Category: Food Carts

Food carts are part of the culture of Portland and an important element of the eating and drinking that goes on in the city. They are found throughout the city both as individual carts and grouped together in pods.

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Four Things I Learned This Week (March 15)

Work for Ota Tofu. Over on Craigslist there’s a posting about a job in the early morning, making tofu. That means “operating our soy milk machines and cleaning machines after use” and “scooping and pressing tofu.” Starts at $17/hour. Ota Tofu is the oldest tofu companies in the U.S. and it is excellent. 812 SE Stark Street, Portland

Viking Soul Food is selling their cart at The Bite on Belmont. They’ll be keeping their restaurant in Woodstock, but the cart is for sale. Asking price: $20K. Their goal is to “focus on other opportunities” now that they have a brick and mortar, plus they are looking to do farmers markets, perhaps. As for when they are leaving Belmont, they said on Instagram, “Not entirely sure yet when the last day will be as that will be dependent on when the buyer wants to take over.” 4255 SE Belmont Street, Portland

Cow Bell Cheese Shop is helping the kids. Starting today and going until Sunday, March 17, head to Cow Bell Cheese Shop to participate in a fundraiser for Sunnyside Environmental School’s 8th grade Marine Biology trip to Catalina Island. I have to say, I love the Channel Islands and have great memories of visiting there in my youth—in fact, I played my first ever game of mini golf there on Catalina Island. I remember the water being incredibly clear just off-shore. Anyway, here’s more on the fundraiser:

“We will be donating 20% off our sales from those dates to the program—but more importantly, we are using this as an opportunity to “cheesify” the next generation of potential cheesemongers … We’ll be putting them to work every day of the fundraiser: cutting and wrapping cheese, handing out samples, making and serving fondue. If you enjoy discovering new cheeses at Cow Bell, but you’ve always been slightly disappointed by how tall the cheesemongers are, this is finally our chance to rectify that issue for you.” 231 SE Alder Street, Portland

Brains. BRAINS! Le Clown, which is “celebrating the modern bistronomy of France” there in the Dame Collective, is now offering cervelle: that’s poached brain, beurre citron, fried caper, and fine herbs. “Due to popular demand we’ve done it! We will be offering cervelle in limited quantities on Tuesdays only. Off menu, by request only. Come and get it!” If you like brains, this is a not-miss for you. 5425 NE 30th Avenue, Portland

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Four Things I Learned This Week (March 1)

Three Fifty Cafe has closed. The good folks behind the Three Fifty Cafe in Cully posted on social media this week that they have shut their doors: “We are sad to announce that our café has permanently closed. Thank you for all the support from our neighbors and friends over this past year. We will truly miss you!” This is a real bummer. I wish them only the best of luck in whatever new path they take. 6205 NE Prescott Street, Portland

The Wild Bunch kickoff is tonight. The Wild Bunch, a celebration of natural wine (which I would totally be into if I drank alcohol) is this Saturday evening, but they are doing a kickoff party at Bar Norman tonight (Friday), and it’s looking good. Head there, “no tickets, just drop in,” from 6pm to 9pm.

“Stop tonight to taste 13 tasty wines from the heart of Central Europe. The winemakers from Blažič and Rodica (both from Slovenia) will be pouring, as well two of our favorite importers, Black Lamb Wines and Vinum. Expect to find wines from Slovakia, Czech Republic, Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Slovenia in your glass!” There will also be smash burgers and short rib sandwiches from Little Brother; DJ Broken Arrow will be spinning tunes. 2615 SE Clinton Street, Portland

Quiche Me if You Can arrives in Montavilla this month. The old Sebastiano’s space has a new tenant: Quiche Me if You Can. The Montavilla News has more info:

“Owner Christa Voytilla will take over the shop on March 1st and begin reshaping the space with an indoor service counter and quiche-focused kitchen. Since 2019, the farmers’ market chef has grown her business and is now expanding into the company’s first brick-and-mortar location. Although the new Montavilla storefront will become the central home for Quiche Me if You Can, they will retain their farmers market roots.” Read more here. 411 SE 81st Avenue, Portland

More food trucks coming to Portland’s west side. In the continuing efforts to revitalize downtown Portland, “Portland City Council passed an emergency ordinance in January, directing the Portland Bureau of Transportation to establish the two-year [food truck] pilot [program].” The idea is to offer more dining options to folks downtown, workers and residents alike; and, to give food truck operators more opportunities, too. Three locations are already set:

  • Pacwest Center, 1121 Southwest Fifth Avenue. Tuesday to Thursday, 11am to 2pm.
  • NV Apartments, 1261 Northwest Overton Street. Thursdays, 5pm to 7:30pm.
  • Lownsdale Square Park, 350 Southwest Salmon Street. Monday to Friday, 11am to 2pm with daily food truck rotations.

Participants are limited to mobile food trucks, no static food carts. You can find a bunch of those at the Midtown Beer Garden. Read more about this pilot program from the city, here.

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Four Things I Learned This Week (February 16)

ICYMI: Toyshop Ramen closed. I missed this for whatever reason, but in mid-January Toyshop Ramen closed its doors. On their Instagram they posted: “We started Toyshop in a snowstorm, and we’re ending in one as well, EPIC!! What a helluva a ride it’s been, we did the damn thing and we gotta wrap it all up. Thanks to our awesome crew for making it happen day in and day out, and to everyone who came thru and made this past year possible!!” However … this week the fan account of the Alberta Arts District posted a photo of a sign on the property’s window that says, “Take Two … Coming Soon.” An electrical permit for “tenant improvements” was updated last month, but that’s all I know. I’ll see what I can find out. 3000 NE Killingsworth Street, Portland

The OLCC predicts alcohol revenue will slip by $132 million. TL;DR is that less people are buying top-shelf liquor products, according to OLCC spokesperson Mark Pettinger: “… The demand for top-shelf liquor increased during the pandemic, and if this trend had continued along with moderate inflation, sales could still be on the rise. However, he said Oregonians have returned to mid-tier products.” And some Oregonians are simply electing not to drink booze at all.

Futura Coffee Roasters has a new location in SE PDX. Earlier this week, the folks at Futura Coffee Roasters posted that they’ve opened their third location, “bringing regenerative coffee to Portland’s Division St neighborhood.”They’ll be open daily from 7am to 4pm. 4330 SE Division Street, Portland

Nico’s heads to Troutdale. Nico Vergara and crew are opening their third Nico’s Ice Cream location in east county—downtown Troutdale at The Highlands. You can read more about The Highlands on their website. It is a pod but will have a “2000 sq ft indoor, all-ages, dining room that will be shared by all the carts with a full bar.” Joining Nico’s will be Wayfinder Beer (who will focus on making beer, no food) and Checkerboard Pizza, among others. As Nico says, “Pizza, beer, and ice cream. What more could you need?” Projected opening is late May 2024. 102 SW 2nd Street, Troutdale