MEET

Location: NE Alberta between 14th and 15th
Hours: Wed-Sun, 10am-8pm

The Story:

Alberta street has some wonderful food carts, but unlike most of the city, they aren’t congregated into pods. The carts on Alberta go it alone, interspersed between the restaurants, shops and other eateries on the street. Welcome a new cart to the street – MEET.

MEET is located in a spot between 14th and 15th where there use to be a Mexican truck for years. I happened upon it when we were roaming about one day, so the placement of the cart next to the sidewalk was key. When I first saw the sign, I did think it would be a meat centric cart. Being a food writer, I sometimes find myself writing, “hey, let’s meat at blah blah blah.” It gets some laughs. That being said, the cart does focus on meals centered around brisket, ribs, chicken and pork. While you can get items a la cart, they focus on plating the main course with sides for the full meal deal.

St Louis Ribs from MEET

It seems that most every city has a food that has in some way been defined by the culture there. The Philly Cheesesteak or the NYC Pastrami or Kansas City BBQ. While St. Louis is famous for its grilling and BBQ sauce, the ribs are named for how they’re cut. I spent a summer learning all about ribs and cooking some myself, so when offered, I jump at it. I was served three meaty ribs with greens and coleslaw. MEET had some great sauces available, but I chose to enjoy the ribs as they were served and am glad I did. The meat came off the bone easily with a rich flavor and an applewood smokiness. The greens- kale, collards and mustard – were a great companion mixed with the vinegar zing of the coleslaw.

MEET offers up seating under a tent so you can get out of the elements while you enjoy your meal. What is not listed on the menu, but was on their chalkboard was breakfast. Head on down and check MEET out and let them know Food Carts Portland sent ya.

Sample Menu:

All plates come with 2 sides.

• Painted Hills Whole Brisket: 1/4 lb slow cooked and smoked with apple wood – $9.50
• Carlton Farms St Louis Style Ribs: 1/4 rack slow cooked and smoked with apple wood – $9.50
• Roasted Chicken: $9.50
• Pulled Pork Sandwich: (1 side) $5
• Brisket Sandwich: (1 side) $5
• Sides: roasted seasonal vegetables; assorted braised greens; coleslaw; baked beans; brown rice and more.

Hours: Wed-Sun, 10am-8pm
Contact: unknown

One Hundred Miles

Location: NE 21st and Alberta
Hours: Wed-Sat, 12-9pm, Sun, 12-8pm

The Story:

Over the past few years, a general theme in our culture has been to get local. This could be in the form of shopping local or going to a farmer’s markets or growing your own food. Many food carts do their best to source locally, but One Hundred Miles takes that to a whole new level.

Andrew Grasso opened One Hundred Miles this summer with the goal of sourcing everything within 100 miles of the cart. You may know Andrew from TREATMachine, a moped powered vegan taco cart that opened last year. After that experience and some lessons learned, he teamed up with Tal, a fellow food carter and opened One Hundred Miles. I didn’t fully understand the mission until I visited the cart and spoke with Tal who made my sandwich. The ingredient board listed all local companies and farms – Olympic Provisions, Hood River Organics, Glory Bee Honey, Sauvie Island Organics, Grand Central Bakery and many more. That’s all well and good – many carts and restaurants source like that, but when Tal threw oil in the pan, I asked where he got it, wondering who makes cooking oil locally. That was a story in and of itself. Tal worked for about six months to find a cold pressed, high heat cooking oil that was made within 100 miles and found Camilina Oil out of Salem. Similar to canola, it is harvested and cold pressed locally. So I continued to inquire – everything local? Yep. The only exception is the bread. Again after much research, they went with Grand Central’s tri-state blend with all the ingredients coming only from Washington, Oregon and Idaho.

Stir Fry Sandwich from One Hundred Miles

The menu offers up sandwiches ranging from a traditional salami, basil, and egg panini to a banh mi to a schnitzel sandwich with chicken. I asked Tal for a recommendation and he suggested the Stir Fry. I had seen it on the menu, but didn’t comprehend it was a sandwich, so agreed. With the camelina oil, he throws in fresh cut onions, zucchini, mushrooms, braising greens, garlic, carrots and fries it up. The flavors of the sandwich come from the veggies and the oil and a chili aioli. I can do stir fry, but mine never tasted this good without the addition of salt or pepper or other seasonings. The sandwich was wonderful. A great bread that wasn’t tough to bite through so you could get to the veggies and their fresh bright flavors. To know that these veggies were in a garden locally just hours before made it taste even better.

Tal and Andrew have something special here at One Hundred Miles. Keeping your money within your community not just by shopping at a local store, but also by buying locally grown or produced items should always be a goal. One Hundred Miles is open up off NE Alberta for lunch, dinner and into the evening. Give it a try and chat Tal up – he wants to tell you how they do it. Let them know Food Carts Portland sent ya.

Sample Menu:

• The Purple: caramelized beets, onions and garlic, jack cheese, on Nature’s Bake Bread – $6
• Stir Fry: onions, zucchini, mushrooms, braising greens, garlic, carrots, chili aioli on a baguette – $7
• Jasa: salami, fried egg, basil, mozzarella cheese served as a pressed panini – $8
• Banh Mi: carrot slaw, cucumber, cilantro, onions, hot sauce – served on a baguette – $7
• Schnitzel: fried chicken, onions, mushrooms, cucumber, cilantro, chili aioli on a bolo – $8
• Dan: fried egg, bacon, jack cheese, caramelized onions, hot sauce on a bolo – $7

Hours: Wed-Sat, 12-9pm, Sun, 12-8pm
Website: One Hundred Miles PDX
Twitter: @100milespdx
Facebook: 100MilesPDX

The Dog House PDX

Location: NE Alberta between 21st and 22nd
Hours: Wed, 11:30-3:30; Thurs, 11:30-6; Fri/Sat/Sun, 11:30-7:30

The Story:

I actually remember the first time I had tater tots. We were a meat and potatoes and pancakes for dinner family living in deep southeast Portland when my mom came home one evening with this bag of Ore-Ida Tater Tots. When the cookie sheet came out of the oven and those tots were up for grabs, my brother, sister and I dove in. It was the best food we had tasted in our entire lives (I actually remember us exclaiming that while running through the house, screaming.) Now, some 30 odd years later, Tots are making a serious comeback as both comfort food and treats at high end restaurants. When we wrote about a cart serving tots as a side for burgers last year, the Internets blew up with comments. Now, we have a cart that takes tots to the next level – The Dog House PDX.

Timber from The Dog House PDX

Timber and Ali, who brought us Yogio last year, knew that their pod in North Portland needed a comfort food cart, so they acquired a stepvan and converted it to serve up dogs and tots and everything in between. When I first heard of the cart, I thought they were just doing a variation on a hot dog cart, but their approach is to put together unique bowls of happy food funtime. You can either have a dog or tots which are then covered with your choice of topping and usually melted cheese. The dog or tots are called the bottom and tops could include gravy, bacon, a fried egg, jalapenos, black beans, chili, pineapple or pretty much anything you can imagine. A great concept that includes what many of us grew up on as children with the tastes we’ve learned to love over the years.

I highly suggest eating whatever you order at the lot instead of getting it to go. Why? Because they serve whatever you order in a great little dog dish and that is just cool. Picture a pile of tots covered with melted pepper jack cheese, onions, jalapenos and topped with a fried egg. Oh and don’t forget the kicker sauce which adds a little spice to the entire dish. Every bit of the dish captures the essences of childhood with the crispiness of the tots and the gooeyness of the melted cheese. While I don’t remember mom ever putting a fried egg on my tots, it worked. I felt like a kid again.

I wasn’t able to visit The Dog House when they first opened at North Station in north Portland. They moved last month to NE Alberta with Yogio to their own pod named Holy Trinity partnering with another cart that sells vintage clothing. I’m so happy to have finally enjoyed some of Timber’s tots and her excellent creations. I can only imagine they sell a boat load of tots once the sun goes down and the bars open up. Drop on by The Dog House, enjoy some tots, relive a childhood memory and let them know Food Carts Portland sent ya.

Sample Menu:

Each dish starts with a bottom of either a hot dog, Tater Tots or Fritos – $5.50

• Rip City: pepper jack cheese, onions, jalapenos, kicker sauce, topped with a fried egg
• Trouble in Paradise: bacon, pineapple, pepper jack cheese, kicker sauce, onions
• Heartbreak Hotel: bacon, cheddar cheese, ketchup, onions, topped with fried egg
• Make Up – Break Up: house black beans, chipotle sour cream, onions, jalapenos
• The Big D: house chili, cheddar cheese, onions, mustard
• Bean There Done That: house baked beans, onions, mustard
• Un-Skinny Love: pepper jack cheese, cheddar cheese, chipotle sour cream

Hours: Wednesday, 11:30-3:30pm; Thursday, 11:30-6pm; Fri/Sat/Sun, 11:30-7:30pm
Website: The Dog House PDX
Twitter: @TheDogHousePDX
Facebook: The Dog House PDX

Rip City over Tots

Location: NE MLK and Graham at Dreamer’s Marketplace
Hours: W-F, 8am-2pm; Sat/Sun, 9am-2pm

The Story:

There are so many types of breakfast foods available for someone in this city. Whether it be waffles or the greasy spoon or bagels or fast food, Portlanders have an abundance of choices. With the opening of Pepper Box, we have yet another choice, a cart serving up New Mexican influenced breakfast tacos and quesadillas.

Jim Wilson, the former sous chef from both Roux and Mint with 12 years of culinary experience is the man behind Pepper Box. Jim visited and then moved to Portland a few years ago and completely fell in love with the city. Who wouldn’t? After working in some great kitchens here in the city though, he decided to go out on his own and Pepper Box was born.

Breakfast Taco w/avocado

Breakfast tacos are a love I discovered a few years back and they have never let me down. There are a few places in the city where you can enjoy them whether they be Mexican or Texan influenced. Jim is influenced by his New Mexican roots and uses green or red chili sauce as the topping upon his egg, potato and cheese tacos. The best part for me was the fresh handmade wheat tortillas. For meat eaters, you can add in chorizo or bacon or go veggie and top the scramble with sliced avocado. The chorizo taco with the spicier green chili sauce was excellent with the tortilla acting as a wrapper to keep all the goodies in. The green chili sauce was perfectly spicy, but not overwhelming. These are sizable tacos and two may be too much for some. We had leftovers.

Pepper Box isn’t just breakfast tacos. They also do quesadilla sandwiches and salads. The other evening when Dreamer’s Marketplace opened their doors for happy hour, Jim came around with samples of his marinated chicken and tri-tip. The plate was cleared in just a couple of minutes. I can’t wait to get a larger sample. Pepper Box is open at the new Dreamer’s Marketplace on NE MLk blvd. Head on down for a visit, say hi to Jim and let them know Food Carts Portland sent ya.

Sample Menu:

• Breakfast Taco: homemade tortillas filled with eggs, potatoes and Tillamook cheddar cheese; choice of chorizo, bacon or avocado; green or red chili sauce – $3 each or 2 for $5
• Albuquerque Turkey Quesadilla Sandwich: turkey, avocado, bacon, arugula Tillamook pepperjack cheese, green chili creme fraiche – $6
• Primo Quesadlilla Sandwich: pastrami, Tillamook pepperjack cheese, pickled peppers, onions and chipotle creme fraiche – $6
• El Tocino Quesadilla Sandwich: bacon, tomatoes, green chili, arugula Tillamook cheddar cheese and chipotle creme fraiche – $6
• The Farmer Quesadilla Sandwich: rotating local veggies – $6

Hours: Wednesday-Friday, 8am-2pm; Sat/Sun, 9am-2pm
Facebook: PepperboxPDX

Location: NE MLK and Lombard

The Story:

A new taqueria is open up off SW 10th and Alder in the cluster that includes Nong’s, SomTum Gai Yang and Savor Soup House. Some tough competition! Yet, Don Pedro’s meets the expectations and serves up a tasty and affordable meal.

Don Pedro’s is a traditional taco cart cooking up tacos, burritos, tostadas, torta sandwiches and breakfast burritos. For meat options, they have carne asada, carnitas, pollo, chorizo, and pastor. Tacos are $1.25 and burritos are $4.50 – great prices for a solid meal downtown.

I picked up a couple of tacos the days I visited and tried one each of the meat options. The carnitas was perfect and these tacos are served up on a double layer of corn tortillas with chopped onions, some cilantro and whichever salsa you choose. I had seen they offer chorizo for breakfast, so asked if I could get a chorizo taco. Yes, indeed, and it was wonderful.

Don Pedro’s by my account is the least expensive taco in downtown at $1.25. For a good taco, that is a great price. Check them out if you are up in that pod and let them know Food Carts Portland sent ya.

Sample Menu:

• Tacos – choice of carne asada, pollo, pastor or carnitas – $1.25
• Burritos – choice of meat with beans and rice – $4.50
• Torta – mexican sandwich with choice of meat – $3.50
• Tostada – $4
• Breakfast burrito – bacon, ham, chorizo, sausage – $4

Hours: Monday-Friday, lunchtime
Phone: 360 721 1515

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: NE 21st and Alberta

The Story:

Eat a lot! That is the saying in every Korean home when you sit down to a meal. I love it! I think it should be my mom’s dinner statement since she always tries to get one of us to finish off everything left on the table….we usually do. I had the pleasure of meeting Timber and Ali, the owners of a new Korean snack cart named Yogio up at North Station. Timber and Ali were so welcoming and happy to see not just me, but every customer that walked by. That, my friends, is a success story in the making. When a cart owner engages with the crowd, the sky’s the limit.

Rock!

I spoke with Timber for a few minutes about the type of food they were offering at Yogio so I could better understand what I was eating. I have never had the pleasure of traveling to Asia, so food is my one connection. How can you beat that? Timber is from the midwest and cut her teeth in the kitchens of Chicago. After getting burned out as a head chef, she traveled to South Korea for a year to teach English and “eat her way through Asia.” She had always wanted to open a food cart and being in Korea narrowed down her passion for the type of food she wanted to serve. In Korea, Timber met some Korean moms who taught her different recipes and food tricks so Timber could learn to cook the Korean way. Her goal was to keep older culinary traditions alive which is pretty darn admirable.

On my first visit to the bright pink graffiti-ed cart, Timber and Ali treated me to a full plate of their dishes. I was able to try the Rock, Paper and Scissors. Each of these items were unique in their own special way. All vegetarian and all something I have never tried before. The Rock (to the left in the photo) is a twist on bibimbap with the bibimbap vegetables stuffed inside seasoned rice which is then seared off in sesame oil and wrapped in gochujang (Korean chili paste) and seaweed. The Paper (in the middle) are savory Korean pancakes normally served in bars which are sometimes stuffed with different fillings. The Scissors, or dokpoki (in the cup) is thick rice cake noodles simmered in a sweet and spicy sauce and are the mac ‘n cheese for kids of Korea. I enjoyed it all. The seared rice and the secret filling of the Rock was a highlight of the meal. The texture of the seared rice and savory insides made me want to go get a whole plate of them. I loved that each item stood on its own and could be ordered indivually. A home run.

Timber and Ali have something unique here we haven’t seen yet in Portland – Korean snacks. The North Station is becoming the cart pod to visit these days with a new cart showing up almost daily. I love their catch phrase “Eat a Lot!” and Yogio means “I am here.” Well, yes you are! I want to welcome them to my neighborhood and to Cartland. When you visit, say hi and tell them Food Carts Portland sent ya.

[Yogio graciously provided Food Carts Portland the food profiled here without charge. Thank you Yogio.]

[Update: Yogio has moved to their own spot on NE 21st and Alberta in March 2011]

Sample Menu:

• Rock: bibimbap veggies wrapped in seasonal rice seared off in sesame oil wrapped with gochijang and seaweed – $4
• Paper: traditional Korean savory pancake with fresh veggies served with a little crack sauce – $4
• Scissors: thick rice noodles in a sweet and spicy sauce – $4
• Nude Kimbap: seasoned rice wrapped in seaweed – $2

Hours: Tuesday through Saturday, 11am-6pm
Phone: 479 236 1452
Twitter: @Yogiopdx Facebook: Yogio on Facebook
Website: http://yogio.weebly.com

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

Las Cazuelas

Location: NE 14th and Alberta

Description:

Saturday, after some wonderful estate sales on the east side of Portland, we were on our way back home with the siren song of food cart lunch pulled us up to NE Alberta. Some of the carts were closed or very crowded, so we continued west when we saw this new taqueria and thought we would give it a try. Las Cazuelas was a great choice for a sunny autumn Saturday.

A traditional Mexcian taqueria, Las Cazuelas serves up tacos, burritos, totas, nachos, enchiladas and nachos. A young very polite boy took our order and even brought us our food when it was finished. Love that kind of service. I ordered one each of a carnitas, pastor and asada tacos while my wife ordered up the vegetarian burrito.

Tacos from Las Cazuelas

The tacos were great. For $1 each, they were some of the better tacos I have had from the food trucks and I’ve been to many. Both the pastor and carnitas were just the right flavor, spice and tenderness to make your mouth water and the asada top notch. For $1, I was kicking myself for not getting more, but these three sated me perfectly. With a little diced onion and cilantro thrown in, you didn’t need the hot sauce to add flavor, the tacos spoke for themselves.

Vegitarian Burrito from Las Cazuelas Taqueria

I didn’t try a bite of the vegetarian burrito, but I understand it was excellent. A mixture of tomato, corn, peppers, onions, carrots, beans and rice, I kept hearing great comments about it from the eater who is a burrito aficionado.

Las Cazuelas is located on NE Alberta St. between 14th and 15th tucked away next to an auto repair shop. Great Mexican food for a great price. Check ‘em out next time you’re up that way and tell them Food Carts Portland sent ya.

Sample Menu:

• Tacos – Asada; Pastor; Pollo or Carnitas – $1
• Burritos – Asada; Pastor; Pollo or Carnitas – $4
• Tortas – Asada; Pastor; Pollo or Carnitas – $5
• Vegetarian Burrito or Tamale – $4

Hours: unknown, but open Saturdays
Contact: unknown

The Grilled Cheese Grill

Location: NE 11th and Alberta

Description:

The grilled cheese sandwich is as American as apple pie and everyone you know has eaten one in their lifetime.  When I was a poor post-college student, I survived on grilled cheese and top ramen.  I think we even put pre-cooked ramen noodles in a toasted cheese, but I digress.  Portland has a new food cart – the Grilled Cheese Grill.

The Kindergartner

On a corner lot up off NE Alberta, The Grilled Cheese Grill setup shop with picnic tables, an old school bus and an airstream for their kitchen.  They do a traditional grilled cheese like mama use to make called the Kindergartner.  You get to choose your bread and whether you want American or Cheddar cheese.  A perfect grilled cheese.

The Babs

If you want to mix it up a bit though, they have 15 other versions of the grilled cheese for your to choose from.  With ingredients including apple, bacon, jalapeno, artichoke, turkey, hummus, and numerous choices for cheese, you will find a favorite.  I opted for the Babs, with apple, bacon, blue cheese and swiss on rye bread. Such a great sandwich.

The Grilled Cheese Grill is a great place and they do the sandwich justice.  I’m looking forward to visiting more as we get out and about as the weather warms up.

Sample Menu:

• The Kindergartner – the classic, however you like it – $4
• The Pre-schooler – same as the Kindergartner but with crusts cut off – $4
• The Gabby – cheddar, colby jack, swiss, mozzarella on while – $4.50
• The Southsider – artichokes, sundried tomatoes, mushrooms, mozzarella on grilled sourdough – $5
• The Moondog – provolone, salami, pepperoni, olive and pepper tapenade on grilled sourdough – $6
• The Babs – bacon, apple, blue cheese, swiss on rye – $6
• additions:  tomato, avocado, pickles, onions, sauerkraut, etc – 50c; bacon, turkey, salami, egg, etc – $1.75
• Gluten Free options

Phone: 503 206 8959
Twitter: The Grilled Cheese Grill
Website: www.grilledcheesegrill.com
Hours: Tues-Thurs: 11:30-9; Friday, Saturday: 11:30-late; Sunday: 11:30-8; closed Mondays.