An Explosion in Food Carts

        My curiosity had gotten the best of me.

        I’d been hearing about the explosion in food carts in just one block near the university, and I couldn’t wait any longer; I'd have to walk over there to see what was happening.

        That Indian and Thai food was being sold was old news. I'd seen those carts as I’d worked my way through the lines of customers while getting to the track when I was still jogging. I was willing to hazard a guess that there might be six carts in operation now...may eight, but wow, was I surprised to find that there are now 17.

        They can no longer be in one long row along the sidewalk; one had to be around the corner, and one was across the street. Portland has had food carts in parts of the city for many years, but I’d never seen so many gathered together in one place like that.

        I talked to some of the proprietors, copied sample items from menus, and (because it was too early for any customers to have appeared), read reviews that customers had written after sampling the food

        Here’s a sample of what I learned:

• A graduate student wrote that she didn’t eat out often because it’s hard to find things that are healthy as well as affordable, but she had been pleased with Yassu’s $5 vegetarian special. It was tasty and filling, and came with a salad, 4 stuffed grape leaves, 4 falafel balls with a yogurt sauce, hummus, pita bread, and various veggies as garnish. She said that the meal would be good for both your heart and your wallet.
• Their menu includes roasted game hen, baklava, and babaghanolu (eggplant).
• One of the customers liked the liver shawarma. It was only $4, and now she’s going to try their chicken and beef shawarma. They also have hummus.

• A student said he was apprehensive about eating from a street cart because of a possible lack of concern about sanitation and the quality of the ingredients. His friend had ordered Chicken Goa Curry with naan and mango laksi for the two of them. He’d liked the curry which was packed full of spices, the right consistence, and generous. When he also found that the laksi was creamy with the right amount of tartness, he changed his feelings about street corner food.
• This is one of the quickest carts on 4^th Avenue according to one of the students. In less than 5 minutes you’ll get the $5 special consisting of naan with three veggies and a meat entrée. He said not to worry about the non-Indians working the window; they’re also busy tending the tandoori oven. They have wonderful saag; all creamy and spinachy with soft garbanzos, and you’ll want to check out the samosas.
• I rate this cart as four stars. I'm really lucky to have it so close to my work. It’s the best Indian food in Portland.
• I got Chicken Tikka Masala and an order of veggie samosas to share plus a mango lassi for myself, because a lassi is one of my favorite things. All this was about $12, and it was soooo much food – perfect for sharing, so I’m glad I didn’t get two entrees. The samosas were enormous, and the giant container with the Chicken Tikka Masala had so much rice that 2 people still couldn’t finish it.
• The glorious smell of curry made its way to my nose well before I got to the cart. There was a line – or perhaps I should say a clump – in front of the cart. That was an excellent sign of how their vegetarian and meat lunch specials can’t be beat. The price is now $5.50 for the special, so make sure you don’t show up with only a five-dollar bill to your name.
• When I scanned the menu board, I saw…pishwari naan. It’s a rarity to get coconut stuffed naan. I wouldn’t have cared if the rest of the food had been complete garbage, but I snapped up a vegetarian special. Back at my office I found the contained to be full of rice, saag, aloo, paneer, and naan. The quality was excellent, the naan fresh, flaky, and charred in just the right places.
• The basmati rice today was amazing – perfect texture. Their sauces are always superb. This place rates five stars – hands down.
• Three little words. That’s all you’ll ever need to say when visiting this cart…Chicken Tikka Masala. Get some naan with it and … enjoy!
• I ordered the spicy $5 special the first time I visited this cart, and the two of us couldn’t begin to finish half of the rice that was covered with curry, 2 different meat entries, and warm slices of naan. We could hardly move. By 6 o’clock however, we found the place still open so we got two cups of the most delicious creamy hot chai tea I’ve ever tasted. I’ve been a regular at this cart ever since. P.S. – Try taking home some almond/cashew/coconut-stuffed naan for dinner

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• The Phat Khee Mao was good from my first bite, but by the time I finished, I love it.

• As this cart rarely has customers waiting, I usually pass it by and head straight for another Thai cart, but there were lines everywhere the other day so I stayed and am glad I did.  The proprietress puts a lot of love into each order. Unfortunately, the other thing she puts in is a lot of time.  Lots and lots of it.  I was the second person in line and had to wait 15 minutes before placing my order, and another 25 minutes before it arrived, but it was terrific- lots of flavor, spice, and HUGE portions. Good stuff. I guess this block does have room for another Thai cart...albeit a slow poke.
• Its menu board also advertises bubble tea, shrimp tempura, fried wonton, orange chicken with rice, hot and spicy noodles, peanut sauce salad.

• I think this is the fifth Mexican cart to open up on the PSU cart block. Somebody did some bad market research, but I was happy with the quality of the food.  I got the Trio Fajita Burrito with shrimp, beef and pork.  Very good, but they need to do a better job of chopping the tails off of the big shrimp.
• This cart is probably the best Mexican option in this pod.  Nice people working here and a huge menu including some delicious huaraches that are missing from the competing carts.  I’ve learned, however, that it’s better to order by phone; that saves a lot of waiting. 
• The Steak Fajita Burrito for $4.50 is a steal.  It’s huge and full of goodness.  

• The menu is loaded with tons of vegan food. My vegetarian friend is very excited about their vegan Caesar wrap.
  
• It’s probably the best bang for your buck. My giant burrito with chicken was only $4.50. I also got a Mandarin Jarritos and my whole meal cost only $6.00. That’s so cheap!

• This new-ish food cart is across the street from where I work, and I love it. The specials seem to change daily and are a great bargain. The cook and order-taker are really friendly and they cook after getting your order. The guacamole is delicious... I recommend the Chile Relleno Burrito and my, oh my, the SOB burger- it helped cure my Monday blues!! It's a juicy burger with pepper jack, bacon, guac and chiles. It’s like having a party in my mouth. The portions are so big that I can get 2 meals from one $4-$5 burrito.
  
  
• -I've had some busts at this pod of carts, including the intriguing sounding but way-too-sloppy, sauce-drenched burger at Fernando's Mundo Fiesta. It’s impossible to eat on the street without incurring a serious laundry bill. And that brings up the central problem with this pod of carts. There is no shade and there aren’t enough tables or garbage cans.

·         I was drawn in by a BIG sample and a friendly greeting at this foot cart and asked for my order to be put in a bento box.  (You can wash and reuse them at home.)  They only have one thing on the menu – charbroiled Teriyaki Chicken and gyoza so I ordered it (for $6) and it came quickly.  You get a heap of salad and two pieces of gyoza.  They were both perfect 

·         The name means “lunch box”, and the owners are almost too friendly.  You get brown rice at no extra charge.  The teriyaki sauce is neither too salty nor too sweet.  They pour most of it at the last minute so you can ask them to hold it and then use a couple of their sweet chili sauces.  One of them is labeled (but I can’t remember the name), and the other is a mystery bottle with something like hot chili sauce in it.

        A pulled pork waffle is one of the unusual things that can be served on a waffle. When in place, the meat and the waffle is covered in hot sauce. Fresh coleslaw provides a taste contrast.

        Operated by a husband and wife team, this cart has many choices for waffle-building including pure maple butter, homemade almond pecan streusel, and spicy Italian sausage. You’ll have fun using food combinations you never thought of before.

        The photo of Dosirak shows that Parker’s Waffles in right next door.

        You’ll find all kinds of handmade soups here – Pork Butt, Roasted Tomato, Yukon Bratz, Baby Arughla. Fresh Mozarella is made every morning. It’s good with rustic read stacked with tomatoes and a drizzle of balsamic syrup. You also find unusual, inexpensive salads and sandwiches to go with your soup.

·          A cart just around the corner is run by a couple from Trinidad, and Caribbean family recipes are used.  An all-vegan/vegetarian approach is used with most items costing from $4 to $6.  One of their specialties is the sambusa, a folded triangle filled with potatoes and lentils and flavored with cumin.  A bit bland at first bite, try them with the special hot sauce that is provided.  Read the above menu board for more ideas. 

·          Meals consist mostly of rice and greens cooked with spicy oil, or coconut milk or tomato sauce with a side of fried or boiled plantains.  When ordering soup, try the Groundnut Sip or the Palm Nut Sip.  I tried the Jollof Rice Special, touted as a “real African favorite”, and it was very satisfying – moist red rice mixed with black eyed peas, a little onion and cabbage topped with slices of cucumber. 

Ahla W Sahla

        The title of the Lebanese cart across the street from the others means “Welcome”. Among the things served are kibbeh and rice, chicken kabob, falafels, and shawarma.

Thai Passa

        Serves Pa Nang Pumpkin, Drunken Yakboba (eggplant), Pad Phet, curries, and Gai Satay (Barbecued Chicken).

Suligo Thai

        Typical dishes from Thailand

Rice & Noodle

        Chow mein and Lo Mein from Canton, sing Zhou (Singapore), Zha Jiang (Beijing), and Malay Mee (Malaysia)

Vietnamese Banh Mi

        Sandwiches

Philly Cheese Steaks/ Burgers

        Yesterday I’d visited at 11 a.m. and the windows were just being opening for noon-hour traffic.

        Today – at 2 p.m. – I returned, and the place looked much the same. Though the rush at lunch was over, I saw only two customers, and both of them were at the same cart so the personnel in the other 16 carts were on duty, but no one was placing orders.

        It’ll be hard to stay in business that way so I’ll hazard a guess that the number of carts will slowly be decreasing as the weeks pass.

        Before I left, I happened upon a second restaurant that probably wishes the number of carts hadn’t increased. It occupies the ground floor of a building across from the Asaase Ital Palace, is called the Alexandrya, and serves Mediterranean food.

        While I was writing down the exact title, the proprietor came out to talk with me, and I asked if all the food carts were affecting his business. “There is no doubt of it”, he said sadly. “All they have to do is pay a little rent to the owner of the land, get the permission of the city, and they’re in business.”

        I wonder how many carts there will be a year from now.