Volunteer for Eat Mobile 2013 at OMSI!

Do you love food carts? Can’t get enough of all the amazing gourmet-on-the-go (not to mention on the cheap!) options in this fair city? Then come be a part of *THE* celebration of Portland food cart culture by volunteering for Eat Mobile on Saturday, April 27th, 2013 at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry!

Part food festival, part cart competition, Eat Mobile showcases the mouth-watering cuisine from 50 of Willamette Week’s favorite food carts. The event highlights the food, music, and people that make Portland’s food scene so special, while vendors compete for the coveted Carty Award. In addition, Whole Foods Market and OMSI will stage demonstrations to provide attendees with an understanding of the science behind the food.

Volunteers are needed to help run all aspects of the event, from will call and wrist banding guests, to taking surveys, keeping the event clean and green, and even parking bikes! Volunteers have their choice of one of two shift times: 3:30pm to 7:30pm or 7:00pm to 10:00pm. All volunteers will receive an Eat Mobile staff wristband that allows you to sample all the delicious food being offered either before or after your shift. In addition, our Compost Genius volunteers (those volunteers who help guest make composting and recycling choices and those who keep the tables clear) will also receive a pass to come back and enjoy OMSI on a day of their choosing!

To sign up for a shift or request more information, please email Casey Szot at cszot@omsi.edu or call 503-797-4569

Food Carts Portland is pleased to announce our partnership in Roam – the first ever North American food conference serving the mobile food industry. Roam will be held in Portland, Oregon September 13-15, 2013 and features speakers, educational sessions, events and more.

Education tracts are grouped for those just starting out in the industry, seasoned mobile vendors who want to grow, non-profits and community organizations who want to incorporate mobile vending, government urban planners and policy makers, and those who serve the mobile food industry. Roam showcases business education, technology and other innovations, menu and concept planning, marketing for mobile, and more. Expect fun events  such as food cart lunches, a special happy hour, and citywide tours featuring some of Portland’s 600+ food carts and some of the best street food from all over North America. For those interested in starting their own mobile business, Roam has put together a special one-day “Start-up Boot Camp” for mobile vending. Think of it as a crash course in all things mobile.  And Roam isn’t just about mobile food. Expect to see trends in mobile retail and mobile promotions, too.

We’ll be providing updates and more information as the conference develops including speaker  announcements, sponsorship and exhibitor opportunities, and event details. For more information and to sign up for Roam news, please go to www.roamconference.com or email info@roamconference.com

Learn. Network. Engage. Explore. All roads lead to Roam!

New cart alert! New cart alert! We’ve learned one thing over the years, Portlanders go crazy for a few things, but especially Beer, Bikes, Coffee and Bagels. New York bagel lovers especially shout loud and proud for “real authentic” boiled and baked dough with a hole. And while the bagel landscape in our very Pacific NW city has improved a lot over the past few years, we still hear wistful longings that Portland just doesn’t have enough “real bagels”.

Enter Rescue Bagels to the rescue, promising authentic NY style bagels with all the fixings. Handmade and baked from scratch every single morning. From the Food Carts Portland email inbox, hot off the bagel presses:

• Who: Rescue Bagels, founded by Kevin Lawler
• What: Boiled bagels, breakfast sandwiches, assorted cream cheese, available individually or to-go in bulk
• Where: SW 6th and Columbia in downtown Portland
• When: Opening Monday, January 14th and open Monday-Saturday. Hours will be Mon-Fri 7 AM to 1:30 PM and Saturday 9 AM to Noon.

Additional information: When Kevin Lawler moved back to Oregon from New York City, he missed the bagels. He began experimenting in his home kitchen, trying to re-create the bagels he would eat in his Brooklyn neighborhood. Eventually, he got the recipe right and started sharing it with others. After getting very positive feedback and a lot of encouragement, he decided to open a food cart to serve his authentic, boiled bagels.

Rescue Bagels will be located at SW 6th and Columbia and part of a brand new pod of carts.

In additional to grabbing individual breakfast sandwiches or bagels with cream cheese, customers will also be able to pick up bagels and assorted flavors of cream cheese to take home or to their offices.

You can read more at www.rescuebagels.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/rescuebagels

Rescue Bagels is also on twitter @twitter.com/rescuebagels

Phone: 971-266-4012

email: info@rescuebagels.com

I’ll take mine Poppyseed with lox and a “schmear” please, “coffee regular” on the side.(that’s NY insider bagel speak, btw). We’ll hit Rescue Bagels next week and keep you posted.  Stay tuned…