Meat fiend I am; a tad contrary to the overarching food/healthy living blog trend; yet as I am sure has been made apparent multiple times throughout the lifespan of Salt Water Coffee, I have a pretty passionate penchant for protein, preferably in the following forms: Guinea hen, humanely raised Draper Valley or Petaluma chickens, veal, grass-fed filet mignon/tenderloin/London broil, lobster tail, jumbo prawns, succulent Emirati Hammour fish, Norwegian salmon, rabbit, and yes, reindeer cold cuts (I am Finnish, after all.)

However, unbeknownst to myself (until perusing my latest foodie photos), meat has not taken up residence on my plate or been pronged by my fork since…Saturday:

All-you-can-eat lunch buffet at India House: Tandoori chicken, chicken tikka masala, subzi vegetables, pickled onions, roti, and some unpictured raita. Sub-par Indian food in my honest opinion.

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Sunday was a gorgeous miracle of a day in which Portland reached a stunning SEVENTY DEGREES…hence Yurop, Naz, and I knew it was the perfect day for some Eastside Eats:

Cartopia on SE Hawthorne & 12th: Potato Champion and Pyro Pizza (unpictured)

We started with a large order of Fries with wasabi mayo, tzatziki party sauce, chili garlic sauce, and hot mustard. It’s a nice change eating these in the daytime, that’s for sure (They’re open until 3am and thus a super popular Portlander post-party munchie jaunt)

Seemingly nine centuries later (or rather after waiting almost an hour post-order), we FINALLY got the two pies we ordered at Pyro:

Incredible crust, freshly pulled Mozzarella, San Marzano tomato sauce, spinach, and mushroom

The Greek: sundried tomato and kalamata olive sauce with freshly pulled mozzarella

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Understandably, a lunch of pizza and fries is bound to tide you over for a good several hours…several hours spent with Nazu in which we did everything from :

• Studying for finals (in my case that would be a Fundamentals of Movement self-evaluation)
• Frolicking in the sunshine talking about how badly we wish there was a country club nearby we could hang out at (don’t ask…Naz was raised in Bombay, I in Dubai…country clubs are a fact of life)
• Salivating over Louboutins and Choos on their respective websites
• Trying on our Commencement Banquet ensembles (and figuring out appropriate shoe/handbag/jewelry pairings of course)
• Watching the trailer for African Cats (anybody seen this) and BBC highlights of the Royal Wedding cake…

Nectar Frozen Yogurt Lounge- Pros: Great un-cheesy atmosphere with couches, sample cups you DON’T have to ask for. Cons: Only six flavours to choose from

Roasted baby aubergines (with cumin, coriander, & garam masala), South Indian porridge, Punjabi chole, green chili chutney, TJ’s chili sauce, Fage 2%, eggplant hummus, baby heirloom tomatoes, & chili flakes. Looks crazy and potentially gross, but absolutely DELICIOUS…so yeah.