Southeast-Portland Archives - Food Carts Portland

Guero

May 13, 2013 by dieselboi Leave a Comment

Guero

Location: SE 28th and Ankeny
Hours: Tues-Sun, 11am-9pm

The Story: A food cart born of passion, travel, friendship and…well…good cuisine. I give you Guero Tacos and Tortas.

Over the years, I have met food cart owners who are parents or boyfriends and girlfriends or fathers and sons. While most of these small businesses are single owners, many are the hard work of a few who have banded together to pursue a dream. I have fond memories of younger years when I and friends worked together to fullfill a collective dream. Granted, none were as ambitious as a full service restaurant on wheels, but I know the hard work it takes for people to come together for a single focused idea. At Guero, the three partners – Alec, Mike and Megan – all share in the duty to create the best cuisine they can. The idea behind Guero came from Alec’s time spent travelling and living in Mexico and then a transition to Burlington Vermont where he partnered with his mates and launched a mobile taco business named Taco the Town, a short lived service of delivering tacos by bike. When an opportunity to transition to a full service food cart, they jumped at it and opened Guero. But don’t fret, the delivery by bike is still a passion and may return.

At Guero, you can get tacos, tortas and bolos. Tacos are my crutch. When I see a chef hand pressing a masa tortilla, I’m blinded, seeing nothing else on the menu but the taco. The day we visited offered three different tacos – Carnitas el Guero, Cochinita Pibil and Jitomate. Each one’s description activated my tastebuds, but in the end, I chose the latter two. The Cochinita Pibil is a specialty from La Riviera May with pork slow cooked in achiote with shredded banana leaf and served with pickled onion. Take a bite and enjoy the savory pork, the acidity of onion along with the moist of the freshmade tortilla. Divine. The Jitomate taco is habanero-tamarind stewed tomato atop pinto beans and topped with crumbly Mexican cheese and a slice of avocado. I read it as a stewed habanero, so was expecting a spicy bite, yet it was a tomato with so much flavor, I couldn’t easily describe it. Another amazing example of the craft and care Guero takes with every single item they produce.

Tacos from Guero

As stated, Guero was born from a taco bike delivery service, so these guys know what Portland eaters seek. Located at SE 28th and Ankeny at a lot with covered seating, a London bus to hang out in and three other food vendors. The lot boasts Captured by Porches so you can enjoy a microbrew with your taco or torta. Drop on by, grab something new and let them know Food Carts Portland sent ya.

Sample Menu:

Menu may change daily or weekly. Be adventurous, visit and try something new.

Carnitas al Guero Taco – $2
Cochinita Pibil – $2
Tortas – all served with cilantro aioli, cabbage, avocado; carnitas; cochinita pibil, huarachi – $7

Phone: 503 593 8846
Twitter: @GueroPDX
Facebook: GueroPDX

Filed Under: Debit/Credit Carts Accepted, Dinner, Lunch, Mexican, SE 28th and Ankeny, Tacos, Vegetarian Options, Weekends

Kesone Asian Fusion

April 11, 2013 by dieselboi 4 Comments

Kesone Asian Fusion

Location: SE 82nd and Harney, Cartlandia
Hours: Mon-Sun, 11:30-8pm

The Story: I first remember hearing the word fusion back in the 90′s and it usually implied a mix of two dichotomous cuisines that a chef decided to mix together. Sometimes it worked, many times it did not. A Kesone Asian Fusion, the mix is Thai and Laotian which compliment each other well.

You may recognize the name Kesone as they had a cafe and bistro in NE Portland for many years, but closed it to open their food cart at Cartlandia. Inside the bright red box, Kesone greats her guests with a bright grin as they come up and with most vendors, begins preparing the cuisine right then. I love that about Portland’s vendors – freshly made food. The menu is comprised of appetizers, salads, noodle and rice dishes, soups, curries and Lao specialties. Normally, upon arrival, I can choose a dish rather quickly, but this menu of 29 different items slowed me down. I skipped the appetizers and salad and focused mainly on the Lao specialties like Nam Kao Vientianene, a dish with crispy rice with coconut shavings and your choice of protein which is blended with mint, lime juice, roasted peanuts, cilantro and scallions. You scoop the mix on to a lettuce leaf and enjoy. Kesone gave me a sample and that is a tasty dish. There is also Sai Uah Lao which are seasoned pork sausages stuffed with sweet onions, lemon grass, dill, rice, scallions and chili. So many amazing options. I couldn’t order them all, so chose Gai Yai, a half of a slow roasted game hen marinated in lemongrass and pineapple house seasoning. I have enjoyed game hen prepared in other ways, so wanted to try it Laotian style and enjoyed it immensely. That first bite with juices dripping down my chin was all it took to convince me that Kesone took care in her slow roasting. The lemongrass and sweetness of the pineapple added a complex flavor I hadn’t enjoyed with fowl up to this point. Needless to say, no leftovers.

Gai Yai from Kesone Asian Fusion

Kesone Asian Fusion is open daily for lunch and through the dinner hour. Cartlandia offers covered seating with free wi-fi and even has a beer garden open select hours. Drop on by for some tasty dishes and let Kesone know Food Carts Portland sent ya.

Sample Menu:

Deep Fried Vegetarian Rolls – $4
Jalapeno Cream Cheese Wonton – $4
Thai Spicy Chicken Wings – $4
Sum Thum Salad – shredded green papaya, cherry tomatoes, lime juice, roasted peanuts with dressing – $8
Lao-style Yum Gai – chicken with crispy lettuce, boiled eggs, red onions, cucumber, tomatoes, roasted peanuts and cilantro – $8
Pad Lao – pan-fried rice noodles, egg, scallions, roasted peanuts in house sauce with bean sprouts and lime – $6.50
Nam Kao Vientianne – $8
Gai Yai Half – $7
Sai Uah Lao – $8
Kang Massaman Curry – milder Thai style curry with potatoes, carrots, onions, basil and peanuts – $6.50-8
Wonton Soup – ground chicken with garlic seasoning wrapped in wonton skins in homemade chicken broth with mushrooms, celery, onions and bean sprouts – $4-8

Facebook: Kesone Asian Fusion

Filed Under: Debit/Credit Carts Accepted, Dinner, Lunch, SE 82nd and Harney, Thai, Vegetarian Options, Weekends Tagged With: Laotian

The Angry Unicorn

February 26, 2013 by dieselboi 1 Comment

The Angry Unicorn

Location: SE 52nd and Foster, Carts on Foster
Hours: Wed-Sun, 11am-9pm

The Story: Did you know that Portland was built atop an ancient unicorn graveyard? The rumors are true. Why else would you see random tall bikes commuting downtown or Darth Vader playing the bagpipes while riding a unicycle. Unicorns are magical and at The Angry Unicorn, they take that magic and make burgers.

All kidding aside, John and April Scarlett wanted to launch a food cart with burgers and bites, but needed that one nugget of unique to draw people in. They loved the iconography of unicorns, the images and pictures, but John realized sometimes they appeared angry and irritated and The Angry Unicorn was born. Beer may have been involved, but in this case, the end result is brilliant.

The Unicorn Burger

At The Angry Unicorn, they focus on burgers and small bites. With a ‘magical’ burger with ground bacon (real Unicorn Meat) along with strips of bacon, cheddar and veggies, you get a great sandwich. I had never though of mixing chopped bacon with Angus to create a burger. While normally served between a glazed doughnut, I opted for the Portland French Bakery’s pub bun, truly one of the better burger buns in this city. Chewy, with a dusting of flower on top, the bun perfectly complemented the burger, cheese, lettuce and tomato. No condiments needed for this gem. The flavors were enough to impress this burger jerk.

The Angry Unicorn has a great list of burgers including the portobello with grilled onion, peppers and Swiss. There are bacon fries, portobello fries, french fries and items for the kids. If you’re in the neighborhood, be sure to drop by, try some Unicorn and let them know Food Carts Portland sent ya.

Sample Menu:

Unicorn Burger: magical meat w/ground bacon, strips of bacon, cheddar on glazed doughnut – $7
The Hottie: jalapeno, grilled onion and peppers, pepper jack cheese, spicy cream cheese – $7
The Best Burger: burger mixed with ground bacon, bacon strips, gorgonzola, roasted garlic, cheddar – $7
Portobello Mushroom: grilled portobello mushroom, grilled onion, peppers, Swiss cheese – $7
Bacon Fries – $4
Portobello Fries – $4

Facebook: The Angry Unicorn

Filed Under: Dinner, Fries, Hamburgers, Lunch, SE 52nd and Foster, Southeast-Portland, Vegetarian Options, Weekends

Traditional Russian Cuisine

February 25, 2013 by dieselboi 1 Comment

Traditional Russian Cuisine

Location: SE 82nd and Harney, Cartlandia
Hours: Mon-Sun, 11am-7, 8pm on Mon, Fri and Sat

The Story: I often receive calls and emails from national and even international media interested in Portland’s wonderful food cart scene. Without fail, they always ask what kinds of foods are available from Portland’s hundreds of carts. Honestly, the answer is, “what don’t we have?” Instead of a seemingly endless laundry list of our city’s boundless and creative food cart menu items, I simply state the few cuisines we seem to be short on. For the longest time, Portland was lacking food from Eastern Europe, Russia and the Eurasian continent. A new vendor, Traditional Russian Cuisine is here to fill that void.

Located in Cartlandia, Portland’s largest food cart lot on the east side, Traditional Russian Cuisine is the work of Lyla and Bella, Moscow natives who want Portlanders to enjoy what their culture has to offer. If you’ve never enjoyed Russian cuisine, you’re in for a treat. I’m a huge fan of dark hearty Russian breads, but at Traditional Russian Cuisine, you can get piroshky, cabbage roles, pelmeni (a type of dumpling), borscht (beet soup) and more.

Piroshky are a simple, yet amazingly flavorful fried buns with different fillings. Here, you can get chicken, cheese and vegetables or salmon, egg and green onion, or what I enjoyed hot out of the oven – a lamb, potato and onion piroshky. So good. Salty, starchy and sweet. Everything I wanted to start the day. Pair piroshky with borscht, a traditional beet soup, and you have a hearty lunch.

At Traditional Russian Cuisine you get a taste of the motherland. Lyla and Bella are welcoming and generous. I luckily remembered some Russian from a past life and was able to tell them how отлично (excellent) their piroshky is. Drop on by if you’re in the neighborhood or if you too have been craving something hearty. Let them know Food Carts Portland sent ya.

Sample Menu:

Piroshky – meat or vegetable options – $2.49
Manti – steamed dumplings stuffed with lamb, minced onion and spices – 8 for $$6.99
Pilaf salad - $4.99
Cabbage Rolls – $5.99
Russian Beef Cutlets – $5.99
Pelmoni – dumplings of fillings wrapped in thin dough – $4.99-$5.99
Borsch – Russian beet soup – $2.49-$3.99

Phone: 503-745-0619
Website: Traditional Russian Cuisine