Say goodbye to butcher chic and hello to vegan paradise at the newly de-animaled Counter Culture restaurant. Brunch 8 am to 3 pm, Saturdays-Sundays. Counter Culture offers vegan cooking classes the second and fourth Monday of each month.
Current classes concentrate on baking.
The Portland restaurant scene has long been a haven for vegans, with an eclectic mix of cafes catering to purer tastes. Perhaps the most famous is Jim DeFeo's Paradox Palace Cafe on Southeast Belmont Street and his newer Vita Cafe on Northeast Alberta Street. Other vegan outposts include Nicholas' Restaurant on Southeast Grand Avenue and Dogs Dig on Northwest Davis Street. But even though the vegan's philosophy is widely honored in Portland, from Cory Schreiber's Wildwood to Accuardi's Old Town Pizza Company, there's been no restaurant that is totally vegan or offers a high-end cuisine to counter the culture of butcher chic. Counter Culture started life as a neighborhood restaurant on the far end of Northeast Killingworth in January 1998.