Elephant Deli

Every day at 6:30, they cut the prices by half. Usually there is a crowd of people there for the deals, but not today.

A late night sweet treat

One Dollar Vegan Corn Dogs

Favorite new finds in condiments over the last year or so

Thanks to Kelli Shay for this one.

Thanks to Q'Doba for this one.

Free Apples

This looks like a fancy schmacy Mexican restaurant

but my meal was only $5.50.

You get me closer to God

So much to see (and eat!) in Portland!

Veganopolis


Gina got a quinoa burger. I don't even know what that is, but it looks awesome.


I forget what Matt got, but it also looks amazing.


Last year almost every picture I took was of Matt or Dan taking a picture of something. I took this one for old times' sake.


Then we happened upon a dance party in the middle of town.


Some people were dancing in burlap sacks (?!????!)


Kendall and I got quick Lindy-hop lessons from these people but we couldn't do it.


In the '70s Portland tore down a highway and replaced it with this waterfront park. If you look closely you can see tons of transportation options in this picture: car, bus, boat, bike, foot, and stroller.


It's amazing how many people walk across the bridges in Portland.


You know which way the bikes are coming from so you don't get hit! Portland looks out for its pedestrians.


Portland's skyline from a bus stop on a bridge.


You can call to find out when your bus will arrive... and it works!


Just like the Bob Dylan song.


Just like a dude in a hat.


Hipster junk store.


Reflecting on cupcakes.


Matt had ten maps in every pocket.


Gina, our local guide, who guided us to this fancy but cheap late-night bar/restaurant called Montage.


Tomato basil pesto mac & cheese. I wish I had some right now.


When you take your leftovers home, they wrap them up in aluminum foil in crazy shapes. Like a squirrel.


Or a sword.


Or a dude hanging by the neck from a tree.


Late night Connect Four in the hostel.

Portland, Oregon: still my favorite city

The sky pretty much looks like this at all times. Sometimes it rains for a half hour.


The light rail trains have poetry up in them. Not as part of an ad or anything, just because Portland supports the arts!!


Spinach and black bean burrito.. mmmmm.... And this restaurant kindly asks that you recycle your aluminum foil in the provided bin. Wow!


Apparently big art walks happen on Thursdays in Portland. Who knew?? We tried it on a Friday. At least we found a few small openings.


Matt and Kendall on the bus, which comes frequently, on time, and has such a liberal transfer system that your return trip is usually free.


Yellow curry with tofu for dinner at Beau Thai (cute name or corny? you decide).

Just moments before I got a free sandwich...

The only mock meat in Nashville...

Nicole found this Chinese restaurant that has secret mock meat so Susie and I went with her to check it out. First you have to know to ask for the alternative paper menu (which apparently they only have one copy of)...


It contains an item called "vegetarian chicken," which is mock meat, but it is served cold and it looks like no mock dish I've ever seen before. In fact, it doesn't look very appetizing...

...but it's good and it's your only option in Nashville.

Chick Pea Meat(less)balls!

I tried to make these last night and it was a complete disaster. All I got was a pile of fried chick pea mush. Later I realized that I should have taken pictures of my hands covered in smashed chick peas and flour and ingredients strewn about the counter-top. So I thought that tonight I would try again and the disaster would repeat itself, but this time I would get pictures. But tonight everything worked. So I succeeded, but I sort of didn't.

Buck a Slice in Full Effect

Buck-a-Slice was in full effect last night. Sometimes I wish we got a tv signal at our house.. it would be nice to have people over for pizza and Jeopardy on Monday nights. But I guess to really get people over, we'd have to institute TJ's old buck-a-beer policy. Oh, to live in a world where Jeopardy brought out more people than beer.

Canadian Thanksgiving

I had to leave before the food was served, but I did get to experience this cauldron of witches brew.

Kelli Shay is back from her two-week tour

Buck a Slice

At our house, pizza is sold for a buck a slice on Mondays.

The Veggie Cafe

I walked up to The Veggie Cafe for lunch. It is right around the corner from my house, which is great, but for right now it is just a trailer in a dirt parking lot. They are working on opening a real restaurant in a few months. They are all-vegetarian, but I was not really impressed. The menu consisted mainly of wraps made of salads and beans, and unimaginative tofu dishes. There was nothing that would compare to Harrison Street's tempeh artichoke sub, Skylight Exchange's veggie ruben, Veganopolis's vegan BLT, or the Red Rose's home-made black bean burgers. In fact, this place commited vegetarian restaurant sin: they had Boca burgers. Seriously... I can buy those in the grocery store for a dollar a piece.
But they are now one of only two non-Indian all-vegetarian places in Nashville (and the other one is closed during the summer). So I will support them and hope that when they move into the actual restaurant building they will expand their menu.
One definite plus: the employees were super super rediculously nice. Harrison Street Coffee doesn't have that.

I saved Harrison Street Coffee from burning down

Emaleigh and I got lunch at Harrison Street Coffee today. I had a tempeh artichoke sub and she had an egg salad sandwich. I have missed Harrison Street so much - there is no equivalent in Nashville. It's all vegetarian with unique recipies and when you order they ask if you'd like it vegan.
After we were done eating, we were sitting there talking and I noticed the reflection of fire in the drink cooler. I was confused at first, I thought maybe they were flame-broiling something in the back. It's not every day you see a raging fire. But after a minute it was still there, so we got up and looked and the stove in the kitchen was engulfed in flames. The staff was all sitting around a table in the front of the restaurant so they hadn't seen it. They rushed everybody out, grabbed fire extinguishers, and called the fire department. By the time the fire trucks got there, the fire was out, but there was still alot of smoke and everything. One of the girls who was working there offered us free coffee for seeing the fire.

So, yes, Harrison Street, even though your employees have been rude to me over the years, even though you were gruff and short with me, even though you gave me an attitude and made me feel like I wasn't cool enough to eat at your restaurant, even though I once went in with a girlfriend and on the ticket to tell the waitress where to bring our food (that I wasn't supposed to see) you wrote "guy with glasses and dyke in t-shirt," I still saved your restaurant from burning down.