Tokyo Sando Returns! Bing Mi, Too! Both at the Midtown Beer Garden

Photo credits: Tokyo Sando and Bing Mi

A while back I wrote about the arrival of the Midtown Beer Garden in the “midtown” section of downtown Portland. I also wrote about Tokyo Sando closing, with the uncertainty of a return to Portland. And Bing Mi has gone through some changes, opening a brick & mortar spot in NW Portland, with the future of the original cart in unknown territory, too. Well, the good news is that they are returning to downtown Portland!

As an aside, how funny is this—back in January 2022 I published an article on Bing Mi and Tokyo Sando!

So this morning I got a press release from the folks behind the Midtown Beer Garden announcing the addition of Tokyo Sando and Bing Mi to the food cart pod. I love both of these places, so I’m chuffed to see them become part of this conveniently-located large pod.

Tokyo Sando

When Tokyo Sando closed in December, they left a Japanese-style-sandwich-shaped hole in Portland’s food world. To hear they are opening back up again this month for “Season 5—Legends Never Die”makes me so happy.

Owner Taiki Nakajima wants to help Portland and its image bounce back after some pretty hard years, and says this: “I love Portland. Downtown is alive, and I want to help people see that. We as businesses need to invest in revitalizing the city center, in the same way that our customers invest in us. It’s up to all of us to restore downtown, and every bit makes a difference.”

Bing Mi

In the latter half of March, you’ll find Bing Mi’s cart happily serving up their delicious jainbings—they really are the best in town, IMO. I love everything about this handheld savory sweet breakfast treat—the fresh crepe, crispy cracker, egg, aromatics, sauces. And along with their selection of jianbings (some are “loaded“), they’ll offer the kinds of dumplings they sell over at the NW shop. Some will be filled with pork and cabbage, beef and onion, shrimp and pork; some will be vegan, filled with with shiitakes.

Owner Jacky Ren says, “With the lunch crowd, sometimes people don’t have time to wait in line for the jianbings, so I plan to have dumplings as well.” Bing Mi used to live at the Alder Street food cart pod (now in its place is the Ritz-Carlton), which is where I first had their delicious jianbings.

But Wait—There’s More!

Now, along with heavy-hitters Tokyo Sando and Bing Mi, there are a few other newcomers to the pod: Global Pizza, The Codfather Fish & Chips, and Midtown Grill, which will be specializing in Mediterranean and Middle Eastern grilled meats and vegetables. The other aspect of all this news is that the pod is now at capacity and there is a wait-list. If you want to be added to the wait-list, contact info@midtownbeergarden.com.

Congrats to all involved: Tokyo Sando, Bing Mi, Midtown Beer Garden, and Portland eaters. Looking forward to stopping by for some good eats!

Tokyo Sando and Bing Mi
(Global Pizza, The Codfather Fish & Chips, Midtown Grill, too)
Midtown Beer Garden [pods arriving at various points in winter/spring 2024]
SW 5th Avenue between SW Harvey Milk & SW Oak Streets, Portland
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