Dec 04 2009
The People’s Pig
*** Recommended ***
The People's Pig
Location: SW 2nd and Stark, on Stark, between 2nd and 3rd
Description:
Pork! Need I say more? I turned the corner and there it was, a bright yellow wood paneled food truck with a small crowd in front. I knew a new food cart had arrived. My heart skipped a beat when I saw the cart was named The People’s Pig. Everyone loves pork…. well almost everyone. I walked right up, glanced at the couple of items on the menu and ordered up a sandwich from Cliff, the owner of this cart – now 2 days old.
Porchetta from The People's Pig
Porchetta is the name of the sandwich. Porchetta is pork, wrapped in pork. Traditionally, a whole pig deboned and then put together in layers with aromatics and roasted, The People’s Pig does it slightly different. Cliff takes a pork tenderloin, seasons it, (I saw chunks of garlic in there) then stuffs it inside a pork belly to be roasted. When he showed me the finished product, I just stood there, mouth agape.
Porchetta sandwich from The People's Pig
The People’s Pig Porchetta sandwich is layers of the porchetta with arugula on good bread. My sandwich came with some picked peppers Cliff was offering. When he handed the sandwich over, I just stared at it. What a sight! Passers by stopped to ogle. Such an amazing culinary treat I was about to dive into. The sandwich was great. The layers of pork mixed with the bitterness of the arugula and the spiciness of the peppers was almost too much. A few times, I had to stop and just take it all in – a great sandwich here.
The People’s Pig is brand spankin’ new. If you head down there in this first week, they just may be a line. Like I have been telling everyone who asks – what make’s Portland unique is that when cart owners decide on a product, they pick something no one else is doing and they do it right. The People’s Pig is making porchetta and from my experience, they are doing it right. Walk on down to The People’s Pig and grab a sandwich – maybe share one with a friend – and tell them Food Carts Portland sent ya.
Sample Menu:
- Porchetta sandwich w/arugula – $8
- Porchetta sandwich w/cabbage and apples – $8
- Soprassata sandwich w/goat cheese, mama lil’s and arugula – $8
Hours: Monday through Friday – 11am-3pm (available for weekend events)
Contact: unknown
[...] People’s Pig, a new food cart in Portland, is up and running. Check out Food Carts Portland’s review here, and head down to SW 2nd and Oak (on Oak, between 2nd and 3rd) to check it out. Let me know how it [...]
Haven’t been to the cart yet – but Saturday he should be at Jim Dixon’s annual garage sale
http://goodstuffnw.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-dream-garage-sale-this-weekend.html
“Porchetta Possible on Saturday
Cliff Allen cooked at Tastebud, and he’s currently in the kitchen at Nostrana. Saturday he’s bringing his People’s Pig truck to the olive oil garage sale, hopefully with porchetta, and will be selling sandwiches full of porky goodness. Come hungry.”
I just had my first sandwich from the cart. It was delish! I would have preferred the apple & cabbage version, but the arugula was good. (apple/cabbage not ready at just after 11) The guy behind the window was nice and I’ll be back.
One note: the cart was on Stark today, but still between 2nd/3rd, right across from Mother’s.
Awesome porky goodness. Betcha can’t eat just one!
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by FoodCartsPortland, Day and Andy Jelderks, Matthew Clover. Matthew Clover said: You need to go to there – The People's Pig, new food cart on SW 2nd and Oak – PORK! http://bit.ly/6KjafB #pdxfoodc (cont) http://tl.gd/15bjv [...]
i’ve been there twice since it opened. that’s two times in three days.
yep, it’s good.
i can’t decide if i like the arugula or the cabbage and apples better.
it looks like i’ll be headed back to figure that out.
Truly the best sandwich I have ever had in my life, and I get around. My friend, a person with a tiny appetite, had already eaten at another cart by the time we stopped here. I gave her a taste of my sandwich (arugula and peppers) and her face absolutely lit up and her eyes squeezed tight. I was going to save mine until I got home as I don’t eat standing up very successfully but after her reaction I couldn’t wait. The blend of flavors and textures is just fantastic and the bread is perfect because it doesn’t have a hard crust to conflict with the soft insides. This sandwich is so easy to eat.
While I was waiting about nine people came by to order. It was pretty equal between the arugula and the cabbage and apple. Sopressata was out for the day. Cliff says he is working on a meatball sandwich and I can only imagine what heights that one will hit.
Please visit him as soon as you can. This sandwich is too good to miss out on.
Tried ‘The People’s Pig’ today and really enjoyed the Porchetta – I was a bit taken aback by the $8 dollars for a sandwich at a cart, so unfortunately I won’t be a regular. (Not when I can get a sit down lunch at Kell’s for 7 bucks) But, that said, it was one of the best pork sandwiches I ‘ve had in a long time.
Social comments and analytics for this post…
This post was mentioned on Twitter by FoodCartsPortland: You need to go to there – The People’s Pig, new food cart on SW 2nd and Oak – PORK! http://bit.ly/6KjafB #pdxfoodcarts #pork #porchetta…
Had the Meatball sand today. Really luscious. The meatballs were tender and very nicely seasoned. Sauce is rich and tangy. The bread was a great choice. Good structure but yielding and with a healthy dose of mozz melted on. I’ll be back….
Had a chance to get there a couple of times in the last month. Went alone and last time with my wife. We both agree that you have to put in the top ten list of sandwiches that we’ve ever had. I’ve only tried the porchetta because it’s so damn tasty. For 8 bucks considering the sandwich, I thought it was a good deal.
Best sandwich in Portland. Hands down. Bunk, People’s Sandwich… great, but… The Porchetta (especially greens + lemon version) is easily the best sandwich I’ve had in town… maybe anywhere.
While it’s a bit spendy for a food cart and not one I’d go to every day, I have to say the sandwiches are amazingly good at this place. He also does handmade sodas that are super tasty.
Recommended if you want to try something a little different…