Location: SE 43rd and Belmont
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 salad, sesame spinach, kimchee, drizzled with peanut sauce – $4
Hours: Daily, 11am-7pm
Phone: 503 828 4260
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At Bulkogi, I ordered and enjoyed a Korean Chicken and Korean Beef taco. On their menu, they don’t list kimchi per se, but do let you know you are getting a “healthy Korean salad topping” with your taco. The tacos were a good size, two would be sufficient for lunch. The meat was well prepared and flavorful, yet what I liked the most was the Korean salad topping. It was made with shredded cabbage, finely chopped red onion, some lettuce and cilantro. It was all held together with a light spicy sauce that, when paired with the cilantro, gave the entire taco a zing. I love cilantro, but know it can sometimes overwhelm a dish. While there was a lot of cilantro here, it didn’t overwhelm, but complemented the taco nicely. I enjoyed both tacos and look forward to returning in a few weeks after they get in their groove to see if they are any different.
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