Better Late than Never? VVC/Portland Recap - Part 1!
Oh, I’m a bad blogger. After viewing many of my fellow blogger’s extensive 3- to 5- to even 8- part posts, & pages of gorgeous photos that documented every step of the conference, my guilty conscience set in. I used very poor blogger habits over the Vida Vegan Con weekend. Call me easily overwhelmed. I’ve come to realize that oftentimes I’m so focused on blog notes & photos that I miss the excitement of the experience. So I was just trying to consume & digest all the amazing food, workshops & activities. Besides, with all the cameras blaring, I knew what my camera missed, someone else’s would catch.
So why has it taken me so long to share my experience? The overwhelming feelings that came over me during VVC have lingered with me post conference. I was hoping to return fresh & ready to re-vamp my blog. Instead, I returned exhausted & unmotivated & those feelings have remained. Not to mention, there is a lot going on in my world. Hence the lack of posts lately, & the procrastination on this recap. It feels like a lifetime away now. Here is my best attempt to share what I captured…
We arrived in Portland Friday afternoon & made way to the Hotel Modera. We rented a car - but wished we’d saved money, taken the advice of a fellow traveller, & used the Trimet Max system for transportation. San Diego is so behind the times when it comes to public transportation, so I always forget that it is an option in many metro areas. We arrived to the hotel & were instantly dazzled by the clean modern decor & the exceptionally courteous staff. The beds & linens were very plush & comfy, too - always a bonus!
For someone that is usually impeccably organized, I did a poor job of planning ahead for this trip. I used to travel a lot for work & was always equipped in advance with details, maps & directions, so I always had a sense of where I needed to be. Not this time. We walked in circles trying to find the location of the “VegNews Champagne & Cupcake Opening Reception,” only to realize that we were not looking in the right place. This is where I felt so grateful for the GPS map feature on the iPhone. Once I had an address plugged in & a walk route calibrated we were successfully on our way. We took a shortcut through the PSU campus. So pretty…
took in the city…
came across this awesomeness…
“Food Truck Row” home of the Homegrown Smoker, which we didn’t have a chance to try, but heard lots of buzz about!
and finally arrived at our destination…
Yay! We checked in, picked up our badges, schedule & goodies…
The “Swag Bag” full of vegan goodness!
and made way to the tables full of treats!
Vegan “Cheeze” from Heidi Ho Organics
Decadent cupcakes, in “Lemon Chiffon” & “Cookies & Cream” from Portland’s Sweet Pea Baking Company
These cupcakes were moist, luscious, & absolutely divine! Well baked vegan cupcakes tickle my fancy, so I gobbled up a couple & took a few for later!
After washing our cupcakes down with a much welcomed flute (or two) of Champagne, we perused around the room at the different vendors & displays…
VegNews Table - offering free mags & $5 subscriptions!
Almost Vegan’s White Chocolate Peanut Butter - can I say amazing! It only lasted a day or two in my house! More please!
Food is For Lover’s Vegan Queso - been dying to try it for so long! OMG! Brilliant! There are endless possibilities for this stuff! This will be a household staple from now on!
There was so much to see & that’s about when I got lazy with the camera! There were tables from Earth Balance (where we entusiatically tried the new Coconut Spread!), So Delicious (where we learned about their “Greek Style Yogurt” coming soon!), Daiya, Coconut Bliss & more! A vegan’s dream of paradise come to life in one room!
After the reception, we made our way back to the hotel to unload the swag & freshen up before heading over to Portobello Vegan Trattoria - which was on the tip top of my list (well, right after Voodoo Doughnut) of must try eateries while on this whirlwind trip. With only one opportunity to dine out on the town & with all the RAVE reviews I’d read on this place, I knew I couldn’t leave PDX without having dinner there.
Man was it the place to be! The VegNews staff was dining there that evening, as well as Colleen Patrick-Goudreau & friends. After seeing those faces, I knew I’d picked THE place, & was about to burst with excitement for the meal I was certain would go down in my history as the best vegan meal ever!
With the who’s who of the vegan world overtaking most of this intimate restaurant, we had quite a bit of a wait before being seated at a table. So, meanwhile, we enjoyed a glass of organic, vegan chardonnay & marveled at the menu.
I’d never been so overwhelmed by a menu! Everything looked so amazing!
Once seated, we instantly ordered a “Bowl O’ Olives” & enjoyed nearly every savory pop until our entrees arrived.
Rumor had it that the “gnocchi dish” was not to be missed, but the description of the housemade ravioli dish really piqued my curiosity…
EGGPLANT RAVIOLI - handmade ravioli, roasted eggplant & jalapeno stuffed, with cilantro-nut pesto & chili oil
I must say, as gently as possible, that this was disappointing. The dish that sounded so tantalizing to my taste buds completely overwhelmed them - with too much salt! Every layer of flavor, from the rich pesto, to the spicy eggplant-jalapeno filling, was completely overpowered by crunchy crystals of sea salt. I’d also ordered an arugula salad to accompany my entree, & I had to deem the greens inedible because of TOO MUCH SALT in the dressing. Not appetizing. Now, I’m not one to complain to the waitstaff or send things back, but in hindsight, I should’ve vocalized my concerns. Instead, I smiled awkwardly & waited for my plate to be cleared.
BIG BURGER with MIXED GREEN SALAD - veggie-beet burger, with pickles, carrot aioli, housemade catsup, mustard, local greens, & Brandywine tomatoes on a house baked rosemary-sea salt bun
My Mom ordered the BIG beet burger, which looked delicious to me as well. As much as I wanted to sink my teeth into a hearty burger, I’d just had a beet burger a few nights before at one of my favorite San Diego haunts, but I knew I could sneak a bite of my Mom’s order! Boy they weren’t kidding when they said it was big! ENORMOUS would’ve been a better adjective! It was tasty & could’ve gone down as the perfect veggie burger, but again, the greens were ruined by - you guessed it - TOO MUCH SALT!
I wanted to love Portobello so much, but I just didn’t. At least not on this occasion. In fairness - one of the things I’d heard in one of the VVC workshops was to visit a restaurant on more than one occasion before giving a review so you can be as objective as possible, & especially if you are planning to write a negative review. With that said - Portobello, when in Portland again, I will certainly give you one more chance. After all, there were countless positive, glowing reviews were what lead me there! The reviews I read by other bloggers who dined there that evening didn’t have the same experience, so why did we? We’re not too picky, & certainly love savory flavored dishes! Is salt-laden food a Portland thing? Perhaps they were so focused on impressing the VegNews staff, or capturing Colleen G-P’s heart (& I understand, I would have been too!) that they didn’t prepare our meals with the same amount of TLC? Perhaps they really didn’t intended to put us into sodium overload? I won’t know until I return someday in the future!
So…with disappointment & bloated bellies, we floated uncomfortably back to the hotel, the essence of salt still on our tongues. Thank goodness we sneaked out of the VVC opening reception with a to-go box of cupcakes! We reveled in their sweetness like never before, but still went to bed with “visions of salt shakers dancing in our heads!”
Up next & not too far in the future (I’ll try not to be such a lagger!) - a recap of of the conference & our trip to Voodoo!
