One of the predictions for 2012 was that alcohol will come to the carts beyond the current beer options offered by Captured By Porches and Rogue Brewing. It looks like that time may have come sooner than later. Mayor Sam Adam’s Twitter stream blew up yesterday with comments and concerns regarding food carts getting liquor licenses. According to his initial Tweet, the Oregon Department of Justice has asked the city to see how they can accommodate for this change.

Today, the owners and managers of Cartlandia off 82nd sent an open letter to the Mayor and Commissioner Amanda Fritz arguing their case for a permit. Items such as reclaiming an empty lot, securing it and creating opportunities for 18 small businesses were some of their points.

It seems the conversation has just started. City Council is holding a public hearing on a resolution asking OLCC to set rules before granting license applications this Wednesday, Feb 8 at City Hall. More details and the agenda can be found on PortlandOnline.com. Resolution from Amanda Fritz and more details from the OLCC here: (PDF)

Northeast Portland is a bit of a food cart desert. There are a few on Alberta and Mexican taco trucks here and there, but as for a pod of carts to visit, one needs to trek to another part of the city. That may change with a new development named The Ocean on NE Sandy at 24th.

The Ocean on NE Sandy at 24th

The Daily Journal of Commerce reported this past week that developer Kevin Cavenaugh has acquired the buildings that once housed Timberline Dodge and is planning a mixed use development which will include food carts. His twist on the concept will be a way for  carts entrepreneurs to incubate into larger enterprises. There are multiple buildings on the lot that will be developed for other purposes including one for Slow Burger, an expansion of the bar on SE MLK; a bakery space for The Pie Spot and maybe even a yoga studio.

Sandy boulevard is an interesting location for a food cart pod. With the car traffic, it seems it would be an immediate success, yet so many other businesses have tried to set up shop on the street and closed. I’m excited to see this project get legs and come to fruition. We’ll keep you posted as we learn more.

The DJC article can be found here.

I have been a fan of the Portland Opera and their partnership with Broadway Across America ever since I was invited to “live-blog” an opera a few years ago. Opera wasn’t in my wheelhouse and that night exposed me to the inner workings of the production and the dedication that goes into putting on such a show. Since that night, I have had the opportunity to enjoy some amazing performances including some of the traveling shows brought to Portland by Broadway Across America.

Kelly Kaduce as Cio-Cio-San, ©Portland Opera/Cory Weaver

The Portland Opera opened their 2011-2012 season back in September with a gala event that featured a few of Portland’s favorite food carts and was open to the public. Here in February, starting this weekend, Madame Butterfly takes the stage. Throughout the remainder of the season, you can also catch Galileo Galilei and Candide.

Beyond opera, the Broadway Across America series brings Beauty and the Beast in February and the remainder of the season offers Wicked, Million Dollar Quartet and Jersey Boys. So many amazing shows and right here in our home town.

I love supporting the Portland Opera and thank them for working with us here at Food Carts Portland to engage two of Portland’s local gems.

More information about the Portland Opera can be found at PortlandOpera.org.

Last spring, the business owners on SW Ankeny between 2nd and 3rd worked together to close the alley and create a space for everyone to enjoy a bite to eat or a pint to drink. The alleyway was closed by the city and the owners supplied picnic tables and draped the entire space with garlands of white lights. They created a space that evoked alleyways of Europe for everyone to enjoy and congregate.

Tonight, the owner of the food cart Perierra Creperie and Central, one of the businesses on the the street, will open an additional cart on the block to sell their signature crepes which made them famous.

I’m happy to see a cart owner succeed so well and be able to bring it full circle to combine brick & mortar and food carts into a single venture. The Ankeny Alley is located between SW 2nd and 3rd along Ankeny downtown. Enjoy!

Even though it is winter and many people are staying inside, I know you are getting cabin fever and want to get out and eat at some food carts. While there have been some closures this winter, there are still plenty of carts to enjoy and a few new ones open each week.

New Carts:

• Eclectic Eatery – SE 13th and Lexington in Sellwood
• Miss Kate’s Southern Kitchen – Mississippi Marketplace
• Wagsy’s Hot Beef Sandwiches – SW 5th and Oak
• Relish Gourmet Hot Dogs – Cartlandia
• Steak Shack – 10966 SE McLoughlin blvd

_____

You may have heard or seen that Happy Grillmore is closed for a break. They have pursued an opportunity to serve at the Microsoft Campus in Redmond, WA. They may be back for summer. Keep you eyes out for them. Wish them luck on their new adventure.

____

Portland keeps getting showcased on the Cooking Channel show Eat. St. Earlier this month it was Euro Trash and on Tuesday, Jan 24, The Swamp Shack will show America’s eaters what they have to offer. Check the episode out on The Cooking Channel at 5:30 or 8:30pst.

_____

Portland was just named one of the best cities to live in the WORLD by The Guardian UK. Portland is bohemian, has the most microbrews, may be too cool for school, but has food carts. Yep, Food Carts are highlighted as one of the reasons everyone should live in Portland. I’m not going to argue with that. I think we have some of the best in the nation. You can read the entire article here.

Earlier this year, I had the pleasure of spending the afternoon with Zach Anner, a stand-up comic who won his own show on the Oprah Winfrey Network. We visited Good Food Here and did some filming. Zach is traveling the world to experience everything it has to offer and to prove that no matter who you are, you too can experience life to its fullest. Portland’s episode recently aired featuring The French Bus (now closed,) Lardo and The Sugar Cube. Enjoy.

Portland: A La Food Cart

Zach hits up a local Portland food cart pod where he leaves his comfort zone far behind to try everything from escargot to cupcakes topped with potato chips.

All, here is a list of those carts taking some time off for the holidays:

• Built to Grill – closed till 2012
• Oregon Ice Works – closed until Jan 5
• The Gaufre Gourmet is closed from the 24th-27th
• Viking Soul Food closed Dec 31-Jan 4.
• The Frying Scotsman closed Dec 24-26
• Big-Ass Sandwiches closed night of Christmas ever through the 26th
• DC Vegetarian closed until Jan 16
• Herb’s Mac & Cheese closed Dec 24-Jan 11
• Fiefs Gourmet Dogs closed Dec 24-Jan 15
• Eat This closed until Jan 3
• Blues City Biscuits closed Dec 24-26
• Mai Pho closed Dec 24-25
• Weenies from Another World closed Dec 23-Jan 3
• Addy’s Sandwich Bar closed Dec 26
• Pyro Pizza closed Dec 24-Jan 6
• Burgatroyd closed until Dec 28
• Lardo closed until Dec 29
• Dump Truck closed Dec 23-26
• Homegrown Smoker closed until Jan 2

Need a last minute holiday gift for your favorite cart fan? We’re now selling the Cartopia: Portland’s FoodCart Revolution book for only $20 plus $2 shipping. Kelly Rodgers and Kelley Roy, the authors of the book have written about their last year with the carts over on their site. Get your copy today.

We are proud to announce the Food Carts Portland mobile app for the iPhone. This app is your guide to all things food cart, food truck, mobile vendors, and anything street food related in Portland. The app connects you to hundreds of food cart options by distance, location, food type, or name. Find your favorite, or search for a new one. Craving for a gourmet burger, a traditional taco or even Thai food? The app can tell you which carts have what kinds of food – including sample menus, when they are open and where exactly they are located. This is simply the best mobile guide to Portland street food. Download the app now and follow your craving.

CORE FEATURES INCLUDE

• Search for a vendor location, cuisine type, and hours
• Listing of all the food carts grouped into food court “pods” throughout Portland with geographic Route Me ability to provide step by step navigation to your next meal.
• Profiles of each mobile vendor including photos, menus and contact information

As you know, we have been tracking and profiling the food carts and trucks in Portland since 2007 and have proved ourselves as the resource for street food in the city. We have been profiled on CNN, MSNBC and in The New York Times, LA Times, Men’s Health and various other local, national and international publications. We strive to keep Portland’s Cartivores up to date and continuously update mobile vendor information to reflect new carts, roaming trucks, vendor moves and closures. This app contains the most current information regarding the carts throughout the city. No other website or app has the extensive database or up to date information Food Carts Portland does. Download the app and dig in.

The Food Carts Portland Mobile App was written by Ken Baer, an iPhone app developer from Portland who also created the well known Taplister application.

The app now available in the iTunes store for $.99 for a limited time.

Another amazing year for Portland’s food carts. We were named the #1 street food city in the world and continue to be written about by national and international press. We saw growth, but we also saw some significant closures both with carts and pods. I enjoyed some amazing food and was able to see one or our carts represent the city in San Francisco. 2011 was yet another great year to be a cartivore in this fine city.

Yolk at SE 48th and Woodstock

Stats:

I get asked daily how many food carts there are in Portland, so here are the numbers.

December, 2011 – 689 licensed mobile food vendors in Multnomah County.

At this time in 2010, we had 600, so that’s a 15% increase. It felt like we added more than 89 didn’t it? Well we did. Throughout the year, we had approximately 50-60 carts that closed completely, so 89 then turns into something like 139. More like it. With two-three new carts opening every week, we did our best to visit them all, but honestly, didn’t get to every one. Throughout the year, we wrote the stories on about 117, albeit some of those have since closed. Where’s the largest pod? Alder – at SW 9th and 10th and Alder. The combined pod there sports around 60 carts.

Some highlights, but also some sadness from 2011:

In August, I experienced first hand the power of the carts. While eating lunch in O’Bryant Square in SW Portland by the Alder pod, I realized that it had a whole new patronage from those eating from the carts. A park you would never take kids to now had a busker and children frolicking. The carts revitalized a park.

Carlandia and Q19 launched this year bringing food carts to deep southeast Portland and the NW Portland. Both areas are supporting their carts very well. Q19 followed the Mississippi Marketplace model with a bar attached to the lot so you can enjoy libations with your frito pie or brisket sandwich. We did have some pod closures with Crystal Gardens in St. Johns and Green Castle in northeast both closing and their carts needing to find new homes.

The year started off sadly with the theft of the Azul Tequila Mexican Taqueria cart right out of the secured lot at A la Carts Food Pavilion. Luckily, the cart was recovered in days and the owners were able to re-fit and reopen and are still doing a brisk business. In other sad news, Kim Jong Grillin’, the winner of Eat Mobil’s Best Cart award suffered a devastating fire that same night and have never re-opened. It is our understanding they are moving to a restaurant in 2012.

Kevin Sandri of Garden State

2011 did see many closures, but few had the impact as a couple of carts who had seen the growth throughout the last few years and had been there and toughed out all the winters. Garden State and Kevin Sandri’s famous meatball sub and chickpea sandwich decided to go on hiatus this fall. Their closing act? They gave away 50 meatball subs in 10 minutes. Downtown lost a gem when Ziba’s Pita’s decided to retire. Ziba has been serving up her signature meat filled pastries for years, but now is spending her days with her grandson. Both will be missed.

When Mississippi Marketplace opened in 2009, it was the first to combine alcohol and street food with the PROST! pub attached. In 2011, we were introduced to beer carts by Captured by Porches at D-Street Noshery and Buckman Brewing at Good Food Here. In October, the Oregon Bartenders Guild opened a shortlived cocktail cart at Cartopia as part of Portland Cocktail Week. At this time, there are carts who have submitted liquor license applications with the OLCC. Natural progression? We’ll see in 2012.

In September, Big-Ass Sandwiches traveled to San Francisco to participate in the San Francisco Street Food Festival, an event to raise funds for La Cocina. That day, among forty other vendors, Big-Ass Sandwich owners Lisa and Brian along with a volunteer staff made upwards of 2000 sandwiches. All proceeds from the sales went to the charity. What a great opportunity for them and to show San Francisco eaters what Portland brings to the table.

Colbert Super Mac

Some of the best street food I enjoyed throughout the year:

• Fettuccine with fresh garlic scapes and red pepper flakes from Artigiano
• The Breakfast from Yolk
• A hoagie as big as your head from The Knuckle Sandwich (now available at Shut Up and Eat)
• Abu-Ramen from Minizo
• Tonkotsu Ramen from The Ramen Truck
• Fonzi’s Jungle Bowl from Fonzi’s Bakabana Cabana
• A simple liege waffle from Gaufre Gourmet
• Pork Stew (Caw) from Sok Sab Bai
• The Colbert Super Mac from The BrunchBox
• Hot Chicken from Cackalack’s Hot Chicken Shack
• The simple burger from Burgatroyd
• Wax Moth Larvae Tacos from Don Bugito Prehistoric Snakeria in San Francisco

__________

So, what will 2012 bring us? First off, there are still food carts looking to open, so we’ll continue to see new carts introduce us to their flavors. We’ll also see some carts close as the owners pursue other interests or decide street food vending just isn’t their game. There have been discussions going on at both the state and city level regarding regulations around street food and the carts. I have been involved with one, but not the other. From what we’re hearing, the main approach is to keep the customer safe. Hopefully, the changes that do come about won’t have a significant impact on the carts. They are part of Portland’s city fabric.

2012 will bring another Cartathalon and Eat Mobile – the city’s food cart festival. Kir Jensen of The Sugar Cube will be releasing a cookbook in spring, so keep you eyes open for that. More and more business are seeing food trucks as a way to market themselves or sell items other than food. The state of Wyoming even outfitted a truck this summer to entice people to visit their state. We’ve seen carts selling vintage clothing and fresh-frozen fish along with a cart that is a hair salon. What’s next?

Personally, I’m looking forward to being able to continue to visit food carts on a daily basis, chat with the unique and special people who own and run them and enjoy some tasty food. Thank you for your continued support of the food carts in Portland and beyond. Street food rules!

Caw from Sok Sab Bai