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 (April 18) in Portland Food

Berlu Bakery looks to reopen in May. After closing last October with the silver lining of a future re-opening, that opening day is coming soon. The Oregonian reported on their impending reopening on SE Belmont in the Modera Belmont building, sometime in May. Some of the things you will see on their menu is bánh bò nướng, pandan waffles, salted egg coconut tart, and a BEC (bacon, egg, and cheese) but a bánh cuốn version.

Also, they’ll have some great neighbors: Hat Yai, Cozy Congee (which opened recently), Hit the Spot burgers, as well as the return of Pop Pizza. There is no specific date for Berlu’s re-opening, but when they do open it will be Thursdays through Sundays, 9am to 3pm. 661 SE Belmont Street, Portland

Cookie McCakeface is moving. Today is their last day downtown. After today, they will be closed until the first of May, “so we can move and get adjusted to working out of a new space.” That space? The Heist! 770 W Burnside, Portland (now), 4727 SE Woodstock Blvd No. 1, Portland (May)

Bajala’s final day is April 27. They are serving their last Baja-style fish and seafood tacos on Sunday, April 27. After that they move to popups. Tacos will be $6.50, open noon until sold out. 1845 NW 23rd Place, Portland

Harder Day Coffee Company opens on North Williams. Jinju posted about this on their Instagram. Today is the grand opening of Harder Day’s North Williams cafe (previously Happy Cup was in there). Enjoy $2 lattes during their noon to 2pm happy hour. They will be serving Jinju’s chocolate and carrot cakes, too. 3494 N Williams Avenue, Portland

Stories you may have missed this week on Bridgetown Bites:

Flour Bloom Will Close in Portland
Souvlaki Queen Will Open in Downtown Portland
The Italian Summer Kitchen Book Release Is Today in Portland
Via Chicago Will Open in Old Cereus PDX Space in Portland
Original Dream Pizza Will Open on NE Glisan Street in Portland

Over at Lake Oswego High School they’ll be holding an Asian Cultural Fair on Saturday. Saturday also brings us the Baker’s Dozen Coffee Beer & Doughnut Festival and the Tea & Bloom Spring Tea Fair (which starts today). Filipino Food Month continues this month (here are some options), and Pizza Week goes on until Sunday, April 20. More details on these events ob our food festivals and cultural + food festivals pages.

Sunday is also Easter—hoping you’ve gotten your holiday treats! And this coming week are the openings of Matsunoki Ramen and Schilling Cider House.

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Now: Brooklyn Carreta Is Open in Portland (Photos)

The sign/logo for Brooklyn Carreta in Portland, Oregon.

The new food cart pod Brooklyn Carreta is open in Portland after months—no, years—of preparation and construction. I stopped in for a sort of soft opening at the end of March and was very happy to see the place (mostly) complete. The people seemed to be enjoying the final product.

At the writing of this article they are in what they call “Sneak Peek Weeks”; the grand opening will be later in April.

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Four Things I Learned This Week (March 28) in Portland Food

Fremont Garage Update. This is the food cart pod that will go in on NE Fremont Street and 44th Avenue. I walked by the other day and saw a sign on a mostly cleared-out lot, so I reached out to Cameron at DBS Group about it. Here’s his update:

“We will be starting on renovation of the property for the food cart pod and bar this month actually! Our new anticipated opening is early 2026. Our list of interested food cart vendors is growing, and many familiar popular carts/restaurants will be on the list. We are excited to share the line up as we get closer to opening.” 4403 NE Fremont Street, Portland

pFriem in Milwaukie opens April 7. ICYMI, pFriem is opening a tasting room in Milwaukie. It will be located in the former fire station in the historic Milwaukie City Hall building, which is a very exciting development. When I drank alcoholic beer, they were one of my favorites brewers. Here is what you can expect at the new Milwaukie spot (bulleted copy written by pFriem):

  • Three bars with 20+ taps pouring pFriem’s celebrated core beers, seasonal releases, and exclusive small-batch offerings.
  • Five handcrafted pFriem specialty craft cocktails and Son of Man cider on draft.
  • Celebratory collaboration IPA’s with Breakside Brewery and Von Ebert Brewing, and a Belgian Strong Dark collab with our new neighbors – Keeper Coffee Co.

On top of that there will be an outdoor patio with the seating area covered in a pergola, upstairs event space, retail space, original art displayed on the walls, a food menu “to complement pFriem’s beer lineup,” and beer and merch for their pFriem club members. 10501 SE Main Street, Milwaukie

The Scout Wine Bar gets some Oregonian love. Glad to see this article by Julie Evensen at The Oregonian about Gresham’s The Scout Wine Bar. It “offers wines by the glass, rotating local beer and cider on tap, and build-your-own charcuterie boards. Food from nearby restaurants is also welcome – the area has options ranging from pho to Italian to Lebanese to gourmet burgers. Diners can bring their entrée of choice to pair with a drink from the bar.”

I have recently spent more time in downtown Gresham and it is a sweet little part of the Portland Metro area. There’s some great food there, a variety of architectural styles (old and new), and I especially love the tiny Japanese garden on Tsuru Island in Main City Park. (Plus Jazzy Bagels is one of the few places you can get egg bagels in the area—if you know others, let us know in the comments.) 25 NE 3rd Street, Gresham

Warsugai will introduce a new concept. Starting out serving “elevated and creative interpretations of classic nostalgic Asian cuisine,” they have now closed (Sunday, March 23 was their last day of service)—but not for good. Instead, on Thursday, April 10 they will introduce “The Chinese Cowboy”:

“We’ll be offering up a reimagined menu of bbq small plates, weekly live music with some of Portland’s best country and honky tonk musicians, pop up events, and your favorite crafted cocktails.” I am definitely intrigued. 727 SE Washington Street, Portland

Stories you may have missed this week on Bridgetown Bites:

Help Support Portland’s Kitchen Table Magazine: “The Future Issue”
Taste of Sichuan Will Re-Open in Beaverton
Sabor del Rio Cafe Will Bring Puerto Rican Food to Marine Drive in Portland
Easter 2025 in Portland

This weekend is the Portland Tacos, Tequilas & Tamales Festival and the Expo Center. We are also in the final days of the Ticket to Dine campaign, which goes through March 31.

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Four Things I Learned This Week (March 21) in Portland Food

East Glisan Pizza Lounge is taking a break. First there were rumors, then there was a statement from the East Glisan Pizza folks: “Starting Monday, March 17, we’re taking some space to look at the business with new eyes—to take what we’ve learned over the past 11 years & rebuild with structure & culture in place that we & our crew deserve. We look forward to a healthy relationship with a business we’re excited about, even outside of the times we get to see you.” Keep up with them on their social channels for updates. 8001 NE Glisan Street, Portland

Javelina is moving again. Javelina and Inɨ́sha will be moving from the old Lil’ Dame space, their most recent home on NE 30th Avenue, to the old Yonder space on NE 42nd Avenue. This will put them next to door to NAYA’s munk-yeʔlan sax̣ali, (pronounced “moonk-YEH-lǔn SAH-hah-lee”) AKA Munk-yelan Saxali office in Cully. Their last day of service on NE 90th Avenue is Saturday, March 29; they’ll then take a two week break and relaunch on Thursday, April 17.

The positives of moving? “With the extra space we can expand our hours and menus. Also, our indoor seating almost triples and we now have a full bar where we can really allow our beverage program to flourish.” Why they moved? “We had some unforeseen challenges within that space that we couldn’t see getting through. Also, it was too small, we couldn’t accommodate everyone that came in and quickly realized we needed more room to pursue our goals of being a restaurant, gathering place and community hub for our guests.” 4636 NE 42nd Avenue, Portland

Beekie’s PDX has opened in Parkrose. This truck that seems new to the area is currently in the Grocery Outlet parking lot, according to a Bridgetown Bites tipster. One thing indicated on the truck is that they serve “vegan soul food.” They have a Facebook page and Instagram account, and from what I can tell there, vegan offerings include burgers and tacos; they definitely serve meat, too. 10721 NE Sandy Blvd, Portland

Kim Jong Grillin has left the Happy Valley Town Center. Tuesday was his last day there. Hopefully the future is bright for him and will bring good things his way. 15934 SE Happy Valley Town Center, Happy Valley

Bonus: Pronto Gelato is open again! They re-opened on Thursday after some time away. Find them Thursdays through Sundays, 3pm to 8pm.

Stories you may have missed this week on Bridgetown Bites:

Paqui Modern Mexican Will Open on NE Sandy Blvd in Portland
Hey Cricket Fans! Sticky Wicket Will Open in North Portland
Schilling Cider House Will Re-Open on SE Division in Portland
Food Loop Northwest Will Open in NW Portland’s Cordage Building

I also want to with you all a happy spring! The spring equinox was Thursday, March 20, and it looks like we have some nice mild weather ahead of us, despite the rain today. And remember: Ticket To Dine continues all month!

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Alphabet Burger Co., a New Food Truck, Will Open in North Portland

Chill N Fill pod that will be home to Alphabet Burger Co.
Alphabet Burger Co. be at the Chill N Fill. Photo credit: Chill N Fill.

Recently I came across an ORSOS filing for Alphabet Burger Co., with the Products/Services field filled out with the statement, “THE GREATEST BURGERS OF ALL TIME.” I was definitely intrigued. I’ve learned that they are going to be a food truck stationed in North Portland—Vincent Picone and Joel Carter Jackson are the partners behind it.

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