Sep 23 2007
Ziba’s Pita’s
Location: SW 9th and Adler Parking Lot
Description: This cart has received a lot of media attention the past year, for good reason. Ziba’s is Portland’s only Bosnian food cart. What is Bosnian food, you ask? Bosnia is located in the Balkans, so think of a delicious hybrid of Eastern European food crossed with Greek and Turkish influenced Mediterranean cuisine, and a hint of the Middle East thrown in as well. Sound good? It is.
This is food that is both comforting and exotic at the same time. It’s also not super heavy, emphasizing veggies, cucumbers and yogurt, and things like roasted eggplant and red peppers. Everything is prepared fresh daily and made by the charming Ziba herself (who will also probably be the one serving you your food).
The pitas themselves are not what you might think: More tender and flaky strudel-like than bread-like, with a choice of different fillings including spinach and a cottage-like cheese, seasoned ground beef, or zucchini (vegan) for $4.75 a la carte, or $5.50 for a plate that comes with cucumber and yogurt salad and Ajvar which is an eggplant and red pepper side dish. I’ve read that some think the “pitas” here are a bit greasy, but I’ve never encountered that.
Another outstanding item is the Cofte meatballs with yogurt sauce ($6.50 for a combo plate).
Hours: Mon-Fri Lunch Hours, usually open until 2PM or 3PM.
Phone: Unknown
Ziba’s pitas are the best!!!
It is very clean and fresh every time. Just really good food. She (Ziba) is super nice.
Must try.!! ********Highly Recommended
Ate there today on your recommendation – thanks, CBF!
The spinach-filled pita was wonderful and not at all greasy. And Ziba is indeed a charming lady who made sure I was happy with my food.
Now I want to try the beef pita and the salad plate.
Oh how I wish she had more than a cart! I would eat there daily. A lot of the cart food downtown is surprisingly good, but Ziba’s is amazing! Ziba herself is so friendly and she makes the most delicious stuffed “pitas”. She makes everything herself every morning. They are light and unique, with the stuffing throughout the entire dough. The cucumber salad and red pepper spread on the full plate option only enhance this fantastic taste sensation. Needless to say, I am addicted!
Just went there for the first time, and I am addicted. Oh my God is it awesome. I got the #4 a la carte, and I will probably never go anywhere else for lunch.
hahaha, welcome guys and enjoy our kitchen. i grove up on that food and so far i am 6’5″, there is something in that food, trust me…enjoy!
Simply amazing… I had the Cufte (pronounced: chufte) meatballs which came with a garlicky yogurt sauce and ustipak (fried bread), and I also had a cucumber salad. The all-beef meatballs were tender, delicately seasoned, and delicious, and you will need all the ustipak to mop up every last drop of the sauce because you won’t want any to go to waste! The cucumber salad provides a crisp cold balance to the savory meatballs. Filling, satisfying, but not too greasy or heavy, just yummy. Will definitely be returning!
I was thrilled to introduce my PDX friends to Bosnian staples today. My husband, also from Sarajevo, has threatened to open up a Bosnian cafe in our Bay Area home only unlike Ziba, he can’t cook. All I can say is A visit to Ziba will be a must on future visits to Portland.
[...] town this week filming. I met Dan Delaney and his crew yesterday just after they finished up with Ziba’s Pitas and Spella Cafe up off SW 10th and Alder. This isn’t your typical “hey, check out this [...]
It has been a while since my husband I have been in the Balkans. We were very, very homesick for his native land’s food. Ziba’s filled the void in our stomachs and hearts. The taste is authentic and wonderful. It makes us want to move to Portland!
[...] to the street carts afterwards for lunch. Here we’re eating a Bosnian burek (a veggie pastry) with a pimento dipping sauce, and meatballs for the tamer tastes, but you can get [...]
[...] will feature the following Food Carts for your noshing needs: Koi Fusion, Al Forno Ferruzza, Ziba’s Pita’s, Pirate Dog, Los Gorditos, and ice cream from Rudy Speerschneider of Junior Ambassador’s. [...]
I noticed a lot of folks on Yelp raving about the ajvar. It is quite good–I saw Ziba dishing it up and the jarred ajvar she uses appears to be a brand I’ve seen for sale at Foti’s Greek Deli on Burnside.