Pods, New Carts and News
September 15, 2010
Newsy news news
I was asked recently to describe what a “pod” was in Portland and after answering the question, I thought maybe our readers may also be confused by the term. A Pod in Portland vernacular is a private lot where food carts are gathered. In downtown Portland, they are surface area parking lots owned and managed by City Center Parking. On the east side, they are private lots, usually former parking areas, that have been developed for the sole purpose to support the carts. An area becomes a pod when there are more than a few carts. Here is my list of the known pods in Portland.
In this day and age with Groupon and Living Social and other types of discount programs, we have taken coupon cutting to a new level. I take out my smartphone and show a coupon and get a deal. A new player is in town with a twist – part of the program donates to Oregon Food Bank. Portland Eats Out launched recently with a great roster of restaurants and some carts. PEO is a group of eaters who wanted to have a discount dining club that supports local eateries along with promoting hunger relief. The restaurants get new customers who get a 15% discount and 10% of every membership goes directly to the Oregon Food Bank. A win-win situation. Carts participating include The Pepper Box, Big-Ass Sandwiches, India Chaat House, Patty’s Wagon and Viking Soul Food. You can sign up or find more information about this great project at PortlandEatsOut.com
[Portland Eats Out is a paid advertiser on Food Carts Portland] __________
New Carts open in the past few weeks:
In our wonderful city of Portland, there are numerous ongoing discussions related to trash and recycling and sustainability. With the carts, the conversation always turns to re-usable containers. While it is against the law to bring your own, some carts do fill individual containers. One individual saw this challenge and decided to do something about it. Laura Weiss, the owner and creator of GO Box, launched her pilot this week with some Portland cartivores. The process is that select carts (at the moment) have re-usable containers that you trade a token for. Once you are finished with that container, you return it to the GO Box "drop box" to receive a new token. The containers are picked up from the drop box daily for cleaning and returned to the participating carts. One time subscription fee and unless you lose either the token or the container, you are good to GO. Great idea! I’m a pilot user, so I’ll report back on my findings and let you know when you will be able to participate. __________
Mark your calendar - Seattle is hosting another Mobile ChowDown on October 1. The event brings together Seattle's carts in one location and invites carts from other cities to showcase their cuisines. In the past, Koi Fusion, Garden State, Spudnik and others have participated. I understand they are recruiting even further than the NW for this edition of the event and they plan on doing it in the evening with adult beverages available. Should be fun. More information can be found at TheMobileChowdown.com
__________
Happy Carting!
I was asked recently to describe what a “pod” was in Portland and after answering the question, I thought maybe our readers may also be confused by the term. A Pod in Portland vernacular is a private lot where food carts are gathered. In downtown Portland, they are surface area parking lots owned and managed by City Center Parking. On the east side, they are private lots, usually former parking areas, that have been developed for the sole purpose to support the carts. An area becomes a pod when there are more than a few carts. Here is my list of the known pods in Portland.
- PSU - SW 4th and Hall
- 3rd Ave - SW 3rd and Stark
- 2nd Ave - SW 2nd and Stark
- Lot 91 - SW 2nd and Ankeny
- SW 5th - SW 5th and Stark
- Alder - SW Alder at 9th and 10th
- North Station - N Killingsworth and Greeley
- Mississippi Marketplace - N Mississippi and Skidmore
- Mississippi/Fremont – N Mississippi, just north of Fremont
- Crystal Gardens - N Lombard and Richmond
- Lombard Pointe - NE Lombard and MLK
- Dreamer's Marketplace - NE MLK and Graham
- Area 23 - NE 23rd and Alberta
- E 7th - E 7th and Burnside
- Cartopia - SE 12th and Hawthorne
- Good Food Here - SE 43rd and Belmont
- A la Carts - SE 50th and Division
- Division and 48th - SE 48th and Division
- Ala Carts - SE 102nd and Stark
- Sellwood – SE 13th and Lexington
In this day and age with Groupon and Living Social and other types of discount programs, we have taken coupon cutting to a new level. I take out my smartphone and show a coupon and get a deal. A new player is in town with a twist – part of the program donates to Oregon Food Bank. Portland Eats Out launched recently with a great roster of restaurants and some carts. PEO is a group of eaters who wanted to have a discount dining club that supports local eateries along with promoting hunger relief. The restaurants get new customers who get a 15% discount and 10% of every membership goes directly to the Oregon Food Bank. A win-win situation. Carts participating include The Pepper Box, Big-Ass Sandwiches, India Chaat House, Patty’s Wagon and Viking Soul Food. You can sign up or find more information about this great project at PortlandEatsOut.com
[Portland Eats Out is a paid advertiser on Food Carts Portland] __________
New Carts open in the past few weeks:
- Ka-Bob’s – SW 3rd and Stark
- Deli Hut – SW 3rd and Stark
- Caribbean Kookpot – N Mississippi and Fremont
- Kindle Kart – N Mississippi and Fremont
- Roy Thai – N Mississippi and Fremont
- Chefi’s – N Mississippi and Fremont
- Viking Soul Food - N MLK and Graham
- Aybla Grill (3rd carts) – SE 43rd and Belmont
- Biscuit Bike – SE 33rd and Hawthorne
- Fon-Du-It – SE 43rd and Woodstock
In our wonderful city of Portland, there are numerous ongoing discussions related to trash and recycling and sustainability. With the carts, the conversation always turns to re-usable containers. While it is against the law to bring your own, some carts do fill individual containers. One individual saw this challenge and decided to do something about it. Laura Weiss, the owner and creator of GO Box, launched her pilot this week with some Portland cartivores. The process is that select carts (at the moment) have re-usable containers that you trade a token for. Once you are finished with that container, you return it to the GO Box "drop box" to receive a new token. The containers are picked up from the drop box daily for cleaning and returned to the participating carts. One time subscription fee and unless you lose either the token or the container, you are good to GO. Great idea! I’m a pilot user, so I’ll report back on my findings and let you know when you will be able to participate. __________
Mark your calendar - Seattle is hosting another Mobile ChowDown on October 1. The event brings together Seattle's carts in one location and invites carts from other cities to showcase their cuisines. In the past, Koi Fusion, Garden State, Spudnik and others have participated. I understand they are recruiting even further than the NW for this edition of the event and they plan on doing it in the evening with adult beverages available. Should be fun. More information can be found at TheMobileChowdown.com
__________
Happy Carting!
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