Portobello Vegan Trattoria - Vegan, Gluten Free, Portland Restaurant Review

Get ready, it's another post about pizza...

Flash back to 1987, when Belinda Carlisle released a song with this lyric: "Oh baby, do you know what that's worth? Oh, heaven is a place on earth." Flash forward to present day. I just experienced heaven on earth. And this song runs through my head every time I think about that fateful day.

Cheesy? Yes.
Literally.
(I am sorry, it had to be said).

So, I have been hearing things about this vegan restaurant in Portland for awhile now. It's called Portobello Vegan Trattoria and they offer an ever-changing seasonal menu with gluten free options. I had looked at their online menu a handful of times, but had not gone yet.

Anyway, a couple of months passed and thanks to LivingSocial, I got a sweet deal and my hair cut at Fancy! Hair Salon, which just so happens to be located next to Portobello. My hairdresser, Lu (love her!) and I had a mouth-watering conversation about vegan, gluten free food and she mentioned Portobello. After talking and getting a great haircut - I knew it was a must try!

We got there on a Friday at 5:30pm, which is when the open for dinner. Unfortunately we waited in the freezing cold with other patrons for nearly 15 minutes, before they unlocked the doors. I felt as though it was a bit of an off-night for them (I hope), as they were still assembling menus when we entered and it took a long time for them to even seat everyone, even though the restaurant was empty. I forgave them as soon as I sat down. Why?

Because they have awesome tables and a really beautiful wall made from recycled wood. Every table has a cute glass bottle full of water and they have letter-pressed menu covers. They offer the kind of vegan food you have to go to a restaurant to get, it's fancy! The biggest reason I forgave them? They have gluten free, vegan, pizza dough.

Andrew and I looked no further than the list of pizza selections. I ordered the Daiya pizza, which came with Italian Daiya cheese, basil and the most delicious home made pizza sauce ever. The crust was... well, lets just say I honestly thought they made a mistake and didn't give me gluten free crust. It was crispy and delicious like an Italian pizza crust. I told Andrew I bet my crust was even better than his non-GF. He was too busy inhaling his pizza to hear me. He ordered the Arrabiata pissa. It came with hot peppers, sausage, garlic, spice chili, fennel marinara, Daiya and chili oil. It was fancy. Again, I questioned the "vegan-ness" of the sausage. Too good to be true.

I felt like I was in a scene from "Eat, Pray, Love". I felt like I was sitting in some cute little Italian restaurant in Italy eating the world's best pizza. I savored each and every hot bite. And for $11, I could barely eat half of it! The left overs were equally as enjoyable.

Andrew declared it his new favorite restaurant (I still remain Blossoming Lotus loyal, how have I not had that post yet?!). I declared it "fancy ocassions" and "birthday dinner" worthy. But here is the best part - it is also "every day" worthy. We both got 2 massive pizzas for less than the price we would pay for an over done, cheese-less, gf-vegan pizza at Oasis Cafe on Hawthorne. In fact, we could have split one pizza and been comfortably full. Though, when I mentioned this to Andrew, he protested that it's so good and he would want a whole one to himself.

There were other items on the menu we want to try, but I fear we'll never be able to order anything other than the pizza. Andrew's golden birthday is this month and he has already put in his request for dinner...

Please excuse the iPhone photo. It does no justice!

Gluten Free & Vegan Polenta Pizza Stacks

When I found out I would have to change my eating habits to be gluten free and vegan, I immediately thought about pizza. I thought about how I had just got these really delicious margherita ones from Costco. They were topped with gooey cheese, tomatoes and basil and were oven baked in Italy (according to the box) and had the most savory, thin, crispy crusts. I tried to remember the last time I ate pizza and was devastated at the thought of never again biting into a piping hot slice. It's not my favorite food, but it's definitely on the list. After all, I was totally one of those kids who grew up eating frozen Tostino party pizzas (and yes I still crave those).

The good news is that I did not have to give up pizza! I can bake my own using Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Pizza Crust (with an egg substitute like flax meal). I can top them with Daiya, the most delicious vegan cheese to ever exist. I can even go grab a pizza from Cafe Oasis in Portland. I am lucky. My pizza cravings can always be satisfied!

Sometimes I am in a time crunch though or don't feel like spending extra money to go out for pizza. That is why I thought up the concept of using polenta to make little tiny pizzas. They are cute and fun to put together!

Polenta Pizza Stacks

Ingredients:

1 tube of polenta (Trader Joes)
Pizza Sauce (Trader Joes)
Fresh Basil leaves, cut into strips
Sliced Olives
Sliced Mushrooms
Sliced Roma Tomatoes

1. Preheat the oven to 350.
2. Slice the polenta tube into rounds (about a dozen)
3. Place the polenta on a greased cookie sheet and spoon some pizza sauce onto each round.
4. Top with basil, olives, mushroom and tomatoes, or whatever ingredients you wish to use.
5. Bake for 20 minutes.

These may not give you the experience of eating slices of pizza, but they will satisfy your craving! They are perfect for appetizers, as a side dish or even as a main dish.

Enjoy!

Basil Love.

In March I planted five tiny little basil seeds and did not think anything would ever become of them. Mostly because I am famous for killing off plants by dehydrating them and then excessively watering them in the hopes to bring them back to life. I have not quite figured out when they die during my two-step plant care. Anyway, I am beyond trilled to have basil just shooting right up (even if the 5th seed never sprouted). I can happily say I am about to transport it to our outdoor herb garden in the hopes of having abundant basil this summer!

On that note, I love basil. It is my favorite herb and I can never get enough of it. So one day I was thinking about how great homemade pizza with basil sounded (I spend a lot of time contemplating food). So, I just whipped some up! It was gluten free and vegan and oh so delicious. If you are looking for a good pizza crust recipe - I don't have one... yet. If you are looking for a good pizza mix - I do have one! Bob's Red Mill GF Pizza Crust is very good and I simply replace the egg with flaxseed meal and water.

1 tablespoon of flaxseed meal plus three tablespoons of water = 1 egg. Just stir it and let it sit for a minute or two before adding in place of an egg.

Anyway, it was really awesome pizza. It had basil, onion, tomato, kalamata olives, pine nuts and pizza sauce.

So if you are hankering some GF/vegan pizza, give "Bob's" a try!!