I had a great dining experience at the Veggie Grill in Portland, Oregon. Earlier this year, I visited the Cambridge, MA, Veggie Grill and had a wonderful meal as well. I can only imagine how difficult it must be to maintain high standards across multiple locations of a chain restaurant, but somehow Veggie Grill thrives. Veggie Grill remains the largest vegan restaurant company in the U.S. with a total of 33 restaurants in 5 states. Go figure, a large vegan restaurant chain that so far, champions wellness and sustainability, and consistently kicks butt! I love it.

Exhausted, I rolled into Portland on a wet and chilly afternoon for the 30th Annual Animal Law Conference, and despite hearing that Portland had over 60 vegan restaurants, I was relieved to learn that there was a Veggie Grill only a few blocks away from my hotel (in an effort to send a message, and avoid Boeing 737 MAX planes, I took multiple flights to reach Portland). As soon as I walked into the restaurant, I was met with warm and friendly greetings from both Jenn and Fay. Fay was one of the servers and she couldn’t have been kinder, or more patient, as I perused the loaded menu while hungry customers began lining up behind me. I kicked off my meal with a Moroccan Lentil Soup with chopped parsley, and if I had just ordered a couple of more bowls, I would have been perfectly happy. The hot soup was more than tasty, and it really hit the spot as I was still cold and soaked from the rain. I then started in on the sweet potato fries with chipotle aioli sauce (garlic, olive oil and salt) which were addictive, and a Chipotle Ranchero Bowl, that contained “power greens”, grilled tamari mushrooms, ranchero beans, brown rice, pico de gallo, tempeh and avocado. Yum. Each dish hit the same spot, and was excellent as well (I requested the gluten free options, as the menu didn’t stipulate 100% Organic, or non-GMO). I suddenly found myself humming as my energy slowly returned and my excitement for the conference was reignited. The food was terrific, and it tasted even better due to the kind and generous nature of the staff, and the comfortable dining space.

I spoke with Jenn and she explained how she wants to raise awareness on the health benefits of plant-based foods, and make healthy eating more easily accessible to her customers and the local community. Jenn is the Portland Veggie Grill manager, and she was beaming with pride as she talked about how much she “loves” her team, and having the ability to serve customers healthy delicious food in the downtown Portland area. She hopes that Veggie Grill will continue to grow and perhaps even set up delivery hubs in the next few years that will make nutritious, affordable food available to everyone. Wow, what’s not to love about that? Thank you Jenn, Fay, and your entire team for a lovely dining experience. I look forward to seeing you again soon! 🙂

“We know we cannot be kind to animals until we stop exploiting them, exploiting animals in the name of science, exploiting animals in the name of sport, exploiting animals in the name of fashion, and yes, exploiting animals in the name of food.” – César Chávez

**Note: DOWNFALL: The Case Against Boeing is a powerful and heartbreaking documentary. Capitalism and Greed caused hundreds of innocent people to be killed by the executives of Boeing. What was their punishment? Nothing. In fact, they were rewarded. The former CEO of Boeing, Dennis Muilenburg, left Boeing with a $62 million payout (without even an apology to the victims’ families). Just another criminal who is apparently above the law because of his wealth, and connections. Boeing is also a military weapons manufacturer.

Sources:
Click here for the Veggie Grill website for Portland, Oregon.
Click here for the Veggie Grill story.
Click here for a review of the Veggie Grill restaurant in Cambridge, MA.
Click here for a trailer to the film “DOWNFALL: The Case Against Boeing.”
Click here to learn more from Ralph Nader on the awfulness of Boeing.
Click here to learn more about the 30th Annual Animal Law Conference.
Click here to learn more about the power of plant-based diets in treating Celiac disease.