Post Punk Kitchen Forum

Howdy!
Anyone have a favorite omni place to go to dine with the parents.? FIL is very vegan friendly, MIL must eat lamb or fish and have very attentive wait staff. Our favorite is Veritable Quandry and Bamboo Sushi. Herbivore restaurants are out, including places like the fancy place owned by Vita, so we're looking for a higher end sorta deal that can accommodate vegans well. Do you think she'd like that Farm restaurant? I've never been.

xo
kittee

Ya Hala?

I've never been to the Farm restaurant either.

Dazee's Mom can't have tahini/sesame, and I'm pretty sure she would think Ya Hala isn't very "nice." But thanks!
xo
kittee

Yikes! I have no other thoughts- sorry! Good luck, Kittee!

The Farm for sure. Good luck. My husband takes his bosses there all the time.

Andina is super fancy and you just have to ask for the vegetarian menu that has amazing xgfx options. I've been there several times and always have an awesome experience.

We went to Andina a few years ago and really had sub par entrees--especially for the money, but that's more what I'm looking for. Thanks!

There's also Departure, they have a whole vegan menu.

Hi Kittee! I've done many fancy dinners for work. The Farm is really good, and sounds like your MIL would approve. But it's not great for xgfx. Their only vegan entrée is the tofu, which is extremely tasty, but covered in some kind of breading. They have a vegan crisp with soy ice cream for dessert. They also don't take reservations and can get crowded.

I have had very good luck at Merriwether's in NW. I also had a good meal at Ned Ludd too. Both times I called ahead and they were really nice. We went to Andina too and I thought the vegan options were awful. Departure is very good, but not really a bring-the-parents place. It's very Miami in the 80s (blue lights, tile, feels like a space pod.) The food is excellent though, and they have an awesome outdoor porch way up high with a stellar view of Portland.

Pok Pok can do some dishes vegan, but is perhaps not what you're looking for. Really good though.

I still haven't been (taking the bf for his bday), but I second Departure - they have an entire vegan menu, and since it's asian-based, I believe there's a fair amount of xgfx options. The menu is online, I recommend checking it out.

I know it doesn't really have a portland feel, but you could try Portland City Grill - their cocktails are great (surprisingly, they make one of the best martinis I've had in pdx) and the view is nice...out of towners love it. Call in advance to arrange a vegan dish - if they know you're coming, they're very accommodating and I had a really awesome vegan manicotti here. You need to call in advance though, because the servers themselves seem to have no clue what vegan means - I once got a dish with the cream sauce held and they still covered the whole thing with cheese. :/

Someone keeps telling me there's vegan options at Clyde Common, but aside from a few snacks on the bar menu, I've yet to figure it out - might be worth a call?

Good luck!

What about Amy G.'s Fancy Kitchen of Delightful Goodness? Snicker, snicker, snicker...!!!

Does Veritable Quandry have a special menu or have you asked in advance for items? What kinds of things do they have--I didn't know they were so accommodating.

Higgins downtown may be another option and has been great with special requests and choices (especially if you call ahead). I've always had great service there, too.

Not only do they easily accommodate vegan, but gluten-free as well. VQ is awesome, they have no special menu, so if you ask on the phone when making reservations, the staff member will usually get all tongue tied and be unsure, because the folks on phone duty are not the servers who take it in stride. Usually after we've informed the server of our needs, we get notice that the chef is excited to prepare something for us. Our last visit might be the best restaurant meal I've ever had. The bartender even mixed me my own vegan bloody mary, and it was so good. We had salads, the meal was some sort of local root vegetable assortment with wild mushrooms over quinoa. It was so very good. For dessert they had banana sorbet with vanilla beans already on the menu. They also have awesome local rustic/artisinal bread they bring out with olive oil (if you can eat gluten).

xo
kittee

Thanks for the explanation and suggestion...I plan to try it out soon!

Thanks for the explanation and suggestion...I plan to try it out soon!