BrunchBox

Location: SW 5th and Stark
Hours: M-F, 8am-6pm; Sat, 11am-3pm

The Story:

Back in early 2009, Portland saw a surge of food cart openings and I distinctly remember when BrunchBox opened because A) they served burgers and B) they had breakfast sandwiches. In the two years that have transpired, BrunchBox has made a name for itself and become a fixture in Portland’s food cart community.

BrunchBox has recently gone through a sort of reboot of their menu, branding and ownership. The new owner Derek took the famous menu which still includes the YouCanHasCheeseburger and infamous Redonkadonk, but expanded to include build your own burger options and a large breakfast menu. I stopped by the first day the new menu debuted and enjoyed the new Thai Bacon Burger with grilled pineapple and jalapenos, bacon and peanut sauce. You can even choose mild, medium or hot for spiciness. That is just one of the many new choices being offered. You can also join them for breakfast at 8am weekdays and build your own with options of an omelet or breakfast sandwiches and even french toast. The possibilities are endless.

BrunchBox has been featured on The Cooking Channel, numerous print publications and even showcased on Health.com for the Redonkadonk sandwich. I’m happy to see them be as successful as they are and love the new menu. If you’re a regular, note that you now grab a menu and mark it up with your options and name and hand it off. That way you get exactly what you ordered. Hit up BrunchBox and check out the changes and let them know Food Carts Portland sent ya.

The Redonkadonk from BrunchBox

New Menu can be found at BrunchBoxPDX.com

Hours: Mon-Fri – 8am-6pm; Saturday 11a-3pm
Phone: 503 477 3286
Website: BrunchBoxpdx.com
Contact: brunchboxpdx@gmail.com
Twitter: BrunchBox
Facebook: BrunchBox
Additional Info: Credit/Debit accepted

[Our original post about Brunchbox from March 2009 beyond the fold]

Description: Welcome to the strip Brunch Box. So excited for you to join us. The Brunch Box is a new cart in the 5th avenue cart pod where Matlocks used to be. They’ve only been open a couple of weeks now and you can see by their menu, they are making it a go with a broad array of lunch choices. I love how new carts quickly take over a space and make it their own. Brunch Box specializes in sandwich and burger fare. They also do breakfast. I was lamenting earlier this winter that there weren’t any breakfast carts that could serve me up a breakfast bagel or sandwich and what not. The other morning, I ventured to Brunch box for a yummy homemade English muffin, egg and cheese breakfast sandwich. So good. That English muffin was so fresh, I could still taste the baking going on. Talking with the owners, they stated the muffins had come out of the oven only 20 minutes before I arrived. Oh, and looking around, they were one of 2 breakfast spots at 8am. I see success. And for $3, it beats any other breakfast sandwich downtown unless you’re opting for fast food at the mall.

When I first discovered Brunch Box, I thought they were an old cart that just revamped the menu, but then I took a closer look. They had burgers. Not just any old $5 burger, but a $3 burger and then more options for more money. I opted for $6 OMG burger because A) anyone who incorporates texting speak into food names is a win in my book and B) I hadn’t had spam with a burger yet. Yup, SPAM! and bacon. and egg. The burger was put together with care and wrapped well so I could transport it over to my lunch eating spot at the US Bank Tower. When I bit into it, I was in heaven. Everything was proportionate and stayed together while I munched it down. It was messy, but what do you expect from an OMG burger? I would suggest grabbing a few extra napkins if you order one. The meat was cooked just right – not well done and the egg was firm enough not to drip the yellow guts all over everything else. After finishing and having a mild heart arrhythmia, I vowed I would go back. And I did for the aforementioned breakfast.

I will become a regular at this cart. The owners are nice and friendly and they have a great menu for everyone. If you are downtown, check them out and tell them Food Carts Portland sent ya!

Sample Menu:

Breakfast (all day)
$2 Homemade English muffins (fresh daily)
-$1 Add: ham, bacon, spam, vegetarian sausage
-$.50 Add: egg, cheese, tomato, onion, mushroom, lettuce, peanut butter, pickles

$3 omelet breakfast sandwich: egg, mushroom, onion, American cheese

$5 omg! Breakfast sandwich: egg, ham, spam, bacon, American cheese

$3.50 Bec (bacon, egg, cheese)

Brunch (all day)

all burgers lettuce, tomato, onion, condiments

$3 ¼ Lb black Angus or veggie burger
-$1 add: ham, bacon, spam
-$.50 Add: egg, cheese, mushroom, pickles, sauerkraut, pineapple, chips (as topping)

$4 black & blue burger:
blackening seasoning w/blue cheese

$6 omg! burger:
egg, ham, spam, bacon, american cheese

$4 5-oh! burger:
pineapple, teriyaki glaze, spam, (yes, spam), swiss cheese
$4 reuben burger:
sauerkraut,  1000 island, swiss cheese

$5 youcanhascheeseburger!:
burger between two texas-toast grilled cheese sandwich “buns”

$9 redonkadonk
“omg! burger” (Egg, ham, spam, bacon, American cheese) between two texas-toast grilled cheese sandwich “buns”

$2 all-beef hot dog
-$.50 add: cheese, sauerkraut

$1.50 texas-toast grilled cheese sandwich

kids meals
comes with juice, apple sauce, and a sticker!

$3 cheezasaurus rex:
texas-toast grilled cheese sandwich shaped like a dinosaur

$3 pb & j:
texas-toast peanut butter and jelly sandwich shaped like a dinosaur

$2 ½ hot dog

Beverages & chips
$.50-$1: -coke, diet coke, bottled water, hot tea, assorted steaz teas and juice boxes
-frech-press, french-roast coffee by farm- friendly/local portland roasting company

$1: Chips, assorted varieties

*brunch box chooses local/organic whenever possible.
**all angus burgers are hand-pressed and made to order.