Vita Cafe, Round 2

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.

Quick PDX Vegan Reuben News

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?

Veganization: Vegetarian Reuben at Cup and Saucer

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

Finally, some local news!

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.

TRUEBEN*: Vita Cafe

* 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.