El Salto PDX 100% Vegan Venezuelan Comfort Food — Restaurant in Portland

Purely unique, excellently prepared and utterly satisfying. Let's discuss each reason for praise.

When I say it's unique, I mean that in three ways. One being that Venezuelan food is already uncommon as it is. Factor in that it's vegan at the same time, and it's a rarity to find even if you look throughout the entire US.

Secondly, the style itself is distinctive. Paola goes for authentic tasting versions of her people's food. She's trying to have you take a bite out of Venezuela, and won't sacrifice taste because it's vegan. So, where as a restaurant may be boring and just use naturally vegan ingredients like a Black Bean Arepa with no meat or cheese, El Salto gives you the full package. It stays hearty, gooey, tender, juicy, and flavorful. If places do somehow manage to do a vegan Arepa with a meat/cheese option, it's more than likely a name brand like Impossible. Nothing wrong with Impossible inherently, but it probably means they aren't enriching their meat with deep flavoring and just the right texture like Paola does. She makes all her meats from scratch, and her labor of love is what sets her apart from competitors who offer less interesting, more copy-and-paste vegan options (which wouldn't exactly wow a typical client, let alone a food critic). A good analogy would be like carnival food vs restaurant quality. Where one reels you in mostly by milking your brain's chemicals, another is clearly winning you over from a longer check-list of qualities that make food satisfying. From the perfect seasoning, to a great feel when you bite into it, a fulfilling sensation in your stomach that doesn't make you feel like you'll be hungry in two hours, and yet not too overwhelming in any one category of judgement.

Thirdly, it's unique to have so many options of both the kinds of different foods, as well as different variations of the main entrees. El Salto offers a total of FIVE Arepas: Chicken, beef, chorizo, cheese, AND a chicken/cheese combo. That's plenty to get addicted to. They also have four kinds of patacones, and four sides. PLUS, if you're lucky enough to come in when she's doing a special, you'll have even more options. A little Trupia told us that the tequeños are becoming a regular item soon, so look out for that! As for the excellent preparation, well, take a look at any pictures of her food and you'll see an outstanding and mouthwatering result. The presentation is simply worthy of photo-taking.

Please stop by to pick up her incredible cooking. Seriously, you'll be impressed by how thoughtful her creations are from start to finish. When the word is out about El Salto, you're going to want to brag about how she was your favorite before...

I’m vegan and gluten intolerant, and traveling from out of town. Those of you in my camp know how hard it can be to find food options on any given day—and most often it’s one menu item and/or requires a lot of changes or accommodations. But finding something with a full menu of options, and on a Sunday evening? That’s bananas. Literally. And this place has them too.

We found it on a google maps search of the area we were in, drove ten minutes down the road, and should have known it was a food truck—in true Portland fashion—tucked away in a little neighborhood. I could not be any more content and satisfied with the meal we got. My husband has no food restrictions, but was kind enough to order from here as well so we could share two items and try more things. We ordered the Patacon de Chorizo, Arepa de Poyo Guisado with fried bananas, and Yuca Fritas on the side. Omg good. Like, SO good. And to have the menu clearly labeled so folks can order to their specifications/needs. The service was fast, the plantains and yuca fritas were perfectly fried and crispy, and the flavors just jumped out for a mouthwatering, and dietary friendly, experience. Definitely worth a visit, or a detour, or a regular option in your going-out rotation. Or for us, a 2.5 hour drive when I need to eat there again. Enjoy!

(Note to celiacs—I don’t think this is a dedicated facility, so keep that in mind or ask ahead if they can meet...

We stumbled upon El Salto when they did a pop-up in our neighborhood and we were absolutely delighted then and we are delighted now, even more so now that they have a great location.

The food is absolutely delicious and unique; there is nothing like it. Five stars, hands down.

The only comment is that we placed the order online at 6:25 PM (cut-off online is supposed to be 6:30 PM), however the page told us our order will be available the next day. No big deal, we can call them. Well, no answer. I kept calling and no answer. I kept calling while I drove to the food cart, no answer. I had to place the order in person when I got to the cart. There is nothing more frustrating than a business not answering their phone.

We really hope El Salto thrives, and answers...