Food Carts Portland

We stand outside in the cold Portland drizzle, waiting in line as the smell of food flirts with our noses and the heat from the busy stoves inside the food cart lingers out and warms our faces. In a world of recession and unemployment and gloom, the shantytowns of the food carts have become our comfort and refuge. Not only do they provide affordable sustenance for our hungry bellies, but they also reflect the human spirit that refuses to be crushed and shut down despite a year’s worth of rampage and destruction to retail businesses and restaurants. No, instead, the food carts look at the economy, shake their fists in the air, and say, “ We refuse to cower to your expectation that we must have an expensive business plan and high overhead costs to be able to make delicious food that we care about and that makes us and the people we feed happy.” In the republic of Portland, even those who can’t afford to dine at Paley’s Place or other haute cuisine restaurants can have mouth-watering quality food that is creative, exciting, and made with care. And let’s not forget how the food carts allow us to meet and talk to the people who make our food, who are often the owners of the carts.  I love the Portland food carts because they are tasty and egalitarian!

An ongoing series of essays from our readers as to what they love about food carts in Portland. The preceding essay was from May Wang. Thank you May.