Documentary series on Portland vegan restaurants aims to go beyond ‘preachy’ stereotypes

Director Evan M. Rodriguez says that making "The V Word," a documentary series about Portland-based vegan restaurants and the people who operate them, has been "a journey. It's almost ironic in a way that I made this, because growing up, I was the most stubborn, pickiest eater."

But despite coming from a Cuban family, where meals were heavy on meat and rice, Rodriguez found, after eating at some restaurants that specialized in vegan fare, "that I fell in love with their food."

Rodriguez, who grew up in Florida, also credits his 2018 move to Oakland, where "I started dating a vegan," who Rodriguez wound up marrying. The couple enjoyed watching food and travel shows, such as "Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown," and "Chef's Table," on Netflix, which Rodriguez calls "the golden standard of documentary storytelling."

Once Rodriguez, 34, and his wife moved to Portland in 2021, the director got the idea to make a documentary series about plant-based cooking. His work as a commercial director had put him in contact with Fujifilm, and the company funded the first two episodes of "The V Word."

While the first two episodes of "The V Word" focus on the stories of people involved with a pair of restaurants located in Portland, Rodriguez said, "We don't really focus a lot on the location of the restaurants. It's more about the food culture."

The episode about Obon Shokudo , a Portland restaurant that serves, as its website says, "Plant-based Japanese comfort food," provides examples of the dishes. But the emphasis is more on the couple who operate the business, Humi Hozumi and Jason Duffany.

Hozumi recalls growing up in Japan, and how, after World War II, "everybody was having a hard time," which inspired her father to grow vegetables, and plant fruit trees. Hozumi met Duffany when both lived in the San Francisco area. The two went to live in Japan for a time, but Duffany returned to the United States, and when Hozumi said she couldn't come back to the U.S. because she didn't have a work visa, Duffany suggested they get married. They did, and settled in Portland.

Of their restaurant, Duffany says, "We don't do a lot of fake meat," and instead concentrate on serving healthy, nutritious food.

In another episode, Rodiguez tells the story of Ben & Esther's vegan Jewish deli, founded in Portland, and which also has a location in San Diego, California. Owner Justin King talks about the twists and turns in his life that led him to found the business. Some segments of the episode were filmed in New York City, and cultural historians discuss the role of delicatessens in Jewish life.

King says he doesn't like that vegan restaurants are considered a niche market, and wishes for a future where vegan restaurants are commonplace.

For Rodriguez, the episodes are "human interest stories that take place in the food world. Food is acting as the vessel through which we get to know these people."

Rodriguez was also interested in "normalizing vegan and plant-based eating." For some people, the word vegan is "taboo," Rodriguez said. "It's like a trigger word."

"I think that comes from the way that vegans are portrayed, as being preachy, holier-than-thou, preaching to people about why they need to stop eating animals," Rodriguez says. "And hey, I get that. I myself am not a strict vegan, but because my wife has rubbed off on me, I eat plant-based food like 80 percent of the time."

Though there are only two completed episodes of "The V Word." Rodriguez says, "We're in mid-production on a third episode. From there, we need more funding to continue the series."

The first two episodes of "The V Word" will be screened at The Living Room Theaters on Sept. 25. Though those showings are sold out, people can watch "The V Word" for free on the streaming platform

Stories by Kristi Turnquist

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