Hi Everyone!
Sorry for the long absence. Been traveling and stuff. Dieselboi has been stepping in to run the food cart site while I’ve been gone. So a big shout out to him for keeping things humming right along.
Now for the news:
Jr Ambassadors Summer Concert Series. Music and Ice Cream. Tonight (Friday, June 12), Jr Ambassadors on N. Mississippi is starting their first Friday night summer concert series! 6 pm, with the delectable sounds of: Grey Anne, Sally Ford & The Sound Outside, Petoskey, & dou’ver. Sounds like fun! 
Food Carts Needed June 17-19th. Reader Peter Eschright writes: While working on the catering plans for the Open Source Bridge Conference this June 17-19th at the Oregon Convention Center I realized how difficult it is to access Portland’s food cart cuisine from our location on the east side. Our delicious food carts put Portland’s DIY spirit right in you face. They make you savor it. So, I’m putting out this ‘Call for Cuisine’ to see if there are any mobile food vendors that would be willing and able to set up for lunch or morning coffee near the venue. Let’s show off what the Portland spirit is all about. Please contact me with any questions you have: Peter Eschright (peter@bridgepdx.org) links: Open Source Bridge Conference
Media Frenzy! There’s been so much local and national media interest in Portland’s food carts lately that I really can’t even begin to keep up. In May and June we were mentioned and/or did interviews with the NY Times, Serious Eats, CNet, Associated Press, on VendrTV, MSN, and have been getting a lot of support and lot of mentions from Patrick Coleman at the Portland Mercury. (Thanks Patrick!). Upcoming articles in Portland Monthly Magazine and Bon Apetit. As someone who started this site on a complete whim after a couple of cocktails one night, it still blows my mind that people actually read it. Thanks so much everyone for your ongoing support. You have no idea how happy you all make me.
National Cart News Carts are catching on all over. While it is true that food carts have been around ever since some guy hitched a mule up to a wagon to sell apples, and more global cities have a proliferation of carts, food carts in different U.S. cities range wildly. Sure NYC has carts, but they are now highly regulated with new permits next to impossible to secure, and per capita NYC has fewer carts than even Madison, Wis. Chicago has a growing cart scene, as do Los Angeles, San Franciso and Austin. Seattle remains a little ass-backwards in my opinion regarding how and when carts can operate, and where they can set up. Some cities, like New Orleans, have recently passed laws that severly limit carts, almost making them obsolete. Other cities however, recoginizing the economic and social benefits, are working to get more carts; case in point Cleveland, Ohio. My mom sent me this recent article on the city’s plans to work with non-profits to bring carts to the downtown area. Even the high-falutin’ Vitra Museum is currently doing a conceptual exhibit on food carts around the world. Check it out here.
So You Want to Open a Food Cart? Ok, it could be because there are a lot of out of work people right now, while others might just be catching a whiff of the entrepeneur cart spirit. Whatever it is, I’m now receiving between 3-5 emails per week from people wanting information on opening up their own food carts. I simply can not respond to these emails individually. Sorry! That said, I am working with the fabulous Ali and Evan from Little Red Bike Cafe (they started out as a cart) and other cart owners on a big old resource that spells it all out in graphic detail. Look for it within a month.
Twitter Cart Mania! I’m compiling a list of Portland food carts that are on Twitter. My goal is to add these twitter addresses to all of the current and future cart listings on the site. Thanks to my many gracious readers for sending in these addresses. Keep ‘em coming!
Thanks to you (and dieselboi) for doing this in your free time! This is such an awesome resource for those days when I start thinking, what’s for lunch today?? And the geographic info is great, too, for when I’m in other parts of town.
Just a note, (not sure where to submit this), there is a newish cart at PSU (4th/Harrison) that now serves primarily banh mi sandwiches for about $3.50 each. Several varieties including vegetarian. Pretty decent, too – bread is a little crunchy at times, but good fresh fillings.
Are you kidding??? This site rocks. I can’t wait to try all these delicious carts. You guys do a great job of scouting out the spots for us.
Thanks!!!!
Wayne
Thanks Wayne! No seriously, it still surprises me that people find, read and enjoy this site. I was so naive when I first started it that I thought it might only take me a couple of weeks to hit all the PDX food carts and then, that would be that. Ha! That was in that late summer of 2007 and we (and I say we because I now have other writers) have barely made a dent.
Portland. Food Carts. Portland Food Carts.
Who Knew?
Maija, you must be a mind reader because I was just writing about the Banh Mi place when you wrote in. I do like their Banh Mi very much. A wonderful addition to the Portland cart scene. I’m going to make a prediction and say, I’ll bet you a Banh Mi that in the next six months we see a lot more Banh Mi carts pop up around town. It’s the perfect cart food.
Thanks everyone.
In addition to compiling a list to food carts on Twitter, it would be pretty cool (and simple) to have a running feed to cart tweets in the sidebar.
Wow…thanks for the note about creating a page for those that want to start a cart business. I look forward to reading. Keep up the great writing about Portland’s food carts.
Robert
i forget if you already posted about this, but i walk by this every day and cant help but (selfishly!) hope it is a successful venture (since its close to my house). but maybe its a nice match for the 3-5 queries a week about opening food carts.
http://www.missmarketplace.com/topics/announcements/ (food cart “pod” on mississippi?)
also, fwiw, i would be *way* into a quick guide/how-to on opening a cart. my wife actually used to run one, and maybe some day we will again!!
(and yes, THANKS for all you do here.. i love it. the food carts should subsidize this site! not kidding. haha)
I stumbled onto this page and thought some folks might be interested: we have space for 1 or 2 more food carts in a shady garden with a common family-style seating area. Electricity and water hookup available. It is located in the back of the same building as Albina Press coffee and Mississippi Health Center. Rent is $385 per month when in business, $150/month when you keep your cart here but are gone. There is very little food on this end of the Mississippi corridor so this is a great opportunity! Landscaping will evolve further in the next month and the handmade family style table and seating will be delivered this weekend.
Call Beth at 503-267-1565 if interested.