FOOD LEAGUE

DC Vegetarian
SW 3rd between Stark and Washington
Monday – Friday, 11 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Vegetarian food is in no short supply in Portland’s food cart community. Every cart has vegetarian options. Fewer carts, however, have devoted themselves entirely to the art of vegetarian eating. DC Vegetarian, dubbing themselves a “no kill cart”, is consciously minded, supports local food, and have some damn delicious options.

I haven’t tasted everything on the menu, partly because I already have my favorites. If you want to get full for lunch and want a sandwich that very well may satisfy the direst meat-a-tarians, get the Steak and Cheese. This sandwich is overflowing (I usually eat half of it with a fork because the seitan has fallen onto my plate) with house seitan strips, grilled onions and peppers, cheese, and mayo/special sauce. I usually choose dairy cheese with vegenaise (weird, I know), but they have vegan cheese too. The sandwich is only $5  = an insane deal. The only other contender to the Steak and Cheese is the Chicken Salad, which usually weighs more and could fool many an unassuming real chicken eater. The Italian sub doesn’t explode out of the wrapping like the Steak and Cheese, but definitely hits the spot. The vegan cookies are tasty.  The soups are not the best among the carts, but they aren’t horrible either. Bring your own to-go and get 25 cents off. This cart is here to stay.

Their web site is no frills, but they update it with holiday hours and have links to their Facebook page and Twitter feed.  Visit DC Vegetarian on the web.

Upright Brewing
240 North Broadway
www.uprightbrewing.com

Portland has become somewhat of a beer mecca in the last decade and for good reason. There are tons of breweries and nearly all of them make good beer. What NW breweries do, they do well. I love a lot of them. That being said, while we may have a choice of 38 different types of IPAs or Porters at New Seasons, Stumptown’s brew diversity is lacking.

Upright Brewing enters.

Tucked away in the basement of the Left Bank building just across the Broadway bridge on the eastside is one of the newest additions to Portland’s brewing community. I originally came across Upright’s Holy Herb Ale (a farmhouse ale brewed with hyssop and aged on eucalyptus wood staves and bark) at Aquariva and was instantly entranced. I was saddened when I found out that the Holy Herb was not available, but was more than satisfied with their other selections.

Upright’s tasting room isn’t as much a tasting room as just a couple tables thrown in between aging barrels and brew tanks. No gimmicks, just good beer. Nearly all of Upright’s brews are in the saison style. Looking for traditional Portland beer? You will be disappointed. Looking for something new on the Portland scene? You will be thoroughly satisfied.

For only $5, you can taste six 4 oz. pours that consist of their 4, 5, 6, 7 brews (the name of their beers – an ode to Belgian brewing) and two seasonal ales. What’s more, after you are done tasting and you want to keep drinking, which you will, 12 oz. glasses are $2 for regular beers and $3 for seasonal.  Favorites? Impossible, I say, just make sure you try every single beer they have available. No excuses.

Upright uses organic base malt from Vancouver, WA, local hops near Mt. Angel, OR, French saison yeast, and employs open top tanks for fermentation. Portland needed an excellent Belgian/French style brewer and Upright more than fills that roll. Oh and bring a couple growlers to fill up. $10 for regular/$15 for seasonal.