“The V Word” Documentary Series Puts Portland on the Plant-Based Culinary Map

Despite his Cuban background where menus are top-heavy with meat and rice dishes, Portland film director Evan M. Rodriquez fell equally in love with his wife and her choice of a plant-based diet.

After savoring plant-based dishes at different restaurants, his love of vegan food led the 34-year-old into the making of a documentary titled “The V Word” featuring vegan restaurants in his chosen Oregon city of Portland.

“It’s more about the food culture rather than the location of the restaurants,’ explains Rodriquez in an interview after the airing of the first two episodes of the documentary series.

The Foodies Moved to Oregon in 2021

Rodriquez, who grew up in Florida, moved to Portland with his wife in 2021 where they have maintained their love of watching food and travel shows such as “Chef’s Table” and “Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown.”

The first episode of “The V Word” is titled Obon Shokudo, the name of a Portland eatery that specializes in Japanese-based plant comfort food. The episode focuses more on the couple running the business, Humi Hozumi and Jason Duffany.

The couple met in San Francisco and lived in Japan before Duffany returned home to the U.S. The couple later married and settled in Portland where they opened their restaurant.

For Hozumi, her love of plant-based food stems from her childhood when her father planted fruit and vegetables to sustain his family. It was after World War II and the family was going through a tough time financially. For Duffany, his love of plant-based food grew as he and Hozumi shared time together.

Obon Shokudo serves healthy, nutritious food, and few fake-meat substitutes.

The second episode in the documentary series focuses on Ben & Esther’s vegan Jewish deli, running in Portland and in San Diego, California. Owned by Justin King, the storyline follows events in his life that led to the establishment of the deli.

The role of delicatessens in Jewish life is discussed by cultural historians and King reveals his hope that vegan restaurants will one day become commonplace and no longer considered a niche market.

Rodriquez echoes King’s sentiments, saying that vegan is a trigger word and taboo for many people. “I want to normalize vegan and plant-based eating.”

He and his wife have completed two episodes of the documentary series and are in mid-production with the third episode. They are looking for investors to bankroll further episodes.