Location: SW 4th Ave. in between College and Hall streets (near PSU)
Description: I have no idea about the name Inter Selects and what it has to do with Thai food. However, I do know that this cart is pumping out one of the largest Thai cart menus with far from the standard Portland Thai cart fare. In addition, this cart wins the cart award for most menu photos. The menu is blasted all over the cart, and someone in the operation must be a passionate photographer, because all the food looks fantastic.
Sure, you can get your Pad Thai or green curry cravings met, but dig a little deeper and you’ll discover one of my favorite Thai salads: Som Tom. I call it the “Thai Coleslaw”. Shredded green papaya and carrots, mashed together with peanuts, tomatoes and a spicy lime/fish sauce dressing. Served with sticky rice and the BBQ chicken, this is the essence of Thai street food. For an Isaan Thai treat (Isaan is a Northeast region of Thailand), try the larb ground chicken salad.
Stirfried dishes like the Ginger Perfect with your choice of sliced meat or tofu and fresh ginger, mushrooms, celery and onions is a standout. As is the rib sticking hearty muslim inspired Musaman Curry (Musaman means muslim in Thai) with potatoes, carrots and meat in a deep red curry sauce.
Inter Selects is also one of the few Thai carts serving Thai Dim-Sum type dumplings and fried treats like fried chicken or the decadent Heavenly Chicken – ground chicken and spicy seasonings bundled in a crepe like wrapper and fried to a golden crunch.
Inter Selects. Whatever the name means or comes from, I don’t care. The food here is darn good.
Sample Menu:
The Menu is far too big to list all of it here. In addition, they have a printed menu that they gave me, but it doesn’t really match up with everything they offer.
(Prices are in the $3.00 to $7.00 range, but you can grab the standard lunch stuff for around $5.50. A bargain!)
- Summer Rolls (tofu) – $3.00
- Spring Rolls (vegetarian)
- Satay Chicken
- Steamed Vegetable Dumplings
- Tom Kah Kai (coconut) soup
- Tom Yum Chicken Soup
- Pad Thai Noodles
- Drunken Noodles
- Fried Rices (variety of different types including curry and pineapple/cashew)
- Variety of different stir fry dishes
- Variety of different curries (red, yellow, green, musaman, panang, etc)
- Fried or Grilled chicken with sticky rice and som tom papaya salad
Hours: Generally lunch – late afternoon Mon-Fri. Call for more info 503-270-1732 or 503-703-0619
Website: Unknown
Email: Unknown
Phone: 503-270-1732 or 503-703-0619
Do you think this is as good as the main thai cart up at PSU? That was is awesome.
Thanks Sarah!
I think it’s hard to say which is better. I’ve found, especially with the Thai carts, that a lot of it is about individual preference. Also, some carts seem to specialize in one or two dishes, so one cart might have the best pad Thai in the city and everything else might be merely fine, while another cart may have killer curries, but their fried rice might be meh.
I say try it for yourself, and to each his own!
It’s short for International Selections
I had a stir fry here, and it was so oily that it seeped all the way through the rice and left pools in the bottom of the container. The pictures are great, drew me in, but the reality… not so much. Possibly just a bad day, bad order, whatever.
I’ve given this cart two tries, and it’s failed me miserably both times.
On my first visit, I asked for a recommendation and ended up with the Pad See U. I ended up with scant amount of broccoli a pile of greasy, tasteless noodles who’s only saving grace was that they were piping hot – so much so that the plastic tray started to melt – yikes!
Next visit I gave the Tokyo Wraps a try. $5 later I’m eating what should have run me $2 – a smallish flour tortilla (grilled nicely) filled with so-so tasting teriyaki chicken and (WTF?!?) mayo. The lettuce in the picture was missing from my wrap and the mayo surprise was an appetite buster – not to mention the absurd ratio of tortilla (too much) to chicken (not near enough).
I tried this place Friday afternoon, and was pleased with my Basil Chicken. It was a bit on the greasy side, but not enough so to be a problem – it was tasty, on the spicy side, and cheap.
I have to agree with the comments about it not seeming NEARLY as good as you found it, CBF.
I had the larb (chicken), which I love, but I know it to be a salad-y concoction of minced chicken, herbs, shallots, maybe rice powder, etc, and very refreshing.
At Inter Select, it was steaming hot and somewhat paste-like, and so incredibly salty it was hard to eat. I love salt and probably eat far too much of it, so it was shocking to have to throw away some food because of over-salting. Also, the accompanying rice was pre-steamed in a saran-wrap pouch, so it had a bad texture. And the portions were kind of small, too (w/a tip of the hat to Woody Allen).
Far better is Boonrod around the corner. Bonus: lovely people run that cart and the portions have always been generous.
I just tried their Pad Thai and it was HORRIBLE. I’m so disappointed. it was so bad, I felt compelled to cal them and let them know how bad it was. He was nice on the phone and offered to replace my meal but I work several blocks away, don’t have the time to walk back to get a replacement dish. I’m not sure if I would want one based on what I am stuck with now.
I went there 2 weeks ago and I saw a guy chef wearing a cap and their Pad Thai was fantastic! After that, I went there again. It was the same all the time. It’s totally NOT HORRIBLE!!!!!
Visit them again because they changed the owner now.Better owner.
I went back there again because I haven’t been there for a months and I’ve talked to the new chef. He said he’s from Thai Basil, Lake Oswego and he’s the best chef ever!!! And I’ve tried a new chicken basil and spicy friend rice with my friends too. When I see the food, I was like I gotta go home quickly and eat it because it looks so yummy and the smell is so fascinating!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Try again. It might not be so bad.
Awful. Really awful. I’ve tried it twice now (why I came back a second time, I have no idea). Once for a rice dish, once for noodles. All the food is oily, grayish brown, salty, and nearly inedible. The noodles are standard supermarket egg noodles. Not even remotely Asian. Ugh.
I think some other stuff such as Pad Thai and all the noodles is okay, but I’ve tried the Garlic Pepper Chicken and it was pretty good. It was pretty salty but I like salty so it was okay for me. Garlic Pepper Chicken was the only thing I have never tried. I tried it today, I’m happy. Everyone that said it was bad, try everything first and you’ll say better more than worst.
Like the last few posts alluded to, there is a newish owner/cook. The menu has been slimmed down a lot and there are a few unusual dishes. They have Kaw Mun Gai and stew pork basil and some other interesting dishes. I think the food is better than before. They also open 7 days a week and stay open later now.
I went down to the PSU pod the week before Christmas and most of the carts were closed. I made the horrible choice of getting a Pad Thai from Inter Selects, and it was not only the worst Pad Thai I have ever attempted to eat, but possibly the worst meal I have ever had. It tasted and stank heavily of vinegar, I ate 3 bites and threw it away. Completely dreadful and they’ve ensured I’ll never be going there again. People are saying they have a new chef and that the food has improved but that was definitely not my experience there. I would have been better off picking up a sandwich from the gas station there.
i’m a student from thailand and this food cart is very delicious!if you want to have real thai food you have to go to this cart