October 10, 2010

The Whole Bowl

The Whole Bowl does a great job of getting customers in and out, providing them with great service, and relatively healthy food in a reasonable amount of time.

The Whole Bowl is really quite simple. The hole in the wall eatery offers only one thing- a tasty bowl in one or two sizes. The basic gist is that for about $5 you get a large bowl of (supposedly) healthy fare. To the best of my knowledge, the bowl consists of brown rice, black beans, sour cream, avocado, cilantro, tomatoes, cheddar cheese, olives, and some top secret sauce that really completes the bowl of deliciousness. Customers can either choose to have everything on it, or ask for more or less of certain items in the bowl.

During busy hours, there can be a fairly lengthy line along the Hawthorne location. The Hawthorne location consists of a window to order from during the day, but there are also about ten seats indoors and outdoors, weather permitting. Other locations include carts downtown and the NW. While the menu is simple, The Whole Bowl does a great job of getting customers in and out, providing them with great service, and relatively healthy food in a reasonable amount of time. While there are a number of locations, I once had a friend request driving across town to retrieve one of the bowls only to find to her great disappointment that the Bowl isn’t open on Sundays. Despite the Whole Bowl’s (sometimes) odd hours, it manages to encapsulate Portland “street food” in a tasty, affordable, and quick meal for those who are short on time.

By Jessica Yeh

Pros

  • Good Vegetarian Bowls
  • Reasonably priced to other bowl locations
  • Quick food

Cons

  • Only bowls
  • Cash only
  • Little available seating