Heritage Street Food

Update May 7, 2009: Recently moved to NE Alberta between NE 14th and 15th

Location: New location – will update once known.

Description: Heritage. What does that say to you? To me it means old world or something long lost that we need to remember. And that is what I thought when I saw a new cart named Heritage Street Food on the way to get a taco. I had my heart set on a taco that day, but the owner of Heritage Street Food beckoned us over with offerings of a homemade blondie – a light airy brownie. Who can pass up sweets? While we munched on this little morsel, we eyed the menu and he stated he had just made beet ravioli from homegrown beets. He even show us the deep purple pasta to prove it. This engagement and what we saw on the menu was enough for us to give it a whirl.

A couple of us opted for the Cubano sandwich which was chipoltle port, honey ham, swiss, pickles, cilantro, lime may on a panini. It turned out to be on a homemade honey wheat roll that he had baked that morning.

Are you seeing the theme? It appears he has a penchant for making the food truly from scratch. Granted, a lot of food carts do that and that is why we go there. Yet, to get a sandwich with homemade bread – that is a treat. You should see his breakfast special – 10 grain beer pancakes with honey orange syrup. And the beer used is Deschuttes Inversion IPA. I’m not a big fan of pancakes, but I would try those.

Sample Menu:
Cubano Sandwich: $6
Fresh Pasta dishes daily: $6 (veggie options)
10 grain beer pancakes: 2 for $3
Roast Beef Sandwich: $7
Coffee bbq tofu steaks with jicama apple slaw: $7
and deserts…

Hours: Please call for hours.

Phone: 503 409 6884

Location: NE Alberta, in between NE 14th and 15th.

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Crown Q BBQ

Q BBQ

Q BBQ

Location: 5523 SE 28th Ave
Hours: M-Fri, 11:30am-8pm; Sat, 1pm-8pm
Updated 12/2012

Description: BBQ’d Turkey leg! Need I say more? I was off to visit my buddy who was working the swing shift at a local retail store and decided to stop in at the cart fest that is SE 12th and Hawthorne. It was Tuesday evening, so only a couple of them were open so I opted for Q BBQ. I knew I was in for a treat as I could smell bbq sauce coming around the corner and there wasn’t anyone around so I knew I would get excellent service.

As I walked up, I was heartily greeted by Gary, the owner and bbq master. Before I could even take a moment to look at the menu, he told me that this week was Chicken. I must have had a look on my face of misunderstanding so he explained. Due to the size of his cart, The G-Men stated he couldn’t offer everything on his menu all the time, so he switches it up by the week. Week 1 is pulled pork, week 2 is ribs, week 3 is brisket and week 4 is bbq chicken. Week 4 is also BBQ Turkey leg. As with all BBQ, I don’t have it enough, so always want to try everything on the menu. I ended up with a Turkey leg and 2 pieces of bbq chicken for $9.75. Oh, and he threw in some excellent rolls to sop up the bbq sauce when I was done.

I have to say. I loved that turkey leg so much, I wanted to ….. Not really, but it was tasty. I know the trick to good bbq is making sure the meat stays moist. Well, Gary has that figured out. Like I said, I was taking some for my friend who is a Texan and he too enjoyed every bit. Gary mentioned he wanted to expand in the future. Well, Gary, I think that would be a great idea.

Update, December 2012: Crown Q has re-opened in SE Portland and is ready to serve you.

Sample Menu:

  • Turkey Leg: $4.75
  • BBQ Chicken: $4.75
  • Brisket: $4.75
  • The Underdog (Veggie dog): $3:50
  • Our Original Beignets (Hot Fresh): $2.50

Hours: M-Fri, 11:30am-8pm; Sat, 1pm-8pm
Facebook: Crown Q BBQ

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Potato Champion


Location: SE 12th and Hawthorne

Description: Ahh, 2am and you’ve had a couple of beers. Now what? You could stop on by any one of the late night 24hr fast food joints for “4th meal” and pay for it in the morning, or you could head on down to SE 12th and Hawthorne and get some Frites. Yep, I’m calling them Frites instead of fries because they are that good.

Potato Champion is Portland’s only late night fry cart and from my experience, the only cart in town specializing in Belgian style frites. Belgian style frites are potatoes that are peeled, cut, washed and then blanched with a first fry before frying them again. This makes them crispy on the outside while staying fluffy on the inside. I don’t know about all that techno mumbo jumbo, I just know that they are just what the doctor ordered after a few beers at the local microbrew.

When I visited, it was pretty quiet on the corner, so I walked right up. The owners are very friendly and kind as I assume they get a few of their share of drunkards rolling by. I ordered a large cone with the Rosemary Truffle ketchup. Plenty for one person and I barely got to the ketchup as I was devouring the hot yummy fries without really thinking to pair them with anything. Next time I will try the tarragon anchovy mayo or maybe Poutine.

Yep, they have traditional Poutine, and even a vegan version. Cuisine Bonne Femme loves Poutine so much she writes,

Ah, how can I explain my love of Poutine? It’s simply trashy, French Canadian comfort food. Je t’aime la Poutine! See, Poutine is considered the national dish of Quebec, Canada. Much to the chagrin of the “real French” who consider the French Canadians a bunch of backwoods redneck idiots when it comes to cuisine. Sacre Bleu! Still, I dare you to not love anything with crispy fries covered in a rich brown chicken gravy and cheese curds, especially after a night of imbibing. I fell in love with Poutine while an exchange student in Quebec one summer, and I still crave it. It’s nice to see a place in Portland serving it.

Sample Menu:
Small cone: $3.50
Large cone: $4.50
Choice of sauces: Horseradish Ketchup; Rosemary Truffle Ketchup; Mayonnaise; Pesto Mayo; Tarragon Anchovy Mayo; Remoulade; Dijon Mustard; “Harder” Hot Mustard, etc.

Poutine: Small: $4; Large: $5 (Vegan and Vegetarian available)

Hours: Wednesday-Saturday: 8pm – 3am; closed Sunday-Tuesday

Phone: Unknown

Email: Unknown

Website:www.potatochampion.com

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King of Rice

***THIS CART CLOSED FEBRUARY 2009***

Location: SW 4th Avenue, Between College Street and Hall Street

Description: King of Rice may bill itself as “Middle Eastern” food, but that simply doesn’t do this cart justice. Sure, they serve a Vegetarian Plate made up of the typical hummus, tabbouli, stuffed grape leaves and the like. However, that’s about it for the ubiquitous “Middle Eastern” offerings found at countless other carts and restaurants around town.

See, the King of Rice is serving incredible Arabic food rarely found in Portland. With a focus on glorious, aromatic and perfectly cooked basamati rice, this food cart in the PSU cart row on SW 4th Ave, wows me to no end. Silky curries and stews made with tender chicken or lamb, perfectly seasoned biryani rice plates loaded with vegetables, exotic spicy sweet Hejazi rice with pickled mango and a wallop of garlic are but a few of the more unusual menu items. Food Cart Portland reader Chris, writes,

I’ve eaten there several times, and I’d be hard pressed to name a place that cooks and spices chicken and lamb better than they do.

And while I can vouch that the meat is indeed very tender and flavorful, the rice is the focus here. For rice plays a huge part in the center of Arabic cuisine and holds an important place at the table, served throughout the day from simple stews with a side of rice to elaborate baked rice dishes reserved for weddings and other important occasions. And King of Rice is serving food from the Hejaz tradition which contains deep influences from other cuisines as diverse as North Africa, India and Southeast Asia. It’s a delicious, and ancient, form of fusion food. King of Rice describes their food this way,

In Saudi Arabia there are two holy mosques and for 1500 years people from all over the world traveled to visit the holy lands. From North Africa, South Asia, East Asia, people gathered in the melting pot known as Hejaz. Our menu represents the evolution of Hejaz’s foods…

It’s simply wonderful homemade comfort food: a bit exotic, made with care and served in large generous portions. Really, I can’t recommend them enough.

Sample Menu: All dishes come as vegetarian (vegan too!) or with lamb or chicken. All dishes except the vegetarian plate are served with rice.  Halal foods and meats. All dishes are $6.00

Dishes (served with white basamati rice on the side)

Bamya – Okra with special King of Rice tomato sauce with onion, garlic and green coriander

Basilia – Green peas made with Special King of Rice tomato sauce with onion, garlic and green coriander

Sabanikh – Spinach made with special King of Rice tomato sauce with onions, chickpeas and garlic

Vegetarian Plate – Stuffed grape leaves, hummus, Tabbouli, baba ganouj and Arabic bread

Quzi -(non-vegetarian) Made from seasoned lamb or chicken, cooked with Arabic seasoned sauce

Mix-Curry – (non-vegetarian) Made from lamb or chicken, onion, garlic, coconut, red curry and other seasonings

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Special Rice Plates (and served with yogurt salad and made with your choice with fish, lamb or chicken):

Biryani – meat of choice, rice, onion, tomato, green pepper, ginger and cooked with Arabic and Indian seasonings

Hejazi Rice – vegetables and herbs, cooked with Arabic spices. Your choice of meat

Mandi – baked lamb or chicken, with white boiled basamati rice, cooked with Arabic seasoning (has a smoked flavor)

Fresh Juices and Desserts are Also Available

Hours: CLOSED

Phone: CLOSED

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Food for Thought, Food For Families

One of the biggest rewards for me in running this website is in connecting with other food cart lovers. It especially warms my heart to read emails like the one I recently received from reader, Sharon:

Dear CBF, Just wanted to say thanks for your site. It has been of great help in planning my weekly get together lunches with my son downtown. I pick a different cart each week, and share the goodies with him over his lunch break at work, and its a blast. Today we do Korean! Keep up the good work!

When I was a kid my family hardly ever ate at food carts simply because there weren’t many of them around, but if I bet we would have if we lived in Portland circa 2008. See, my parents are extremely adventurous eaters, as well as being bargain hunting diners. Discovering and eating at small hole-in-the-wall ethnic places, excellent sausage and kebab stands here, and even driving near and far to Farmers Markets, community fairs and the like for cheap vittles made for some wonderful budget oriented family outings and a lifetime of rich memories. Now that I am grown, these culinary tours on a dime have become a special treat when I go home to visit. We all pile in the car and drive all the way across town to eat at places like my Dad’s favorite “Polish Cafeteria” or my Mom’s favorite Vietnamese restaurant for their famous “Cinnamon Beef Soup.” I really need to thank my parents for introducing me to a whole wonderful world of food at an early age and for teaching me that eating well does not mean you have to spend a lot of money doing so. Thanks Mom and Dad for your wisdom!

Sharing some cupcakes with my friend Clio at the Sugar Cube cart on SW 9th

Sharing some cupcakes with my friend Clio at the Sugar Cube cart on SW 9th

I’m also very glad the carts exist in Portland to allow other families, either grown or young, to share in similar eating adventures, dine well on a budget and create their own important shared memories.

Bon Apetit,

CBF.