OK, this is a little crazy, but it’s also a testament to how good the food is at this restaurant….
We were visiting the U.S. last year around this time because my sister was getting married. She was living and getting married up in Tacoma, Washington. Never being to the Northwest before (north of the San Francisco metropolitan area, that is), I knew I had to visit Portland in that time, being one of the greenest, most bike-friendly cities in the country and a city planning dream (my master’s degree is in city planning). We only had one and a half days in Portland and we wanted to eat at all the vegetarian, vegan, raw food, and organic restaurants we could. Unfortunately, with such little time, we could only hit a few. But within those few, we found a gem, the Prasad organic and raw food restaurant located in a yoga and healing arts center, Yoga Pearl.
The food we had there was definitely some of the best food I’ve had anywhere in the world. I think it’s my favorite restaurant I’ve ever visited… (and I make a point of trying to visit the best restaurants I can find everywhere I go).
I said I was going to write about the restaurant and the delicious meals Marika (my partner) and I had there. Because of the fact that there is ALWAYS something important to write about on here, and because I knew I could write about this restaurant any time, it has taken me a full year to get to this! But, it never got dropped from my list.
So, overall, I just wanted to say what I said above — this restaurant is good, especially for anyone who is focused on eating organic, vegetarian, or raw foods. (Also, they get their fresh, organic produce delivered by bike from B-Line.)
The dishes/ingredients vary with the season, but you can have a look at the current online menu here. Taking a glance at it right now, my mouth is watering.
Soul Salad
Organic Soul Salad from Prasad in Portland. (click to enlarge)
I had the “Soul Salad.” As you can see on the menu, it includes:
- spinach
- chipotle tempeh
- black beans
- pepitas
- slow roasted tomatoes
- avocado
- red chili vinaigrette
The sauce was totally amazing, so I asked one of the owner’s what it was and mentioned I’d be writing a post on it here on Eat Drink Better. This is the recipe:
Red Chili Vinaigrette
Ingredients
- 4 New Mexican chili peppers
- 2 T whole cumin seeds
- 1 Chipote pepper
- 1/4 cp salt
- 1/2 cp agave
- 2 cp lime juice
- 1 qt olive oil
- 1 tsp pepper
Cooking Directions
- toast New Mexican chiles & cumin
- blend all ingredients, adding olive oil last
Truly delicious! Try it out.
House Salad
Prasad organic and raw house salad. (click to enlarge)
Marika got a version of the House Salad, I think. As you can see in the picture here, it included:
- carrots
- beets
- spinach
- avocado
- mixed greens
- tomato
- green onions
- cucumber
- lemon ginger sauce
- garlic tahini sauce
Also completely delicious (I liked mine more, but she liked hers more :D).
Next time you are in Portland, I recommend you check out Prasad.
Top image via Prasad
Bottom images via Marika & me