seed, the sandwich itself was a little ho-hum. B. and I gave it a 3 out of 5 points.

In other news, I'll be back in Portland in about two weeks! I've been enjoying Chapel Hill a lot, but I'm looking forward to my Portland visit, including the opportunity to pick up where I left off with this blog and review another Portland Vegan Reuben or two (yes, there are a couple we never got to).

I also can't resist the opportunity to post this recent New York Times article. This blog is extremely focused on one thing, obviously, but I allude to climate change as a reason for veganism and I was heartened to see this article emphasizing the link between diet and carbon emissions, as well as to see that there are folks out there carefully considering this problem.

Finally, some local news!

2008-11-19T10:46:00.001-08:00

The Sentinel, a neighborhood rag that serves the northern-most portions of Stumptown, gave PVR a nice mention in a recent article that describes the closure of both Veganopolis and Nutshell.

Nutshell was probably the closest thing Portland ever had to vegan 'fine dining.' I think its downfall began when it was discovered that a restaurant owned by the same guy in PDX persistently serves foie gras. Then Nutshell stopped being 100% vegan. When I did dine there once, way back when, I enjoyed the Jamaican platter that I got, but I wasn't dying to go back, despite having high expectations.

Thanks to the Sentinel for the mention! And go visit Proper Eats, probably the best vegan reuben in that part of town.

More reubens in the blogs

2008-11-08T18:52:00.000-08:00

vegan deliciousness gives the VWAV reuben, one of the first trueben recipes reviewed on this blog, a try.

Applause all around, of course.

Also, did you know that Brown University is an enclave for militant, tempeh reuben-eating vegans?

Veganization: Tempeh Reuben at Rosetta's Kitchen, Asheville

2008-11-01T15:01:00.001-07:00

As I stated earlier, when B. and I visited Asheville last month, I had my sights set on the Laughing Seed reuben. My online poking-around led me to learn about Rosetta's Kitchen, and though they certainly looked like a candidate for tempeh reuben offerings, I was unable to find a menu online (or even confirmation they were still open), so I assumed we wouldn't be paying them a visit. However, in our wanderings around town we actually passed them (the back of the restaurant, in fact) and I caught sight of the menu above.

It sounded too good to pass up and I was in a quandary. I was already planning to try Laughing Seed for dinner, and we weren't planning to return to Asheville the next day. Then B. had the brilliant notion that we could split the sandwich at Rosetta's Kitchen and then head to Laughing Seed afterwards. So we walked around the block, found Rosetta's entrance and clambered up the stairs full of anticipation. We noted on our way up that they are open quite late, so seems like a great spot post show. They also have some good beers on tap, for a pretty reasonable price ($3.75 a pint).

Rosetta's has a very nice atmosphere, so much so that for the first time on this blog, I felt compelled to take a picture of the interior of the eating establishment. It seems like it would be great in the summer, as the main eating area is a sort of balcony, open to the elements.

The place reminded me sort of the Red and Black in Portland, but I hate to say it, kinda better. Now that I think about it, it also reminded me of the Naam in Vancouver, BC. But cheaper and better. I'm not sure what it is, but Portland doesn't seem to have nailed the comfy hippie eatery quite yet--places like Eugene seem to do it better, and Asheville reminded us of Eugene a great deal.

When I told the cashier we wanted to veganize the reuben, he suggested avocado or 'queso,' a house vegan nacho cheese. Since I like to sub vegan cheese when available, I went for the queso, though I had fears it might overwhelm the walnut sauce that was probably fairly rich already. Avocado would also be good on this sandwich, but no regrets. This sandwich was damn good, probably one of the best we've had. The queso was plentiful, and made a nice dip for the corn chips on the side. B. wanted me to note that the corn chips were so good, there's no need to pay more for fries, though I would guess their fries are good, too -- I saw many patrons snacking on what appeared to be the sweet potato variety.

This reuben is not only extremely tasty, but wins points for originality also. That's rye foccacia there, which gave the sandwich a great, almost crispy texture, and the nature of the bread was that it could absorb juiciness without passing it along to your hands. The texture also benefited from the tempeh, which had a nice, chewy exterior also. I'm not sure how they prepared it, whether they grilled or baked it (the menu says marinated, I would guess maybe they baked it), but the outside was quite dark and the overall effect was meatiness. Biting into it was very nice, especially offset by the unctuous queso and good, consistent warm temperature.

As for the flavors, Rosetta's is another one of those joints that, like the Red and Black in Portland, boasts 'raw kraut.' What I've taken this to mean is that raw cabbage is allowed to pickle in its own juices, maybe for not very long, as opposed to employing vinegar or other fermentation aids. I think this results sometimes in a milder kraut. One of the few drawbacks of this sandwich is one we've experienced with others as well, that the kraut is sort of hidden away and doesn't contribute too much to the sandwich experience. Usually this would just be solved by more kraut. Rosetta's Kitchen was also selling house chow chow, a regional specialty that seems like a spicy version of sauerkraut. Not a traditional reuben condiment, but could make a nice, more flavorful substitution. Speaking of non-traditional flavors, the queso was impressive -- 'noochy' but not overpowering, with a nice consistency, and nicely spicy.

Over all, if you can't tell, we were extremely satisfied with our meal. The only drawback really, if there could be said to be any, was we were too full after splitting the sandwich to hit Laughing Seed (so we returned the next day, instead) and I didn't have room for any of Rosetta's fabulous looking vegan desserts.

Even though we weren't in Portland for this one, we think Rosetta's Kitchen deserves a 4 for a tasty, affordable, filling sandwich, and hands down the best service we had in Asheville during our stay.

Rosetta's Kitchen
111 Broadway, Asheville, NC

The natural light made for some better than normal pictures, also!

Asheville Vegan Reubens?

2008-10-20T18:08:00.000-07:00

B. and I just got back from an excursion to Western North Carolina, more specifically Asheville and Black Mountain. The excuse I told everyone (aside from the fact I was on fall break) was that we were 'leafing' -- which is apparently what people do around here when the foliage starts changing, head to the mountains, because that's where it is most beautiful. But secretly, I was pumped to visit this hippie-hipster mountain town because I knew I'd find some vegan reuben action.

I didn't quite account for how much vegan reuben action I would find. Seriously, this place rivals Portland for restaurants with vegan options. Tempeh in particular reigns supreme -- it seemed like every restaurant or pub had some kind of tempeh (or sometimes less frequently, tofu) sandwich. This, in the land of pulled pork bbq, where just a few miles out of town, the waitstaff at a side of the road restaurant can't comprehend the concept of someone not eating both meat and dairy.

I had my sights set on the Laughing Seed Cafe from the get-go, as it seems to be the place in town to go for good vegetarian eats. But we got sidetracked by Rosetta's Kitchen. And I really could spend two weeks there solely writing reviews for this blog. For example, I walked by this restaurant on Broadway.

Who would have guessed, but they advertised a Smoked Tempeh Reuben. Then, at Jack of the Woods, the Irish pub below The Laughing Seed, B. pointed out that they, too, served a tempeh reuben. Then, upon returning to Chapel Hill, a friend who had lived in Asheville admitted that her favorite tempeh reuben in town was served at the Dripelator, a cafe that we had actually had coffee at our first morning in town, and hadn't even thought to look at the menu. I don't know what's going on here, but this place has tempeh fever. You'd almost think you were in Eugene, not the American South.

I have to catch up with school work, but expect a couple Asheville Vegan Reuben reviews in the near future.

More on vegan dining - Candle 79

2008-10-15T05:12:00.000-07:00

I couldn't resist posting a link to this audio/video 'interactive' from the New York Times which is essentially a review of Candle 79, another famous vegan foodie destination, this one in NYC. Candle 79 is an off-shoot of Candle Cafe--B. and I made the Candle Cafe reuben at home and it is hands-down our favorite recipe so far. The interactive is annoyingly snarky at times -- "Will I have to drink brown-rice tea?"-- but over all presents the revelation, that yes, vegan food can be gourmet and tasty! I'll forgive them for mispronouncing seitan.

There's also a review to accompany the interactive, which actually mentions a vegan Reuben at another joint in NYC, Angelica Kitchen.

The Chicago Diner's Radical Reuben

2008-10-11T11:12:00.000-07:00

Recently the lovely Melisser of The Urban Housewife paid a trip to Chicago, another great city for vegans. I'm a bit jealous, because she got to try out the Radical Reuben at the Chicago Diner, an establishment that is practically historical in the fame of its vegan menu. Of course she loved the sandwich (it sounds like her entire trip was pretty awesome). When she posted, she mentioned trying to recreate it. I don't want to spoil any of her attempts, and I guess I've been holding this close to my chest because I had thought maybe one day B. and I would test the recipe and post about it, but the Vegetarian Times actually published The Chicago Diner's reuben recipe as part of a feature on the best vegetarian dishes in America. (Note Portland's own Vita Cafe was recognized for their vegan mac and cheese).

The reuben recipe is very unique, and I think brilliant, in that it uses some very intuitive ingredients to simulate the meaty, brininess of a traditional reuben. I haven't had the sandwich, but I imagine it's success stems from these innovations which include marinating the seitan overnight in pickling spices (duh, right?) and including beet juice for some color.

You can find the recipe here; scroll down to the very bottom for the reuben recipe. If anyone actually tries it out, be sure to let me know!

More on Veganopolis

2008-09-25T13:54:00.000-07:00

The Portland Mercury website has an interesting article on the restaurant's final hours, full of interesting tidbits like this -- in their 3+ years of operation, they served 7,790 reubens! I'm sorry I never sampled their blue Sheese salad or had more chances to partake of the brunch bar. I will say that though Portland has so far lost a vegan pirate-themed restaurant, a vegan strip club (well, a later incarnation of the same place actually), and now a vegan cafeteria, I trust our restaurant scene will continue to see new permutations of the 100% vegan dining establishment. I'm holding out for vegan Korean (seriously, aside from maybe a vegan Southern food restaurant, what else are we lacking?).

Veganopolis closes!?!

2008-09-24T07:40:00.001-07:00

Sorry to report, Portland is slightly less of a vegan mecca than it once was. The owners of Veganopolis have closed up shop and are moving back to Chicago. They seem to cite issues with crime at their downtown location and weird politics as their reasons for leaving. I don't really know enough about the owners themselves or the situation to comment on it (other than yeah, that part of downtown does seem to have more than its share of methheads), but I will say their food will certainly be missed. On the upside, they seem to have a plan to post recipes on their website, and to eventually release a cookbook, so maybe someday you'll be able to make their trueben at home.

Vegan Reubens are not dead!

2008-09-14T12:54:00.000-07:00

In fact, they are still taking the nation by storm!

Though I have yet to encounter a vegan reuben here in the Triangle region of North Carolina, handy Google alerts have been keeping me appraised of vegan reuben-related activity in other parts of the country.

So far, I've learned of a vegetarian, mushroom and spinach reuben that could be easily veganized. The recipe comes from the Penny Cluse Cafe in Vermont, via the Food Network (which I've been watching way too much of lately, by the way --- my new roommate insisted on cable, and I seem to alternate between news, Comedy Central, and the Food Network, when I have a free moment from studying, that is).

In the blog world, Nikki of My New Vegetarian life posted last month about "Fauxstrami Reubens," made with Smart Bacon and certainly worthy of Paula Deen. Literally. She actually sautes the fake bacon in olive oil and Smart Balance (margarine) and seasons it with a spice mix invented by the lady herself. It sounds delectable and decadent.

I've been seeing a lot of seitan reuben recipes lately (Did I ever tell you about Vegan Dad's?), which seems like a natural progression from tempeh, especially with all the super-easy steamed seitan variations rocking the blogs. While I wait for someone to come up with a jack-fruit corned beef recipe, check out this seitan reuben from Uabashedly Vegan. That's certainly a mouthwatering photo, I'll say.

Moving on to the restaurant scene, there's been a bit of buzz surrounding a new joint in Los Angeles, that serves many a delicious-sounding vegan dish, and seems to specialize in diner-style, vegan comfort food -- with a reuben on the menu, of course. Keeping with the theme of Los Angeles and restaurant reviews, an L.A. vegan gives her perspective on the vegan Reuben at Portland's Veganopolis (which we reviewed on this blog as well). Check it out. Her photos are definitely better than mine.

It's been fun, guys

2008-08-12T14:21:00.000-07:00

Local vegan declares Portland "too perfect" and flees to North Carolina.

Veganization: Tempeh Reuben at the Paradox Palace Cafe

2008-08-01T12:46:00.000-07:00

I have to admit it was with a little trepidation that I led my group to Paradox Palace Cafe for breakfast this morning (their whole menu is served all day). My past couple experiences at this little vegan/vegetarian friendly diner on Belmont had ranged from pleasant to somewhat mediocre, but I was familiar with the inconsistencies the Paradox is known for. The food can range from great to bland, the service from prompt and friendly to painfully slow. The menu also shares many similarities with the Vita Cafe (and I heard they once shared owners). After the disappointment of the reuben there, I wasn't sure what to expect. But the Paradox, since it serves a tempeh reuben that is easy to veganize, was on the list, and so it got paid a visit.

I'm very tempted to call this reuben a TRUEBEN. The Paradox has many vegan options, and I think their menu used to actually describe a vegan option for their tempeh reuben (leave off the cheese, sub lemon tahini dressing). Though my prompting of the waitress that I wanted my sandwich vegan, and to swap the dressing, seemed unnecessary based on her response, the menu now doesn't give you any hints. When reviewing other veganized reubens, it has crossed my mind that it could work well to sub a vegan salad dressing for the 1000 islands (instead of say, mustard) and it certainly worked here.

The lemon tahini dressing was great. After my initial bite, it was so creamy and tart I almost wanted to check that the waitress really had understood my order, but a few more bites revealed a distinct, pleasant lemony flavor that assuaged my fears. I was also very gratified by the very generous amount of kraut -- finally, a restaurant that isn't afraid to lay it on thick! The bread was also a bonus, though B. and I both thought it could have been toasted more. Though it was dark and pungent, and stood up fairly well, the thick slathering of dressing (on both pieces of bread) did soften it a bit, especially on the bottom. Over all the sandwich was warm, but not much warmer than room temperature (at least the sauerkraut wasn't cold, as we've experienced at other places).

I'm happy to report that this sandwich doesn't resemble the Vita Cafe reuben much at all. Probably the only similarity is that the tempeh seemed to be simply broiled or steamed and not marinated, but the copious amounts of sauerkraut and flavorful dressing caused that to work fine. The sandwich came with some simple pickle slices on the side which weren't fantastic, but a nice touch. Maybe it was just because it was early in the day, but I found the sandwich surprisingly filling, probably because there was plenty of tempeh, and because of the quantity and richness of the dressing. In fact, my only complaint was probably that there was a little too much dressing, which made the sandwich a bit difficult to eat without making a mess. But I was surprised that the tahini-based sauce didn't have an overwhelming sesame flavor, and how well it stood in for 1000 islands.

B. only had a few bites of the sandwich, opting instead for an Early Bird Breakfast special, but he agreed that this is one of the best sandwiches we've had, and even he, a regular consumer of dairy, was impressed at how well the dressing worked. Over all, our only improvements to the sandwich would probably be to toast the bread more and use a smidgen less dressing. It was even a good deal, $6.50 total for the sandwich (though fries or a side salad are extra).

I'm happy to give this sandwich 4 out of 5, and to report that this is yet another vegan reuben in Portland that's worth returning to (unless, knock on wood, the rumors of inconsistent food at the Paradox bear true...).

Paradox Palace Cafe
SE 34th and Belmont

$6.50, ask for the Tempeh Reuben vegan. Nice-sized sandwich comes with pickle chips on the side, fries, soup or salad are extra.

P.S. I've noticed just now that the menu on their website states that their 1000 islands dressing is vegan. I did take a look at the dressings on the physical menu when we were there, and certainly don't recall seeing this. I'm pretty sure we did end up with the tahini dressing, and the waitress didn't say anything about the 1000 islands already being vegan when I was placing my order, but it's probably worth asking about if you decide to try a vegan reuben there yourself.

TRUEBEN: Papa G's Vegan Organic Deli

2008-07-20T15:35:00.001-07:00

Papa G's opened several months ago, a few blocks east of Seven Corners. I lived nearby at the time, had just begun this blog, and was very excited about a new vegan dining option as well as the potential for a new reuben. It's a deli, right? And a reuben is a traditional deli standby.

I investigated Papa G's immediately after it finally opened, with somewhat sparse offerings, and sadly dismissed it as an unlikely reuben source. The centerpiece seemed to be their salad bar and hot, by the pound options like mashed potatoes and gravy and quinoa pilaf. Little besides their signature chewy, seasoned tofus graced the refrigerated deli case. I've returned a few times since, enjoying many of their offerings, but feeling a little bittersweet -- if only there were a reuben!

Since then, Papa G's has come into its own, expanding their offerings and instituting specials that make their per-pound options more attractive. A few weeks ago I was there enjoying the bowl special and a root beer float I'd made by combining a few scoops of their Temptation soy cream and a Virgil's root beer, when the word "reuben," like an ethereal whisper snagged my ear. I looked over to the deli case, where some employees were chatting, and was surprised to see that for who knows how long, Papa G's has indeed sold tempeh reubens. The plastic-wrapped sandwiches, almost indistinguishable from the tempeh burgers they rest beside, sit in the long, lower refrigerated case to the right of the hot offerings and cash register, above a variety of chilled salads and desserts I'd never paid much attention to.

B. and I opted to split one, supplementing our lunch with a few other dishes, and finding a seat at one of Papa G's outdoor tables.

Here it is after being unwrapped and warmed up. (Papa G's is sort of cafeteria style, you grab your own silverware and bus your own table, but the cashier/server was kind enough to bring it out to us after warming, which he recommended.)

It's sort of an unassuming sandwich, obviously not on rye but on some sort of savory bun that was a bit crispy around the edges and contained flecks of vegetable or seasoning, but of what my tastebuds couldn't detect. I took a closer look at the insides.

That appears to be a baby dill pickle sliced length-wise and a smattering of their house-made dill sauerkraut. Slicing it in half revealed a more interesting sandwich. The tempeh patty, which I assume is found on their tempeh burger as well, appeared to have seasonings mixed in. The tempeh was cushioned by a creamy layer of dressing. In fact, biting into it, my first thought was, "Wow, this is cheesy and creamy-tasting." If I didn't know Papa G's was 100% vegan, I might have been suspicious. The dressing softened the bun and I actually enjoyed the texture. B. wasn't positive warming up the sandwich had been a good idea, and wished we could compare.

As I expected, I was disappointed by the tiny amount of kraut. Is there a cabbage shortage in this town I'm not aware of? I didn't mind the pickles, but B. thought they were a strange touch. We both noticed a cheesy flavor, at first I thought it was the bread, B. thought maybe it was the tempeh itself, but I'm thinking it was probably the sauce, or a hard-to-see layer of cheesy spread next to the sauce.

I think B. was disappointed by this sandwich, not because it wasn't tasty, but because it didn't seem much like a reuben. The sauce lacked something "reubeny," obviously the bread wasn't rye, and there wasn't much kraut at all. Though I enjoyed the sandwich, I had to agree. It basically seemed like they took a tempeh burger and put some kraut, and maybe a different sauce, on it. I did like that creamy, cheesy taste, even though it wasn't really even reminiscent of a reuben.

I think B. was leaning even lower, but I give this sandwich a 3 out of 5. It's a TRUEBEN, it has some unique flavors and textures going on, everything is made on the premises, and hey, I thought it tasted good. It might be better with more kraut, a tangier sauce maybe in addition to whatever was making it cheesy, and the pickle on the side. All in all, I'm still glad Papa G's delivered on my expectations -- grab one sometime if you are passing through SE and need some quick wholesome vegan grub to go.

Papa G's Vegan Organic Deli
23rd and SE Division

$5.99 gets you a little burger-like tempeh reuben with the pickle on the inside. There are plenty of by the pound options to supplement your meal. Yes, it's pricey, but it's vegan, organic and pretty healthy.

Veganization: Reuben at Belmont Station Bier Cafe

2008-07-09T14:40:00.000-07:00

If you don't know Belmont Station by now, it's definitely worth a visit, though the most obvious reason to go is beer, not food. This beer store on SE 45th and Stark (formerly located next to the Horse Brass over on Belmont, hence the name) has basically any beer you could want, in the bottle. With their new location, they added a cafe that serves a few hearty sandwiches as well as pub staples such as pita and hummus, and some choice beers on tap. You essentially have the option of drinking any beer on location, though I would probably stick to the draught microbrews or whatever the special is, as the "corking" fee for opening any bottle makes it much more expensive, understandably, than drinking it at home.

I enjoy the convenience of Belmont Station for one-stop beer shopping, especially recently, when I wanted to make a gift of several local microbrew 22s but didn't have the time to visit various individual breweries in town. But I never would have considered the Bier Cafe as a location for this blog, except that I found out, very much by accident, that they have a reuben on the menu that you can order with tempeh. So B. and I tried out a couple sandwiches before stocking up on the aforementioned bottles of beer.

The Belmont Station vegan reuben is a pretty simple sandwich, and this sandwich is actually two steps away from what was originally intended. First you swap the meat on the regular reuben out for tempeh, an option which used to be stated on the menu. I couldn't find it this time, but the guy working was more than happy to make it happen. Then of course you have to omit the dressing and cheese. You're left with a tempeh sandwich with sauerkraut on rye. The bartender/server/cook threw me for a loop by offering to put any assortment of veggies on my vegan reuben, I guess to make up for the austerity of the sandwich. I asked for mustard, and when pressed, allowed him to add roasted red pepper, though it threatened to mess with the equation. What resulted was still simple, but a surprisingly enjoyable sandwich.

For $8 I ended up with a panini-grilled tempeh sandwich with sauerkraut, juicy roasted red pepper, stoneground mustard with a couple pickle spears and some Beer Chips on the side. (Warning to strict vegans: Beer Chips come with all sandwiches at Belmont Station, but I checked one of the bags they sell inside and the chips have both honey and simply 'sugar' as ingredients, so if you don't eat honey or worry about bonechar refined sugar, you might want to skip these.)

I liked the crispiness the panini press lent the sandwich, and it was toasty hot when it arrived. The tempeh, though not marinated or seasoned, appeared to have been sliced crosswise, resulting in a number of smaller pieces that perhaps gave the sandwich a more even flavor. B. was not a fan of the pickle, but I didn't mind it, and over all I was surprised at how satisfying this sandwich was, both in flavor and hunger satisfaction. I wouldn't go out of my way to order it again, but for a simple sandwich, not weighed down with dressing, it was pretty good. The roasted red pepper was unusual, but a nice deviation from the standard mushroom or onion you would normally slap on a reuben. A little veganaise might have brought out the flavor a bit more strongly.

I would give this sandwich a 2.5 out of 5, and kudos to our host who went out of his way to make my sandwich more interesting, even though that wasn't the point. It was extremely edible, and I liked the panini-press effect, but still not anything I would return for, I think. The beer, of course, is the real reason to visit. I had an interesting dark IPA brewed in Gresham, and the lager that was the $3 a pint special wasn't bad at all.

Belmont Station does have some other tasty looking vegetarian sandwiches that could be veganized pretty easily, and they have nice outdoor tables that aren't in too high demand, if you find yourself on upper Stark on a summer afternoon.

So I'm actually writing from Cincinnati, though we visited Belmont Station much earlier this month. I doubt I'll find a tempeh reuben here to write about, even if I had the time (I'm flying out tomorrow before dinner), but B. and I did drive down the Oregon and California coast this past week, and there was a little restaurant we ended up having breakfast at that I feel the need to write about that. In the interest of increasing the vegan pit-stop canon and all that.

If you are ever in Crescent City, CA, looking for a decent vegan breakfast, by all means stop at the Good Harvest Cafe. I don't know the exact address, but it's on the thoroughfare if you are passing through town, on a weird little intersection with a Home Depot behind it. They don't have soy milk lattes or anything, and I don't think anything is straight vegan, but I had a little dish called Tofu Rancheros that I fell in love with. As you might guess, it's basically huevos rancheros with a few little portions of tofu in place of the eggs -- so tofu, black beans, red sauce on a tortilla, with toast (order it dry) and some great potatoes on the side to boot. It usually comes with sour cream and cheese, but I asked for some of their housemade salsa instead, which they subbed happily, and it was delicious. The smaller portion, for 7.95 (versus a 'large' for a buck more), was the perfect amount of food. The only thing that could have made it better was some Stumptown coffee and homemade jam instead of the Knott's stuff. So take that for what it's worth, if you ever find yourself driving south along the water, and you run out of trail mix.

Vegan Baked Goods Ride Epilogue

2008-06-27T08:42:00.000-07:00

Jonathan Maus, of BikePortland.org, did a brief recap of our Vegan Baked Goods Ride, which was part of a nearly month long event here in Portland called Pedalpalooza. The Black Sheep Bakery location we visited is right below where Jonathan has his studio/office, so he caught sight of us Tuesday afternoon and came down to snap a few shots. Jonathan is a great photographer -- check out his post on my ride, then I encourage you to explore his site some more.

Thanks Jonathan!

In the Kitchen: Candle Cafe Reuben

2008-06-25T20:05:00.001-07:00

B. and I have developed a pretty deep affection for tempeh reubens. This recipe came well recommended by Swell Vegan. This week it seemed it would be hard to get a reuben in at a restaurant, so we opted to try to make another at home. I'm happy to give you the recipe below, gleaned from this website. We halved it, but a bit roughly, so I'll just put what we ended up putting in. I'll note that there were many ingredients here I sort of resented buying, simply because I never use them any other time. Mostly the apple juice. But really blame is due to Trader Joe's, for having things like apple juice and vegan mayonaise only in gigantic containers, not the recipe, which turned out pretty awesome. I made a commitment to follow the recipe as much as possible, and I stuck to it -- even when it meant sending B. to the neighbor's for an eighth of a cup of ketchup.

Adapted Candle Cafe Tempeh Reubens (makes 2 sandwiches)

1/2 cup apple juice
1 tablespoons maple syrup
2 tablespoons soy sauce
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped (I used more garlic than the original recipe, because I love garlic)
4 slices of fresh ginger (I never know what recipes mean by "slices," I just shaved off a generous amount)
8 ounces of tempeh, cut into two sandwich-sized pieces
4 slices of rye bread
Approximately 1/4 cup sauerkraut
Approximately 1/2 cup caramelized onions

Russian Dressing:
1/4 cup of vegan mayo
1/8 cup ketchup
1/8 cup stone-ground mustard
1/8 cup finely chopped onion (We used dried minced onion we had in the cupboard).

You can follow her steps in the recipe. We pretty much did what she said, flipping halfway through during the marinating and also again when it was baking in the oven. B. was in charge of caramelizing the onions, though truthfully, neither of us were quite sure what that meant. I feel like all the times I've caramelized onions have been by accident.

I have to say he did a pretty good job, despite the fact I kept ignoring the timing of the recipe, and told him to start the caramelizing while the tempeh was still marinating, realized we didn't need over half an hour to caramelize onions, then made the same mistake again right when the tempeh went into the oven.

I did most of our shopping at Trader Joe's, so our mayo was Trader Joe's Reduced Fat version, and our bread was this Black Sour Rye, basically a cross between sourdough and rye. We assembled the dressing at about the same time we prepared the tempeh for marinating, so both got about half an hour in the fridge.

The tempeh baked for another 30 minutes, and were we ready for it. The recipe didn't say to toast or grill the bread, but we decided to toast it in B's toaster oven. It couldn't accommodate all four pieces, so we did the two bottom pieces first, and started assembling the sandwich while the top pieces of bread toasted. We slathered a bit of dressing on (it turned out quite thick, maybe because we used dehydrated onion instead of fresh), placed the tempeh slabs, added sauerkraut 'til it looked about right, then divided the onions between the two. When the top pieces came out, they got the dressing treatment also. We ended up with a couple tablespoons of extra dressing.

We were definitely ready to dig in (with our Apple Blossom cocktails, an attempt to use up a bunch of the apple juice) but I found my sandwich to be so pretty I had to go outside and try to get a good picture.

Let me just say that B.'s first words were, "Wow, this is really good." I was having my mind sort of blown as well. Later he stated that if we had ordered this in a restaurant, he would have come away very pleased.

I for one was very gratified that we'd actually followed the recipe. Because it was one frickin' tasty sandwich. I don't know if it was the combination of apple and maple flavors, the caramelized onions, or the McMenamin's Terminator Stout mustard we used in the dressing, but there was a delicious, smoky flavor to the sandwich. I almost would have sworn we'd put some liquid smoke in there. The bread was pretty good, too. Even though it threatened to fragment a little when I sliced the sandwiches, it held up quite well and I thought complimented the other flavors. It wasn't as pungent as other ryes, but there were so many other good flavors, it was good to have a bread that didn't overpower the sandwich. We might have toasted it more in the future. We were so eager to eat, and didn't want the tempeh to get cold, so each piece only got lightly toasted in the toaster oven. We were also too lazy to warm up the sauerkraut, but because the onions were warm, the tempeh was hot out of the oven, and the bread was toasted, we thought the over all temperature of the sandwich was good.

The only other improvement we could think of was that we should have tried to slice the tempeh lengthwise, to make it thinner, as the lovely author of "i eat food" does with her reubens. I had considered this at the start of the recipe, but this particular tempeh seemed a bit fragile and I didn't trust my knife skills, despite the fact that this was a lesson we'd learned long ago, when attempting other reuben recipes.

Over all, we give this sandwich a big hand all around. The recipe is so simple, yet in our experience, yields very tasty and complex results. Though apple juice is never really found in my fridge, and I almost didn't purchase it to use a scant half cup, I think it was definitely worthwhile, and I appreciated a marinade that didn't assume oil was necessary. All in all, I think the only real source of fat in this recipe was the dressing, which had a hefty amount of mayonnaise. The sandwich ultimately felt as light and healthy as it came out on paper.

I think we have to give this sandwich, a TRUEBEN, by the way, a 4.5 out of 5. This sandwich is so good...maybe our quest is over and we don't need to eat out anymore. Gasp!

Vegan Baked Goods Ride Recap

2008-06-24T21:43:00.001-07:00

So, call me a Pedalpalooza newbie, but yet again I was pleased and amazed by the turn out and success of the vegan-themed ride I led this afternoon. Similar to the Vegan Cyclist Pub Crawl, we had over 25 folks at our largest, and every venue we visited made us feel more than welcome.

As planned, we started out at Papa G's Organic Vegan Deli, where many riders sampled their cinnamon walnut scones, cornbread and cookies, as well as had some more substantial food to prepare for the ride. Next stop was Cellar Door Coffee on SE 11th and Harrison. We had warned each business that we were planning to attend, but still, I was blown away by the preparations at Cellar Door. Jeremy, one of the awesome owners, had actually collaborated with the baking skills of Dovetail Bakery to create a small buffet of baked good samples -- completely free. Lucky riders tasted earl gray cupcakes, chocolate orange cupcakes, tart cherry muffins, the famous pecan sticky buns, and some delicious scones. All along the ride it was gratifying to hear riders express excitement at discovering a new location or a new variety of baked goods, and it was especially nice to win Cellar Door some new fans, as this little coffee roasting enterprise, tucked away in the SE industrial district just west of Ladd's Addition, is one of my favorite coffee shops in Portland.

Next stop was Black Sheep Bakery at SE 8th and Main, famous for its bike-through window, though there were definitely too many of us to take advantage of that. Again, we were treated to an amazing variety of baked goods, another buffet of free samples, from peanut butter brownies to raisin studded muffins, to even a wonderfully inventive savory breakfast treat of biscuit and vegan breakfast sausage and red pepper baked into muffin form. I swear, I couldn't have planned it this well. I had no idea that so many free samples would be in store, but we all certainly appreciated it a great deal.

After a trip across the Hawthorne Bridge, we arrived at Veganopolis, which does a fair amount of baking in-house, including cookies, muffins, brownies and even carrot cake squares. I was a bit full, so I didn't sample anything, but the goods seemed to go over well. A few riders also opted for vegan root beer floats, as it was getting a bit hot at this point.

Because of the heat, it seemed good timing to hit Blossoming Lotus at NW 10th and Davis next. The restaurant/yoga studio lobby is open and airy, and my chilled live fudge certainly hit the spot. The restaurant was only moderately busy, about to hit the lull between lunch and dinner, so they were tolerant of us lingering and drinking lots of water. The vegan soft serve machine was in the middle of creating a new batch, so I don't know if anyone took advantage of that, but I would recommend Blossoming Lotus as a wonderful and refreshing summer afternoon stop to anyone, whether you're into vegan and/or raw food, or not.

Eventually we rallied and made it to our last stop, Sweetpea Baking at SE 12th and Stark. After all the unanticipated free samples, I was essentially overloading on sugar at this point, but many riders were still game to try some of Sweetpea's awesome cupcakes and cookies. I give special thanks to Sweetpea for the fact that, when we warned them the week before the event of our arrival, they responded by taking special requests for certain goods. As such they had a lot of great cupcakes ready for us, as well as my favorite phenomenon, the vegan cream cheese danish. I wished I had room for one, but I managed to convince others in the group to try it -- because really, where else can you get something like this?

Now that I'm coming down from all the riding and sugar, I'm about ready for bed. But soon I'll post about a trueben recipe B. and I are dying to tell you about.

Another vegan Pedalpalooza ride and a trick for TJ's

2008-06-23T09:10:00.000-07:00

We'll be posting a trueben soon, but I wanted to do a quick post on the Vegan Baked Goods Ride I'm helping lead tomorrow afternoon.

The ride meets at 1:45 at Papa G's Vegan Deli, where there are a variety of options baked in-house, including scones, cookies and cornbread. Next we'll head to Cellar Door, where we should find a few different goods baked by Dovetail, and possibly some St. Cupcake vegan offerings. The drive-through bike window at Black Sheep Bakery and Cawfee Shop is next, followed by a trip across the Hawthorne Bridge to Veganopolis, Coffee Plant (which bakes their own vegan pumpkin muffins) and Blossoming Lotus. Then we'll head back east to Sweetpea and the vegan mini-mall at 12th and Stark. At this point some may head up to Laughing Planet on Belmont to sample from their smorgasbord of sweets (all their baked desserts are vegan!) and some may head to the new, extremely bike-friendly Voo Doo Donuts location near 10th and Sandy. (By the way, Black Sheep Bakery also has a second retail location at 19th just past Sandy now -- no bike-through window but there is bike parking, and they are apparently open a little later than their SE counterpart).

Anyway, this itinerary is of course subject to change. It should be a beautiful, sunny day and a lot of fun. You should bring cash, but don't worry, not everyone has to buy something at every stop. Though hopefully at least one person will buy something at each place (I'm not having lunch in case I have to do the heroic thing and take a cupcake for the team).

Have you ever wondered if Trader Joe's sold something, but couldn't find a product list on their website? I've had this problem before, but discovered a solution of sorts last night. Trader Joe's doesn't list all their products on their website, but they do have listings of specially labeled items, like vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free. So you can see a PDF file of all their vegan products here. Though for some reason the vegan list doesn't include any bakery items, which is lame, because I know TJ's has vegan bread, but probably this is something that varies a lot from store to store.

Updates

2008-06-21T09:44:00.000-07:00

Just so you know, despite a lack of posting this week, we have not lost sight of our mission. The other night we went to Valentine's, a cute little cafe and bar in Southwest, because I'd read online they had a vegan tempeh reuben. It turns out they've revamped their menu and now serve Japanese-type food, with many vegan options. We didn't sample any, but it looked like they had some nice happy hour deals until 9, FYI.

Despite that obstacle, expect a post soon, as we still have a few more truebens to try. A fellow vegan pub crawler let me know last week that the Cup and Saucer has a tofu reuben, so that is now on the list. I love leads and recommendations, so keep them coming! We also hope to get back into the kitchen sometime next month, if not sooner, so we'll be posting a recipe or two for you to try at home.

B.'s Veganventure: Days 7 and 8 of Try Vegan Week

2008-06-15T20:23:00.000-07:00

Friday

Because he had still had a gigantic bowl of it in his fridge, B. had three bean salad and pita for breakfast.

For lunch he had intended to bring more bean salad but accidentally left it behind, so it was Subway, and the Veggie Delight on the Italian roll, which is the only vegan bread option at Subway, again.

For dinner, on the Vegan Pub Crawl, B. and I split a plate of Squash Wontons at the Hungry Tiger, Too, and then at the very end of the night we split a Vegan Vavoom (basically a falafel sandwich -- huge and tasty with a small side of hummus) at Dots.

Saturday

Keeping with the theme of comfort food and leftovers, B. did black bean tacos with spinach again for breakfast on Saturday.

For lunch, he enjoyed The Red and Black's mushroom tempeh reuben again. I know B. must really like this sandwich, as this is the third time since our review we've gone back to the Red and Black and he's ordered it (one of those times they didn't have the tempeh mix and he ended up, happily, with the Tempeh Lettuce Tomato sandwich instead).

My house was having a party Saturday night, so for dinner B. ended up with a Boca chicken patty on a vegan bun from Trader Joe's, a couple of lettuce, carrot and green onion salad rolls with peanut sauce (made by yours truly), and a few Melba toasts with red pepper spread. He also sampled some tahini shortbread I had made for the event.

And that wraps up Try Vegan Week (8 Days) for B!

In B's words, "I thought it was interesting how much easier it is to be vegan in Portland than in Vancouver when eating out. There are more vegan-oriented restaurants in Portland than in Vancouver. At my work, the only vegan thing that Sodexho serves is salad with maybe one vegan dressing, so there were no vegan options." But over all, B. found the experiment interesting. "It was fun, I had a good time."

Vegan Cyclist Pub Crawl Recap

2008-06-14T19:48:00.000-07:00

This is the only picture I took all night -- the remaining half of the last vegan squash wonton on the plate B. and I shared at the Hungry Tiger, Too. Best bar food ever. (P.S. I tried a bite of my friend's vegan mac and cheese and it is EVERYTHING raved about and more.).

Over all, the ride was, to my surprise, a resounding success. At our largest, probably around when we left the Bye and Bye, I think we had over 30 people! This was an extremely pleasant surprise for me, as I had fully expected to spend the evening with only three or four of my closest friends, wishing we were in line for Bike Porn 2 instead. Instead I met a bunch of cool new people, of all stripes, vegan and non-vegan but united by a love of bikes, and possibly booze. Some even suggested making this a regular event -- maybe if I wasn't leaving town in less than two months.

So a big thanks to everyone who made it possible! I especially appreciate the patience of the riders (not to mention the servers and bartenders at the Bye and Bye, Mash Tun, Hungry Tiger, Too and Dots)...Since I didn't expect to have such a large group, I didn't plan our route too carefully or warn any of the destinations ahead of time. Luckily, the only real hiccup was arriving at the Plan B to find that some kind of electronic show was going on, and charging a cover. B. tried to negotiate with the doorman to get us in for free or much less, but ultimately we weren't compelled to stay. Oh well, sorry Plan B. Everything worked out okay, as we ended up at Dots, which was convenient for those who wanted to catch the Midnight Mystery Ride.

I think we'll submit a ride recap to BikePortland.org eventually, I'll link there when we do in case you'd like to hear more details.

Thanks again to everyone!

B.'s Veganventure: Days 5 and 6 of Try Vegan Week

2008-06-13T12:00:00.000-07:00

Wednesday

For breakfast B. enjoyed a toasted raisin bagel spread with apple butter. He hadn't had much previous experience with apple butter and reported finding it an enjoyable topping.

At lunch, the trials and tribulations of trying to be vegan in suburban Vancouver, WA continue. During his single week of being vegan, B. encountered a situation that has undoubtedly frustrated many. His work threw a company party with copious amounts of free food. This event began at noon and was held at a bowling alley. I think he said it was called Big Al's? Needless to say, nothing on the menu was vegan. While everyone else scarfed pizza, B. of course, partook robustly of the free beer for the next few hours. When we met before dinner, he was feelin' fine but obviously the three bean salad he had suggested we make was not going to be ready fast enough, especially because it is ideally supposed to rest for at least a few hours before consumption. On our way to Safeway to pick up a few more ingredients, I noticed that the Vietnamese sandwich joint I had been dying to try had actually reopened after a few weeks of remodeling. I suggested just taking a peek inside, but we quickly realized that B. needed food fast, and couldn't pass the opportunity up.

The restaurant, at about NE 70th and Sandy, was previously called Cafe Be Van and is now Eddy's. Eddy served us, and we found him very personable and accommodating. He was even familiar with Try Vegan Week! The tofu sandwich, which I enjoyed with a $2 pint of Coors Light (I think the remodel was to install a bar and kegs), is vegan if you just leave off the traditional aioli. Eddy commented that the tofu sandwich, sans mayo, is a pretty popular order. B., who is not normally a fan of tofu, agreed with me that it was quite delicious. I detected a sweet and savory sauce on the bread, and Eddy let me know that it was a sugar, sesame oil and vinegar marinade that the shredded carrots and cucumber experience before becoming part of the sandwich (I think cilantro and/or green onion completes the package). I also noticed hoisin sauce and Siracha behind the counter, if you need an extra shot of flavor. But we found it quite satisfying as is, and the $3.50 each price tag can't really be beat.

B. apparently had fond memories of picnic three bean salad and realized it was probably vegan. We followed this recipe, except we objected to the substantial amount of sugar. We just used balsamic vinegar instead of cider vinegar and sugar, and I thought we got the same sweet and sour effect the author intended. We also, um, doubled it, so we could have ample leftovers.

Understandably, B. also snacked on some pita and hummus later in the night as he recovered from the several pitchers of microbrew he helped dispatch. (I should note that B. is both responsible and possesses forethought, and thus biked and bussed to and from work on Wednesday).

Thursday

Breakfast for B. was a bagel and roasted red pepper hummus picked up on our trip to Safeway the evening before.

For lunch, he had the three bean salad featured earlier, which B. packed into warmed pita bread, and steamed broccoli and cauliflower. I should also give B. credit for passing on the Russell's Bread jalapeno cheese biscuit he usually purchases at work on Thursdays, from Russell's wife, who is a co-worker.

Dinner for B. was another leftover round-up, polishing off dishes created over the past week, which included pita and hummus again, more three bean salad, and a bit of the black bean tacos.

B. agreed that even though the week technically ends tonight, because Try Vegan Week PDX events are extending into Saturday, he will continue to be vegan through Saturday, making this -- Try Vegan Eight Days? What will B. consume tonight on the Vegan Cyclist Pub Crawl? Meatballs at the Bye and Bye? A BLT or Mac and Cheese at the Hungry Tiger, Too? Or maybe the Phoney Island -- a Tofurkey brat smothered in vegan chili and onions -- at Plan B?

Vegan Cyclist Pub Crawl tomorrow!

2008-06-12T20:17:00.001-07:00

I didn't really realize the Pedalpalooza calendar would be published verbatim in the Mercury. But cool!

If you're thinking of joining us tomorrow, we officially start at 6 pm at the Bye and Bye but I will probably be there at least a little sooner. I think I will wear my Westside Invite cap, all the better to resemble a hipster cyclist, and maybe help collect the group. I'm not expecting a huge turnout, so we'll be playing it by ear, probably moving south after an hour or so.

Bye and Bye
NE 10th and Alberta
100% vegan!

If we're not there, try the Hungry Tiger, Too or Plan B.

Hope to see you there!

B.'s Veganventure: Days 3 and 4 of Try Vegan Week

2008-06-11T20:36:00.000-07:00

Monday

Today I had black bean soup for breakfast. That was pretty good but it was small and I was kind of hungry afterward. When I got out of my meeting at 11:45 I was online right away trying to decide what to eat.

This website tells what foods are vegan at a bunch of different places [Mostly national fast food chains. B. works in a suburban area of Vancouver, WA, so doesn't have too many lunchtime options]. I tried the Veggie Delight that comes from Subway so I could walk to lunch because there is one just down the street. I wish they gave you a little more extra stuff since it costs around the same as one with the same veggies and meat and cheese, but it was a pretty filling sandwich. The website was definitely nice because I didn't have to go in and try to ask the right questions, plus I bet the employees wouldn't have known which breads were honey free.

[Dinner on Monday was the "spanikopitas" filled with what would have been koftas -- basically just mashed carrots, potatoes and cauliflower with some spices as an afterthought.]

This is what happens when you assume that "you can freeze some for later" means its alright to stack them all in a tupperware and call it good. We decided baking this in a tower was easier than trying to pry it apart further -- it's like an inside-out casserole! (This is before baking).

Luckily I'd also made tamarind chickpeas, which ended up as the main course -- just chickpeas, chopped Muir Glen Fire Roasted Tomatoes with juice, a couple tablespoons of tamarind concentrate (watery, not the paste kind) and a variety of Indian spices. This was the more successful of the two experiments.

Tuesday

B. was in a hurry on Tuesday morning and so skipped breakfast. For lunch, he had intentions to go to Taco del Mar, which is close to his work. The fact that every menu item seemed to have both meat and some type of dairy product, cheese or sour cream, made it difficult. There were also very few vegetable options, so nothing really seemed appealing. Ultimately, he felt like paying for a veganized meat and cheese burrito would not be worthwhile. Since he was nearby, he went back to Subway and had the Veggie Delight again, because he knew he liked it.

For dinner on Tuesday, he ate some French bread and hummus from Safeway he had purchased the day before. He ate this bread and hummus with some olives and pickles he already had in his fridge. This was another dish he felt like he would eat any time, whether or not he was trying to be vegan. Basically he was looking to graze on stuff he already had --- he may have also finished off a left over black bean taco.

Help for the shy vegan

2008-06-10T11:49:00.000-07:00

For some, the hardest thing about trying to be vegan is not giving up certain foods per se, but the hassle of having to inquire about the ingredients in a dish when eating out. B. reminded me of this last night as we were chatting about his attempts to eat vegan at fast food chains, which make up the bulk of the lunch options near his work. I personally find it a luxury to dine at all-vegan joints in Portland, because I greatly dislike having to pick a server's brain about what's in their bread or salad dressing, or wonder if they really know what they are talking about, or care. I even had an experience at a restaurant in Portland where I ordered something clearly marked the "Vegan Scramble" but at the end, after sending the server back many times with questions, I still wasn't sure if that had been real butter on my toast or not. Many of us have heard unpleasant tales of people being assured a dish is vegan and then discovering evidence to the contrary.

I think new vegans may be even more reluctant and self-conscious about bugging the help about what's in their food. To help them avoid this, I thought it would be nice to compile a list of recommended restaurants in Portland where vegans can dine worry-free, without feeling like a pest.

Since this is intended for new vegans, I think this list should favor restaurants that are perhaps less adventurous -- some new vegans may like meat or cheese analogs, but some may find it a sorry substitute, or still haven't established comfortable relationships with tofu, nutritional yeast and rubbery, otherworldly-looking seitan from Taiwan.

I started making this list then realized it was getting too long -- lucky Portlanders! So instead I decided to divide it into categories. These categories reflect my limited knowledge. I'm sure there are great Middle-Eastern and Indian restaurants in towns that cater to vegans, but I don't know too much about them. As always, you can check out local resources Stumptown Vegans and VeganFabulous in the right hand link sidebar -- they also have reviews of most of the places on this list. Of course there are numerous vegan dining guides online, but I think it's nice to hear some first hand anecdotes. These restaurants are either all-vegan or make it easy to veganize.

Mexican

Los Gorditos is, of course, the king of vegan Mexican food in Portland. I had the greatest of luck to visit them for the first time when they were having a Cinco de Mayo celebration with free food, so I was able to sample a variety of items. Their tofu is delicious, and doesn't really taste like tofu. God, everything is delicious. They use Soyrizo in a variety of dishes, but despite the fact that Soyrizo is a pricey fake meat, you don't feel the burn on your wallet (only in your mouth!). It's a good place whether you want to go the fake meat route or just get some traditional beans and rice -- at taco truck prices (did I mention it's a taco truck?). They also have vegetarian and meat options, but I think I heard that Sundays are all vegan. They are located at 50th and SE Division, and keep pretty good hours, though we were disappointed to try them twice on a Saturday, only to arrive too early, before they opened at 11:30, and then too late, around 7 pm. Honorable mention goes to Ole Ole, with various locations around town, because their veggie burrito is dirt cheap and vegan if you leave off the cheese and guacamole. And it's like three meals. Cha Cha Cha also has a decent vegetable burrito. If you are super worried about cross contamination, I would probably stick with Los Gorditos. They are super nice and obviously conscientious of their vegan patrons.

Soup, Salad and Sandwich

Most of these places go above and beyond this category, but I had to find some way to organize. The Red and Black Cafe has a 100% vegan menu, reasonable prices and big portions. Basically, you can't go wrong. And it seems virtually everything, from their tofu cilantro sour cream to their peanut sauce and the mushroom tempeh on their reuben, is made in house (with love), which scores them huge points. I have to admit I've never tried the food at Backspace, but I love the atmosphere -- Korean PC Bang meets art gallery meets hip coffee shop in Old Town. It seems to be overflowing with vegan friendliness and fake-meaty sandwich options, including the upscale and ever-popular Field Roast. Proper Eats and Veganopolis are obvious contenders, and I mention Grand Central Baking not because they have vegan options on the menu as is, but because an ingredient list behind the counter makes it easy to inquire about all their breads. Though a few contain honey, many of their breads are vegan.

Pub Grub

The Bye and Bye, a bar at 10th and NE Alberta, is an obvious first choice with their tasty all vegan menu. I tried the Weeping Tiger Sandwich once and was not disappointed, though I didn't find it as spicy as warned. The meatballs seem to have a legion of fans, though I've heard mixed reviews. This is probably the only bar in Portland you can go to and be assured that all the booze you are drinking is vegan, without having to ask. Hungry Tiger, Too, at SE 12th and Ash has a helpful and informative menu, which allows you to veganize some standard greasy bar fare, including mac and cheese! Dots Cafe has a vegan section on their menu, and Plan B also advertises a few vegan options, including a tasty chili. They have some of the better fries I think I've had, too. Sort of a new comer to the bunch, Edge of Belmont at SE 34th and Morrison is worth mentioning for their happy hour alone. The vegan/vegetarian portion on their menu needs a little help because it doesn't clearly specify which is which, but the fried tofu sticks are awesome, the staff are helpful, and I learned that they use a simple beer batter on their onion rings, which are delicious and super cheap, along with a few other food items, before 6:30 on weekdays. I mention the LaurelThirst Pub almost hesitantly -- B. and I love their house-made spicy veggie burger (which is vegan) and they do have vegan pancakes and a scramble option. I like their food a lot, the only reason I hesitate is that to truly veganize an entire meal you sometimes have to sub (for example, a cup of veggie beans instead of their garlic toast) and they have a policy of charging extra for any substitutions. I feel this alone makes them a little vegan unfriendly, even though they have some tasty vegan menu items. But a good place for a new vegan, none the less.

Breakfast and Baked Goods

The list of options in this category is ridiculously large. As long as you are okay with tofu scramble, it's pretty easy to get a vegan breakfast in Portland --- most menus list the scramble components, so you can easily omit cheese without further inquiry. Stuff like toast gets more complicated. Which is why Sweet Pea Baking and Veganopolis are awesome options to have, as they are %100 vegan. Both have breakfast buffets, Sweet Pea with an all-you-can-eat extravaganza for $10 on Sundays, Veganopolis on the other days of the week, but pay by the pound. Jam on Hawthorne gets special mention for having vegan oatmeal chai pancakes, and being a favorite breakfast destination for many vegans in town -- they are also open early if you want to go before work. Juniors also has clearly vegan options. I'm not even going to start on all the vegan baked goods in Portland. If you really want to know, join us for our Vegan Baked Goods Ride as part of Pedalpalooza, on June 24th. I think Sweet Pea takes the cake (sorry) for best vegan bakery in town simply because they have a spacious coffee shop/retail area and an incredible variety. Black Sheep Bakery is a close second -- though I heard a rumor that they moved from their SE coffee shop with bike-thru window to a location in NE, though this has yet to be reflected on their website. Good chances your favorite coffee shop already stocks some kind of local vegan baked good, and New Seasons and Whole Foods carry many as well. Of course, there's always Voo Doo Donuts.

Asian

It may seem like Asian food should be a no-brainer -- just get tofu, right? Unfortunately, while typically free of dairy, many Asian cuisines incorporate fish sauce even into apparently "vegetarian" dishes. If you really want to be on the safe side, you can visit places like VegeThai on Hawthorne (I've never been there, but they claim to be 100% vegetarian) or the Chinese restaurant on upper Division, Bay Leaf. I was a little underwhelmed by Bay Leaf the one time I went -- definitely tasty and high-quality but kind of expensive with small portions. Vegetarian House in Chinatown is another restaurant that guarantees vegetarian purity. Pho Green Papaya, an off-shoot of the somewhat fancier Green Papaya downtown, has a vegan section on their menu and while their vegan pho lacks the depth of flavor of other variations I have had, it definitely hits the spot at times, and their portions are generous. There are also two 100% vegetarian Vietnamese restaurants in town -- Nhut Quang on NE 82nd and Couch, and Van Hanh near 82nd and SE Division. I think it's amazing and awesome they exist, but I would reserve these for the more adventurous new vegans due both to their far-out locations and less classy atmospheres, and the fact that many menu items utilize wheat-meat.

Pizza

Some people think you can simply order a pizza without cheese and it will be vegan. While this is true of many pizza places, you can't assume it across the board. Luckily, again we have an abundance of vegan options. I think Bella Faccia is our favorite so far, though Pizza A Go Go has the luxury of delivery if you live in inner NE or N. Portland. Hammy's, which I haven't had a chance to try yet, also caters to the vegan crowd, and delivers, though only in inner SE until after midnight, when they expand across the Metro area. Dove Vivi is my favorite for a more upscale, non-New York style slice. Their crunchy cornmeal deep dish with homemade tofu ricotta is a much appreciated labor of love. And of course we can't forget Hot Lips, where you can get an ample, chewy focaccia-like slice topped with an always-delicious rotating seasonal selection of veggies (you can also order a pie for delivery). I want to advise Hot Lips: You know what would really hit the spot after a vegan slice? A vegan cookie. Too often I find myself eying your cookies by the register and feeling neglected. I hear A Beautiful Pizza rocks the soy cheese but my instinct is not to offer a recent vegan fake cheese unless they are really craving it. Truthfully, with few exceptions, I think most fake meat or fake cheese is best eaten by those who have forgotten what the originals taste like.

Miscellaneous

There are a few restaurants that need to be mentioned but don't quite fit a category. Both the Vita Cafe on NE Alberta and Papa G's Organic Vegan Deli on SE Division open relatively early and offer breakfast, such as biscuits and gravy, but have much more to offer a vegan. Both have some tasty comfort food, like Chicken Fried Tempeh at Vita or mushroom stroganoff at Papa G's, and both can be a little pricey, but a great deal if you get the right thing. Papa G's is 100% vegan while Vita offers both vegetarian and meat dishes. Blossoming Lotus on NW Davis is the only place in town to get a vegan icy dessert that doesn't come in a carton -- and their soft serve is addictive. They are also famous for their raw menu. It's a great destination whether you are craving a hearty chili and corn bread or raw fudge.

Whew, that was long! And there are many more. But this proves there are a variety of options in Portland that make being vegan easy, even if you aren't willing to interrogate your waitress.

B.'s Veganventure: Days 1 and 2 of Try Vegan Week

2008-06-09T17:52:00.000-07:00

The kick-off of Try Vegan Week, in B's words, with my additions.

I started off with tacos Saturday for brunch. I used corn tortillas grilled on a cast iron skillet, and filled them with black beans, rice, fresh spinach from my garden, Emerald Valley Medium Salsa, and red onion. They were pretty good, and are actually something that I often eat even during omnivore times. I didn't have any cabbage which is my favorite topping, but the fresh spinach definitely made up for it and they tasted great.

Saturday night we explored the spanocan'tspellthisacha together. I liked that so much that I ate it for brunch on Sunday too. Hopefully we will get a chance to try some of the non-spinach ones soon. [We made phyllo triangles (I kept calling them spanikopitas) filled with spinach, mushrooms, onions, canned artichoke hearts and slivered almonds. On the side was lettuce topped with Susan's Cucumber Soy Yogurt Sauce. We had intended to make koftas to go with the sauce, but that turned into more fillings, since we seemed to have an endless amount of phyllo dough. It was good on the lettuce though, I liked the combination of lime juice, soy yogurt and fresh mint from B.'s garden.]

Sunday night we got pizza from Pizza A Go Go [He let me order, and I got us a medium build-your-own with chipotle tomato sauce, pineapple, red bell peppers and roasted garlic--it was definitely enough for two people, and didn't hurt the wallet too much], and actually I've been kind of enjoying these cheeseless pizzas. I preferred the cashew sauce from the other pizza place [Bella Faccia Pizzeria, which has a red pepper cashew base, but unfortunately doesn't deliver]. I used to eat soy cheese pizzas with my friend Nick because he is allergic to lactose, but after having some good no-cheese pizzas I can say for sure that I prefer no cheese to soy cheese.

This is T. again. I had hoped to post more this week but a concussion sustained Friday night due to a unpleasant bike-car interaction put a kink in those plans. But stay tuned for more updates from Bjorn, and any interesting tidbits I might be able to come up with, despite my addled state.

TRUEBEN: The Hungry Tiger, Too

2008-06-06T00:01:00.000-07:00

UPDATE 1/3/2010: B. and I were back in town briefly and stopped by the Hungry Tiger for dinner. They certainly have upgraded the vegan menu, but we noted that the reuben is still served with Tofurky slices. Maybe they've improved their technique, but I wasn't willing to risk it. We went with the tempeh BLT (yum!), the basket of corn-dogs (yes, they are battered in house and totally worth it) and of course, the squash wontons.

I think I can call this a trueben, though it really is a veganization of a traditional reuben that the Hungry Tiger, Too offers. As you may have heard, The Hungry Tiger, Too, a reincarnation of the divalicious Hungry Tiger that was leveled a year or so ago to make room for condos at 28th and Burnside, has an extensive menu with many vegan options. The menu states that certain items can be made vegan, and denotes those items with a little heart/diamond type symbol. They seem very open to substitutions, and the menu lists a variety of vegan sandwich components including a Boca patty and a portobello mushroom. Maybe I should have taken that to heart, a mushroom or even Boca patty may have improved this sad, dry, vacuous reuben (spelled Ruben on the menu for some reason).

First, I am of course obligated to commend the Hungry Tiger, Too, for being so vegan friendly. And their food is often very good. I had the squash wontons once and they were awesome, and a pretty good deal. Their portions are typically very generous. Like any bar, the food is going to be uneven. Even though it's a bit out of the scope of this blog, I feel compelled to warn you that the polenta fries we had as a starter were very disappointing -- approximately 5 or 6 overfried, greasy, crunchy rectangles resting on a sea of mayonnaise. It made me wish I'd ponied up less and gotten a basket of sweet potato fries instead. The Hungry Tiger has daily drink deals, usually a dollar off something from 7 pm on, which are a good deal, but I had to remind the bartender of it when closing out, and ultimately still got overcharged. All that aside, I have a warm spot in my heart for the Hungry Tiger, Too, and will undoubtedly return. But I will certainly not get the reuben.

B. declared it the worst reuben we've had. I would say it's certainly the worst trueben. But it wasn't a horrible sandwich, and I might choose it over a vegan Rachel's Reuben, and maybe attempt to improve it with extra condiments. When it came out, I was surprised it wasn't tempeh. I'm not sure why I was expecting this, as most of the vegan sandwiches on the menu utilize Tofurkey deli slices and/or store-bought tempeh bacon. I guess I expected to see the tempeh that tops some of their salads. I was actually intrigued and kind of excited to review a trueben that isn't tempeh for a change.

Though the Hungry Tiger does employ vegan cheese in some offerings, this sandwich contained just Thousand Islands, sauerkraut and deli slices. I think the sauce was pretty good, with bits of pickle relish, but I think I was too distracted by the other perplexing aspects of the sandwich to pay attention to it. Cheese might have helped, or more sauce, as the most disappointing thing about the sandwich was how dry it was.

The bread, a marble rye, was grilled to dryness. The deli slices had all the moisture grilled out of them as well, and were sort of crunchy and seared even, which wasn't that bad on its own, but with the dry bread and small amount of sauerkraut, seemed to simulate the texture experience of eating a bunch of bark or twigs.

Though our bellies were full enough at the end, mostly thanks to the large vegan greek salad that we paid extra to sub, the sandwich fillings didn't reach the edges of the bread, so you got a few bites that were just dry bread. The dryness meant it wasn't a messy sandwich, at least, but at a cost. B. actually described it as "begging for moisture." There was a pickle spear.

I think this "Ruben" could be up there with other great vegan reubens in town, and maybe even as renowned as the vegan Club or vegan Mac and Cheese the Hungry Tiger offers. Don't grill the deli slices. Or better yet, replace the deli slices with a portobello mushroom cap or burger (or, god forbid, tempeh). Add more sauce. Add more sauerkraut. Maybe add some fake cheese, though I can't say whether the brand the Hungry Tiger usually uses is any good. When eating out, I will probably always prefer a reuben made with tempeh or mushrooms over one that uses fake meat that you would buy in the deli case at New Seasons, but this could be seriously good pub grub if someone put some extra thought into it. As it stands, I think we have to give this a 1.5 out of 5.

Hungry Tiger, Too
SE 12th and Ash
Vegan Ruben. $8. Sauerkraut, Thousand Islands and Tofurkey deli slices on marble rye. Fries, tots or coleslaw, or side salad or cup of soup for $2.

In other news, Try Vegan Week starts tomorrow! I hope to treat you to frequent posts, perhaps even on topics other than reubens! Shocking! One of those threads will feature B. as he actually TRIES BEING VEGAN FOR A WEEK. That's right, folks, the week is not just about activities like Vegan Prom and primers on vegan shopping at People's. B. eats meat. You have probably noticed he eats cheese, as he usually opts for the original version when we go out to veganize vegetarian reubens around town. I hope that this blog will chronicle this experiment over the next week.

Speaking of Try Vegan Week events, you may wonder why the Vegan Pub Crawl I've mentioned on this blog isn't on the Try Vegan Week schedule of events. To be honest, I'm wondering that, too. When I contacted the organizers about helping put something together, I was invited to take over the happy hour event at the Bye and Bye which was originally scheduled for Friday, with the Prom on Saturday. I put the pub crawl into the Pedalpalooza calendar, to make it a bike event as well and doubly cool. Then, without notice to me, the Vegan Prom got moved to Friday and the Bye and Bye happy hour to Saturday on the Try Vegan Week schedule, and the folks there haven't responded to my e-mails. Ah well, I know they're busy. Anyway, the purpose of this explanation is that I am keeping the pub crawl on Friday night -- I guess it will just be a Pedalpalooza event in honor of Try Vegan Week. Maybe this will be good, it can serve as an alternative to the Prom, or hey, come out and have a few drinks before you get dressed up.

The Vegan Cyclist Pub Crawl will be Friday, June 13th, at 6 pm at the Bye and Bye, a 100% vegan bar at 10th and NE Alberta, though I might start right at 5 somewhere like the Mash Tun, which is higher up on Alberta, and has a few inventive vegan options, though I don't know the low down on all their beers. The itinerary is not set in stone, but we plan to continue to the Hungry Tiger, Too, and probably end at Plan B.

Hope you'll join us for some drinking and tasty vegan pub grub! If you're vegan, encourage someone to try it out for just a week to see how easy and delicious it can be. If you aren't, try it! Why are you reading this blog anyway?

An honorary TRUEBEN?

2008-05-28T20:58:00.000-07:00

Dots Cafe, a restaurant/kitschy little hipster dive on SE 26th and Clinton, is almost as well known for its food as its black velvet paintings and shockingly dim interior. Often raved about is the "Gentle Ben," a traditional reuben that subs a Gardenburger for the meat. Like the Rachel's Reuben at Goose Hollow, the popularity of this vegetarian sandwich put Dots high on my list of places to visit for this blog.

I had a plan. Dots is also famous for their spicy tofu sauce, most commonly employed in the dipping of fries or veggies, or on their vegan falafel sandwich, the Vegan Vavoom. I would omit the cheese, sub this tofu sauce for the Thousand Islands. Just maybe it could result in a great vegan reuben. However, inquiries revealed that the Gardenburger used by Dots is not of the vegan variety (I think egg whites make this the case). Sure, I guess I could have tried to swap the patty out for something else, maybe the marinated tofu that is available as a side on their menu. But truthfully, I'm already having a love affair with a certain sandwich at Dots. This sandwich is vegan already, is juicy and delectable, and comes on grilled dark rye. It's practically a reuben, right?

I present to you, the Vegan Deluxe!

Yes, I am in love with this simple sandwich, which is hummus, enveloping a slice of tomato, sauteed spinach and mushrooms, on a nice dark rye bread. At $6.50, it's one of the cheaper items on the Dots menu, and one of three or four expressedly vegan options.

I like to think of it as a healthier doppelganger to the TRUEBEN; mushrooms for protein, sumptuous hummus instead of cheese or sauce, and hearty, vitamin-rich spinach instead of pickled cabbage. But I realized I definitely needed a second opinion. B. missed the toothsome texture tempeh or tofu might have given it. Granted, he had just polished off the Vegan Vavoom when I entreated him to take a bite. He said the flavor was good, though he did find it a bit watery with a "spinachy" aftertaste.

But I suspect one reason this sandwich scores so high with me is actually because it defies expectation. Hummus, spinach, mushrooms, tomato...The fillings seem sort of like the makings of a messy disaster. But somehow the bread is still nice and crunchy, the spinach is moist but not runny, and I think the slice of tomato lends a firmness that pulls it all together. Dots typically serves herbed cream cheese and a few crudites and pickles as a garnish, but with the Deluxe you get the tofu dipping sauce for dunking your carrot, celery stick and cucumber slice. Truthfully, I haven't been that impressed with the sauce, and I don't know if it would have been a good sub for Thousand Islands after all. It has a sort of chalky tofu taste and isn't really spicy.

I admit, despite being on grilled rye, and an easy vegan option, I can't really argue that this sandwich is a certifiable TRUEBEN. But it is a sandwich worth mentioning. In fact, I love this sandwich so much I submitted it to the neighborhood rag, the Southeast Examiner, for their Favorite Dish column. Inevitably perhaps, my interview with the newspaper regarding the sandwich ended up covering the fact that I'm vegan, obsessed with reubens, have a low carbon foot print, among other things my neighbors never needed to know about me. I haven't seen the blurb yet but I think it hits your doorstep (if you live in SE PDX) early next month.

Kelp is the cabbage of the sea...

2008-05-22T18:01:00.000-07:00

Halfway through my tempeh shiitake and kelp with Oregon mustard rice ball, I realized, "If you had a Portland Vegan Reuben wrapped in rice and nori, this would be it..."

This was my second encounter with Todbott's Triangles, the first time was at at the People's Farmer's Market a week or so ago, where I had the dulse, soy sauce and sweet sesame rice ball. While biking home this afternoon, I recalled that he also sets up at the Eastbank Farmers Market, at SE 20th and Taylor, and just had to make a stop.

Actually, my first real encounter with these lovely rice triangles was a couple months ago, during Lent. I happened to be killing time at the Alberta St. Co-Op and noticed them in the cooler case. I was immediately very excited, as they reminded me of a delicious convenience store snack I used to have in South Korea, where I lived for a year. I was dismayed, though not surprised, to see they contained sugar, a common ingredient in sushi rice, and also the crucial ingredient I had given up for that span of days. A few weeks ago, I found myself in the Alberta St. Co-Op again (yes, I know you think I'm probably an incredible hippie, but I actually don't spend that much time in Co-Ops, I swear), and I looked for the balls, but they were out. So my last couple opportunities to try these savory treats have seemed very fortuitous indeed.

I didn't have my camera, so I couldn't take a picture of this delicious salty, vinegary sushi-Reuben, but really, it has tempeh, mushrooms, and mustard, with kelp standing in for sauerkraut, wrapped up in a tangy starch. If this isn't a rice-ball Reuben, what is? I guess the umeboshi plum rice ball could be a contender, with its pickled contents and onion, if it didn't have honey. I didn't see this tempeh-shitake-mustard-kelp concoction at the People's Farmers Market, so maybe it's an Eastbank special, along with the wild salmon one he was selling today.

Did I mention it was only $2? See Stumptown Vegans for a thorough review.

Other news

2008-05-18T13:18:00.001-07:00

I think the broiling hot weather here in Portland this weekend has pushed a toasty, gooey sandwich like a reuben far from my mind. But have no fear -- we'll be back in earnest in the coming weeks. One reason for this is sheer necessity. I am leaving Portland for Chapel Hill, North Carolina, to begin graduate school in early August. I didn't really have this possibility in mind when I began this blog, but now it gives me a bit of a deadline. With a little over two months to go, I think B. and I will have a chance to review every TRUEBEN in Portland, as well as test a few more recipes and veganize a few more non-vegan reubens. But that might mean more frequent posts than usual, so check back often!

Also, if you haven't already, mark your calendars for Try Vegan Week which is June 7 - 14th. I'll be helping out with the vegan happy hour at the Bye and Bye, and actually, I'm hoping to morph it into a vegan food pub crawl. Luckily, this event coincides with Pedalpalooza, which means it becomes the embodiment of everyone's favorite Portland stereotype, the vegan cyclist who partakes in other unhealthy activities, like drinking and smoking (though, for my comfort and yours, most of the places on the route are smoke-free indoors). A portion of the happy hour will take place at the Bye and Bye, but you can opt to jump on your bike (or feet, or bus...) and join us at other vegan-friendly bars before and afterward. Speaking of Try Vegan Week, if you missed it at VegFest last weekend, Papa G's is still selling Temptation soy ice cream as a fundraiser for the event. I highly recommend getting two scoops of the vanilla in a glass and adding a bottle of Virgil's Root Beer from Papa G's drink cooler, as I did earlier this afternoon. Yeah! I've been brainstorming other ways to get involved with the week of vegan outreach, and hope to post some interesting, perhaps non-reuben related yet vegan-themed material to the blog during that stretch.

I also helped arrange another vegan event -- this one doesn't fall during Try Vegan Week, but will be part of Pedalpalooza: the Vegan Baked Goods Ride. If you are free that afternoon, you should check it out! We've put a fair amount of work into scouting good locations all around Portland to stop and sample vegan baked goods. We'll be hitting places that actually bake their own goods there, like Laughing Planet and of course, Sweetpea, as well as coffee shops that provide options from the numerous vegan bakeries in town. Since I won't be able to actually go on the ride, I've been going out of my way to sample many of the vegan baked goods to be had in town on my own. After all, I've only got a couple months left...

Update: I thought I was going to have to miss my own ride, but it turns out the client had to reschedule, so I'll be here for the Vegan Baked Goods Ride on June 24th after all!

TRUEBEN: Tempeh Reuben at Proper Eats

2008-05-11T19:54:00.000-07:00

From the menu: $7.50. Marinated baked tempeh, Dave's Killer Bread, caramelized onions, local kraut, vegan sauce, with a side salad.

I was nearly as excited to try the reuben at Proper Eats in St. John's as I was to revisit the Red and Black reuben last month. If the Red and Black's wasn't the best, in my mind this was probably the reuben to top it. Part of what influenced this was that I'd read somewhere that the reuben at Proper Eats incorporated some kind of pesto aioli, which, though it's far from traditional, seems kind of exciting. Ultimately, I thought the tempeh reuben at Proper Eats had a lot in common with the Red and Black, with a bit of unique spin which I appreciated, but which wasn't quite enough to make it rise to the top.

Like the Red and Black and Veganopolis, Proper Eats feels like a luxury because everything is vegan (though there was one dairy item on the Proper Eats menu...they let you add Tillamook cheese to their burrito for an extra charge). Proper Eats also has raw entrees, which appear similar but not identical to those offered at Blossoming Lotus in Northwest Portland. I'd like to go back some day and try a Mexican-inspired dish -- they had raw fajitas as well as some great sounding nachos and burritos. They did also have a few specials on the board that looked tempting, but were significantly more expensive than the standard menu items. I appreciated the fact they had four good microbrews on tap. If you do go, check their website or call to see if it's some kind of event night, especially if you are going with a large group. I've heard it can be kind of awkward to arrive on Mondays, when they show movies, and they also have a set up for live music. If that's not your thing, checking in advance is probably a good idea. All and all, I found the restaurant, a spacious room in back (the front of the place is a grocery and deli), mellow and peaceful, despite the fact that it was "parade day" in St. John's.

As for the sandwich, it arrived with a small, yet picturesque salad that seemed to include field greens, beets, black sesame seeds and even tiny squares of nori. They have various delicious sounding dressings on the menu; we were served the maple balsamic, which was pretty good. The sandwich was somewhat warm, the bread obviously toasted, but it seemed like at least one of the ingredients, probably the kraut, had come straight from the fridge, so the sandwich was a little inconsistent temperature wise. I didn't find it incredibly off-putting, but B. said he would have preferred the entire sandwich be a room temperature rather than have cold pockets.

The sauce was very similar to the Red and Black's, great flavor and pretty authentic tasting according to my hazy memories. The consistency was a bit runnier, making it more dressing-like, which was good in my book. The slice of tempeh was very mildly seasoned -- more flavorful than the Vita Cafe's, but barely detectable. Otherwise it was good, even a little juicy. And being mildly seasoned meant it wasn't too salty, and it didn't dominate the sandwich. The caramelized onions were a nice touch, but sort of stole the show from the kraut. The kraut almost seemed like a seasoning rather than a component of the sandwich. It added a tartness but was pretty hidden in the onions. This was also a complaint of B.'s. He felt all you could really taste was the onions, tempeh and sauce, and he would have liked a greater variety of flavors. Like past sandwiches, we yearned for more sauerkraut. If and when we return to Proper Eats, we'll probably take the opportunity to try one of their other intriguing menu items, but I would recommend the tempeh reuben to fans of reubens -- it's worth trying at least once, I think.

4 out of 5
Proper Eats

A little hippie gem in North Portland. Somewhat lackadasical service, but our food came fast. Good beer, almost %100 vegan menu. Do your grocery shopping in the front room. Tempeh reuben, $7.50, comes with small side salad.

Veganization: Rachel's Reuben at the Goose Hollow Inn

2008-05-04T20:23:00.000-07:00

Perhaps this should be obvious: "the Goose," as this tavern in SW Portland, nestled unassumingly behind PGE Park and the Goose Hollow Max stop, is affectionately referred to, is not really the best place to go if you are vegan and hungry. Go instead for friendly service, a comfy, warm atmosphere with charming wooden table-tops etched with numerous initials, reasonably priced beer on draught, and the significance of the place in local history.

Even though I knew it was a long shot, I wanted to try to veganize the reuben here not just because it's a nice place to hang out for the aforementioned reasons, but because they already have a vegetarian reuben, the "Rachel's Reuben" on the menu. The Rachel's Reuben is sauteed veggies, mostly mushrooms, Swiss cheese, sauerkraut and Bud's own Reuben sauce, which is so highly prized you can get it with any sandwich as an extra, on a dark rye bread. This is typically served with carrot sticks, potato salad and a pickle, as well as local Beaver brand yellow mustard and horseradish.

Our middle-aged waitress proudly informed me that the Reuben sauce was indeed concocted using real mayonnaise -- which was no surprise. I had expected to rely on the mustard and horseradish that I knew would be brought to the table when my order arrived. I ordered the Rachel's Reuben, no cheese, no sauce, and requested to replace the potato salad with extra carrot sticks, as I figured the salad couldn't possibly be vegan. To her credit, the waitress took my substitutions warmly without batting an eye, though ultimately there was a miscommunication and I was brought simply extra carrots, and still potato salad. But I still feel grateful that they were so willing to substitute and there was no upcharge for the extra carrot sticks. By the way, there is something superb about those carrot sticks -- inexplicably juicy jullienned carrots, and they were very generous with them. If you do order this, just be very clear you want no potato salad at all. They were more than willing to accommodate.

The Goose was packed on this sunny Sunday afternoon. They have fairly ample deck seating as well as numerous booths and tables inside. I was hoping to get deck seating so I could get some nicely lit pictures, but it wasn't in the cards. The food took awhile, which I think isn't standard, but a risk you take with any place that serves toasted or grilled sandwiches. The sandwiches, and I think their pizzas, too, are run through a big version of one of those conveyor belt toaster ovens you may have seen in your college cafeteria. B. ordered the regular Rachel's Reuben, no substitutions or omissions. He probably anticipated the pattern that seems to be forming after all, that veganizing a vegetarian reuben rarely results in something better, at least flavor and composition wise, than what the cook originally intended. Though I should note that, if it seemed relevant, he would have rated the cheesy, saucy, non-vegan reuben lower than vegan reubens we've tried.

It wasn't that the sandwich was bad, or a big let down, it just wasn't really worth the effort. I added mustard and horseradish, but I'm not sure it made any improvement. A fancier mustard, like dijion or stone-ground, would have helped. My sandwich was warm and toasty and easy to eat. It was probably one of the healthier reubens I've had, simply because it was essentially a sauerkraut and veggie sandwich on rye. (B. dispatched the potato salad I had tried to leave off). The sauteed mixture consisted of green onions, mushrooms and green pepper. I wasn't sure how I felt about such a variety of veggies. The sandwich also included a slice of tomato, thinly sliced red onion and green lettuce leaf. The sauerkraut was fine, not very memorable. There was a strange off-taste, maybe the kind of thing you only notice when a sandwich has been stripped of its more flavorful components. I felt it may have been the toaster, like maybe the old school contraption is gas-flame and some of that aroma is imparted to the bread.

Somewhat sadly, I give this sandwich a 2 out of 5. Though I'll say again, the service was great and as a vegan who frequently finds herself trying to tweak menu items, I really appreciate places that let you switch things up or substitute items without giving you attitude or charging you extra (or both). I highly recommend the Goose if you are looking for a cozy, relaxed place to hole up with a pint. But if you're vegan, I wouldn't go for the sandwiches. Though considering the kindness of the ladies there, I would feel no trepidation trying to veganize anything on the menu -- maybe one of their pizzas, without cheese? And according to the menu on their website, they do have one item that is vegan as is -- a sort of vegan chili called "cowboy beans" with salsa and soy protein.

Bud Clark's Goose Hollow Inn Pub
1927 SW Jefferson
Rachel's Reuben, omit the cheese and Reuben sauce, and potato salad side (no fries or chips here, sorry). Also comes with carrot sticks and pickle spear. Waitress that reminds you of your favorite aunt will bring you extra carrot sticks upon request and apologize when your food takes awhile. $7.50.

I love you like a 100% vegan pay-by-the pound buffet (or, veganism in British Columbia)

2008-04-23T19:45:00.000-07:00

B. and I spent most of the past week hanging out in British Columbia, and though I pride myself on keeping this blog very focused, I feel the need to blog a bit about the vegan meals we checked out while traveling around.

Really, this was the excuse and the springboard...

A vegan reuben in a serious piece of history (a piece of history that is open twenty-four hours, and though you'd expect it to be as crunchy as a raw flax cracker, manages to have the warm and pleasant atmosphere that reminds you more of a classy tea-house than the place where Greenpeace was founded back when the street was called "Rainbow Road").

I was thoroughly pleased with the Naam, even though it was a little crowded, slow, expensive (but so is everything in Vancouver, B.C.) and they managed to add completely unnecessary dairy to everything. (A Dragon Bowl of tofu, perfectly cooked veggies and...a slice of jack cheese, really?). So the tempeh reuben of course came with Swiss, you could sub for Tofurella but our friendly and helpful server informed us that Tofurella has casein. I thought the reuben was perfectly good ultimately, with tempeh, sauerkraut, sauteed mushrooms, tomato and sprouts on a whole wheat bun. Sure, it was more like a tempeh burger with sauerkraut (I slathered it with mustard), but it was tasty. B. didn't think it was a real reuben because it didn't have any kind of dressing or special sauce. I guess Portland has spoiled us. Though the pie made from pureed dates and bananas with no added sweetener in a flaky crust blew my mind.

As for eating vegan in B.C. in general, it ran the gamut from being surprisingly easy (more on that later) to somewhat annoying (the "vegetarian cafe" with the tiny pile of tofu scramble that wouldn't let me sub something I actually wanted to eat for the non-vegan English muffin).

For the sake of public knowledge, some definite highlights (read: if you are vegan and find yourself in Victoria, B.C., you must go here) include Green Cuisine, an extensive salad and hot bar that is entirely vegan where you pay by weight. They also have some awesome vegan desserts, including in-house ice cream and baked goods. The other great find was Lotus Pond Chinese Restaurant, just a few blocks up Johnson from Green Cuisine. I felt incredibly lucky to find this place, and to be able to get lunch there on a weekday, when they have their pay-by-weight buffet, which includes, wait for it, vegan DIM SUM! The ginger broccoli was delicious and perfectly cooked, they had a couple other veggie-heavy dishes that included some soy-based meat but the meat didn't dominate, which I appreciated personally, and of course I was super-hyped to try the turnip cakes, potstickers and red bean pastry. In general I found both these joints to be way better than the equivalents in Portland -- in that the food was reasonably priced (and this in a city where it is typically very expensive to eat out), and unlike some buffets that are "all-you-can-eat," these places stock the bar with stuff you actually are excited about eating (unlike that vegan lunch buffet in Chinatown that shall go unnamed).

Even though I used to shy away from buffets where you actually paid based on quantity, the above restaurants (as well as a co-op in Corvallis called First Alternative that also has an awesome salad and hot bar) have turned me around. I've realized it's great, as a health-conscious vegan, to be able to pick exactly what you want to eat in the quantity that you want.

See you soon, when we'll have another post on vegan reubens in Portland!

P.S. Another restaurant we visited that's probably worth mentioning was a 100% vegan sandwich shop with locations in both Seattle and Tacoma called Hillside Quickie's. I wasn't too excited with what I ended up with, the Jamacian Jerk tofu, but the chili was epic, and they did have a "Tofustrami" sandwich that included pickles and raw onions, among other condiments, making it almost a reuben...

TRUEBEN: The Red and Black

2008-04-16T20:56:00.000-07:00

B. was a bit miffed that I delayed sampling the Red and Black's tempeh reuben for so long. He was eager to try the sandwich, and the restaurant in general, after hearing me rave about it as pretty much the inspiration for this blog. This Southeast Portland worker-owned cafe's tempeh-mushroom reuben was the first vegan reuben I'd ever had out, and it pretty much blew me away. True, it was directly after Bridge Pedal, I was famished, and I went crazy and got a side salad and a delicious cup of their vegan chili with it, so it was nearly the perfect meal. But I was afraid to review it too early on in this blog, because I truly believed it would trump all others, and sort of what's the point of continuing on if you've already had the best?

Well, I'll say this. B. was not disappointed. And with a 4.5, the Red and Black's reuben does have the highest score we've awarded. But it's with bittersweet sentiment that I say, yes, there is room for improvement. And I'll also add, perhaps my vision is clouded with nostalgia, but it was a slight let down after the awesome experience I had that first time.

As you may know, the Red and Black Cafe for years was located near the intersection of 22nd and SE Division. That was where I had the reuben the first time, and I'll chalk it up to extremely experienced staff: the presentation was better and the construction and the balance of ingredients were better. But like I said, despite these two differences, the reuben we had recently at the Red and Black's new location on SE 12th was still pretty awesome.

I think the highlight is the vegan dressing; it's tart and creamy, probably chock full of veganaise. It's creaminess (not runny at all) contributes to a sandwich that holds together very well -- a trait B. continually appreciates. The protein component is great, too, a mixture of tempeh and mushrooms, nicely complementary flavors that B. noted wasn't too heavy on the mushroom taste. I was excited to see that the Red and Black now makes their own kraut, which in my mind gives them extra points and thus makes this a virtual 5 on the scale from 1 to 5. The kraut was great, refreshing and slightly sweet, I did wish there was more of it. The bread was a light rye with a taste of caraway. Very similar to the bread at Veganopolis--a really dark rye doesn't seem very common in this town. The bread was toasty and warm and was probably heated on a sandwich press or grill pan.

I found the tempeh filling a little too salty for my taste, though B. didn't seem to think so. Other than that, the only other thing I found lacking was that I felt the amount of dressing was disproportionate to the other two components---definitely would have liked more kraut, and it might have balanced the saltiness of the tempeh a little. And surprisingly, we both noted on the somewhat sad presentation when the sandwich arrived. I never thought I would rate a sandwich on how it looked, but I guess after Veganopolis and other attractive sandwiches we sampled, we couldn't help but notice the sort of slipshod arrangement. I, perhaps incorrectly, also attribute this to the somewhat new, though friendly and helpful, staff.

All in all, the Red and Black tempeh reuben still comes out on top. Though not as impressive as my first experience with it, this remains a sandwich I could eat again and again. A difference between the old and new locations that I appreciate is that the Red and Black seems to be going entirely vegan -- if reubens aren't your thing, check out their other sandwiches, salads, soups and their dragon noodle bowl. The daily special always seems like a great deal as well.

4.5 out of 5 (though really a 5, probably)

Red and Black Cafe
SE 12th and Oak
Tempeh mushroom reuben. About $7, I think. Comes with a pickle and corn chips, or add soup or salad for $2.
Worker-owned coffee shop and restaurant located a block from the vegan mini-mall. Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Many vegan options and mostly organic. A nice community gathering spot as well.

While I wouldn't recommend a week of reubens...

2008-04-04T06:18:00.000-07:00

...there are enough vegan ones in Portland, if you wanted to go that path for Portland's Try Vegan Week.

The date has been set for June 7 - 14. According to NWVeg, this week will be "a large outreach event to support hundreds of people in our area who are interested in making a change in their diet. There will be mentorship partnerships arranged, lectures, dine-outs, store tours, a guide book, and even a vegan prom."

If anyone needs a mentor, I'm available! Vegan reuben contest a la Iron Chef? Vegan pub food crawl?

"Food porn" as they say...

2008-04-01T09:19:00.000-07:00

It seems the reuben has long been the darling of the vegan food blogs, and no less so lately.

Melody over at MeloMeals gave it a try recently.

And Swell Vegan is at it again. She really just needs to add a "reuben" tag.

TRUEBEN: Veganopolis (NOW CLOSED)

2008-03-29T16:16:00.001-07:00

UPDATE: Sadly, Veganopolis closed its doors on September 24th, 2008.

Veganopolis is a joint downtown that styles itself like a cafeteria. You order at the cash register and bus your own table afterwards. There is an extensive vegan sandwich and salad menu, and a hot brunch buffet on Saturdays. The space is clean and airy, with big street-facing windows. You can also pick up a few vegan grocery items over by the cash register. The staff in my experience has always been real friendly. It's one of those places that, if it were in another city, you'd expect to be some sort of mecca for vegans. In Portland, it's sort of just another cool place we can go to eat. There is some novelty to it. They make a number of things, like vegan chevre or ricotta, in house. And it's only one of a few places in Portland where you can go and know that everything is vegan. But I think their hours (closes at 5 every day), the their location (downtown), and the fact that they at least appear a little overpriced, gives them less of a draw. But I gotta say, they win hands down for the best sandwich presentation I've experienced in this city thus far.

And their food is good. And not that expensive for what you're getting, really. We got proof of this today. B. and I split a modest plate of their brunch buffet (a little under 8 bucks a pound) while we were waiting for our sandwich, and it was damn tasty. We passed over the typical brunch stand-bys of tofu scramble, french toast, biscuits and so on for a helping of savory bread pudding with asparagus and mushrooms, a little bit of potatoes and a sort of cabbage seitan sausage mixture and it was all delectable. I was glad we went that route as well, because, at 1 pm on a Saturday afternoon, it was pretty busy in there, and Veganopolis is the kind of place where your food takes time even with less customers. So the brunch held us over 'til the purpose of our visit arrived.

Like I said, pretty, huh? The Veganopolis reuben is "braised corned vegan ham," sauerkraut, your choice of dijon mustard or thousand islands, and soy mozarella (is there a vegan fake Swiss out there?). For a side you can get coleslaw, potatoes or a cup of soup -- we went with the soup, which was a tasty tomato bisque, very flavorful with big chunks of tomato. As you can see, the sandwich came with a couple pickle spears arranged on a small bed of baby spinach, with fresh chopped herbs dusted over the plate. The bread was a "rustic rye," and not a stand-out on its own, but it did the job well and was nice and crunchy. This sandwich met the bar in terms of temperature and textures, though the bread was more on the thin toasty side versus dense and absorbent, so this is one of those sandwiches you'll want at least one extra napkin for.

I liked that we got a side and a generous garnish with the sandwich. I think it was probably worth the extra 1.95 over the Vita Cafe's tempeh reuben, which came with no accompaniments at all. Another way in which this sandwich differed from the Vita's was that I could really taste the fake cheese -- and I liked it. Over all the sandwich's flavors were great, though there was a sort of not-unpleasant sweetness that I couldn't figure out the source of, maybe the Thousand Islands? B. thought there could have been more of the dressing and found the sandwich a little dry. We both wished that some of the sauerkraut had been swapped out for more of the corned seitan. The sandwich filling was easily 80% sauerkraut, and I could barely taste the seitan at all. I found myself picking up a fragment off my plate to eat just so I could see what it was like. I was impressed, which made me even more disappointed that my sandwich wasn't meatier. I understand that the seitan is probably the most expensive ingredient, but at 9 bucks, I'd like to be able to savor it.

Those were our only complaints really -- more dressing, and much more seitan. I love sauerkraut, and I didn't find the quantity overwhelming, but I wouldn't have missed some of it in exchange for the other ingredients. The cheese amount was probably perfect. I would probably get this sandwich again -- or maybe just come for the brunch buffet, now that I'm in the know.

3.5 out of 5

Veganopolis
412 SW 4th
Mon. - Sat. 9:30 am to 5 pm.

Corned seitan reuben, $8.95. Choice of coleslaw, potatoes or cup of soup. Also comes with pickle spears and a tiny salad. Many other sandwich and salad options available, as well as various beverages. Buffet everyday from 11am to 3 pm (think it tends towards lunch during the week and brunch on Saturday).

In the Kitchen: Bazu's Tempeh Reuben

2008-03-22T10:26:00.001-07:00

Long overdue for a reuben, B and I tried out this recipe from one of my favorite vegan food blogs, Where's the Revolution? You can read Bazu's original post here. Her recipe is an adaptation of the Tempeh Reuben recipe from The Vegan Cooking School. It's one of only two vegan reuben recipes we plan to try from the web (the other being the Candle Cafe's), so I'm glad to be able to direct you to the full recipe.

Of course we did change it some, just because I was out of veganaise and I couldn't use ketchup since I gave up refined sweeteners for Lent and all the ketchup in the house had sugar or corn syrup. To tell you the truth, I think the dressing suffered a bit for it, but it was a tasty sandwich, and I liked the fact it used white beans in the dressing. We also didn't use sprouts or red onion, just stuck with a more traditional tempeh and sauerkraut combination.

This recipe has further convinced me that baking tempeh is the way to go. I'm usually too lazy to marinate and bake, so I previously tried pan-steaming tempeh for reubens in broth or seasonings, and it just isn't the same. This recipe was nice because it didn't call for marinating in advance. The tempeh turned out great after just baking in the marinade for 40 minutes.

What you see above is my attempt to use up an extremely ripe tomato (I don't buy out of season produce, but I frequently get it free) and replace the 2 tablespoons of ketchup in the dressing with something tomatoey. In retrospect, I should have just broken down and opened a can of tomato paste, but I'm lazy and didn't want to worry about how to use up the rest of the can. So I roasted the tomato with the tempeh. It worked okay, but didn't give the dressing the concentrated flavor kick ketchup would have, and of course it made it more watery as well.

We didn't have to worry about watery dressing too much, though, with this rock star of a bread. I was excited to try out the loaf of Abiqua Farms Old World Rye I'd stashed in the freezer for this occasion. This bread is dense. It soaked up all the juice and still held together. I might slice the bread a bit thinner next time, to help it toast up a little crunchier, but I was happy with it over all. I learned from our last tempeh kitchen experience, and sliced the tempeh thinner, so even with the hefty bread, the sandwich was a very manageable size.

Here's B's, after warming the sauerkraut and spreading on the dressing.

This was a good sandwich over all. The only disappointment was that the dressing was sort of bland, but that was probably mostly due to the omission of veganaise and ketchup. In the future, I might sub a little oil for the 'naise and will definitely use ketchup or tomato paste. I might add some extra spices to the dressing as well, maybe even some hot sauce or red pepper, something to give it a little zip. The other change I would make is to cut down on the soy sauce in the marinade -- the original recipe calls for a whole 1/3 cup, I think a few tablespoons would suffice. I'd also like to experiment with vinegar or lemon juice in the marinade, to see if it gives the tempeh a tangier flavor reminiscent of corned beef. But over all the tempeh was definitely the best aspect of the recipe.

We give this one a 3 out of 5. Thanks to Bazu for the recipe, and if you are in the Portland area, check out that Abiqua Farms Bakery!

Veganization: Shrooben at Plan B

2008-02-27T22:22:00.001-08:00

A well-made sandwich can be a bit of a balancing act, a vegetarian sandwich perhaps more of a challenge. A person with sandwich crafting skill understands that you need to pair mild flavors with bold condiments, soft textures with crispiness or crunchiness, lest you end up with a sandwich that is either monotonous or competing with itself. I think this may present a quandary in my quest to find vegetarian reubens and veganize them, in that a really good vegetarian sandwich, where the combination has been carefully considered and tested, is automatically going to be somewhat lacking in a vegan version, unless you can replace those non-vegan elements somehow. This was basically what the friendly bartender told me when I walked into Plan B and told him I wanted the Shrooben (a mushroom and onion reuben, complete with Swiss cheese, sauerkraut and Thousand Islands) but I needed it vegan.

"The vegan Shrooben," he emphasized, "is boring."

However, he appreciated my mandate and offered to grill the bread with some herbs and olive oil to make the sandwich less dry and increase the flavor. He also told me that the caramelized onions would help. I didn't tell him that I'd ordered the Shrooben before, vegan, and found it fairly tasty. But I have to admit, upon careful consideration, I conclude that he was on the right track.

B. ordered the Shrooben with no omissions or substitutions. We both got the side salad instead of fries, with vinaigrette (the obvious vegan option). I have to admit, I was looking forward to the salad as much as the sandwich. I remembered it from my last visit. It's pretty hearty for a side salad, not just a tiny pile of leaves tucked in the corner as an afterthought, but a small bowl of spinach, baby greens, black olives, mushrooms, sunflower seeds and chopped tomato and bell pepper. This and the sandwich is a pretty good deal at 7 bucks.

B. was very pleased with his non-vegan Shrooben, and I was quite happy with my choice as well. Marbled rye piled generously with sauerkraut, and onions and mushrooms straight from the grill. The sandwich was the perfect temperature all the way through, and the bread was nice and crunchy. It held together perfectly on my end, though I didn't have any sauce to contend with. A few bites in, I had to admit, it was a tiny bit bland. I'm a big 'shroom fan, but I couldn't help but notice that the mushrooms appeared to be cooked without any additional seasoning. This is where I started to see the bartender's point. On the non-vegan Shrooben, seasoning the mushrooms probably wouldn't contribute much, and might even be overdoing it, because the point of the dressing and the sharp cheese is the heavy flavors they impart. A toasty, juicy sandwich of simple mushrooms, onions and sauerkraut is great in my book, but there was potential for something more interesting. Probably next time, and there probably will be a next time, I'll ask for some mustard on the side (which, incidentally, could very well have been what I did last time I had the same sandwich). At least until Plan B comes up with a vegan Thousand Islands.

Plan B is dark and pleasant, without being too cozy, has a pretty good booze selection, and a pretty extensive, inventive and reasonably priced food menu. (I think their happy hour is late night with a limited menu). There are at least two expressedly vegan options on the menu -- a BBQ tempeh sandwich I hope to try someday, and a vegan chili dog. The bartender said they are planning to expand the menu, to include more vegan options as well as more choices for those who eat meat and dairy.

I give the veganized Shrooben a 3.5 out of 5, but not because it wasn't crafted with skill and care.

Plan B
SE 8th and Main
Shrooben: $7. To make it vegan, ask for no cheese, no dressing. Request mustard. Comes with side salad or fries. And little pickles! This is a bar (with a spacious back patio, by the way), and smoke-free inside. Go for dinner and a pint, you probably won't be disappointed.

Not really groovin' (or a TRUEBEN)

2008-02-15T14:27:00.000-08:00

Earlier this week we were a bit too busy to hit up a restaurant and test another reuben for the blog, so we thought we'd compromise and pick up the Groovin' Reuben I posted about just a little while ago, and pair it with some home made sides. I went to People's to snag one, and gave the ingredients a read again (this is also because I'm giving up refined sugar for Lent--don't ask), and I saw, to my dismay, that the Groovin' Reuben is not technically vegan, by most vegan standards.

The bread they use contains honey.

How annoying! I know some vegans eat honey, but I also know some vegans scan ingredient labels for a certain red food coloring made from ground up beetle wings, so I didn't feel that I could review this sandwich and really call it vegan. If any of you more lenient vegans (or omnis, for that matter) want to give it a try and leave me a post with your verdict, I'd welcome it, and I saw today that People's currently has a few half-off. They are also available at the Alberta Co-op, if you live in NE.

Meanwhile, maybe I'll write a disappointed note to Holy Cow. I wanted to review your sandwich, I really did.

Abiqua Farm Bakery

2008-02-09T15:44:00.000-08:00

In my last post, I mentioned that we used the Caraway Rye from the New Seasons Market bakery when making the VWAV Tempeh Reuben, and that I would have liked a darker, more flavorful bread. I would like to someday make a reuben using Dave's Killer Bread, he makes a Rockin' Rye, but apparently I'll have to go by his bakery store because none of the grocery stores seem to carry it. Maybe it doesn't sell as well as his other varieties. Anyway, I was excited to see that New Seasons carries another locally baked (somewhat--in Silverton, OR) vegan rye bread, and this one apparently as dark and dense as all get out.

Abiqua Farm Bakery doesn't have a website, but I'll let you know how their rye is the next time we whip up some vegan reubens in the kitchen.

If you have any tips for locally-made vegan rye or caraway breads, leave 'em in the comments!

In the Kitchen: Tempeh Reuben from Vegan With a Vengeance

2008-02-01T17:41:00.001-08:00

I've owned the cookbook "Vegan with a Vengeance" for awhile, and I don't know how I didn't get around to trying this recipe until now. Maybe it was because of the number of ingredients, or the fact that many of them are sort of "specialty" items that you can't really substitute with whatever you have at home. More likely it just never occurred to me I should use a recipe for a sandwich. I own many vegan cookbooks, and I love to "try out" new recipes, but I'm horrible in that I rarely actually follow the recipe to the letter. Even if I use all the ingredients called for, I often don't measure appropriately (unless baking), especially for something like a marinade, which this recipe requires. However, I decided that this blog would be a good excuse to end my silly ways---Because how can you really test a recipe if you don't even follow it appropriately?

Well, I can say I'm a convert, both to following recipes as written, and to the VWAV Tempeh Reuben.

I don't want to post the recipe online, at least not just yet, because I feel guilty posting recipes that have only yet been published in books. But I can tell you that the recipe calls for marinating tempeh and then cooking it on a grill pan (We had to use a skillet, lacking a grill pan. I imagine it might work well on a Foreman grill, if you have one). There's no cheese analog, but there is avocado, which seemed unusual to me, but who doesn't like avocado? There's also a vegan dressing that involves vegan mayo, ketchup, lemon juice, capers and other good stuff. Above is a picture of everything that was used in this recipe. That's white wine, balsamic vinegar and soy sauce (though the recipe called for Bragg's or tamari) in the back. We used New Seasons Caraway Rye, because I got it at a steal, I normally prefer something darker, and Isa suggests pumpernickel. The Turtle Island tempeh was also on sale at New Seasons, and was just the right amount for two people, though I should have sliced it into thinner slabs. As you can see, it made quite a tall sandwich, and it probably would have marinated better in smaller pieces.

So how was it? I have to say I was impressed. Especially with the underwhelming Vita Cafe reuben as a basis for comparison. The list of ingredients for the sandwich topping and dressing seems like overkill at first (Capers? Dill pickles? Avocado, and sauerkraut?) but the flavors and textures combine wonderfully. "Mouth-feel," along with the use of "plate" as a verb, is something you will never see on this food blog, but I will say that the dill pickle slices gave the sandwich a nice crunch, a good contrast to the tempeh and creamy dressing. The fact that you grill the bread in a skillet before constructing the sandwich doesn't hurt the texture, either.

Over all, I found nothing to dislike about this sandwich, aside from the fact it was a little messy to eat. But that was probably mostly my fault. Our dressing turned out a little watery because my jar of Veganaise was almost exhausted and so what was in the jar was a bit runny, and slicing the tempeh thinner would have resulted in a more effective and flavorful marinating as well as a easier sandwich to hold. But the bottom line is, this sandwich is full of delicious fats and variety of salty garnishes -- and what else do you need in a reuben?

B. and I both give it 4 out of 5.

There's a fourth category?!?

2008-01-28T19:03:00.000-08:00

So, originally, I figured this blog would have essentially three kinds of posts: vegan reubens in restaurants, vegan reubens made at home, and vegetarian reubens adapted to be vegan (in restaurants). Yesterday I was shopping at People's, and what did I see staring out at me from the refrigerator near the entrance, next to the bottles of kombucha? The Groovin' Reuben. I googled it today and found that it is in fact a TRUEBEN. This is the first deli-case TRUEBEN I've ever encountered. Apparently, it's made by a cafe called Holy Cow located on the University of Oregon campus in Eugene. So if you're ever in Eugene craving a vegan reuben, you know where to go (or at least, somewhere to go). Expect a review of the deli-case variation later on. That is, unless People's decides to stop carrying it. Why is it suddenly so hard to find vital wheat gluten in bulk in this part of town? How am I supposed to make a corned seitan reuben for my readers when everyone is discontinuing it?

Edit: 2/15/08: For an update about why the Groovin' Reuben isn't really vegan, see this post.

Also, thanks to Portland Hamburgers for the nod. Speaking of "narrow lens" though, you should check out Semicircular Vegan (which I recently added to the links to your right). Since I am dedicated to keeping this blog to a narrow focus, I have refrained from listing all my favorite vegan food blogs (not to mention how much space that would take up), but I just had to include Semicircular Vegan, since her focus is even narrower than mine, perhaps (or maybe not, I mean, the possibilities are endless). Seriously, it's awesome, give it a look.

Tempeh reubens to drool over...

2008-01-24T20:18:00.000-08:00

We probably won't be posting another reuben for another week or so, so to tide you over, here are some delectable pictures from a couple vegan bloggers out there. Note the awesome food photography skills I can only aspire to.

From SwellVegan:

And this from "What the hell does a vegan eat anyway?":

TRUEBEN*: Vita Cafe

2008-01-20T15:59:00.000-08:00

* See the note later on about cheese.

This was our first meal of the day, and being a Sunday afternoon there was a bit of a wait, so after snapping a few pictures we attacked the reuben pretty quickly. Everyone knows food tastes better when you're superhungry, so I wonder if this sandwich came off as extra-satisfying because of this. It was a fairly solid sandwich--pleasantly warm throughout (even the sauerkraut), a generous slab of tempeh, a single slice of vegan cheese, and a creamy vegan Thousand Islands dressing.

The dressing was easily the most impressive aspect of this reuben, substantial with bits of chives. But I'm a fan of spicy, tangy condiments and almost reached for the Aardvark hot sauce. I did ultimately think the sandwich was disappointingly bland. Though I'm not a devotee of store-bought fake cheeses, and in this case the cheese was basically undetectable, I have to give a place points for having vegan versions of all the traditional reuben components. Unfortunately, this seemed like a case where having all the traditional components wasn't enough. The dressing was not quite flavorful enough to compensate for the mild cheese and the tempeh, which seemed to be simply steamed and not marinated or spiced (I should note for those unfamiliar with tempeh that is does have a pleasant, nutty flavor on its own that many find quite meat-like, so it often works plain, especially in a sandwich---though you always want to cook it). But nothing really stood out about this sandwich. It probably would have benefited from a more pungent dark rye, instead of the marbled rye it was served on. As for the bread, the sandwich came warm off the grill, but the bread was still rather soft, and didn't hold together too well. Fortunately, the sandwich wasn't so juicy that it disintegrated, so I didn't find myself reaching for extra napkins.

Though many of Vita Cafe's portions are hearty, fries or a salad with your sandwich can run a couple bucks extra. $7 doesn't strike me as unreasonable for a reuben, but some other places will include a side for that much or just slightly more. As the menu listed the sandwich as including Swiss cheese, and the Vita Cafe isn't 100% vegan, I specified vegan cheese, and wasn't charged any extra. Though the wait was long (which you might expect on a wintry Sunday afternoon when the patio seating isn't available), the service was friendly and the food came pretty quickly. I enjoy the Vita Cafe and have always had pretty good experiences there, but I'd likely point my friends to the Great Grain Salad, Chicken-Fried Tempeh or Corn Cakes before recommending this sandwich.

B. split the sandwich with me (his second experience with a tempeh reuben) and thought it was decent, aside from the bread, which fell apart on him. As my partner in this endeavor, he knew what to expect, but even a great vegan reuben can be an unpleasant surprise for a meat-eating reuben aficionado. I don't think this sandwich is going to convert any omnis anytime soon.

We both gave this reuben 3 out of 5.

Vita Cafe
3024 NE Alberta
Reuben: $7. Restaurant offers a variety of vegan and non-vegan options, for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Summary: Pluses - nice temperature, good filling ratios, extra points for a house-made dressing. Minuses - no sides or tasty garnishes (read: pickle), marbled rye didn't work so well, could have been more inventively seasoned.

Stay tuned in the coming weeks for a reuben recipe test and what will be the first of many experiments in ordering a "vegetarian" reuben vegan.

What is a Portland Vegan Reuben?

2008-01-19T09:42:00.000-08:00

Since I became vegan over a year ago, I've been on a personal quest to sample all of the vegan reubens to be had here in Portland, Oregon. I have to admit, back when I ate meat, a hot, melty reuben made with corned beef and sauerkraut was one of my favorite things to order. Fortunately, after sampling some of what Portland has to offer, I have developed a similar affection and craving for a well-crafted vegan reuben.

Somewhat inspired by the website Portland Hamburgers, I decided to take this quest to the blog, and document my findings with ratings and pictures. I will try to post weekly with a new Portland Vegan Reuben. In the past, I have experimented with creating my own reubens, from homemade corned seitan or tempeh, so you might see a few recipes interspersed midst the reviews.

TRUEBENS

On this website, you find postings marked TRUEBEN. What is a TRUEBEN?

A TRUEBEN is a reuben that comes vegan as is, and is generally advertised as such. This means vegans can partake without having to worry about substitutions or asking for the sauce on the side. However, a vegan reuben isn't just any old vegan sandwich. There are four integral components that it requires. Note that fake cheese is not one of them, simply because I don't think a super-processed imitation cheese is necessarily an asset to any sandwich.

1. A hearty vegan protein source, preferably not made or distributed by ConAgra or Phillip Morris. This will usually be tempeh, mushrooms or a house-made seitan.
2. Sauerkraut (though cabbage in another form, or another picked vegetable, is sometimes acceptable)
3. Rye bread
4. A vegan Thousand Islands or Russian dressing or "special sauce"

Ideally, every posting on this website would be a TRUEBEN. I am aware that many restaurants and pubs offer vegetarian reubens, disappointingly usually just a regular reuben with a gardenburger instead of the meat. However, some of them could be quite good with a little doctoring, so I feel I should leave that option open. You never know what you might find. In the case of vegetarian reubens, I will do my very best to let you know how to order them vegan, but please don't send me angry e-mails if you find that some bar's bread had milk whey in it or something. I'm only human. Please do all your own asking as well.

With that, onward! Check back for reviews and recipes, and if you are local to Stumptown, feel free to leave a comment recommending a PVR that just needs to be blogged about.