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Location: Varied – check Twitter and website for updated locations

The Story:

Ahh, German food. I am of German ancestry, so when I smell the brats or sauerkraut or see deli mustard, I get tingly inside and my mouth starts to water. We have a few carts here in Portland that serve up some German items, but now we have a roving truck that is all German all the time. I give you VanSchnitzels!

VanSchnitzels specializes in schnitzel sandwiches. A schnitzel is a pork or chicken cutlet that is pounded, then breaded and fried. Many in Portland know of the schnitzel either from the Rheinlander restaurant in NE or from Tabor and their famous Schnitzelwich sandwich. VanSchnitzels is owned and operated by Dan and Marsha who lived in Germany for many years absorbing German cuisine. They decided to buy a Kurbmaster Step-Van and make it a roving kitchen.

The day we visited VanSchnitzels, they were parked directly across from KoiFusion at the corner of W. Burnside at 4th. It was a cool photo to see two food trucks facing each other…dueling for customers. Marsha was very generous and gave us a sampling of three of her salads for us to try along with our schnitzel sandwiches. The salads – a marinated cucumber; a carrot and a German style coleslaw were wonderful. I am a big fan of marinated veggies and these salads hit the mark.

The schnitzel sandwich was just as I imagined – a pork schnitzel, pounded, breaded and fried placed on a roll with some lettuce and tomato. Dan recommended trying the homemade curry ketchup with the sandwich. I’m glad I did as it gave the sandwich a little kick. We enjoyed the salads and the sandwiches while sitting in the sun at the Car Wash Fountain just down the street and look forward to seeing VanSchnitzels in the neighborhood very soon.

VanSchnitzels is a roving truck, so they don’t have a permanent location. They have been at SW4th and  W Burnside, SW 15th and Salmon by Lincoln High and in SE at 26th and Holgate. To find their current location, you could follow them on Twitter or visit their blog. The great thing about being truly mobile is that they may show up at your local neighborhood street fair this summer. Willkommen to the jungle Dan and Marsha. Check out the VanSchnitzel schnitzel van if you are out and about and let them know Food Carts Portland sent ya.

Sample Menu:

• Schnitzel sandwich: pork or chicken – $6
• Schnitzel plate with 2 sides – $8.50
• Bratwurst – $4.50
• Currywurst – $4.50

Sides – $2

• French Frys
• Spätzle (German noodles)
• Red Cabbage
• Marinated salads – cucumber or carrot

Hours: Lunchtime and other times depending on location.
Website: Vanschnitzels.com
Twitter: @VanSchnitzels

Location: SW 10th and Alder

Description:

EuroDish calls their food “Traditional Polish Home Style Cuisine.” When I see the words traditional and home style together, I get a little excited. To me, it means someone is trying to harken back to days of yore and replicate what they know to be the food of their homeland. At EuroDish, the owner is succeeding.

EuroDish has been around now for a couple of years, so obviously has worked out any kinks and has a strong following. I have visited a few times in the past and have always enjoyed my meal. EuroDish’s traditional Polish fare is made up of many different options. You can go simple and get a kielbasa sausage on a french roll or get crazy and have one of the combo plates which could include pierogies, salad, schnitzel, blintzes, and bigos. A pierogi is a polish home style dumpling filled with seasoned potato and cheese or cabbage and mushroom or meat. Bigos is traditional hunter’s stew – beef, pork, sausage and tomato sauce stewed in sauerkraut…  All that together would truly fill one up. And these are just a couple of the items on the large menu of lunch and dinner options.

Recently, I opted for one of the combos shown in pictures outside the cart. A huge plate of food including a salad, some rice, pierogis, and two pork schnitzels, smothered in grilled onions. I dove in and was in food heaven. I lived in Austria for a time, so am familiar with schnitzel, but haven’t had it in a few years. The schnitzel I had that day brought back some great memories. It was perfectly breaded and seasoned and cooked perfectly. The crust had a sweetness to it at times that surprised me  and forced me to eat more. The dressing on the salad was surprisingly good as not many side salads at carts impress me. The pierogis were what I expected, little dumplings of yum. The entire meal was fabulous. I actually wasn’t able to finish.

Schnitzel plate

If you are out and about and need a hearty meal, check out EuroDish. [post originally written by Cuisine Bonne Femme, Sept. 2007, updated July, 2009.]

Sample Menu:

• Beef Vegetable Goulash Soup – beef, onion, tomato, carrot, garlic, and spices – served with egg pasta – $5
• Kielbasa Sandwich – grilled polish sausage with fried onions on french roll – $4
• Pork Schnitzel Sandwich – lightly breaded pan fried pork loin served with coleslaw, lettuce, tomato, cucumber onion and mustered on roll – $6
• Pierogi – dumplings; potato and cheese or cabbage and mushroom or meat and spinach – 6 for $4.50 or 9 for $6.50
• Bigos – Hunter’s Stew – beef, pork, sausage, tomato sauce – seasoned and stewed in sauerkraut – $4.50
• Combo plates – choices of the above items together – ranging between $5 and $8
• Cheese Blintzes – crepes filled with farmer’s cheese served with fresh fruits and sweetened sour cream – 1 for $2.25 or 2 for $4.25

Hours: 11am – 6pm Monday through Friday

Phone: 971 344 3704

Location: SW 5th and Oak
Hours: Weekdays, lunchtime

Description: Probably one of the best (and fanciest) food carts in Portland. This cute little red hut located on SW Stark right by SW 5th is the home of the famous “snitzelwich” – a perfectly tender, breaded and fried choice of chicken or pork cutlet served on a fresh ciabatta roll and served with a hint of horseradish and a nice sweet paprika-red pepper sauce, grilled onions, and lettuce. Perfection for $6.00.

Tabor also serves an incredible goulash with or with out traditional large Czech dumplings, chicken paprikash, and killer potato pancakes. Tabor also makes a whole other slew of sandwiches and soups in the $3.00 to $6.00 range, such as a creamy spinach soup or fried Munster cheese sandwich. Vegetarians and vegans will appreciate the eggplant sandwich ($5.50) or one of the inspiring vegetable soups. On Fridays, Tabor makes Halusky, the the Czech version of spaetzle dumplings. Other specialties include fresh squeezed carrot juice for $2.00 (or vegetable/fruit juice blend for $2.00), and a German smoked sausage on a roll for $6.00.

Sample Menu: See Tabor Website

Hours: Mon-Fri Lunch Hours Only (probably closes before 3PM)

Phone: 503-997-5467

Website: http://schnitzelwich.com/index.html