Dirty Lettuce — Restaurant in Portland

Showing respect for tradition, while honoring more current concerns like animal welfare and the environment, this establishment may not be surprising to find in PDX. However, plant-based consumers generally have few options for this style of traditional Southern cuisine pretty much anywhere. It fills a unique niche. The food may be plant-based, but it's not healthy! Deep fried, fatty, and salty like Southern style food typically is. Be prepared for a heavy and filling meal. This is not my personal favorite kind of food, but it's good for what it is and I think anyone who really likes this kind of food will enjoy the experience. My wife, who is a previous meat eater, was really happy.

They use seitan for their fried chicken and ribs. It's more on the spongy side of seitan texture than some, presumably to make it juicy. The ribs were tender and it was amazingly possible (but not really easy) to cut them with what appears to be eco-friendly (non plastic) disposable forks that they offer.

The collard greens have a bacon analog that is nice and they are mild-to-moderately spicy with what feels like a cayenne pepper burn.

I'm not super impressed with the Creole seasoned fries because they are clearly of the previously frozen crinkle cut variety. That being said, the seasoning is great. They'd be awesome if they were made fresh.

The mac and cheese was one of the sides that I really liked the most. It has one of the more accurate cheese flavor approximations. As a previous vegetarian, cheese is the hardest to give up and it's nice to have something like this. This side seems to have a little cayenne bite to it.

I've never had fried pickles until coming to this establishment, but I'll have to say that they're pretty great and they came out fresh and hot. Really satisfies that salty and fatty craving many of us have.

As far as sauces go, we got Anger Management and ranch. Anger Management is sweet and spicy and is excellent. The ranch is fantastic, probably the best plant-based ranch I've had.

They don't have any indoor seating presently, so "dine-in" is at picnic tables outside. It's great on a beautiful day, but just order to go if the weather is questionable. Also, be aware that some sites may list the store as being open until 8pm. That is no longer the case. They open at 12pm and close at 7pm, currently. It seems like they get busy with people waiting for take out between 6-7 on a weekend. Parking is limited to the street and there are many other establishments nearby, so it may be necessary to park down the street.

One thing to note is that their to-go packaging appears to be free of any plastic, which is a huge plus for anyone trying to minimize their consumption of plastic.

Considering how labor intensive it is to make seitan, combined with their niche market, and recent inflation, I think the food is a pretty good value. It was $16.50 per person, plus tip. In the store they also sell other (many local) plant-based products and merchandise.

If you're looking for plant-based Southern style cuisine, go give them a try. You probably won't be...

Disclaimer, this will be a bit lengthy. I am not typically the type to leave reviews however, upon my first visit out to Portland in 2022 my girlfriend took me to Dirty Lettuce. A wonderful experience of vegan soul food with an abundance of flavors that genuinely gave me vibes of being back home in the south. It was a black owned establishment and every time I walked in after that I’d chop it up with the co owner (James, I believe was his name) for awhile. (This is not about the people; the people there, I will never have anything bad to say, good, kind people). As time went on I made the move to Portland from Florida and Dirty Lettuce was like a little piece of home; reminding me of the greasy, flavorful delicacies I had grown accustomed to for the first 20+ years of my life. We’d go there atleast once a month and splurge on the good food. From their red beans and rice, to their Mac n cheese, to their mashed potatoes, greens, cornbread; chicken, catfish, it was all incredibly tasty. A few months ago I went in again, and the set up was different, the menu was cut considerably, and I had a bad feeling. But I loved the establishment and the people, so I stuck it out and ignored my feelings and ordered my food. An infamous bowl. I brought it home and it was flavorless. Lifeless and lacking the soul and spices that made this southern food. It became Portland's spin on southern food. A town so dreary and soulless that it makes its way into the food. It made me mad. How could this restaurant, built from the roots of these good Mississippi people turn to this? Portland. I remember one time talking to the co owner and he said they had to tone down the Mac n cheese because it was too spicy for these Portland people. And all I remember thinking is, if you don’t want bold flavors and spices, you don’t want southern food. After a few months of swearing off Dirty Lettuce, I went again last night, hoping it was an off night. We ordered a plate. Chicken, mashed potatoes, and Mac n cheese. The Mac n cheese was dull, even the paprika on top I couldn’t taste; I put so much hot sauce on it it just tasted like hot sauce and that was better than what I’d originally been served. The mashed potatoes weren’t even mashed fully. Clumps of potatoes in unseasoned gravy. Not even a pinch of salt was detectable. And the chicken was much of the same. I didn’t even finish it, and I paid 60 dollars; I’d have rather wasted the money than continue eating that. While I am so happy to see Dirty Lettuce thrive on a monetary and publicity scale, it breaks my heart to see my little corner of the south turned into this. I unfortunately will not take my business back to this establishment and choose to remember it for what...

This review is very long overdue. My partner and I moved here about a year and a half ago and Dirty Lettuce has been our go-to favorite. It’s hard to convince my partner to go anywhere else! We make the 35 min (each way) trip whenever we can.

The food: seriously, it’s incredible. As someone who lived in the south for over a decade as an omnivore and then a vegan I can say that this is hands down the best southern food I’ve ever had. Their flavors are so spot on, I would pay ridiculous amounts for a recipe book if they had one. My favs are the ribs, an infamous bowl, and coleslaw (you have to try the coleslaw). My partner loves the popcorn chicken and while we have loved all the other sides we’ve gotten (shout out to the hush puppies and fries!), he also loves the two I mentioned the most. The food has decent portions— I usually have leftovers (that I promptly eat later that day/night).

The space/store: I love this cute small place with indoor and outdoor seating. Great if you have a pup and it’s a nice day out! They have an incredible store that we stock up on whenever we visit. Lots of local and BIPOC businesses supported. We especially love the Snix bars, cultured kindness cheeses (local), and the bacon they sell. Side note on the bacon: makes the best BLTs ever! Do it.

The owners/staff: the folks who run Dirty Lettuce are awesome. You can tell that they love what they do and are always happy to help you. James is usually the person taking care of our orders. He is so great.

In sum, go here. You will not regret it. And folks at Dirty Lettuce if/when you read this: thank you so much for all you do and for sharing your...