Vegan

5 Top Spots for Vegans in Bend, Oregon

https://www.chicvegan.com/5-top-spots-for-vegans-in-bend-oregon/

A few hours east of the vegan paradise of Portland lies Oregon’s high desert. But Bend isn’t a desert for vegan food. I’ve visited several times and still haven’t run out of excellent places to eat. Here are a few of my favorites so far.

Next Level Burger

This is where Next Level began, a visit to the mothership of the organic vegan burger chain is a must while in Bend. Next Level makes a plethora of burger patties, involving different blends of quinoa, white beans, black chia seeds, black beans and mushrooms. Fries come in regular or sweet potato, and you can get vegan milkshakes. Not a fry person (Are there such creatures?)? Order your burger with a side of kale salad instead.

Chow

As someone who favors old houses, I love old house restaurants and felt very at home here. While breakfast is easy for vegetarians, I often find it the hardest meal for vegans. But Chow offers more than the default oatmeal made with water. They made me a lovely tofu rancheros, and also had a vegan benedict. I ate there the day before Thanksgiving and they even had vegan pumpkin pancakes.

Bethlyn’s Global Fusion

Named for Chef Bethlyn Rider, this cute world fusion café has a wide-ranging menu. She mixes Aer with African, French with Indian, whatever it takes to make an interesting dish. Bethlyn’s Global Fusion is a good place to get a few appetizers or bigger dishes to share. Good vegan choices include roasted India chick peas, Thai coconut curry bowl, or a Mahn Mi lettuce wrap. Lots of menu items can be made vegan on request.

Vegan dishes at Bethlyn's in Bend, Oregon — Vegan dishes at Bethlyn’s.

Joolz

A different type of global fusion happens at Joolz’, whose tagline is, “Where the Middle East meets the Wild West.” Chef Ramsay Hamdan was born in Beirut to a Lebanese father and an American cowgirl mom. Joolz is a bit more upscale than other places on this list, and its pretty Middle Eastern décor lends itself to a romantic date night. They do a nice job with standard veg Middle East choices, like falafel, grape leaves and baba ganouj.

Bonta Natural Artisan Gelato

This gelato place is packed even on November nights—and we know, because we went two nights in a row. Gelato joints usually offer sorbets, too, which I’m sure many people find delicious. I’m not one of those people. Sorbet usually tastes like fruit concentrate to me, making me envy my husband’s gelato and throwing what he calls “a vegan tantrum.” But Bonta provides for people like me. In addition to their sorbets, they make some richer, coconut-based vegan ice creams, including chocolate coconut. A delicious end to an evening out in downtown Bend, Oregon.

Bonta's frozen bounty in Bend, Oregon — Bonta’s frozen bounty.

Vegan

Malvani Chicken Curry (Western Indian Coconut, Kashmiri Chili, Onion Curry) gluten-free, nut-free

Explore regional Indian cuisine with me and Try this fantastic Malvani Chikin curry! Western Indian spicy caramelized onion, toasted coconut and kashmiri chili sauce with crisp tofu! This sauce is flavor packed and has its own malvani masala spice blend! 1-pan meal meal that’s delicious served over rice or with flatbread or naan.

malvani chicken curry in the pan after cooking

Malvani cuisine originates from the western coastal region in India. It has overlap with Maharashtrian(cuisine of state of maharashtra in India) as well as Goan cuisines and includes a lot of fish and local meat dishes. The flavors are very specific to the cuisine, with its own spice mixes (malvani masala or malvani garam masala) and cooking techniques.

I’ve been exploring amazing regional flavors from various parts of India and brining you vegan versions, simplified or inspired dishes and today we are making vegan malvani chicken curry! For the sauce base, we use a blended roasted onion and coconut mixture, which is called vatan, making our own malvani spice blend with some spices, and using crisped up tofu in place of the meat. You can use other protein such as chickpea tofu, vegan chickin or beans as well. Traditionally, you don’t add any cream to this curry, but you can add some(it will also balance out the heat), add in some cashew cream or other non-dairy cream right at the end.

close-up of malvani chicken curry in the pan after cooking

The sauce and spice mix includes a lot of Kashmiri chili powder (I know right, you need some!) and black pepper, so it can get pretty hot. You can reduce these spices to suit your heat preferences, if needed.

Like I mentioned above, we make the flavorful Malvani masala spice blend from scratch. It is so delicious! If you have access to Malvani garam masala, I recommend using it in this recipe instead of the spice mix that I’m making below, to reduce active time. Just mix it with two teaspoons of Kashmiri chili powder and use. You can use this fragrant spicy blend over roasted veggies or with beans. It’s flavorful and can be used in many ways!

Key features of Malvani Curry

Malvani masala: this spice blend and the curry are known for the deep red color. It can be made with milder chilies with deeper color like byadagi chilies and Kashmiri chilies. I am using Kashmiri chili powder for a quicker version

Vatan: the sauce made with blended caramelized onion and toasted coconut makes the base of the curry. It adds a delicious sweet toasty flavor and some texture.

Slow long cooking: the longer cooking time helps the flavors meld and the colors to show up. The sauce when well cooked will get a glaze of the deep red color and a settled flavor. Before that state, the coconut might be a stronger flavor and the sauce might be lighter.