The haha's of green and nutritious eatings: Laughing Planet Cafe, Woodstock

It was like some psychedelic horoscope with Jupiter aligning with Mars when my long time friend, adventure buddy, and former college dorm-mate, Astin the Alaskan Sassin, announced she was leaving Anchorage for Portland around the same time I was leaving LA for Portland. After all, we did win the roommate game back at school and we did bike 100 miles from Portland to Astoria upon graduation (completing our PAC), and we did swim in the freezing cold Columbia River among other adventures. The latest adventure being an encounter at Laughing Planet Cafe with live Alaskan Sassin breast feeding (!) and meeting Astin's new baby girl, Teslyn.

The Laughing Planet, a Quarry Girl Approved  establishment, is a quick service, über green restaurant that serves nutritious, sustainable no pinkies-in-the-air fare.



We started off with a round of fresh brewed ice teas ($1.75) to go with our Stegosaurus dinosaur friend. Every table at Laughing Planet gets a dino.



Next, we each got one of the soups du jour. Astin's pick of the spinach and lentil soup with a side of foccacia was fresh, filling and flavorful.



This summer, gazpacho has been all the rage, and I haven't had a chance to make it myself so I had to order Laughing Planet's version, which ultimately proved to be taste more like semi whirled salsa more than anything else.



The Che Guevara ($4.95) burrito, with brown rice, black beans, plantains, sweet potatoes, pico de gallo, and spicy barbecue sauce seemed like a total carb bomb, but it actually proved to give be a delicious savory sweet energy booster, getting me through the rest of the afternoon without feeling lethargic. Even better with banana sauce (see below).



The Amazin' Grace ($5.50) quesadilla with tillamook jack cheese, local sweet corn, mild green chilies, cilantro pesto, and pico de gallo proved to be the all around favorite.



And a new favorite find: Banana Sauce! Where have you been all my life? I loved the spicy sweet hot sauce imported from the Philippines that tastes nothing like actual bananas (thank.god).


Laughing Planet Cafe
4110 SE Woodstock
Portland, OR 97255
503.788.2921