Food Cartopia: Open Wide in Portland
Ruby Dragon in the N. Mississippi food cart pod, by Robin Tierney
In bicycle-centric Portland, Oregon, trucks are holding their own. Food trucks, that is. Also called food carts, this urban gastronomic phenomenon is gaining traction in cities worldwide, testimony to vending as a rare entrepreneurial success story in our roller-coasting economic times.
What sets this city’s street food scene apart from the pack? Kelley Roy and Kelly Rodgers, authors of the new book, Cartopia: Portland’s Food Cart Revolution, suggests it is “the way vendors continually push the genre’s traditional boundaries, so that today, entire food cart villages have laid down roots and offer increasingly sophisticated and varied cuisine.” Another distinction: a collective cartopian foundation built upon local and sustainably sourced ingredients and eco-minded practices.
And where else can you find tantalizing Pad Thai, addictive soy curls, fist-defying gourmet tacos, artful crepes, nearly every ethnic cuisine and cooking style, served from the windows of vehicles ranging from converted Airstream RVs, hacked bread trucks, lunar transport module-lookalikes and retired military vehicles?
The upcoming Portland VegFest on September 17-18 at Oregon Convention Center offers a timely excuse to survey some of the city’s appetizing mobile sustenance units. Most trucks cluster in pods around the city, which is cleaved west and east by the Willamette River. Some carts open only for lunch; others serve into the night. So I’ve included some websites that provide hours and other details.
Kitchen Dances recently opened its windows at SE 43rd and Belmont. Chef Piper Dixon, known for his stand at the Montavilla Farmers’ Market and chops demonstrated at regional restaurants, had clientele ready and waiting for his Golden Beet Ravioli, Tempeh Reuben and raw creations sourced from his garden and local indie farms.
Off The Griddle on SE Division Street in the A La Carts Food Pavilion (50th at Ivon Strett) cooks up veggie burgers, tempeh bacon and other neo-comfort food on a solar-powered grill. Everything’s totally plant-based, gluten-free, sourced from local growers and delicious. That includes the Kombucha.
Homegrown Smoker at SW 4th Avenue and College Street has won over a hardcore carnivore who told me about this outpost that specializes in vegan versions of comfort food: field roast chorizo, tempeh ribs, mac-no-cheeto stuffed tortilla, BBQ beans, chipotle slaw, smoked soy curls, corn on the cob, molasses gluten-free cornbread. They make their own dairy-free cheese.
Sonny Bowl at SW 3rd between Washington and Stark vegan) crafts delectable vegan rice bowls that draw other food cart owners for breakfast and lunch.
Wolf and Bears at SE 20th and Morrison Street serves up delectable Middle Eastern pitas, velvety hummus and a legendary falafel with eggplant from lunch to evening.
Native Bowl parks in the Mississippi Marketplace pod at N. Mississippi and N. Skidmore. Owner/chef Jay Hasson and his wife opened the cart about 18 months ago, lured from California by Portland’s food culture. Fresh, organic, contrasting-texture ingredients are powered up by the zesty, intense sauces. My choice, the Broadway Bowl, held a savory ambrosia of grilled tofu, peanut ginger sauce, jasmine rice, red cabbage, carrots and cilantro. The soy curls proved addictive; regulars also praise the desserts.
Ruby Dragon is steps away from Native Bowl, so I got dinner to go. Hours later, the Abbott bowl-in-a-sandwich still rocked the tastebuds. Ruby Dragon is Thai meets raw, with ingredients fresh-picked from the owner’s urban garden. Local faves include the quinoa pancake with optional (ha!) dark chocolate and walnuts, roasted roots, cashew eggplant and curry with sticky rice.
DC Vegetarian is a lunchtime favorite in the downtown SW 3rd & Stark pod. Interesting story: owners/chefs Becky Leonard and Damien Gill launched their cart in Washington DC before transporting it to Portland in 2008. Explains Leonard: “We saw that the creation of low-cost, non-pretentious food establishments was a goal of chefs and consumers alike.” A good fit for their creative meat-free renditions of comfort foods like the Philly cheesesteak, which features their homemade seitan, Several markets now sell their seitan patties
Suzette may well be the only place you can get made-from-scratch crepes from an Airstream RV. Vegan-friendly, too. On N. Alberta ; try the Marsala fig savory crepe.
Potato Champion! At 12th and Hawthorne, you can pair refreshing Watermelon Basil juice with fries drizzled with satay sauce and raspberry chipotle.
Whiffies Fried Pies at SE 12th and Hawthorne. Made fresh, various vegan options, but nonetheless bedevilment for dieters between the fried savories and the “Mounds” with coconut cream and chocolate chips.
Sip has two carts: 3029 SE 21st Avenue in front of People’s Food Co-op and the newly opened NE Alberta Street location. Organic juices wheatgrass shots, green smoothies, really good superdrinks.
Just Thai at SW 3rd between Washington and Stark downtown serves
heaping $6 plates of real deal soups, noodles, rolls and curry; vegans, the mushroom-based house sauce is plant-based. I hear if you bring your own food container and cup, you get a free drink.
Pyro Pizza at SE 12th and Hawthorne wood-fires exceptional 7-inch pies. Another prime, and eco-driven, pizza cart: Give Pizza a Chance downtown PDX near Just Thai.
El Nutri Taco tempts hungry crowds to its two carts with authentic Mexican dishes with apt monikers such as the Volcano Burrito. 8438 SE Woodstock Boulevard and NE Alberta Street.
Taqueria Los Gorditos at 50th and SE Division, save room for the Soyrizo Taco, avocado and bean bowls, and Gorditas – flatbread stuffed with beans and your choice of actual or mock meat.
Bombay Chaat House at 804 SW 12th Avenue. Previously named Indian Chaat House, it still gets raves and ravenous diners for its Indian lunch specials.
There are some 500 carts in the city. Some open only for lunch, some do breakfast, others stay open into the evening, and some close in the winter, so check online for current hours. Profiles and maps can be found at Food Carts Portland. That’s where I learned about the new PIE Spot at the D-Street Noshery pod at SE 32nd and Division. Gastronomic crack includes Marionberry Pie Holes. Granted, some menu items’ names may smack of bad taste, but Portland’s food carts set the bar for lip- and finger-licking flavor.
Have favorites you want to add? There’s plenty of room for extra helpings in the comments section below.
Native Bowl food cart on a windy morn, N. Miss pod, by Robin Tierney
