Portobello Restaurant - An Amazing Vegan Trattoria In South East Portland, Oregon

Portobello - Italian vegan restaurant in Portland, OR.
1125 SE Division Street       (503) 754-5993

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Portland Restaurants
As I'm sure I've mentioned before, Portland, Oregon has some of the best vegetarian restaurants I've ever enjoyed anywhere! This weekend's visit to Portobello, a vegan Italian restaurant in south east Portland, only confirmed this. And my high opinion of this restaurant is shared by many others. Portobello has a 94% rating on Urban Spoon and a 4.5 star rating on Yelp, TripAdvisor and Open Table. Besides the tables in the front of the restaurant, they have a little private dining room in the back that accommodates around 10 to 12 people.

The Menu
You can enjoy a very casual dinner with burgers or pizza or a much more formal, multi-course dinner of appetizers, salads, main course dishes and desserts at fairly reasonable prices. They also have a full bar.
The restaurant also offers a chef's 5 course tasting menu for $40 with wine pairings for an additional $25. With 9 of us, we decided to order from the menu so that we could try more dishes. 
Many of the dishes contain mushrooms - after all the name of the restaurant is "Portobello" so if you are not a mushroom lover, you will have fewer menu choices. Many also use nuts to make vegan cheeses so if you have nut allergies, you will also have to avoid those dishes.
There are many gluten free options on the menu that are clearly marked as such.

Appetizers
The appetizers were amazing and you could certainly be happy just going there for drinks and some small plates. Here are some of the ones we enjoyed.

Sweety-Peps (gluten free)
Peppers stuffed with cashew cheese 

Beet Tartare - (gluten free)
Beets, carrot aioli, and capers with cashew cheese & baguette.

Mushroom Fries
White trumpet mushrooms fries with tomato-basil sauce.

House Pickled Vegetables (gluten free)
Fennel, carrots & beets

They also offer a cheese plate with a sampling of four artisan vegan cheeses.

Main Courses
The main courses varied from simple burgers or pizza to hearty entrees. 

They offered several burgers:
Housemade beet burger on a rosemary bun and
Portobello burger on a gluten free bun with tomato-basil sauce, braised greens and cashew cheese.

Portobello Pepper Steak (gluten free)
with fall vegetable ragout, spinach, balsamic steak sauce & fried onions.

Molasses-Mustard Glazed Seitan
with sweet potato mash, corn on the cob & braised kale.

Pan Crisped Potato Gnocchi
with baby broccoli, tomato-basil sauce, garlic & basil.

Open Faced Mushroom Ravioli
sauteed shitake, hon shimeji & cremini mushrooms with spinach & walnut-parsley pesto

They also offered 4 different pizzas (Cheesey Pie, Last Chance Heirloom Tomato Pie, Spicy Arrabiata and Mushroom Pesto Pie), several salads (Side Arugula, Caesar Novus, Beet, Fennel & Hazelnut Salad and Butternut Confit with Brussels, Grilled Grapes and Walnuts). and some side dishes (Pommes Frites, Braised Kale, Sweet Potato Mash and others). Many of these dishes are seasonal so this menu is just a snap shot of their offerings.

Desserts
After stuffing ourselves with these amazing offerings, we managed to try a few desserts.

Autumnal Sundae (gluten free)
salted caramel ice cream topped with hot fudge, coconut whipped cream & chocolate meringue.

Tiramisu "Ole Faithful"
rum and coffee soaked cake, vegan mascarpone, chocolate.

Other desserts include a Chocolate Ginger Berry Bombe, Financier with Chai Ice Cream and a selection of vegan and gluten free ice cream and sorbet. 
They also offer a nice selection of dessert wines, digestifs and liqueurs and, of course, coffee and tea.

A big thanks to my daughter-in-law, Karina, for knowing what foods I love and for finding this wonderful restaurant. It was a delicious and memorable dining experience and I will definitely return! If you enjoy vegan cuisine, this restaurant should be high on your list when visiting Portland. 

You can also read my review of the Blossoming Lotus, another wonderful vegan restaurant in Portland. 

Great News! Now You Can Get Vitamin D From A Delicious Plant Source! Vegan Mushroom Gravy Recipe Using Dole's New Portobello Mushroom Powder Packed With Vitamin D2!

Get 600 IU plant-based vitamin D from each serving!

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I've Been Waiting For This!
This is perhaps one of the most exciting foods/products I've come across in years. It ranks right up there with chia seeds and hemp oil. 


One subject I write about frequently is how critical vitamin D is to our health. Besides being required for bone health, deficiency of this important vitamin is linked to cardiovascular disease, cancer, depression, arthritis, cognitive impairment, depressed immunity and more. Even though the body can make vitamin D through exposure to the sun, it often isn't sufficient and most people in the world are, in fact, woefully deficient. I often say that one of the cheapest ways to improve world health is to hand out vitamin D supplements. But many of my readers dislike taking supplements and would rather get their vitamins through food. Unfortunately there are few food sources of this vitamin other than certain fish and fortified milk.


In November of 2010, I blogged about research where they discovered that mushrooms, much like our skin, can create vitamin D when exposed to UV light. In fact, Monterey Mushroom company started selling high vitamin D mushrooms shortly after that. You can read the entire post, "Vitamin D - Do the New Recommendations Fall Short? What Vegans Need to Know about Vitamin D".


Well the mushrooms were a good idea but not very convenient and probably not easy to find. But recently I came across an amazing new product from Dole - Portobello Mushroom Powder. Using Portobello mushrooms that were exposed to UV and subsequently ground, they created a convenient powder that blends easily into soups, gravies, sauces, stews, stuffing, pasta and rice dishes and more. Each teaspoon delivers 600 IU of vitamin D (the current RDA)!

Dole's Portobello Mushroom Powder
available for purchase on their website.

How Its Cost Compares to Other Food Sources
A 3.25 ounce jar of Portobello mushroom powder costs $8.37 from their website (shipping was free). There are about 56 servings per jar so to get 600 IU, the current RDA, of vitamin D2 is 15 cents. Not bad!
* To get a similar amount of vitamin D from canned sockeye salmon, you'd have to pay around $4.00.
* You'd have to drink about 5 cups of fortified soy milk to get this amount which costs about $1.25.


How it Compares to Supplements
Vitamin D supplements are fairly inexpensive. 
* Deva (vegan) 800 IU tablets are 6 cents apiece.
* Natures Life (vegan) 2,000 IU tablets are also 6 cents apiece.
* Carlson 4,000 IU D3 (not vegan) drops are also 6 cents apiece.


As a food source, this mushroom powder is the cheapest way to get your vitamin D. Supplements are less expensive, especially when you consider than 600 IU is not the optimal dose, especially for those who are deficient. I personally try to take 4,000 IU per day. But this powder is a GREAT way to get more vitamin D into your family's diet. And did I mention - it's DELICIOUS!!!


Is it Raw?
The label states that it is raw. That said, I cannot yet recommend this for raw diets. Portobello (and even white button) mushrooms contain hydrazine's, a potentially carcinogenic substance that is deactivated upon cooking. I don't think eating a few white button mushrooms is all that dangerous but portobello powder is quite concentrated. So, at this time, I recommend this product only in cooked foods. I have written to the Dole institute to get their opinion on this and will report back if and when I get a response.


Here's what I made last night. I boiled and mashed a combination of russet and sweet potatoes and covered them in this yummy gravy.

Pour this healthy gravy on potatoes, vegetables, rice, pasta, quinoa, polenta, tofu and more!

Portobello Mushroom Gravy
Vegan, Gluten Free
[Six (1/3 cup) Servings]
600 IU vitamin D per serving


1 cup unsweetened, unflavored soy milk
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon Earth Balance buttery spread
1 cup chopped onion
2 tablespoons Dole Portobello Mushroom Powder with vitamin D
1 cup veggie broth *
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
salt to taste
* If you make broth from a bouillon cube, you may not need additional salt


In a small bowl, stir cornstarch into soy milk until dissolved. Set aside.


Heat Earth Balance in a small saucepan on medium low heat. Add onions and cook until soft, about 8 minutes. Quickly stir in mushroom powder until onions are coated.


Add broth, garlic powder, black pepper and salt. Bring to a boil.


Stir the cornstarch and milk mixture. Add to the pot and stir well. Lower the heat.


Simmer, stirring constantly, until thickened. Serve.


Per serving: 59.5 calories, 2.5 g fat, 0.8 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 1.8 g protein, 6.1 g carbohydrates, 0.7 g dietary fiber and 230 g sodium (assuming 1/2 teaspoon salt). 

Vegan Eggplant, Portobello Mushroom, Red Bell Pepper, Tomato Sauce On Gluten Free Corn-Quinoa Pasta

This low fat pasta sauce is packed with veggies.

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Do Not Fear the Carb
I know, it's January and everyone is on a diet, joining a gym and trying to shed the pounds they gained during the holidays. But that's no reason to totally give up pasta. Just make sure you don't cover it with a high calorie sauce and limit your serving of pasta to a few ounces.


Italian Americans Love their Gravy!
Somewhere between Southern Italy and Brooklyn, my Italian ancestors decided that sauce was "gravy" and instead of using it to delicately coat and flavor pasta, they decided to use it to drown it.
I'll never forget my first trip to Italy. I was at my friend Isabella's house and she decided to make pasta. She took out a very small saucepan to make the sauce. I wondered how on earth she was going to make "gravy" in such a tiny pot! That was probably the first time I had ever eaten pasta with the "appropriate" amount of sauce. Surprisingly, it was quite good.
I still love to use a lot of sauce on my pasta dishes but instead of making fatty, meaty gravies like my grandparents did, I make sauces that are packed with veggies that are low in fat and high in powerful plant chemicals. 

Instead of meat, I use plenty of veggies in my sauce.

Eggplant, portobello mushrooms, red bell pepper and crushed tomatoes make up this delicious low fat pasta sauce.

Selecting your Pasta
Pasta is only a problem in our diets when we select brands made from highly processed flour that is low in fiber. Pasta made from highly refined flour causes your blood sugar to spike which triggers a surge in insulin. Diets high in these "high glycemic" foods can lead to type II diabetes. 
If you are not sensitive to gluten, whole wheat pasta can be a good choice as a 2 ounce serving can provide 5 grams of fiber and 7 grams of protein. If you are glucose intolerant, there are some very good brands that even a fussy pasta eater can enjoy.
My absolute favorite gluten free pasta is made by Quinoa Corporation. Their Ancient Harvest Quinoa Supergrain pasta is made from a blend of non-gmo corn flour and organic quinoa flour. A 2 ounce serving of their rotelle provides 4 grams of fiber and 4 grams of protein. Not quite as high in fiber as those made with whole wheat but higher in fiber than white pasta. Most important, they are safe for those who have celiac or gluten sensitivities. The best thing about quinoa pasta is that it has a good texture and can be cooked "al dente". It doesn't fall apart like many of the gluten free pastas made from rice and other grains.

Ancient Grain Quinoa makes my favorite gluten free pastas! 

If you can tolerate wheat, select a whole grain pasta rich in fiber and protein.

Eggplant, Portobello Mushroom, Red Pepper, Tomato Sauce
Vegan, Gluten Free
[makes ~ 6 cups, enough for 1 pound of pasta]


1 lb eggplant, unpeeled, diced
Salt for sprinkling
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, or to taste
1 cup chopped onion
4 cloves garlic, smashed and chopped
1 1/2 cups chopped red bell pepper (1 large)
1 large portobello mushroom, 1/3 pound, diced
1/2 teaspoon salt,
1/2 cup red wine (optional)
1 teaspoon dried basil
4 cups crushed tomatoes (32 ounces)
Black pepper to taste
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped


Place diced eggplant in a steamer basket and sprinkle generously with salt. Toss so the salt is distributed. Let the steamer basket sit in the sink for 15 minutes or until the eggplant sweats.  Leaving the eggplant in the steamer basket, rinse off salt and steam until cooked - about 10 minutes. Set aside.

Sprinkling the eggplant with salt and allowing it to "sweat" removes the bitterness. If you are using small eggplants that don't have many seeds (like Chinese, Japanese or Sicilian zebra or graffiti eggplants), you can eliminate this step and just steam the eggplant.

While the eggplant is steaming, heat oil to medium heat in a large saucepan and stir in red pepper flakes. Add onion and cook for 5 minutes.
Add garlic and cook for another minute.
Add red pepper, chopped mushroom and salt and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until peppers and mushrooms are soft. 
Add wine and cook for another 5 minutes.
Add steamed eggplant, basil, crushed tomatoes and bring to boil.
Lower heat and simmer, partially covered, for 30 to 40 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce reaches the desired consistency. 
Adjust salt and add freshly ground black pepper to taste.
Top with fresh parsley and serve on your favorite pasta.


Per 1/2 cup serving of sauce: 58.7 calories, 1.5 g fat, 0.2 g saturated fat, 23 mg ALA omega-3 and 236 mg omega-6 fatty acids, 0 mg cholesterol, 2.4 g protein, 10.9 g carbohydrates, 3.4 g dietary fiber and 199 mg sodium.