We mentioned this in one of our Food Carts Portland news blurbs last week, but wanted to give it a little extra shout-out.
The pieLab could use a little Portland love to help make their interactive game – slash – downtown pie cart become a reality.

There’s only 3 days left to help the pieLab raise the $241.00 left to meet their overall $1500 goal.

What is the pieLab? It’s part social/economics experiment, it’s interactive, and well, it’s a food cart that will serve pie in a whole new kind of way. Who doesn’t like pie? You can read all about it here

We here at Food Carts Portland are pledging $5.00 (up to $50.00 total) for every $10.00 pledged by readers from this site. Just mention on your pledge comments Food Carts Portland sent you. Please help bring more pie to downtown Portland. Please. Pie. Portland. mmmmm…it’s a win-win for everyone.

Go to The pieLab’s Kickstarter Page to donate.

We’ve talked many times about the benefits of having street vendors in cities. They provide an active positive street use, act as a community gathering place, transform vacant and sometimes blighted land, and food cart vendors offer affordable food options in neighborhoods. Yet, there’s another benefit to street vendors around issues of public safety. Street vendors help act as, what urban planners call, “eyes on the street”. This means the vendors know their streets well, and notice if anything is amok. They are watchful and diligent. Street vendors are often first responders when crime or other disasters occur.

Take the recent NYC Times Square bomb scare. From the NYC based Street Food Vendor Project:

In case you haven’t heard, NYC street vendor Lance Orton (left) and other vendors are being declared as heroes around the world for spotting the car bomb in Times Square yesterday and taking quick action to report it to the NYPD. Thank you, Lance, for your quick and selfless thinking. You are a hero for your service in Vietnam and you were a hero again yesterday.

There’s even a Facebook Page to ask Mayor Bloomberg to take these fine Street Vendor Heroes out to dinner.

A big salute to Lance Orton and all the other street vendors out there who do what they can to keep citizens safe.

NYC and other city governments are not always welcoming and supportive of their street vendors. NYC especially has had a history that ranges from excessive permitting to proposals to downright ban vendors altogether. Let’s hope in light of this recent incident that cities realize street vendors are about more than just hawking cheap goods and food, they are about keeping communities safe.

(note: updated 8:11PM May 5, 2010 to reflect that these were street vendors, not specifically street food vendors).

Location: 6010 NE Killingsworth (next to the Best Fuel gas station/convenience store)

The Story: Taqueria Mendoza is a little ocean blue trailer tucked into a scruffy strip on NE Killingsworth. It’s located in the Best Fuel gas station parking lot if that gives you any indication of the ambiance. Yet, Mendoza does this neighborhood a huge service, for there is little in the way of quick, healthy and affordable eats on this strip. The neighborhood, as well as working people on their way to and from work, truck drivers, laborers, and even the occasional business person seem to stop here for their taco fix.

Taqueria Mendoza may not have the deepest menu of regional specialties or obscure organ meats, and what they make is simple and straightforward, but they do them quite well. Plus, this place is indeed cheap, with $1.25 tacos that are fresh, and filling. They are even vegetarian friendly with choice of veggie tacos, enchiladas, or burritos.

A nice option for dinner for those in the area, Mendoza is also open until 9PM Mon-Sat.

Sample Menu:

• Choice of chicken, beef (carnitas), pork, pastor
• Tacos $1.25
• Burrito $4.50
• Quesadilla $4.50
• Torta $4.50
• Enchilada $4.50
• Vg. Burito $3.50
• Vg. Enchilada $4.50
• Bean and Cheese Burrito $1.50

Hours: Tuesday through Saturday, 11am-6pm

Phone: Unknown

Location: Ala Cart cart pod. SE 102nd Ave and Stark

The Story: The Shalimar Cafe cart  in Portland’s gritty outer SE 102nd Ave and Stark Street is worlds away from the ancient and majestic Shalimar Gardens in Pakistan. Yet, Portland’s Shalimar Cafe is 100% authentic Indian/Pakistan in both food and spirit.

North India and Pakistan share a rich culinary history and crossover cuisine that includes one of the most intense and diverse food cart cultures on the planet. Cities, small towns, and rural areas contain row upon row of food carts and vendors, some as humble as a simple grill set up by the side of a dusty dirt road with others set up in elaborate vans, trucks and semi-permanent tent  marketplace compounds . From dawn until dawn the next day people of all persuasions can find everything from a simple two-cent glass of Chai tea and a piece of grilled flatbread  for breakfast, to a full-on 5 course gourmet meal for lunch or dinner. Eating from food carts and street vendors is simply a way of life in India/Pakistan, as it has been for thousands of years.

Shalimar Cafe is indeed Pakistani owned and run, and in addition to serving  Halal meats, provides a nice tour of Indian and Pakistani street food specials such as Samosas – deep fried triangle pastries stuffed with vegetables and chutney, and Alu Kebobs – crispy-tender cutlets made of potatoes, onions, cilantro and freshly ground spices.

This is also the only Indian food cart I know of in Portland to have its own Tandoor oven. Things like chicken, naan breads and other “tandori” dishes are cooked with special equipment in the proper method and temperatures to give them even more authentic tastes and textures. The Standard vegetarian (or meat and 2 side dish) combo with rice and naan bread is available, but it’s the Chaat (snacks) Shalimar offers that seem most interesting to me. These include a textbook Samosa Chaat with garbanzo beans and smothered in a yogurt and tamarind sauce, and Pani Puri – Crispy chickpea flour cracker shells served with  spiced potato mixture and tamarind chutney.

Like most Indian carts, this one is also quite vegetarian and even vegan friendly since India has a large sect of vegetarians and vegans. Thus, the cook at Shalimar won’t look at you cross eyed if you ask for no meat or dairy. Some menu items are made with butter or milk, but just ask the cart vendor for specific details on each item. Although Shalimar Cafe isn’t located anywhere close to where I live and work in Portland, it seems worth the trek to the “SE Hinderlands” for their large portions, quality food and very decent prices. The fact that Shalimar is open on Saturdays is a big bonus to help me get my regular Indian food cravings fix.

Open since December of 2009, Shalimar has carved a niche for themselves and seemed steady, if not busy the few times I’ve been there. Check them out for yourself and let us know what you think.

Sample Menu: The full and extensive menu is located on the Shalimar Cafe website, but here’s a sample.

Vegetarian Five- Course Daily Special. 3 vegetarian choices, Basamati rice, naan bread – $6.00

Meat and Vegetable Five-Course Daily Special. 2 vegetarian choices, meat of the day special, Basamati rice, naan bread – $6.50

Chef’s Specials (rotate by day of week and week of month).  All  served with basmati rice – $5.50 to $6.50 All items can be served as a wrap in naan bread that includes  lettuce, tomatoes, onions & yogurt sauce. May include items such as chicken curry, aloo (potato) curry, chicken saag  or alu saag (spinach), chicken or potato Makhani, alu mattar (peas and potatoes in red sauce), mattar paneer (cheese and peas in red sauce), Balti Chicken, and/or Channa Masala Punjabi.

Vegetable Samosas – $1.50 each

Tandoori Salad. Pieces of tandoori chicken with lettuce, tomatoes, green peppers, and onions. – $5.50

Alu Kebob. Cutlet made of potatoes, onions, cilantro and freshly ground spices. – $1.50 each

Raita – Homemade whipped yogurt with, tomatoes, onions fresh mint leaves and freshly ground spices. – $2.00

Tandoor Specials -$6.50 each. Served with rice or in a naan bread wrap with lettuce, tomatoes, and raita yogurt sauce.

• Tandoori Chicken. Chicken marinated in yogurt and freshly ground spices and grilled to perfection.
• Chicken Tikka Masala. Tandoori roasted chicken tikka, in a tomato and butter sauce.
• Chicken Kebob. Juicy cubes from chicken marinated in yogurt and freshly ground spices and grilled on a skewer.
• Seekh Kebob. Finger rolls of ground beef mixed with ginger, freshly ground spices and fresh cilantro.

Dal (v) or Dalmakhani. Black lentils and beans, cooked in onions, tomatoes & cilantro. Dalmakhni is cooked with cream. Served with rice- $5.50

Vegetable Korma. Nine assorted garden fresh vegetables sauteed in a traditional onion & tomato sauce. Served with rice – $6.00

Alu Kebobs with Rice 2 Cutlets made of potatoes, onions, cilantro and freshly ground spices. – $5.50

Beverages

• Lassi- Refreshing yogurt drink, sweet or salted – $2.50
• Mango Lassi- Yogurt drink with mango, sweet or salted -$2.50
• Bottled water, Pepsi, Mt. Dew – $1.00
• Masala Chai, Chai, or Shalimar’s special herbal tea – $1.25

Hours:

• Monday – Saturday 11:00am-7:00pm
• Winter Hours. Monday – Saturday 11:00am-5:00pm
• Closed Sundays

Phone: 971-219-5922 (Catering Phone: 971-404-7721)
Email: shafi@shalimarfood.com
Website: www.shalimarfood.com

CLOSED
Location: Ala Carts cart pod – SE 102nd and Stark

The Story: Smokin’ Jim is a super friendly, big bear of a man with a big grin and one seriously big BBQ, Bar-B-Que,  Barbecue, or however you want to spell it.  For example, Jim’s smoker, attached to the back of his cart, is the size of a mid-sized automobile. You just know an outfit like this honors the history and culture of the ‘Q.

Needless to say, Jim smokes everything himself including chicken, pulled pork, beef brisket, and pork ribs alongside a whole bunch of smoked sausages such as brats, hot links, smokies, and even hot dogs. Jim loves to smoke stuff. The day I was visiting he also had smoked salmon at $7.95 per package, and you can bring your own meat or fish and he’ll smoke that for you too. Jim is an equal opportunity smoker.

For you BBQ geeks, I can’t say if this is Kansas style, Texas Style, Memphis style, NC Style BBQ or some  hybrid there-of. Sauces are thick, but bright and tomatoey with a bit of sweetness and tang. The meat is tender, smokey and melt-in-your mouth, done the way good BBQ should be. Let’s just call it original Smokin’ Jim’s style BBQ. Sides are simple and fresh, including  baked beans, coleslaw and a house made creamy potato salad. Mexican coke and other soft drinks round out the offerings.

Pulled Pork Sandwich and a side of Jim's Potato Salad.

Smokin’ Jim told me he is proudly Oregon born and raised, but has “been around.” He’s been BBQing for many years, has owned his current cart since 2008, and was the first person to set up on this particular cart pod way back in August, 2009. Jim is a man of spirit and the open road, and he’s a food cart pioneer setting up first where others soon followed. In his off time, Jim loves Harley’s, Howling Wolf Moon T-Shirts and ZZ-Top. We love his BBQ, his folksy wood clad “log cabin” cart, his friendly service, and his big portions for the prices. We also like that Smokin’ Jim’s is open on Saturdays and Sundays, because sometimes you just want someone else to do your weekend BBQing for you. Thanks Smokin’ Jim for bringing your Bar-B-Que to outer SE PDX.

Sample Menu:

Bi Jim’s Rib Specials (come with choice of two sides)

• Large 5 ribs – 9.95
• Small 3 ribs (choice of 1 side) – $7.95
• Rack of Ribs – $20.00
• Half Rack – $11.00
• Family Pack of Ribs (1 rack of ribs plus 1 lb BBQ meat of choice. Served with two 16oz sides) – $40.00

Chicken Hind Quarter (served with one side) – $6.50

Sandwiches (Served with one side)

• Pulled Pork – $5.95
• Beef Brisket – $6.95
• Tri-Tip Beef – $6.95

Side Dishes – Large – $4.00, Small – $2.00

• Baked Beans, Coleslaw, House Made Potato Salad

Meat by the Pound – $9.95 per pound

• Pulled Pork, Tri Tip Beef, or Beef Brisket

Smoked Bratwurst Sausage on a bun with your choice of condiments – $3.50

Smoked Hotdog – $1.50

Hot Links and Smokies – $2.00

Sample Rib – $1.00 (limit one sample rib per customer)

Hours: Open 1-7 Sundays, 12 -7 Tuesdays through Saturdays.  Closed Mondays. Call first, Jim told me he sometimes runs out of meat and closes early, especially on the weekends.
Phone: 503-679-3981

I’m doing an interview with Multnomah County later this week and would love to know what questions you all might have for them. I’ll then post the answers to your questions later next week. Just leave your questions in the comments below…

Multnomah County is one of the lead agencies in charge of approving, permitting and inspecting food carts in Portland and other jurisdictions inside Multnomah County. They are the “go to” place for permits, and the last stop on the approval process when a new cart is ready to open. They coordinate with the City of Portland and the Fire Bureau to assure carts are safe and meet all applicable laws and guidelines and work on policy and planning issues around the carts. Finally, Multnomah County are the ones that do ongoing health inspections for cleanliness and food safety. To say Multnomah County is huge part of the food cart scene in Portland is an understatement.  Portland’s food carts wouldn’t exist without them.

• So what does Multnomah County think of all the new food carts popping up all over the city?
• What kind of issues are emerging with all these new carts?
• Are there more regulations and permitting on the way?
• How does someone apply for a food cart permit?
• What are some of the biggest issues our city and county faces with food carts?
• Why does Multnomah County do what they do with food carts?
• And what about all those to-go containers, trash and other waste issues, isn’t there something they County can do?

These are just a few of the questions we’ll be asking Multnomah County later this week. Got questions of your own? Please leave them in the comments below.

Thanks for participating!

Location: N Williams and NE Tillamook

The Story: This cart’s mission is an attempt to accomplish several things at once. It’s partially solar powered, sources most of its food from within a 200 mile radius, serves all manner of sweet and savory waffles to hungry Portlanders, and  is also a non-profit training program for at risk youth in the community. Whew! From the Solar Waffle Works menu:

The SWW is a non-profit operation run in partnership by Portland Pubic Schools’ Community Transition Program and the SolTrekker non-profit. It is a vocational training program is socially responsible business and entrepreneurship, designed and operated by young adults in the community transition program. All proceeds go to support local education!

We are currently sourcing the majority of our food within a 200 mile radius. Our goal is to source it ALL within that radius within six months. We currently us 400-watts of solar modules to run about 50% of our electrical loads. We hope to add a total of 900-watts within 18 months.

Ambitious? Yes. Flavorful, substantial waffles? Most definitely. Vegan and Vegetarian friendly, and of course Solar Waffle Works is open for breakfast/brunch on the weekends.

Maple Bacon Waffle

Sample Menu: (Most waffles can be “veganized” for $1.00, and Buckwheat Waffles are an additional $1.00)

• The Wiffle Waffle – $2.50 Topped with butter and your choice of powdered sugar or cinnamon and sugar.
• The Old Fashioned Waffle – $3.00 Pure Maple Syrup Spread Caressing a Golden brown waffle. Deelish! One of our most popular waffles.
• The Luft-Waffle – $3.00 All natural peanut butter and your choice of jellies
• Becka’s Blueberry Pie Waffle – $4.00 Blueberry jam on top of cream cheese spread
• Make Your Own Waffle $2.50, plus $0.50 per topping. Nutella, Blueberry Jam, Raspberry Jam, Blueberry Syrup, Fig Spread, Chocolate Syrup, Toasted Hazelnuts, Whipped Cream, Mallow Fluff, Peanut Butter, Maple Syrup
• The Real Gouda $4.50 Garlic herb butter topped w/ veggie sausage and smoked Gouda cheese. Green onions optional. Add mushrooms $0.50
• The Good Gravy – $5.00 White gravy with your choice of veggie sausage, mushrooms, Gouda cheese, or any combination
• The Maple Bacon – $5.00 Five strips of apple wood smoked bacon on top of a maple spread.

Beverages – Coffee, Hot Chocolate, Juice Spritzers ($0.75 to $1.75)

Hours: 10:30-2:30 M-F

Phone: 503-351-4657

Email: soltrekker.outreach@gmail.com

Location: Mississippi Marketplace 4237 N. Mississippi

The Story: Some people think sushi means mostly raw fish rolled into or placed on top of vinegar seasoned rice. This is a common misconception. Although the Japanese invented sushi and indeed love to eat just about anything that swims in the sea, sushi traditionally refers to the rice part, not what’s in it.

The Sushi Tree is an all vegetarian sushi cart in the bustling Mississippi Marketplace pod. Rolls here come stuffed with all sorts of things from the plant kingdom including smokey tofu, marinated shiitake mushrooms, and other vegetables such as green onion, spinach, carrot or avocado. The rolls are inventive and substantial with the “mega rolls” often rolled in crispy fried Panko breadcrumbs and drizzled with sauces to give a little something extra with tastes and textures. A large roll might be $8.00 but they are all quite filling. The B-Stuffed mega roll with asparagus, sprouts, and several other veggies was enough to split between two people to make a light lunch.

Needless to say, Sushi Tree is vegan and vegetarian friendly, and also environmentally conscious. For example, they serve their “to stay” orders on reusable plastic plates rather than just serving in the standard toss away containers.

I love how the Portland cart scene continues to expand in both numbers and choices, especially in lighter, healthier and vegetable focused fare.

Sample Menu:

5 piece Medium Roll – $5.00 — 8 piece Large Roll $7.00

• Smokey Tofu – smoked tofu, carrot, green onion, red cabbage and spinach w/ miso or dynamite sauce
• Green Dragon – Asparagus, Sprouts, Sunflower Seeds, Green Leaf, Avocado, Cucumber and Cilantro w/ miso or dynamite sauce
• The Good Burn – Red Bell Pepper, Avocado, Cucumber, Daikon, Radish, and Wasabi w/ miso or dynamite sauce

Specialty Mega Rolls – $8.00

• NoPo Roll – Smoked Tofu, Cucumber, Red Bell Pepper and Green Onion w/ cream cheese or tofutti. Topped w/ sliced avocado and Shiso leaves
• The B Stuffed – Asparagus, Sprouts, Green Leaf, Sunflower Seeds, Smoked Tofu, Red Cabbage, Cucumber and Avocado. Rolled in Sesame Fried Panko Breadcrumbs in Miso Sauce.
• Shiitake Teriyaki – Marinated Shiitake mushrooms, Daikon Radish, Red Bell Pepper and Green Onions. Rolled in Panko Breadcrumbs w/ Teriyaki Sauce

A la Carte Menu – make your own – small $3.50, large $5.00 – any two ingredients of the following or $0.50 for additional ingredients – red cabbage, cilantro, spinach, smoked tofu, sunflower seeds, cucumber, sprouts, red bell pepper, green onion, avocado

Vegan Shiitake Miso Soup $2.00

Edame salted unshelled soybean pods small $2.00 or large $4.00

Hours: Wed – Sun 12 noon until ???

Phone: 503-705-3585

Email: info@SushiTree.net

Twitter: @SushiTreePDX

Website: www.SushiTree.net

CLOSED
Location: 2827 NE Alberta

The Story: One of the more “permi” carts, Todbott’s is set up in a shed right in the heart of Alberta Street’s restaurant row. The space is colorful and plain, but comfortable, and includes a nice outdoor patio and a few indoor seats. Just look for the colorful sign and bamboo awning at the left side of 2827 NE Alberta  St., and Todbott’s is just down the path in the back.

The Triangles here are actually Onigiri, a very traditional grab n’ go Japanese food. While the Japanese pretty much make theirs with white rice only these days, Todbott’s uses short grain brown rice stuffed with all manner of things from Japanese Umeboshi plum pickles, to creamy mayo-enhanced cured tuna to create fistful sized rice triangles that are then wrapped in nori seaweed. It’s simple, healthy zen food that adheres to many dietary principles, especially those in the Macrobiotic movement. Outside of a couple of fish offerings, everything else is vegan.

In keeping with tradition, Todbott’s also makes their own fermented Japanese pickles. Pickling is a real art form in Japan with some restaurants and stores in the pickle making businesses going back hundreds of years. The varieties at Todbott’s are known as Nuka-Zuke. This means seasonal vegetables such as cucumbers, beets, and radish are layered on a bed of seasoned rice bran, sometimes for up to three years. The results are pickles that are delicate, crunchy, slightly salty and filled with minerals, vitamins C and B, and loads of healthy enzymes to aid digestion.

Other items such as Miso soup, different Japanese teas, and house made Kombucha round out the offerings. Food here is made to order, fresh and is the antithesis of five-pound gut bomb burritos, greasy pizza slices, and fried food found at many a fast food joint, or even food cart for that matter. Todbott’s is a nice tonic when other foods might feel too heavy, but food here is still substantial enough to be counted as a solid meal.

Sample Menu:

Onígiri – nori wrapped brown rice triangles, stuffed with your choice of

• Tempeh and Shiitake simmered in organic sesame oil and tossed with Oregon coast sea vegetables and miso-mustard sauce. ($3.00)
• Kombu (kelp seaweed) and Umeboshi (Japanese Pickled Plum) ($3.00)
• Sea Spinach (preserved sea vegetables)  and Sweet Tamari mixed with toasted sesame seeds ($3.00)
• Dried Tuna in Saké-Sesame Sauce with chilis ($3.00)
• Wild Salmon and Umeboshi ($3.00)

Onigiri Combo One: Try all five varieties of onigiri in half-sized portions, plus a beverage. ($8.50)

Onigiri Combo Two: Three half size onigiri, with a side of nuka-zuke & miso. ($8.50)

—————————

Misoshiru soup ($2.00)

Nuka-zukke: (House made Japanese fermented pickles ($1.00)

Drinks – Green Tea, Bancha tea, Genmaicha tea (made from brown rice), Kukicha tea: (Camellia sinensis leaves with the stems, stalks of the plant). ($1.50 per cup)

House brewed Kombucha, flavors vary week to wee ($2.00 per cup)

Hours: noon to 5pm. Tuesday – Saturday

Phone: 503 960 0025

Website: TodbottsTriangles.com

Note: This a new series from Food Carts Portland focusing on the people behind the carts. We’ll be doing profiles, interviews and even a Q & A or two in the next few months with people who have helped make Portland’s cart scene what it is today. If you have any ideas for future profiles, let us know!

Jr. Ambassadors, the quirky little ice-cream, sandwich and soup cart on N. Albina near Blandina St. is closed for now, but it’s far from forgotten. Owner Rudy Speerschneider might not have had the most foot traffic at his bright orange hut, but he certainly continues to have a big impact on the cart scene. If you read Food Carts Portland on a regular basis you probably see Rudy – his Cheshire Cat grin graces the top left of our website banner. You can also read Food Carts Portland’s original profile of JR Ambassadors from 2008, HERE

Rudy was one of the first Portland “cartrepeneurs” to branch out to North Portland, back in 2007. This was when his stretch of North Mississippi/Albina was less coffee houses and clothing boutiques, and more odd semi-industrial businesses and corner mini-marts. Rudy had a deal for his space, too – in exchange for free rent from his landlord next door Rudy kept the lot clean and chased off vandals and other riff-raff. “Yeah, the neighborhood was still a bit sketchy when I first moved in,” Rudy recently reminisced, “but it made sense for what I wanted to do which was create a whole world around that cart and serve surreal and innovative food.” This world is a place Rudy and a group of collaborators called Mostlandia.

Mostlandia was a concept in the grande DADA, Surrealist, Fluxis and other art traditions. It is best described on the Mostlandia website M.O.S.T as being,

…a fantastic psycho-geographic location that exists between the locations of the four members of the M.O.S.T. The M.O.S.T. are physical portals to the realm of Mostlandia, but other intermittent and temporal portals to Mostlandia are known to exist. Unintentional entry to Mostlandia is often noticed by feelings of being completely unfamiliar with a very familiar street; a sudden fondness for the natural lighting of a particular location at a particular time; or a pleasant situation that occurs during the course of a normally routine task. Oftentimes, the existing portal expels the traveller almost immediately after they have entered Mostlandia, causing the traveller to have feelings of slight disorientation and general questions regarding the accepted concepts of “time” or “space”. Contrary to many statements by the media, Mostlandia is not a “utopia”, nor is it a “state of constant contentment”. Temporary Tourists and Received Citizens of Mostlandia do more frequently experience senses of wonderment, however.

Jr Ambassadors was the most physical manifestation of Mostlandia and one of the “Portals” into this strange land. Indeed as I can attest firsthand, JR. Ambassadors’ surreal menu and psychedelic vibe did indeed transport one to another world. I wrote about Rudy’s smoked salmon and cream cheese ice-cream sundae in 2008 by saying,

Yes, you read that right – Smoked Salmon and Cream Cheese Ice Cream (WTF?). Then I tried it. Whoa. Riddle my taste buds. It was…delicious. It took my brain a couple of minutes to compute the cold, the creamy, the savory, the smoky fish and sweet of the cream cheese together with the added elements of dill and capers. But be damned, it somehow all worked in harmony. Served with flat bread type crackers and a sprinkle of dill and caper relish it was the bagel and cream cheese as reinvented by leading molecular chef Ferran Adria. Seriously, it was wonderful.

Smoked Salmon and Cream Cheese Ice Cream Sundae with Dill and Caper Sprinkes and Bagel Chips

Sure, this type of dish might not be unusual in an edgy high-end restaurant, but for a simple food cart in a North Portland it certainly was unusual. Additional menu items weren’t so outrageous, but they were still playful and often seasonal. For example Rudy’s fall menu once included apple cider ice cream and a side of homemade donut holes, “it reminds me of the traditional cider and donuts people from my home state of Michigan have out at country farm stands during apple harvest time,” Rudy said. Other flavors such as corn on the cob, gingersnap basil, and vegan coconut curry kept the whimsical ice cream theme going alongside more traditional strawberry, maple and others.

For the first year or so, Rudy also made soups and Panwiches – a type of griddled sandwiches made from corn and whole wheat pancake-bread stuffed with things like a tuna melt, or a Turkey Rueben. However, by 2009 soups and sandwiches mostly disappeared from the menu, transforming Jr Ambassadors into a full fledged ice cream cart.

I think an image of Alice falling down the rabbit hole in Alice in Wonderland sums up my experiences at this cart quite nicely. “I’m an artist first and foremost and I have always looked at Jr. Ambassadors and the food I create as an art project, not just a cart selling food.” Indeed, this is precisely why Rudy has been so influential on the cart scene. “I wanted the community experience that a cart can bring, you know, the traditional nature of it with parents bringing there kids for the summer ritual of chocolate ice cream after dinner, but I also wanted people to experience the urban environment in a whole new way. I also wanted them to be transported through their taste buds.” Rudy helped shape the Portland cart scene into something unique and creative here, more than just cheap filling $5.00 combo lunches, or giant burritos. In his own way, Rudy helped shape the foundation of a whole “cart culture” in Portland paving the way for everyone from Whiffies, to the Sugar Cube, to the newish N. Mississippi cart pod just down the street from his cart.

So what’s on the horizon for Rudy? He’s currently taking a sabbatical in Michigan and working on conceptualizing his next move. In a recent phone interview Rudy was adamant, “Jr. Ambassadors isn’t gone, Mostlandia isn’t gone, both are just living on the internet right now. I’ll be back in Portland soon and you can look forward to something new when I return.” Rudy wouldn’t say what this new thing is, but he did hint at a possible expansion of his ice-cream to other carts, or a whole new cart completely.

We here at Food Carts Portland salute you Rudy Speerschneider for your leading cart vision, and look forward to your next project, whatever form it might take.