In Portland, we LOVE to eat. From top notch brewpubs to a peerless farm-to-table dining scene to artisan desserts, it’s all so, so good. But our pride and joy is our food truck game. Downtown Portland alone has more than two dozen food cart pods, and there are numerous other pods located throughout the city (in many of our favorite neighborhoods, such as Mississippi Avenue and the Hawthorne District!).
A pod is a grouping of food carts, such as the mainstay of city center employee lunches at SW 10th and Alder, which fills an entire parking lot – there are food trucks lining all four sides of the block! Anna Thai is amazing and comes with a Thai Iced Tea. Tandoor offers delicious Indian cuisine. Need some coffee? Swing by Olé Latte for an excellent fair trade cup. Commit a random act of kindness/pay it forward by buying a drink to place on their suspension board (meaning a later customer can accept your treat).
Whatever you love to eat, you can find a food truck that offers it in Portland – tacos, empanadas, pho, curries, barbeque, crepes or poutine (fries covered in gravy and cheese curds). If you adore international foods, Portland’s food carts will be like Disneyland. You will probably be exposed to some new delicacies, as well. Tried Egyptian food? How about Columbian?
Late night revelers enjoying Portland’s fantastic club scene will be excited to find food carts that are open very, very late. Many food carts pods offer some sort of seating, and some of the more delightful niches have sturdy picnic tables and overhead coverings to protect your poutine from the Pacific Northwest – ahem – liquid sunshine. Cartopia at SW 12th and Hawthorne boasts outdoor fire pits, strong wood tables and a gigantic tent. Enjoy grub from Chicken and Guns, Pyro Pizza, Perierra Creperie (look for the giant rubber ducky – yes, really) and Potato Champion, where you get the famous poutine. It’s all quite a sight to behold.
Food cart vendors set the rules in terms of hours and credit/debit card acceptance, but most will take Square. Lunch entrees average about $7.00 per item.
Get your tastebuds and your tummy ready for an adventure!
Find out more about individual food cart offerings, pod locations and all the latest food truck news at http://www.foodcartsportland.com.
Rick
9 years agoWell said, Merlin! There are so many delicious places to eat in Portland, and one of our favorite food carts that you didn't mention is Eurodish, Lydia's wonderful "Traditional Polish Cuisine" cart at SW 10th and Alder. The chicken paprikash is delectable--and you've just gotta love the name--but everything else we've tried there is, too.
The diversity of the carts and how creative they are is really the best part about them, though, which you do a great job of summing up. With something like 700 food carts in Portland and growing, they all seem to keep inspiring each other to keep upping their game!
Rick
6 years agoUpdate: Eurodish recently moved the to the "Killingsworth Station" food cart pod at 1334 N Killingsworth St, Portland, OR. Closer to home for us, so we're excited, and there are so many other great carts out here in N-NE PDX, too!