Jun 17 2010
Namu Killer Korean BBQ
Location: SE 33rd and Hawthorne
The Story:
Hawthorne, always a destination spot for many Portlanders, is now a destination for food cart lovers. With Cartopia at SE 12th and Hawthorne redefining late night nosh, and the venerable Whole Bowl up around 40th, Hawthorne knows food. Now, a new pod has spring up in front of House of Vintage at SE 33rd. Namu, a cool hand-built cart with a rustic steel roof is one of those new carts serving up a tasty menu of Korean BBQ.
Owned and operated by Gary Evans and Clint Colbert, Namu offers up only a few items, but those items sate your BBQ appetite. The pulled pork, a hunk of love that had been marinating all day is served with cabbage and a superb homemade honey horseradish sauce on a toasted bun. The pork, sourced locally from Sweet Briar Farms was decadent and the entire sandwich melted in my mouth. I was supposed to bring it home to share, but it never made it off the lot. Other items on the menu include Korean short ribs - rice served with peanut sauce, some ribs, cucumber salad, kimchee and sesame spinach. For $7, that is quite a meal. They offer a veggie bowl which, from a review by Bar Pilot over at the Portland Monthly, is a “spicy, satisfying safari of flavors.” Gotta try that sometime.
Namu is just the start of the great carts opening at 33rd and Hawthorne. They are open daily to serve you up both lunch and dinner. Since they only have a few items, you know they focus their energy to make them the best they can. Drop on by Namu, say hi to Gary and Clint, check out their cool cart and let them know Food Carts Portland sent ya.
Sample Menu:
- Pulled Pork Sandwich: sweet horseradish sauce, pulled pork, cabbage and BBQ sauce on toasted bun – $5
- Korean Short Ribs: rice w/peanut sauce, ribs, kimchee, cucumber salad and sesame spinach – $7
- Veggie Bowl: rice, cucumber salade, sesame spinach, kimchee, drizzled with peanut sauce – $4
Hours: Daily, 11am-7pm
Phone: 503 828 4260
I love this cart so much. The pulled pork is the perfect blend of sweet and salty, and every bite is juicier than the last. The $1 kimchi is also pretty delicious. I haven’t gotten around to trying out the other meats (along with the short ribs, they also have a chicken sandwich), but hopefully I will soon.
I love the vegan bowl here! I only wish they offered tofu in the bowl. But it is the perfect mix of rice, spinach, cucumber, and kim chi! MMMM. And the portion is appropriate, not too much and not too little.
Hey! there’s a Mexican cart/truck right next door to this one in front of the Vintage place. I had their veggie burrito and it was quite tasty. Check it out!
Awesome cart! Super delicious and wonderful. Had the vegan bowl and it was completely worth it. Peanut sauce on the rice was drool-worthy!
Their pulled pork sandwiches are to die for. Really fantastic and worth a drive if you don’t live nearby! (and you won’t find two nicer guys in Portland – I’m so glad to support this new venture!)
I’m a huge pulled pork fan, I happened upon this cart last week & knew I had to try the sandwich. I was not disappointed. In fact, this was probaly one of the best I’ve had, at least in this neck of the woods. My only request would be to make it slightly bigger
and maybe a pickle on the side? Cute friendly guy.
Sweetbriar Farms is the shizzle!
Great well seasoned, drippy, “porky” pulled pork sandwich. Good sized bulkogi/short rib plate. Been there three times and everyone was really nice (one even spotted me the couple of bucks that I was short!). After reading the other reviews, I’m going to have to try that vegan bowl!
The pulled pork was nice, but not spectacular. The service was good and there is nothing wrong with a coconut drink on a hot day.
The food is fantastic and the fellas are terrific too! We are so fortunate to now have Namu at 43rd and Belmont now as well.
Namu the killer cart rules. This review is long overdue since I have eaten there several times (initially at the Hawthorne location and now at the new Belmont one since it is closer to my home).
To me, Namu is a delicious fusion mix of American, Korean, and Hawaiin cooking. Whatever you eat here will be delicious. The ribs, chicken, and pork are all seasoned and cooked perfectly.
So are the vegetarian plates and sides.
The kimchi is better than at any San Francisco Korean restaurant I have eaten in (19 long years eating Korean while living in SF). FYI, they do sell their kimchi by the jar. One time, a couple leaving with a two year old after eating Namu’s food called out to Gary that even their finicky two year old loved Namu’s spinach.
My suggestion when getting the pulled pork plate is to be sure to ask for some of their BBQ sauce on the pork (they should bottle it!). The BBQ pork sanwich at $5 is huge.
You get great value here: delicious food, good quantity, and fair prices.
I bet Gary, Clint, and Christopher from Namu have no question who I am outside of cyberspace. BTW, customer service here is outstanding.
Of the two ribs that come with my rib plate, one was all gristle & fat – completely inedible. The woman staffing the cart said she didn’t make them, that’s the way they come & refused to make a substitution. If that’s outstanding customer service………
Hi There Shecky,
I apologize for your less than steller ribs. We buy our ribs from a small farm called Lonely Lane Farms and every cow has a different amount of fat on it because they are grass fed and vary in size. I can certainly understand wanting your money back if you are not happy with your meal. If you decide to come back your next meal is on the house.
Sincerely,
Gary at NAMU
Went to the cart on Belmont about a month ago and they were out of pulled pork, the guy (Gary I think) made me a chicken sandwich and threw on a few extra pieces of love, put some kim chee on top of it and drizzled it in their amazing bbq sauce. The rice is fantastic, I absolutely love the cucumber salad, kim chee is great, bigger portions for a side than at Koi Fusion and much better quality. As a devoted carnivore I even enjoy the vegan bowl.
What I’m trying to say is this place kicks ass, you will not be disappointed.