Trailer Food Diaries Cookbook: Portland Edition, Volume 2 9781625845979, 9781626191426, 1625845979

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Portland Food Cart Culture Portland is a food cart mecca. In a sea of multicultural flavors and quirky personalities, only the most interesting food cart concepts survive. Several Portland cart chefs who strive to serve a sustainable, local menu celebrate the bounty of food offered by the Pacific Northwest, while other chefs source worldly ingredients unique to their menus. But no matter which cart you are dining at, there’s an interesting story and unique recipe to be found in bigfoot country. Among the carts sprawled throughout Stumptown, most are grouped together in pods, sharing lots with a few other carts. For example, food carts are grouped at all these various intersections and more: Southwest 3rd and Ash, the Alder Pod, Mississippi Marketplace, 5th and Stark, Cartopia, Cartlandia, 23rd and Alberta, Rose City Food Park, the Row, etc. Locals rely on a handful of food cart authorities such as Brett Burmeister behind Food Carts Portland; Steven Shomler, author of Portland Food Cart Stories and founder of Portland Food Cart Adventures; Scott Batchelar of Food Carts for Charity; and Aaron Wakamatsu of Aaron’s Food Adventures. In addition to an abundance of food options, Portland is known for its beautiful landscape. From roses to waterfalls, hikes at the Gorge to fishing or surfing at the coast, this food cart hub lends itself to several outdoor outlets worth exploring.

Published by American Palate A Division of The History Press Charleston, SC 29403 www.historypress.net Copyright © 2014 by Tiffany Harelik All rights reserved Photo credits: Rudy Arocha p. 11; Ben Trimbo Photography p. 35. All other images courtesy of the author.

First published 2014 e-book edition 2014 ISBN 978.1.62584.597.9 Library of Congress CIP data applied for. print edition ISBN 978.1.62619.142.6

Notice: The information in this book is true and complete to the best of our knowledge. It is offered without guarantee on the part of the author or The History Press. The author and The History Press disclaim all liability in connection with the use of this book. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form whatsoever without prior written permission from the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

A bird doesn’t doubt the wind. This series is dedicated to anyone who has ever taken a leap of faith.

Contents

Acknowledgements If it were not for the many food cart entrepreneurs taking risks to live their version of the American Dream, this series would not have been documented. Thank you to all who took time to contribute and, equally, to those not represented in this edition. You are all integral parts of the food cart community here in Portland that builds the city’s character. I would like to especially acknowledge Steven Shomler, author of Portland Food Cart Stories: Behind the Scenes with the City’s Culinary Entrepreneurs, for his contagious enthusiasm about the stories behind bootstrap chefs. Brett Burmeister of Food Carts Portland, Scott Batchelar of Food Carts 4 Charity and Aaron Wakamatsu of Aaron’s Food Adventures are all highly reputable Food Cart Kings as well, of whom I am deeply appreciative. Thank you, guys, for taking me under your wing and introducing the Trailer Food Diaries to so many incredible food carts in Portland. Thank you as always to Callie, Brighton, Patsy and Jimmy and my supportive friends and colleagues. Thank you to The History Press, which made this cookbook series a reality. I’m proud of what we have created and am grateful for the opportunity to be the storyteller. Last but not least, a big, huge thank-you to the incredible Vega family for hosting me again during my time researching for this volume.

 

The Trailer Food Diaries Cookbook Series I began writing the Trailer Food Diaries Cookbook series in 2009 as a blog. I had gone on a food truck crawl with some neighbors and friends to eat at some of Austin’s newest culinary endeavors that were coming out of stationary Airstream food trailers. Some of the food trailers were paired up with other food trucks in parks spread throughout the city, and some stood alone. We had a map, a plan and a Sunday afternoon off to eat our way through town. What we found was unexpected. Several of the trailers were closed on Sunday, some were not where they said they would be and others had run out of the very things we wanted to try. A little discouraged, we ended up with a case of beer on the curb of the famous Gourdough’s donut trailer (trailer parks in Austin are BYOB) and split some donut holes. When I looked to the Internet for help assessing the food trailer scene as a whole, I found a void. Since I had recently quit my job, I decided to start the Trailer Food Diaries blog, making myself one of the first authorities on food trailers in my hometown. I knew the chefs were creative, I knew they had amazing stories to tell and I wanted to help them market and share their recipes and histories so that others could enjoy them. After a few months of blogging, I met Shay Spence, who introduced me to his father, Roy Spence, founding partner at the illustrious GSD&M advertising agency. Roy soon became an integral figure in shaping the Trailer Food Diaries. “Working his way down the corporate ladder,” as he will tell you, Roy opened the Royito’s hot sauce trailer, fashioning his mission after three critical lessons learned from his father:

  Be kind to everyone—for you never know what someone is going through.   Keep it simple.   Don’t do mild.

With these principles guiding the inspiring hot sauce trailer, Roy continues to spread the word about the importance of small businesses. “Our country was founded on mom-and-pop businesses,” he says as he explains why food trailers offer such a great outlet for entrepreneurs of any age to pursue their passions. A few months later, I pitched a food truck festival concept to C3 Presents. Together, we created the Gypsy Picnic trailer food festival in 2010. With close to thirty food trailers and nearly twenty thousand attendees, we learned just how much Austin loves its food trucks. We did it a second year in 2011, when the first Trailer Food Diaries Cookbook was launched: Austin Edition, Volume 1. Beyond the Gypsy Picnic, I began co-producing Trailer Food Tuesdays in 2012, an event held on the last Tuesday of every month at the Long Center in Austin. The event hosts an average of ten food trucks per month, with live music and the city skyline as the backdrop. Since it is located

across the street from the Auditorium Shores park, people enjoy using the trail to walk or bike over to the heart of the city for dinner. At the time of the writing of this volume, I have been in ten different states researching food trucks, carts and trailers: Texas; Louisiana; Florida; Wyoming; Montana; Utah; Washington, D.C.; New York; Oregon; and New Mexico. The notion of street food is worldwide and has its roots in almost every culture. Toward this end, I have eaten street food in Peru, Honduras and Mexico. From my experience interviewing owners of food carts or stands, I can tell you three key things these folks have in common:   They are entrepreneurs. They do not want to work for anyone else and will work an eighty-hour week to avoid working a forty-hour week for someone else.     They have at least one good recipe that someone has complimented them on or that they have loved cooking since childhood. It’s a recipe they are proud to share with you, and their favorite part of the day is when you take that first bite and your eyes light up. They are cooking to see you smile, not for a grandiose payday.   They are community-oriented people. For the most part, the food truck owners report that one of the things they love most about owning and operating their carts is the opportunity to meet so many different people during the day. They are as intrigued about your story and what brought you to their food as you are about their menu. Although I have several editions out in various cities, there are no duplicated recipes in the cookbooks; each cookbook has completely different recipes in it. To date, I have volumes in Austin, Portland, Dallas/Fort Worth and Houston.

“Ask a Local”

Brett Burmeister, Steven Shomler, Scott Batchelar and Aaron Wakamatsu Brett Burmeister of Food Carts Portland

What are some of the most outlandish menu items you have seen coming out of food carts in Portland? I would have to say the Porchetta Sandwich from the People’s Pig comes to mind. Think bacon-wrapped pork loin. Cliff Allen works some amazing mojo creating this insane sandwich. The Angry Unicorn does Unicorn burgers, which are wonderful. You do know that Portland was built atop an ancient unicorn graveyard, right? If someone only had one day in Portland (for breakfast, lunch and dinner), which pods and carts would you recommend they hit, and what

should they order at each stop? For breakfast, hit up either Mississippi Marketplace for the Big Egg or Good Food Here for Fried Egg I’m in Love. For lunch, visit the Alder lot at Southwest 10th and Alder—sixty vendors selling everything from American barbecue to Indian to Mexican to Thai and everything in between. For dinner or late night, check out Cartopia, which is Portland’s original latenight pod, offering up Belgian fries and poutine, wood-fired pizza or maybe a crepe. Which food cart chefs have the loudest or most memorable personalities? Charles Thomas of Euro Trash, Bo Kwon from Koi Fusion, Gregg Abbot from Whiffies Fried Pies, Lisa or Brian Wood from Big-Ass Sandwiches, Scott Smith from Bro-Dogs and Burgers, Tal Caspi from Gonzo, Timber from Timber’s Dog House PDX. Tell us about the ROAM Conference. The ROAM Mobile Food Conference was hatched from the idea that mobile vendors should gather to learn about and discuss the mobile food industry with fellow professionals. The conference takes place in Portland, Oregon. All roads lead to ROAM.

   Steven Shomler, Author of Portland Food Cart Stories and Founder of Portland Food Cart Adventures

What is your favorite food cart? Come on, Tiffany! You asked me that awful question in Trailer Food Dairies Cookbook: Portland Edition, Volume 1. What was true then is true now—asking me that question is like asking me which of my children I like best. However…I have recently begun texting Zac, Zayne and Zoe individually and telling them, “You are my favorite.” How about this: I will tell you some of my favorite dishes from some of the food carts featured in Trailer Food Dairies Cookbook: Portland Edition, Volume 2. Here you go! •   Olé Latte: I love the lattes and the sweet, salty cookie. Any time of day, I can have one of Todd’s perfect lattes. I love dark coffee; however, sometimes dark coffee can be bitter. Todd’s coffee tastes strong and rich without any bitterness. It is always smooth. •  Stumptown Dumplings: The chicken dumplings and the Thai Iced Tea, aka Liquid Gold—a perfect lunch. I can eat a lot of those dumplings. Like two dozen. They are that good. •    Moberi: The One Night in Bangkok—Sriracha, peanut butter and coconut milk, an awesome savory smoothie! One sip and I am back in the ’80s, and I can feel an angel sliding up to me.

•  The Gaufre Gourmet: The Original, a Liege-style waffle lightly dusted with powdered sugar. Buy two and thank me later. One note of caution: plug your nose before you get close to this food cart. The waffles smell so good that one whiff and the tantalizing aroma will haunt you for the rest of your life. •    The Egg Carton: I love the Eggs Benedict. Sarah makes the best hollandaise sauce you will ever have. Ask for extra hollandaise sauce and a spoon. •  Fried Egg I’m in Love: Free Range Against the Machine, a fried egg, avocado, tomato and Havarti. Add some seared ham and you have the perfect breakfast sandwich. •    The Italian Market: The Ellsworth, Italian beef brisket with roasted tomatoes, sharp Provolone and horseradish mayo. The bread that Andrew and Erin use pulls it all together. Even if you go to Fishtown, you won’t find a better Italian beef sandwich. •  The Cheese Plate PDX: Carina and Nick have a seasonal menu. In the fall and winter, I love the Cheddar Ale Soup. It is one of the best things I have ever had. I was with Nick at the Wedge, Portland’s fall cheese festival, and Nick was serving up samples of his Cheddar Ale Soup and a portly couple from Wisconsin stopped by. They were skeptical that a food cart in Portland could do a good job with their cherished regional dish. They were blown away. They said, and I quote, “This is the best Cheddar Ale Soup we have ever had. You need to move to Wisconsin! Cheddar Ale Soup this good should not be made in Portland.” In the summer, I love the Cheese Plate’s melon with cardamom sea salt side dish. •  Retrolicious: I have four favorite dishes at Retrolicious. First up is the Southern Mac and Cheese: cart-made pimento, kale, garlic and then the whole thing is finished with sharp cheddar cheese and crushed potato chips and finally crème brûléed with a blow torch! Second, the

Chicken and Waffles. The fried chicken is wonderful, and the spiced maple syrup that comes with this dish goes perfectly. The Classic Burger—once in a while, Retrolicious has a burger on the menu as a special. This is one of the best burgers I have ever had. Roy can flat cook! Red Velvet Cupcakes—Kimmy bakes up these treats, and they are soooo good! •  A Cajun Life: Hands down, the Gumbo is my favorite dish at this food cart! Just take a sip of that broth; it is ethereal. Chris grew up in the heart of Cajun country in Eunice, Louisiana, and he knows Cajun. Here is a fun A Cajun Life secret: Chris has his sausage and tasso regularly flown in to Portland from Louisiana. I also love the A Cajun Life Cajun Seasoning. I have a bottle in my kitchen, and I use it on most everything, including scrambled eggs and spaghetti. •    Fiji Indian Curry: The Chicken Curry Stir Fry: chicken, broccoli, carrots and a magnificent curry, all over basmati rice. I often find myself driving down the road thinking about this dish. The challenge with eating this dish is that when you finish your plate, you will find yourself seriously thinking about getting a second order to have one to take home to eat later. •    J Mo’s Sandwich Shack: Jason may have an ugly food cart, but he makes some beautiful food. I have two favorites at his food cart: the Dirty Mo and the Zero. The first time I heard about the Dirty Mo, I was not so sure. The idea of spaghetti and meatballs on a sandwich just did not sound appealing to me. The first time I visited J Mo’s, Jason Moreno, the owner of this great food cart, was very convincing. He said, “Hands down, this is my best dish.” I am so glad that I listened. The meatballs were rich and full of flavor. You could tell that they were fresh and made with lots of love. Best of all, the bread was not just bread, it is garlic bread. Really, really good garlic bread! The

Zero has roast beef and wasabi mayo on it, and it just works. I love wasabi, and pairing it with roast beef is a revelation. •  Kargi Gogo: Khachapuri. Don’t worry about spelling it or pronouncing it. Just get this cheese bread. Salty, cheesy—goodness, I love this dish. For me, a perfect afternoon would be a cold beer, a playoff football game and a plate stacked full of Khachapuri. •  Tiffin Asha: I love the Hot Chick; it is a very good dish. However, my Tiffin Asha favorite is the Sambar. To me, it tastes like tomato soup for grown-ups. Get a bowl of Sambar and some Idli and some of Elizabeth’s cart-made coconut chutney, and you will be set. •  Graffiti: Every sandwich I have had at Graffiti has been a party in my mouth. If I had to pick a favorite, it would be the Da Nang Pork: pork meatballs, pickled Vietnamese slaw, cilantro, Sriracha mayo and hoisin peanut butter. Travis knows how to combine flavors. •  Sugar Shop: The Sugar Bs, Autumn and Shannon, know how to bake. I have had some stupendous desserts at their food cart. My favorite is the Strawberry Cake with Basil Buttercream and Strawberry Balsamic Drizzle. Basil. Strawberry. Balsamic. Bam! This is not your grandma’s cake. This is something waaaay better! By the way, when you are at Sugar Shop, make sure that you pick up a jar of their cart-made Bacon Jam. They do it right. •  PDX Six Seven One: Ed is introducing Chamorro food to the rest of the world, and he is the perfect ambassador. I have two favorites at his cart: the Nengkanno’ Gupot (Fiesta Plate) and Kélaguen Mannok (Chopped Grilled Chicken). Kélaguen Mannok is served cold and spicy with chopped grilled chicken, onions, grated coconut, peppers and lemon. Perfect on a warm Portland day. The Nengkanno’ Gupot is a grilled boneless chicken thigh marinated overnight, served with red rice, shrimp fritters and fina’dene. I can taste the flavors on that grilled chicken right now. This dish calls to me late at night. Fina’dene is a

Chamorro sauce. It is a blend of soy sauce, lemon, chili peppers and onions. If you don’t know Fina’dene, you need to. Trust me on this. What does it take to have a successful food cart in Portland? This is a topic that is near and dear to my heart. I hate it when a food cart goes out of business. I know firsthand the kind of pain that accompanies that kind of experience. I have been around food carts enough now that I can usually tell on my first visit to a new food cart whether or not they will make it. Sometimes I walk away from a new food cart, and I sadly say to myself, “That is a dead cart walking. That food cart is on death row, and it is just a matter of time before its time is up.” Bo Kwon is founder of the Koi Fusion empire. Bo started with one food cart in 2009, and so far, he has three food carts, three stationary locations and a thriving catering division. Bo says that to succeed as a food cart, you have to “cook the food and sell the food.” I add a third element to this list: you have to run the business. Let’s take each of those elements one at a time. Cook the Food To succeed as a food cart, you have to cook food that can you cook very, very well. Mediocre does not work in Portland. If your food is not amazing, you will likely not make it. The competition is just too strong for a food cart with average food to make it. You also have to cook food that you have a passion for. People can tell when you have a passion for what you are cooking, and that passion is compelling. It helps you attract fans who want to tell others about your food cart. A story, please. In the summer of 2012, I was at the grand opening of the Alberta 15 food cart pod. It was after 11:00 p.m. I was hanging out with Justin and Nimesh, founders of the Stumptown Dumplings food cart, and a number of their family and close friends. We were visiting and finishing off a keg of some really good Japanese beer. A friend of theirs said in a “I have

had a few beers” loud voice, “Steven, you are a food cart writer. I want to start a food cart. Tell me what kind of food I need to serve at my food cart to succeed.” I said, “I can tell you exactly what kind of food you need to serve at your food cart if you want your food cart to succeed.” At that, you could have heard a pin drop. Everyone quit talking and looked at me, waiting to hear the magical secret. I said, “You have to serve food that you love, food that you can imagine yourself cooking every day, six or seven days a week, for the next two years. If you serve food that you have that kind of passion for, your food cart will succeed.” The slightly slurred response I received was, “I’m not sure that I like any kind of food that much.” Successful food cart owners do like the food they serve at their food cart that much, and that is one of the reasons they make it. Sell the Food To succeed as a food cart, you have to sell the food. Not only do you have to sell the food, you have to sell your food cart and yourself. Successful food cart owners let people in on their story. They tastefully answer the questions: Why Portland? Why a food cart? Why this cuisine? When Bo says “sell the food,” he is talking about using social media to let people know about your food cart. If you are going to succeed as a food cart, you are going to have to use social media to tell your brand story. There are many things about social media that are appealing. It is free. It is relatively easy to use. It is a great way to develop a fan base and allows you to make connections with people like me who are food cart fans. And that brings us to my food cart social media pet peeve. Here is a tip: if you are a food cart and you are using social media, make sure to tell us fans that you are in fact a food cart!

Here an example of what I mean. About once or twice a month, I get a new follower on my GR8FoodCartsPDX Twitter account that I am pretty sure is a food cart. The thing is, nothing in their Twitter handle or Twitter bio or tweets says the words “food cart.” I end up sending them a private message asking them this salient question: “Are you a food cart?” Sometimes I get a surprised reply saying basically, “Of course we are.” Don’t be surprised; if you don’t tell us that you are a food cart, we are not going to know. This matters because I visit food carts and I spend my hard-earned money at food carts. If I am not sure whether you are actually a food cart, I am not going to stop by. I will head for the new food cart that uses the words “food cart” in their Twitter bio and uses the hashtag #FoodCart at least once in a while in their tweets. Don’t even get me started with food carts that use social media that do not tell you where they are located. If you don’t tell me where you are located, I’m not coming to see you. Also, if you are in Portland, please say so! Treat It Like a Business If you are going to succeed as a food cart owner, you are going to have to treat your food cart like an actual business and not a hobby. I see many well-intentioned food cart owners who do not even realize that they aren’t treating their food cart like a business. In the fall of 2012, I did over thirty interviews with successful food cart owners for my book Portland Food Cart Stories. I asked each of those food cart owners, “What advice do you have for someone wanting to open up a food cart?” Two of the most common responses I heard were “keep consistent hours” and “make sure that you keep your posted hours,” i.e., be open when you say that you will be. When I started getting this response, it was kind of sad. It seemed so basic. Yet each of those food cart owners told

me tales of now-extinct food carts they had seen that did not keep consistent hours. If you say that you will be open until 9:00 p.m. and you close up at 7:30 p.m. because it is a cold, rainy Portland night and it seemed real slow, the customer who comes by at 8:30 p.m. will be very disappointed. Odds are they won’t come back in the evening again. The next time they want to get dinner from a food cart, they will head to one that they know is going to be open. I have invested the past two years working with scores of food cart owners, and I have enough experience under my belt to identify what I call “dead cart walking.” A dead cart walking is a food cart that is not going to make it. They will not survive their first winter. This past summer, my son Zayne and I visited a food cart. I told Zayne, “That is a dead cart walking. That cart will not make it to the end of December.” Sadly, by the end of September, it was gone. It never even made it to winter. Here is the crazy thing: we both loved the food they served. It was really good. Please note: it takes more than good food to succeed as a food cart. I can usually spot a dead cart walking on my very first visit. Here are three tell-tale symptoms of a dead cart walking: 1. No social media presence. Food carts that don’t use social media tend not to make it. If you start a food cart and do not use social media, you are most likely digging your own shallow grave. 2. A menu that has too many items on it. When I see a huge menu with lots and lots of items, I am usually looking at a dead cart walking. My suggestion: start out with three or four items that you can do really well and then go from there. 3. Lack of a cohesive theme. What cuisine are you going to be known for? Does the look of your food cart fit your cuisine? Does the name fit? Does the menu reflect that theme?

Burgers and high-end pasta don’t work as the foundation of a food cart. You can do one or the other but not both. It all has to make sense and be clear. Clarity makes it easier for your fans to pass your story on to others. Potato Champion and Grilled Cheese Grill are two examples of highly successful food carts that nail it when it comes to this issue. If you are starting a food cart, call me up. If you buy me a cup of coffee, or a beer or a whiskey, I would be happy to give you some of my time and talk about what you have in mind. I have a heart for chefs who have the guts and courage to open their food cart. I will give you my best advice. I am Steven Shomler, and I am a fan of great food carts! I highly encourage you to head out on a Food Cart Adventure of your own!

Scott Batchelar of Food Carts 4 Charity How often do you eat at the food carts? Every day! If I am not eating at a food cart, I am at least taking time to visit them and see how they are doing. As a rule, I try to eat at ten to fifteen carts each week, so you could say I eat at two carts a day.

Where does your passion for food carts come from? For me, the thing that I am passionate about when it comes to food carts is being able to tell their stories and let people know about all the good things that the food carts do. Originally, the idea I had when I started PDX Food Cart Lovers was to be an on-the-street reporter of what the carts were up to. When my grandfather Jack passed away in 2012, I came up with an idea to do a fundraiser to honor him, but I realized that maybe a better way to honor my grandfather and other family members—my mom, Eileen, and Grandmother Norma—would be to tell the stories of the food carts and how they were giving back to their communities. I find it extraordinary that food carts would even do a fundraiser once a year due to how much work it takes to operate a food cart, but there are so many carts out there that regularly give back to their communities that I felt that someone had to tell those stories, so I dissolved PDX Food Cart Lovers and started Food Carts 4 Charity so I could tell the stories about food carts helping their communities.

So, could you tell us about some of the good deeds of the food carts? Definitely. When I first started visiting the food carts back in 2011, an event happened that one of my favorite food carts responded to. Haiti was hit by a devastating earthquake that everyone here in Portland was talking about, but Big-Ass Sandwiches not only talked about it, they went out of their way to do something about it. Big-Ass Sandwiches dedicated an entire day of proceeds to the Haiti relief effort, raising nearly $500 for Mercy Corps relief efforts. Did they stop with that? No! Once a month, Big AssSandwiches can be counted on to do another fundraiser for a worthy cause. Another food cart that I give big props or, as I like to call it, a big heart award, to is Koi Fusion. Bo Kwon regularly looks for opportunities to give back to the Portland community. In fact, in May 2013, Koi Fusion teamed up with Bridgetown Inc. for their Night Strike homeless feeding on the third Thursday of each month underneath the Burnside Bridge in Old Town. Also, there are three food carts that are not-for-profits benefiting our communities here in Portland: Big C’s Soul Food, the Hope Kitchen and Solar Waffle Works. Plus all the other carts that do small one-day events, there are so many that we will never run out of good deeds to talk about. What are some good bike routes to take if you want to hit three or four pods on a bike ride? Here’s a sampling of some of my regular routes: a simple one, a hardcore one, an adventurous one and two relaxed rides. The simple ride is around downtown Portland and can be done either during the afternoon or, with some changes, as a nighttime ride. This ride starts at the PSU Pod at Southwest 4th and Montgomery, heads through PSU to Southwest 10th to the Alder pod and then down Stark Street to the Southwest 3rd pod between Stark and Washington then down 2nd to Ash Street. If you want to extend it, you can head over to the Row and Cartopia.

The hardcore ride is exactly that. It starts at the Row food cart pod and heads up Stark Street, dropping off at 28th to drop in on POD 28 and then through Laurelhurst Park back to Stark, turning off at 44th to head over to Good Food Here. Then up Belmont to 45th and over to Belmont Station and the Italian Market, then over Mount Tabor and down to Southeast 102nd and Washington. If you want to make it even more hardcore, add in a jaunt down the I-205 bike path and Springwater Corridor to the Sellwood pod. The adventurous ride starts at 52nd and Foster and then heads down 52nd to Clinton to 50th and over to Ala Carts Pavilion at 50th and Ivon, then down 50th to Hawthorne. It turns right at 42nd up to 43rd to Belmont and Good Food Here, then to Stark to 28th and Pod 28. Then down Ankeny to the Row and over the Burnside Bridge to Southwest 3rd Street. The first relaxed ride starts at a former food cart that is now a brick and mortar, the Baowry in St. Johns. Then it heads up Lombard to the Kruger Farms pod, then over via Willamette to Killingsworth and Michigan, catching Alberta, then up to Grilled Cheese Grill and Alberta Street Pub, then up Alberta to the pods at 15th and 23rd. The final relaxed ride is the Alberta run. One of the neat ideas about this ride is it can be combined with Last Thursday on Alberta; the only difference is the ride order. To do Last Thursday, go up to Northeast 28th on Going Street, then walk back down Alberta to Grilled Cheese Grill and Alberta Street Pub, hitting the pods at 23rd and 15th. To do it at other times, start at Grilled Cheese Grill and Alberta Street Pub and make your way up, then head over to Alameda Ridge and head down to Rose City Food Court at Southeast 50th and Sandy. Hope you enjoy these rides as much as I have.

Aaron Wakamatsu of Aaron’s Food Adventures

Tell us about Aaron’s Food Adventures. I may have gained a local reputation as “the crazy dude who eats really spicy food,” but Aaron’s Food Adventures is more than that. Aaron’s Food Adventures is a story of my eating odyssey. While my blog prominently features Portland food carts, I’ve also documented restaurant and food truck experiences in multiple states. My affiliated YouTube channel brings an added component. I’ll try bizarre combinations, eat enormous portions of food and consume very spicy products, all to show it’s really just mind over matter. I used to be a very picky eater growing up. Now I’m the exact opposite. What menu advice do you have for food cart vendors regarding heat and spice? Don’t sacrifice flavor just to make the spiciest dish on planet Earth. Depending on the food, I generally love seeing an option to make certain dishes milder or spicier. I love seeking out new places that go the extra mile to make a dish or sauce that ideally marries amazing flavors and explosive heat. What is the hottest thing you have ever eaten from a food cart?

I cannot recall anything from a food cart that really rocked me, but a few notable (and delicious) sauces come to mind. El Taco Yucateco once had a delicious ghost pepper sauce—and yes, the owner used fresh peppers. Many food carts have started making from-scratch habanero sauces and salsas. Maribel at the La Sangucheria food cart impressed me with her Sarza Criolla (a spicy South American salsa) using habaneros. Did I mention that the Sarza was on a chicharrón sandwich? Epic. What food competitions have included Portland food carts? Eat Mobile immediately springs to mind. It takes place every April and includes upward of forty to fifty food carts. All vendors vie for the People’s Choice Award or the Judge’s Choice Award. It may be worth it to spend the extra money for a VIP pass to get in early and not worry about long lines. This past summer, I attended the Portland Summer Food Cart Festival in Gresham. Seventeen vendors participated. Awards were handed out for best entrée, best dessert and the overall winner. What do you love about Portland and its food carts? The diversity of cuisine, quality of food and the great people you’ll meet. A converted parking lot or city block full of food carts can have a number of amazing choices. You can walk five feet to your left or right and get authentic cuisine from a different country. It’s a foodie’s paradise.

Drinks The drink selection from carts in Portland is as bold as the food. From cantaloupe agua fresca to beet punch and homemade chai, the beverages there represent a special part of cart culture. In this section, you will find unique smoothie and juice recipes, instructions for the perfect cold brew coffee and details on how to make the perfect Thai Iced Tea.

  

Cold Brew Coffee Courtesy of Olé Latte

Cold brewing coffee is a method of steeping coffee in cold or roomtemperature water and offers a different flavor profile than coffee beans that are steeped in heated water. 1 pound your favorite coffee Toddy Brewer system liquid measuring cup (5 cups) • Grind 1 pound of your favorite coffee to French press. Place coffee grounds in Toddy Brewer. Add 5 cups of water to the grounds and let steep for 4 minutes. Add 4 cups of water and let soak for 10 to 15 hours at room temperature.

  

Olé Latte Todd Edwards has been a local in Oregon for over twenty years, but “I was not born here,” he explains. “My first five years were spent in Colorado then a couple of years in California and even four years in Georgia (U.S. Army). I came back with the experience of operating tanks, but since there is no need for a tank operator, I committed to the food hospitality industry while going to college and became a manager at a restaurant. I found a love for the industry, and the rest is history. “I loved wine and wanted to open a wine shop and coffee bar, but since the economy was not favoring for a higher-risk brick and mortar, I decided to step back from the idea of a wine shop showcasing Northwest specialty wines to the idea of a coffee shop doing the same but in a food cart. I was drinking Starbucks, and I had no idea of what coffee really was until I discovered it through my own research of local roasters and specialty coffee shops. The idea kept coming around that everything that was going into the cart was going to have the same come out of it: local heart! We focus on the coffee in variations of extraction, from drip to pour-over and espresso to cold brew. Our most popular item is the Mocha Latte (Holy Kakow Chocolate with the perfectly extracted espresso and steamed milk to give you a little Olé Latte art!)” Olé Latte Coffee began featuring classic Portland flavors such as Ristretto Roasters Coffee, Dragonfly Chai, Townshend’s Tea, Brew Dr. Kombucha, Holy Kakow Chocolate and Syrups, Sunshine Dairy and, of course, Bakeshop Pastries. Todd now features his own roasted coffee. “We continue to only support small local businesses and hope to expand into another cart,” Todd shares.

“I have been in the restaurant business for around fifteen years now, working from host to manager, and have taken some of the best practices from my experiences into a now ninety-square-foot high-end cafe that sometimes is confused as a food cart. Passion, education and an experience that is driven to be remembered are our focus. “Some other things that I have been incorporating into the cart is being very community oriented by creating coffee blended for Boy’s Fort Manthropology store around the corner and showcasing Solabee flowers at the cart. We even do a pay-it-forward Coffee Suspensions program that allows for a person to buy a muffin, coffee or whatever they want for someone else and receive a 10 percent discount on their entire order for doing so. The relationships that I have developed because of the food carts is amazing—another community altogether! I have really enjoyed the relationship that I have with Picnic Food Cart, as they are my favorite.”

  

Thai Iced Tea Courtesy of Stumptown Dumplings

This signature tea drink is sweetened with condensed milk. 3½ liters cold water medium-size pot 1½ cups Thai Tea Mix (Pantai) Thai Tea filter (muslin) 1½ cups white sugar 1 cup condensed milk • Bring water to a boil in medium-size pot. Place tea mix in a Thai Tea filter. Place muslin in pot and avoid spilling tea into water. Boil for 3 minutes, then turn off heat. Let tea steep in pot for 10 minutes. • Pour tea in a 1-gallon pitcher. Squeeze the rest of the tea from muslin filter (discard tea leaves). Add sugar and mix until sugar dissolves completely. Place pitcher of tea in freezer to allow it to cool to room temperature (about 70 degrees). Remove pitcher from freezer and mix in condensed milk. Fill a glass with ice and pour Thai Iced Tea over ice.

  

Stumptown Dumplings Business partners and friends Justin Prasad and Nimesh Dayal opened the first location of Stumptown Dumplings in May 2012. Both firstgeneration Americans, Justin’s family came from Fiji to Portland, and Nimesh’s family came from India to California. “We met through different connections,” says Justin. “Nimesh’s wife is an old family friend of mine, so I met him through her. Eight years ago, I worked at a restaurant that, coincidentally, his brother owned. We became good friends. Last year, he approached me about getting into this [food cart business] together. I know food, and he knows business, so we came up with the menu and name within a month, and two months later, we opened our first food cart.”

The Stumptown Dumplings cart offers a modern version of a Chinese dumpling. Their dumplings are normally filled with meat on the inside and are wrapped in a thin wheat wrapper on the outside. “Everything on our menu is all our own creation,” shares Justin. “We basically took the

inspiration I’ve gotten from hanging out with different cultures eating home-cooked meals. I learned and picked their brains on how they made food taste that way. I would say my favorite item is the Chicken Dumplings,” shares Justin. “You don’t see a lot of chicken in dumplings. Most dumpling places do pork.” Measuring success can be challenging in the food cart business, but there are always those significant moments of feeling accomplished. “I think the most memorable day for me was our first time serving at the Portland Timbers game; that’s where it hit us. We are known, and people love our food. Serving in a stadium of fifteen-thousand-plus fans with a line of over one hundred people waiting to get our food,” says Justin.

  

The DeLorean Courtesy of Moberi

This one’s a classic! Frozen fruits are best because they are picked at their peak of ripeness (for optimal nutrients) and help with texture in your smoothie. This recipe yields one 16-ounce serving. 9 ounces organic 100% apple juice one-half fresh banana 5 ounces frozen strawberries 2 ounces frozen mango mint for garnish • Pour organic 100% apple juice (important to use high quality) into the blender. Add one-half a fresh banana, frozen strawberries and frozen mango. Blend on high for 30 seconds. Serve in a jar. Garnish with mint.

  

Turtle Power Courtesy of Moberi

This recipe yields one 16-ounce serving. 9 ounces organic 100% apple juice 1 leaf kale, spine removed 5 leaves spinach one-half banana 6 ounces frozen mango 1 tablespoon fresh ginger • Pour organic 100% apple juice (important to use high quality) into the blender. Add kale, spinach, banana, mango and ginger. Blend on high for 30 seconds. Serve in a jar.

Moberi Born and raised in Alaska, Ryan Carpenter moved to Portland in 2003 and has been in and out of town ever since. “I started Moberi with one bike blender, a cooler and a homemade sink on the side of the road,” Ryan shares. “The next logical step (that I could afford) was a trailer with a sink in it. Plus, the Portland food cart scene is super exciting. I’ve always wanted to be a part of it! Now I’ve been pedaling smoothies since the

summer of 2011. A friend and I designed my first model of bike blender, and I’ve been using it ever since. We got the inspiration for it from Maya Pedal in Guatemala.”

Ryan says he dabbled in the food industry before opening his bikepowered smoothie cart but mainly as a source of income while traveling. “I led catering crews in Australia and scrubbed dishes in Thailand, but I’ve always wanted to create healthy products in a unique and fun way. Bicyclepowered smoothies couldn’t be a more perfect fit. The trick with creating delicious fresh juices and smoothies is really in the ingredients. If you start with high-quality produce, it’s a lot harder to mess up. That being said, we have come up with some very different recipes that push the boundaries of traditional fruit smoothies.” Trampled by Turtles is Ryan’s favorite drink. “It’s one of our greenest juices with cucumber, kale, spinach, ginger and lemon. It’s my go-to drink and one of my favorite bands,” he shares. The Johnny Utah (greens, pineapple, mint, coconut water) won Best Drink at the 2013 Portland Summer Food Cart Festival, but the DeLorean (strawberry, banana, mango) and the Captain Planet (kale, spinach, mango, banana, ginger, hemp protein,

apple juice, coconut milk) are his two bestsellers. “The DeLorean was a childhood favorite smoothie. Hence the Back to the Future reference,” says Ryan. “We are the most interactive food cart in town! Come on by to pedal your own smoothie or watch us blend it for you. Either way, it’s a fun, healthy, green experience. And very Portland!”

  

“Ask a Local”

Rick Humphrey I had the opportunity to meet Rick Humphrey while I was in Portland at Eat Mobile. After interviewing several food cart owners in the area, it became apparent that Rick was “the man” to know in terms of someone well versed in servicing the mechanics of food carts. “My passion for food started early with my dad entering retirement,” shares Rick. “He wanted to enjoy food (not that my mom was a bad cook). He liked to go out, and we were busboys and dishwashers at his favorite restaurants. After he passed, my mom opened a deli in his memory, which my brother and I worked in. After that, I worked in food service on both sides of the counter (cook and wait staff) until I joined the RV industry and was introduced to food carts. I remember asking, ‘What is a food cart?’ and the passion began. Now, twelve-plus years later, I know some 385 to 400 food cart owners (not all still in business) that make it through the doors here for parts, advice and questions on regulations or building.” Following is my interview with Rick: When did you start following the food truck trend? About twelve years ago now. Describe the food truck scene in Portland to someone who has never been. It’s an unbelievable culture of cuisine and people. How did you get into the food truck industry?

Working in the RV industry and in food service in my past. Do you want to open your own food cart? If so, tell us about your concept. I would love to. It would be themed around lemons, from appetizers to dessert. What are the top five food trucks most reflective of the Portland culture? 1. Aybla Grill 2. Artigiano 3. Koi Fusion 4. El Gallo Taqueria 5. Give Pizza a Chance What are your favorite or most memorable food truck meals in Portland? 1. Gyro 2. Vegan grilled cheese 3. Asian fusion burrito 4. Chicken and waffles 5. Crepes What is some advice or tips you have for new food truckers just starting their business? Be patient. Acknowledge your customer and be friendly. Do you have any family history with food trucks? My mom was a caterer that did the Bite of Oregon. If you had the opportunity to give someone a food truck tour, what areas would you take them to and why?

The Belmont and Mississippi pods due to their selection. Tell us about food truck/cart events and festivals in Portland. Eat Mobile, the Bite and Saturday market. While Eat Mobile is a yearly event, it is the largest by far. The Bite, held at the waterfront, is both brick and mortar and food carts combined. Last but not least is Saturday market, held in downtown Portland every Saturday. A lot of food carts go to that as well. What are the pro tips for eating at food carts in Portland? Get a little from several carts and be hungry. How do food carts in Portland compare to other food trucks in the United States? Hey, we are number one in the nation for a reason. What are some of the health department or city regulations for food carts? Basically, the biggest issue is fresh and gray water requirements. All compliant older carts will need to be updated by January 1, 2018, meaning their minimum requirements are twice the flood state of their sinks plus five gallons and 15 percent minimum for their gray tank. The second biggest issue is sanitation. What are some other fun things to do in Portland? The wine and beer fest, the bacon festival and wine tours are all fun things to experience in Portland.

Breakfast Breakfast in Portland was easily one of my favorite meals. The French toast made from pretzel buns served with bacon and maple syrup was a winner from Yolk, and the breakfast gnocchi from Star Attraction were no less than incredible. The cart owners’ creativity in their breakfast menus was impressive, with cultural dishes ranging from sweet and savory to light and healthy. In this section, you’ll find signature recipes from the Gaufre Gourmet, the Egg Carton, 808 Grinds and Fried Egg I’m in Love.   

  

Buttermilk Biscuit Waffle Dough Courtesy of the Gaufre Gourmet

Top with your favorite sausage gravy for a unique spin on a southern favorite, or to make our delicious Milk and Honey Waffle, top a buttermilk biscuit waffle with about 3 ounces of our Chevre Mousse (see ) and drizzle with Balsamic Caramel Sauce (see ) and toasted pistachios. This recipe yields 10 waffles. 4 cups all-purpose flour 4 teaspoons baking powder ½ teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon sugar 1 teaspoon salt cup grated butter, chilled 2½ cups buttermilk • In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar and salt. Mix well. Grate the chilled butter into the flour mixture (or cut in with two knives). Gently coat the grated butter with the flour mixture and stir to combine. Mix in the buttermilk. Stir until soft dough forms. Drop by large spoonfuls onto hot Belgian waffle iron and cook for 4 minutes or until dark golden brown.

  

The Gaufre Gourmet

Charlene Wesler and Michael Susak started as boyfriend and girlfriend but recently became engaged. Charlene grew up in Junction City, Oregon, and Michael in La Grande, Oregon. Prior to opening the Gaufre Gourmet in November 2010, Michael had been in food service for more than twenty years, and after having her third child, Charlene graduated from Western Culinary Institute with honors in 2007. “We decided we could replace the income of any job we could find in restaurants and have creative control over what we did. The barriers to entry were pretty low, so we went for it,” shares Charlene. The ABC is Charlene’s personal favorite item on their menu: arugula, bacon and Camembert cheese with fig sauce on their Liege waffle. “This baby hits all the taste buds (sweet, salty, sour and peppery) with balance and grace; it’s a winner,” she says. “The Milk & Honey is our bestselling item. It contains a goat cheese mousse with balsamic caramel sauce and roasted pistachios on our original Liege waffle.” Their Spicy Goat has won awards. It’s a Liege waffle with Genoa salami, chevre cheese, arugula salad dressed in a white balsamic vinaigrette and roasted pistachios and drizzled with Kelly’s Jelly Habanero Pepper Jelly.

“These waffles sell themselves. They are different than anything that anyone else has tried. That, coupled with our presentation, speed of service, affordability and portability of our product, has kept people coming back for more for the last few years. We are blessed with many great regular customers who we have gotten to know on a personal level over the years. There is Steve and Annie, who tried our waffles before going to Belgium and then ate waffles in Belgium to give us their opinion of how authentic ours are (we got excellent marks!). They also frequent several local farms and will bring us whatever they find is fresh and best that season. Josh was one of our first repeat customers (he came three times his first day for maple bacon waffles). He has brought his mom and son down to meet us and has even helped in the cart a time or two! There are so many great and wonderful people we have met over the years. That is one of the perks of this business!”

  

Devil’s Food Pancakes with Strawberries Courtesy of the Egg Carton

The strawberry topping is made the day before. Add chocolate sauce and whipped cream to make an even more decadent breakfast. 2 pints strawberries, cut into halves ½ cup plus 3 tablespoons sugar 1 cup flour ¼ teaspoon salt 3 tablespoons cocoa powder 1¼ cups buttermilk 1 egg 2 tablespoons melted butter 1 teaspoon vanilla chocolate sauce and whipped cream (optional) • Twenty-four hours ahead, put the cut strawberries and ¼ cup sugar in a bowl. Toss to coat the berries and then lightly mash them. You want some juices to release but maintain the integrity of the berry. Cover and refrigerate. • Heat a nonstick griddle to medium heat (approximately 375 degrees). Mix the 3 tablespoons of sugar, flour, salt and cocoa powder in a bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, egg, butter and vanilla.

• Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and gently mix until just combined. The batter may be a bit lumpy. If you like a thinner pancake, add 2 more tablespoons of buttermilk. If you like a thicker pancake, add 2 tablespoons of flour. • Pour the batter onto the hot griddle using ¼ cup per pancake. Flip the pancakes when the batter starts to bubble and the edges have become a bit drier. Let the pancakes cook approximately 1 minute longer or until the bottom browns. Remove from the heat and get ready to enjoy. • Remove the strawberry mixture from the refrigerator. Top the pancakes with the strawberries and sauce that was created. If you are feeling adventurous, drizzle the pancakes with chocolate sauce and finish with whipped cream.

  

The Egg Carton Sarah and Timothy Arkwright opened the Egg Carton in May 2012. “I am originally from Wasilla, Alaska, and Tim is from Kalamazoo, Michigan,” Sarah shares. “I moved to Portland in 1999 to be closer to family. Tim and I met through the wonderful dating site called World of Warcraft. He was finishing his law degree back in Michigan, and I was finishing my MBA and working in retail management in Portland. We started ‘dating’ in January and knew we were in love. In August of the same year, we were married at Voodoo Doughnuts by one of the owners, and he wore the wedding dress since I didn’t have one.” After Sarah was laid off, she knew she wanted to do something different. “I wanted to do something I was passionate about and had more freedom,” she shares. “I took a year off to decide my path and was terrified about opening my own business, but Tim was my motivator and believed in me every step of the way.” The FoPo Cristo is her personal favorite item on the menu. “It’s a sandwich with everything about breakfast inside of it,” Sarah explains. “We use French toast as the bread and pile the inside with chunks of bacon, Otto’s Canadian bacon, Tillamook cheddar cheese, a sweet/spicy mustard and strawberry jam. Fork and knife are required for this one.” The Classic Eggs Benedict is her cart’s bestseller: warm English muffin topped with Otto’s Canadian bacon, a poached egg and Sarah’s lemony hollandaise. When I asked if she had any family history with her cart, Sarah said, “Just to make my dad proud. He passed away a few weeks after I was laid off after being ill for quite some time. He was my hero and could do anything he set his mind to. I work every day to make him proud. Part of my complete departure from my old corporate life was solidified by 2010. In April, I lost my job. In May, I lost my dad. And in June, Tim became horribly ill and started having

seizures for an unknown reason. Thankfully, I was able to spend the rest of 2010 caring for him from home and pushing to determine the cause of his seizures. That kept me home and learning how to cook, garden, tend to chickens, etc. Tim is just fine now, and the experience taught us to love what we have every day. After five years of marriage and over a year working together at the cart every day, we still love what we do and each other. What can be better than working with your best friend every day! “We have great food, and we are committed to giving you a great experience. We use real plates and silverware to make it more of a restaurant experience. Also, in all of our reviews, they mention our service. We love what we do, and it shows in the great time we have with our customers.”

  

Fried Egg I’m in Love’s “Yolko Ono” Courtesy of Fried Egg I’m in Love

The Yolko Ono is this cart’s bestseller. “We put it at the top of the menu, and it was the first sandwich I knew I was going to put on the menu,” says cart partner Jace Krause. Yields 4–6 sandwiches *Pesto: 44 grams basil leaves, rinsed and dried ½ cup shredded parmesan cup extra virgin olive oil ¼ cup pine nuts 1 tablespoon garlic, minced ½ teaspoon sea salt dash black pepper *Sausage: yellow onion 1 teaspoon yellow mustard 1 teaspoon paprika 1 teaspoon garlic, minced dash of sea salt dash of dried oregano (sub fresh if available) pinch black pepper

1 pound raw ground pork butter fresh sourdough bread (use a large, wide loaf) *Pesto parmesan cheese *Sausage eggs black pepper cayenne pepper • Pack the basil in a food processor and then add the rest of the ingredients. Let the ingredients blend for 30 to 45 seconds, then scrape any bits from the side and blend for another 30 seconds. Let it rest for a minute, and then blend again for another 30 seconds. You are looking for a smooth texture, which will be easier to spread onto the bread. Taste the pesto. You should taste a nice balance between the basil, oil and salt. • Puree the onion in a food processor and place puree into a bowl. Add all ingredients (except ground pork) and stir until blended. Put the pork in a large mixing bowl and break it into small pieces. Then add the onion puree mix and use your hands to blend the mix into the pork. The puree should be blended evenly with the pork, and you should see no clumps. Form the sausage into balls and place on a dinner plate or small baking pan. You should be able to form about 6 balls, which should be a bit bigger than a golf ball. Be sure to roll and form the balls tightly. Cooking and Assembly: • A cast-iron griddle is the preferred method of cooking these sandwiches, but a large pan can also work. You will want to cook at medium heat (slightly

less for cast iron). Be sure your griddle is fully heated to the proper temperature before beginning. Your ingredients should sizzle when they hit the griddle. • To start, melt some butter in a small dish. Take out a piece of bread and use a basting brush to spread butter down the center of the bread. Place the butter side down on the griddle. Add a heaping tablespoon of the Pesto to the bread and use a spatula to spread the Pesto. The Pesto should evenly cover all the bread, right up to the edges. Sprinkle as much parmesan as you desire on top of the pesto. At the cart, we typically use about cup on each sandwich.

• Take a sausage ball and place on the griddle. Use a strong metal spatula to press the ball into a patty. You will be covering half of the bread with this patty, so match the patty size to the bread. • Use your basting brush to spread a thin layer of butter on the griddle and then crack your egg on that spot. Sprinkle a small pinch of black pepper and cayenne on the egg (this will emulate our “Magic Egg Dust”).

• Check your sausage patty. You want some char on it. When you’ve achieved that, flip it over. When the whites of your egg start turning opaque, flip your egg. Let the sausage and egg cook for about 2 minutes after flipping. Then place your sausage on half of the bread and top it with the egg. Use a knife to cut the bread in half and fold it over to create a sandwich. Your bread should have a nice brown toasted mark down the center. • Use your judgment on how many sandwiches you can cook at once. You can also experiment with toasting/topping all the bread first, then cooking all the sausages, followed by all the eggs, etc. Or you can could them 1 or 2 at a time. It’s up to you!

  

Fried Egg I’m in Love Cart owners Jace Krause and Ryan Lynch met through mutual friends. “Ryan was living in California, and I was living in Seattle,” Jace explains. “My band was touring in California, and our mutual friend set up a show together in Sonoma, where Ryan was from. We got to know each other a little bit at the time and then over the years as he would occasionally come up to Seattle. Eventually, Ryan moved to Portland, and I soon followed and then decided to start the business. He was interested and wanted to join forces with me, so he did!” With a predominantly egg-centric menu, Jace recalls some special meals that inspired their menu: “I have fond memories of my mom making me fried egg sandwiches for a bedtime snack. I also will never forget my grandma Ethel’s scrambled eggs. Wish I had figured out what she did to them. They were so fluffy and moist. Damn. I miss her.” The Sriracha Mix-a-Lot ranks as one of Jace’s favorites. “It’s the sandwich I always make for myself and I find to be the tastiest,” he says. “It’s got Havarti, avocado, tomato, Sriracha hot sauce, seared ham steak and a fried egg. I always substitute our handmade sausage patties for the ham, however. We even tweeted the actual Sir Mix-a-Lot about this sandwich, and he responded, asking for a picture!” The Yolko Ono is their bestseller. “I always made it at home for my wife before I had a food cart. It has homemade pesto, the homemade sausage patty, parmesan and an egg,” says Jace. “My first serious job was at a pizza place/grill in high school,” says Jace. “We were one of the best places to eat in town, and I thought it was a very cool job. I eventually was doing everything from making pizzas, working the grill, prepping and even delivering pizzas. Delivering was the best—I got to listen to music and drive around town, and everyone was always happy to see me. The

tips were great too. The downside was working weekend nights and missing things with my friends. Fortunately, it taught me a good work ethic, and honestly, most of the stuff we do in the cart I learned at that job. “I also waited tables one summer in college and had a lot of fun doing that but felt like I belonged in the kitchen. I actually got reprimanded one day for making my own meal during a break. Apparently, only the cooks were allowed to do the cooking. Both those jobs at the time were just steppingstone jobs as I finished school. I worked desk jobs as a writer and editor for a number of years in Seattle and grew to dislike working in that environment. That’s when I started thinking hard about going into business for myself. A food cart seemed like something I could wrap my head around, given my lack of business experience. I’ve had a lot of learning by trial and error, but fortunately, we made a lot of good decisions and had some good luck. And I suppose our food and service brings people back too. “We have a lot of regulars. Our business has succeeded because of them. I think it’s funny when people first come to our cart and they maybe think we are just a gimmick because of our names. But then they try the food, and we will see them the very next day and maybe even the day after. They are almost embarrassed because they have come back multiple days in a row. I love it because it means we are doing something right.” Jace and Ryan tend to hire friends to work at their carts. “We did hire a young kid who was going to culinary school in Portland, and he’s worked out well,” shares Jace. “We even hired his friend. I have a good gut feeling about people when I meet them, so we’ve been lucky to have good people working for us. Ryan’s wife works for us, and one of my college buddies now works for us too. It’s like a family.” In fact, they obtained their first cart because of family. “My mom’s high school friend had a daughter who also lived in Portland,” explains Jace. “It turns out she was trying to sell an extra cart that her business had. My mom sent me her info, and we eventually ended up with her cart. It was very easy and seemed like it was meant to be.”

  

Loco Moco Courtesy of 808 Grinds

This hearty, traditional Hawaiian breakfast will yield 4 servings. Serve the hamburger steak over hot steamed white rice with fried egg and pour gravy all over it. 1 pound lean ground beef ½ cup panko bread crumbs ½ cup sweet onion, minced 1 egg, beaten 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon black pepper hot steamed white rice • Mix all ingredients together well and form into 4 patties. Pan fry to achieve nice crust. Gravy: 1 cup beef broth 4 tablespoons flour 2 tablespoons butter salt and pepper to taste

cooked steamed white rice 4 eggs served sunny side up • Use the pan you cooked the burger in to make the gravy. Deglaze the pan by scraping up the browned bits of beef and pouring the beef broth in the same pan. Add flour, butter, salt and pepper. Heat to a boil and simmer to reduce to desired consistency. • Serve the hamburger steak over hot steamed white rice with a fried egg and pour gravy over the top.

  

808 Grinds Jensen Yip and Kevin Scofield grew up together in Maui. Both of their fathers were teachers at the same elementary school. After they each graduated from Oregon State University, the friends moved to Portland to pursue careers. “Kevin was in accounting, and I was in restaurants,” shares Jensen. “I managed a couple restaurants here in Portland, and we decided to really take a shot and start up a food cart. Our dream was always to own a restaurant.”

The number 808 happens to be the area code in Hawaii, and “grinds” is a Hawaiian slang term for good eats. Jensen attributes his “good eats” menu to his family and his heritage. “I learned to cook from my father. My dad cooked

for our family, breakfast, lunch and dinner. My grandmother also cooked for us,” Jensen shares. “I grew up in the kitchen, and coming from Hawaii, we really have a melting pot of flavors. Chinese, Japanese, Korean, you name it. We had Irish dishes, Scandinavian dishes and a broad variety of different food. We had a nice array of different ethnic foods to experience. “Really what caused us to get into the business in all honesty,” explains Jensen, “is that Kevin lost his job. Poor job opportunities around here is what pushed us to follow our dreams and open up this food cart.” The 808 Fried Chicken with Asian Slaw is their bestseller. “All the recipes we created from things that we like to eat and family recipes handed down to us,” says Jensen. “A lot of these foods are what we grew up eating for dinner or lunch at family get-togethers.”

  

The Popeye (with Roasted Red Pepper Aioli) Courtesy of the Egg Carton

This breakfast sandwich includes a garden of good veggies and proteins and features a red pepper aioli. 1 English muffin 2 slices prosciutto 1 egg, over medium *Roasted Red Pepper Aioli, aka Popeye Sauce small handful baby spinach, cleaned 1 slice tomato 1 slice smoked gouda • Toast the English muffin. Lightly sear the prosciutto in a pan on medium-high, then fry the egg. • Assemble the sandwich using a generous amount of Popeye Sauce on both sides of the English muffin and then add the spinach, tomato, gouda, prosciutto and finally the egg. *Roasted Red Pepper Aioli: 2 egg yolks ½ tablespoon white wine vinegar

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard pinch salt 1 cup olive oil or ½ cup olive oil and ½ cup canola oil ½ cup roasted red peppers (homemade or store bought), roughly chopped 1 tablespoon Sriracha ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper • In a food processor, add the yolks, vinegar, Dijon and salt. Start the food processor on low speed if possible. Let the processor run for 30 seconds. With the food processor still running, add the oil drop by drop for 15 seconds, then begin using a very slow stream. • When all the oil has been added (don’t rush it!), add the peppers, Sriracha and cayenne. Blend another 30 seconds or until the ingredients are incorporated. Add extra salt or cayenne to taste. The aioli will hold for a week in the refrigerator.

  

“Ask a Local”

Kendrah Billings In case the food carts weren’t enough to lure you to the Pacific Northwest, I asked Portland local Kendrah Billings to share some of her favorite things to do in the Portland area. “I love to explore everything and find my limits, then push a little further,” shared Kendrah. “It is kind of a twist of events that landed me in Oregon. A couple years ago, I took a super fun snowboarding trip to Utah with friends. I was a terrible snowboarder but immediately fell in love with the sport. After returning from that trip, I had made up my mind that I was moving to the mountain. Initially, I tried to find a travel job to live in Austin for a bit until winter came and then find one in Utah in the winter and stick around for the snowboarding and to explore that part of the nation. Each day after work while I still lived in Texas, I would search for jobs in Utah, to no avail. It was a good thing, because I don’t think I could manage to be away from the ocean for any length of period anyhow. During a visit to my family’s house in Three Rivers, Texas, I decided that I would move to Oregon after reading a book on the coffee table about Oregon. My uncle told me how I could do all the outdoor activities I loved, plus the state was paradise. Ten months later, I sold a majority of my belongings—excluding my car, some of my clothes, my cat (Max) and sports/outdoor gear—to hit the Oregon trail. When I first arrived, I did not have a place to live, so I lived in an extended stay–type hotel for a couple weeks. Try hiding a cat from the staff in your hotel room for two weeks. Not fun. A few weeks later, I landed the job I wanted and created some lifelong friendships, which pulls it all together and makes Portland, Oregon, feel like home. The state of Oregon in its entirety keeps me busy as I slowly check things off of my mile-long Pacific Northwest bucket list. I have done some

amazing things since living here. One of the most epic days I have had was waking up early in the morning to drive to Indian Beach to surf, then shooting back toward the east to snowboard the rest of the day at Meadows. The beauty of this state is endless, and the opportunity it provides to explore seems endless. It is a combination of Utah, Hawaii and Austin wrapped up in one perfect package.” If you’ve never been to Portland, here are some great insider tips on what to do when you’ve got some time to spare: •    Farmers’ market and Saturday market. Beer brewing is as big as Texas here—go taste! (Microbreweries in PDX are comparable to strip clubs in Houston.) •    First Thursday in the Pearl district (artists open their studios and serve apps and drinks) •    Last Thursday on Alberta Street is the anti–First Thursday, with local music, artists and food carts, and has a more PDX/ATX feel to it (more raw) •    Long-board Mount Tabor during the summer (closed to cars on Wednesdays) •  Hike Forest Park, where there are giant Oregon maples with leaves bigger than my head (this park is one of the largest urban parks in the nation) •    Run, skate or bike the south waterfront for an awesome view of the bridges and brightly colored sunsets •    Picnic at the end of the docks on the marinas at sunset (my favorite romantic spot at night) •  Bike the city; the music scene is giant. •  The coastline is about one and a half hours away, and there is great surf. People kiteboard at certain beaches too. During the summer, I can manage it. The winter is the best of the best out there. There is the ability to clam (razor clams, etc.), fish or go Dungeness crabbing as well. There are also amazing hikes all along the way to the coast. •  Toward the east of Portland on the way to the Cascade mountain range, there are many things to do. In Hood River, you can participate in water

sports, but kiteboarding is huge (some of the best in the nation); or visit the fruit orchards (research the Fruit Loop in Hood River). The hikes are beautiful, especially Eagle Creek hike. Hikes are plentiful and usually have a waterfall or seven, and there are rope swings in the summer, but the water is always cold! •    The vineyards, especially Anne Amie and Willa-Kenzie, are absolutely gorgeous. Anne Amie’s wine is my favorite, plus the staff is delightful. •  There are a few major snow resorts: Mount Hood Meadows, Ski Bowl and Timberline. They all offer night skiing until 9:00 p.m. or so. Timberline is pretty much open all year round because there is a glacier on the top (closes for about three weeks for maintenance). I believe Timberline is the only pretty much year-round ski resort in the nation and was one of the draws for me moving here. The lodge has an amazing view of the mountain and is gorgeous inside.

Appetizers and Snacks For an in-between-meals snack, Portland food carts offer some exceptional vittles to satiate afternoon hunger. Popcorn comes in a multitude of artisanal flavors such as the Saffron Rose or Chai Masala from Masala Pop. Cheesy snacks abound from the Cheese Plate PDX or Cheese and Crack, and hearty carts like the Italian Market offer comforting homemade soft pretzels. In this section, Popcorn Publishers, the Italian Market and the Cheese Plate PDX reveal recipes for some of Portland’s most revered snacks: classic kettle corn, a spicy kale and garlic cheese on toast and wet pretzels.

  

Classic Kettle Corn Courtesy of Popcorn Publishers

This recipe brings the taste of the festivals to your own home. vegetable oil popcorn kernels sugar salt • To start, get the biggest pot you have (a rounded kettle is ideal, but a flatbottom pot will do). On 75 percent heat, bring some vegetable oil (the type is up to you, but we prefer soybean) to a near simmer until it starts to give off some discernible smoke. Add the kernels and stir vigorously. When popping begins, add sugar slowly and continue stirring. Stir vigorously. Stir vigorously some more (sugar when burned is highly unpleasant in smell and taste and will result in brown and therefore lackluster kettle corn, so stirring constantly during this step is crucial). When popping begins again, continue to stir, making sure to scrape the sides of the pot or kettle, ensuring that all kernels are popped. When popping slows to roughly two pops per second, turn off the heat and stir some more. Pour the popped corn into a wok or similar container and sprinkle with salt to your liking.

Popcorn Publishers

Joel Eisenhower is from Phoenix, Arizona, and moved to Portland in 2005. “I started making kettle corn when I was about twelve. My uncle Dave taught me how to cook, and I have done it ever since,” Joel shares. His wife, Michelle, grew up in Colorado after spending her formative years in Europe as part of a military family. “I spent about a decade working as a barista, mostly in coffee shops,” shares Joel. “Throughout it all, kettle corn remained my passion. My uncle Dave initiated me into the world of kettle corn. A business genius and computer programmer, Dave did kettle corn as a side business until selling it off to his son, who still operates in Phoenix. They are kingpins of industry, amazing minds of many talents, and they taught me the ways of the force. “Michelle is a wonderful cook who has never worked in a restaurant but dreams of being a waitress in an old-timey diner. Food carts are a form of modern-day carnival theatrics. I’ve always found a whimsical respite in working as a vendor at various shows. It is a way to escape the toil of the 9–5 grind, to submit oneself to the community’s most cynical critic: their taste buds. To sell food at a fair is to be naked in public. It is capitalism stripped to its barest essentials, a social transaction based on the most basic of necessities (food), and one in which there is no loyalty expected or offered. If your food is good, you’ll have business. If it ain’t, well, your lack of line will tell you so. “We only cook one thing: the world’s most delicious kettle corn,” says Joel. “Slightly sweet, slightly salty, it’s a one-item menu that doesn’t pull any punches. We do one thing, and we do it damn well. We often get told by customers that our kettle corn is the best they’ve ever had, even from oldtimers who probably lived through the first kettle corn craze in the early to mid-twentieth century.” Their kettle corn is naturally gluten free and peanut free, contains no trans fats, is vegan and is uncompromisingly simple. “We use four ingredients: popcorn, cane sugar, soybean oil and salt,” says Joel. Michelle and Joel painted their 1974 Ford Econoline to resemble a giant ear of corn. “Our hood ornament, Gilbert, is a dog’s head painted silver, our ‘corn dog’ if you will,” says Joel. “It’s a sturdy machine, a fine example of the last

generation of great American engineering. We drove to Florida selling corn this winter. Gilbert was a champ.” The couple’s business also won Best Fire Safety Award at the 2013 Eat Mobile Festival, produced by Willamette Week. “Actually, the award was created just for us, right there on the spot, at the request of Portland’s fire marshal,” shares Joel. Kettle-corning has offered Michelle and Joel the freedom to take their business wherever they want to roam. “Michelle and I went on an epic road trip one winter,” says Joel. “We drove from Portland to Phoenix and then across the southern U.S. on the 1-10 to the Gulf Coast of Alabama. The shows we did on the way were definitely some of our most memorable when they weren’t all that profitable. We camped on the coast of Texas for about a week on a free beach where slaves from Africa used to come into port. Indianola Beach was our closest grasp of utter freedom, with the waves rolling up twenty feet away and the back doors of our van open to everything. We were truly free there in a way that we may never be again. The trip of a lifetime for sure on the backs of kettle corn kernels. “We are the best kettle corn out there, hands down. We cook it old school, in a giant steel kettle, with a wooden stirring paddle. My western wear is not just a put-on—the leather hat, a leather welding apron and long-cuff gloves aren’t just for show but to protect my delicate Oregon skin from the lava-like balls of oil and sugar that fly out at me. I’m a popcorn cowboy, in a popcorn van, and Michelle is Calamity Jane, baggin’ up the goods with a sideways smile and a gleam in her eye. We’re the best there ever was, and I dare you to give our corn a taste and tell us you think different.”

  

Spicy Kale and Garlic Cheese on Toast Courtesy of the Cheese Plate PDX

If you’re familiar with Welsh rarebit, the Cheese Plate PDX has given this traditional dish their own twist. Makes 4 portions. 8 slices rustic sourdough bread 1 tablespoon olive oil 2 tablespoons chopped garlic 8 ounces medium or sharp cheddar cheese, shredded 8 ounces fontina cheese, shredded ½ cup kale chip crumbles (1 cup fresh kale can be used if preferred; remove stems and chop finely) ¼ teaspoon cayenne 4 eggs, beaten salt and pepper • Lightly toast the bread and lay on plates, 2 slices per plate. Heat olive oil in a medium saucepan or large sauté pan over medium heat for a few seconds, then add garlic. Gently cook the garlic for a minute. (If using fresh kale, add now with a small pinch of salt and increase heat to medium-high. Cook for a few minutes until kale is tender and liquid has all been cooked out. Reduce heat to medium.)

• Add cheese, kale chip crumbles (unless using fresh kale) and cayenne. Stir with a wooden spoon or heat-resistant rubber spatula until cheese is melted. Add eggs and continue to stir constantly for about 1 to 2 minutes. When cheese sauce thickens but is still creamy, remove from heat and season with salt and pepper to taste. Pour cheese sauce over toast and serve.

  

The Cheese Plate PDX The Cheese Plate PDX is a cheese-centric vegetarian and vegan cart owned and operated by partners Carina Rumrill and Nick Dickison. Originally from eastern Oregon, Nick met Vermont native Carina in San Francisco, where they both lived for many years. “We moved to Portland when Carina took a job as managing editor of a Buddhist magazine called Mandala,” explains Nick. “We always threw these epic parties in San Francisco and Portland parks,” shares Nick. “The rules were that people had to bring the best cheese they ever had, or the best chocolate they ever had or the best sparkling drink they ever had. Kudos to those who brought one of each. We realized that cheese is celebratory. That it is special. That every cheese has a unique story. So we wanted to capture that with our business. And then we decided to keep it 100 percent local, so we’ve had a chance to really learn what the area has to offer. We are now starting to develop our ‘Best Of’ chocolate menu as well, featuring Briar Rose Creamery’s goat cheese chocolate truffles and Missionary Chocolates hand-crafted vegan truffles.” Nick and Carina worked in a variety of positions in restaurants spanning from sous-chef and chef to server, bartender and general manager. They opened the Cheese Plate PDX in July 2012. “Living in Portland, we could really see the potential for a food cart. We had always wanted to open a restaurant, but with two small kids (and two teenagers!), we thought the risk was lower for us to try something small. But we would still like to open a restaurant at some point,” shares Nick. When I asked what some of their favorite cookbooks were, Nick said, “Carina got her MA in gender and cultural studies and wrote her thesis on 1940s and ’50s American cookbooks. We read everything! We love looking at most of the food magazines just to see the different angles of what is new/current.”

When I asked about their favorite items on the menu, it was hard to answer. Nick shared, “We change the menu seasonally, about every six weeks, to reflect local and seasonal produce. Currently, we love our quesadilla: we use aged and medium cheddar, goat cheese, pineapple-jalapeño jelly from Kelly’s Jelly (a local jelly maker), cilantro and a spicy avocado cream. Our favorite grilled cheese we’ve done is the Lavender: lavender caramel from Alma Chocolate (local chocolate company), smoked chevre and fontina toasted on brioche. We make our own pickles (whatever is in season/looks good) and crackers, and those are really good too. Our salads are great. Right now we have a Summer Salad with arugula, spinach, blueberry vinaigrette, local blue cheese, toasted bread crumbs, kale chip crumbles and spiced hazelnuts. Our signature Cheese Lovers Plate is pretty amazing: four Oregon cheeses and a variety of condiments and our cart-made crackers.”

  

Philly Soft Pretzel “The Wet Pretzel” Courtesy of the Italian Market

You might be surprised to find your pantry already has what it takes to create this soft, warm, traditional salty snack. This recipe yields 6 pretzels. 1 package active dry yeast (¼ ounce) 5¼ cups warm water, separated (110 degrees) 4½ cups all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons kosher salt canola oil 4 teaspoons baking soda 1 tablespoon coarse salt • Dissolve the yeast thoroughly in ¼ cup of warm water. Stir in the remaining 1 cup of warm water. Mix 4 cups of flour and 2 teaspoons kosher salt in another bowl. Add the dissolved yeast to this mix. Add enough additional flour to make a soft but stiff dough. (It’s fussy the first few times you make it depending on the humidity in the air. If the dough seems too stiff, add a tablespoon of water while kneading.) • Roll the dough into a ball. Place it in a greased bowl (using the canola oil), turning it twice to coat the top. Cover with a dry towel. Let rise in a warm place until it is double in bulk, about 45 minutes. Divide the dough in half and then thirds for six total pieces. Take one of the balls of dough and roll it

between your hands to form a coil. Shape the coil into a pretzel shape, pinching the ends to the shaped pretzel. Shape remaining dough. • In a pot, dissolve 4 teaspoons of baking soda in 4 cups of water; bring to a boil. One at a time, drop the pretzels into the boiling water and let them boil for 1 minute. (When ready, dough should start to turn a deeper yellow on the bottom but still be cream colored on top. If dough starts to split, it is over boiled and should be removed immediately.) Remove the pretzels carefully so as to not unravel their shape. • Place the drained pretzels on cookie cooling racks placed on baking sheets. Sprinkle the pretzels with coarse salt. Bake at 475 degrees for 10 to 11 minutes, or until they are golden brown on top. Spray liberally with a fresh baking soda and water mixture (1 teaspoon of baking soda per cup of water). Cover with foil until soft.

   The Italian Market Erin Callahan and Andrew Vidulich had been dating for several years before opening the Italian Market food cart. “We were both born in New Jersey, outside Philadelphia, and moved into the city at age eighteen for college. We both fell in love with Philly and ended up staying in town after school for another ten years,” shares Erin. “We met while bartending and managing restaurants in old city, near the historic Liberty Bell. We had both been working in the restaurants for a long time (a combined twenty-plus years), and after moving in together, we decided it was time for us to start our own thing. We had come out to Portland on vacation several times to visit friends and finally fell in love with a new city! While reading about how food carts were booming despite the recession, we realized that this would be a great business for us. We had all the skills we needed, and Portland would be the perfect backdrop. We worked a lot of overtime, and Andrew picked up side jobs while we saved every penny toward our dream of opening a food cart here in Portland. We moved here September 1, 2012, and opened March 24, 2013, at Belmont Station.

“We had researched food cart builders for three months while we were still living in Philadelphia,” Erin continues. “We finally found a Portland builder advertising carts that we could afford that had already made nearly a dozen carts around Portland that looked great! We contacted several that loved their carts and also contacted Brett Burmeister of foodcartsportland.com, and he confirmed this builder had built some quality carts here in Portland. We paid $10,000 deposit in March upfront after going over the layout and signing contracts, and flew out to Portland to meet the builder, see the shop in person and meet with some of their happy customers. The cart was to be finished by mid-summer, but the builder kept contacting us saying there were more delays. We were easygoing at first, understanding that the builder had simply taken on too much work for the spring/summer, and since we weren’t moving to Portland until Labor Day weekend, we were okay with other projects coming ahead of ours so that they could open over the summer. The cart was to be completed upon our arrival here in Portland on September 1, but two days before, our builder called us to say that they were out of money and being evicted from their shop the next day. We had to come pick up our empty cargo trailer shell (that hadn’t been started yet) immediately if we wanted it, and we were still in Philadelphia.

“A friend of ours in Portland had a trailer hitch and picked it up for us, and we didn’t know what to do next. The builder said they were filling for

bankruptcy (which still hasn’t happened) and soon went into ‘hiding.’ We got a judgment in small claims, but since the business transactions were business to business, it’s not considered criminal. Ex-employees of the builder that we could track down said the builder had spent a lot of money on a recent series of transgender medical treatments.” Undeterred, the couple launched a successful Kickstarter campaign for $12,000 around Halloween. “In the meantime, we found restaurant and catering gigs here in Portland,” shares Erin. “We had the cart built in our driveway, hiring contractors ourselves. We were over budget by about $10,000 and depleted our savings, which we had been holding onto as our startup capital. In the end, we have a cart we truly love, and we were only delayed six months. We love our location, and we probably wouldn’t have landed it had we opened on time in the fall because we would have been under contract somewhere else. “We wanted to do something different than what you can find here, and we also both had the biggest background with Italian cuisine,” says Erin. “Growing up where we did, they practically hand you a meatball sub as soon as you’re big enough to hold onto it! We did have to recipe test for a while; being a food cart, we are definitely restricted by space, time and price. There’s only so much room to store ingredients, each item has to be ready pretty quickly, and most people are expecting to spend less than ten dollars on lunch. We spent about a year and a half perfecting recipes and testing them out endlessly to not only narrow down our food costs but also make our sandwiches the most authentic representation possible of our Philly home.” The Federal is one of their favorite sandwiches. It is an Italian-seasoned slow-roasted shredded pork sandwich with sharp provolone and broccoli rabe (a Philly staple and arguably/secretly perhaps the most popular sandwich back home, regardless of the cheese steak’s fame!). “We have really taken our branding very seriously and want to make our business not just feel like a food cart but as a restaurant,” says Erin. “We are one of the few food carts to be operating that way for their attached bar. We love having a covered patio, draft and bottle beer and AC during the summer.”

While neither of their families has a background in food service, a big inspiration for Erin has been her father. “He started his own business when I was six (tool and die molds), and I remember in the beginning when he was still working his day job and then working in his shop afterward and on the weekends in our garage,” she shares. “It took a lot of hard work, but eventually he had a shop and a staff, and after ten years, he sold the business and bought three dry cleaners. He still runs the dry cleaners six days a week, but now he gets to golf every day on his lunch break. The American dream!”

  

“Ask a Local”

Ifanyi Bell with Oregon Public Broadcasting Tell us about your position and how you became involved with media in Portland. I’m a digital producer, and I’ve been working for public media for about ten years now in different cities around the country, but Portland is my hometown. Digital producer is slang for “I do everything.” Currently, I’m working with Oregon Public Broadcasting, covering arts and culture, including food, dance, music and all kinds of art forms and activities in the Northwest. From a media perspective, what are some of the most popular food carts? Koi Fusion has been super popular for a while now—it’s good, great stuff. Korean/Mexican fusion. That’s the easy answer. The correct answer, however, is Rip City Grill. It’s a proper trailer food spot in a pod on the south waterfront that I’m almost hesitant to even mention here for fear of it becoming more popular than it already is and, therefore, becoming inaccessible to me. This place has the best tri-tip steak sandwich in the entire city. Easy. Remember the Meg Ryan scene from When Harry Met Sally in the deli? That’s what happens when you eat a tri-tip sandwich from Rip City. Some people order the chicken sandwich, but that’s there as a guilt option, just like the tri-tip steak salad— which, I mean…c’mon… In the food cart scene, what have been some of the most newsworthy topics over the last few years?

I think one of the biggest things about carts in the city has been the evolution of carts becoming full-on restaurants. It’s happened a lot over the years, and there are even a few consulting businesses out here that are geared toward helping cart owners make the transition. It’s been happening so much, I’ve even tried to come up with a name for it. “Cart-up,” “jump the cart,” something. Nothing seems to stick. Places like Via Chicago, which is still a mainstay at the downtown farmers’ market, just opened up their brick and mortar on Alberta Street serving the only Chicago deep-dish in the entire city. Brunch Box, which still operates two carts, now has a brick and mortar downtown. There are a ton of other examples, too. Do you have a few personal favorite meals from carts you want to share? Whenever I eat at food carts, I’m looking for inexpensive food that I can eat to get full. Taste is important, but I want to eat fast and cheap because I’ve got to get to something else. Rip City Grill is an easy example. The tri-tip steak sandwich with a number of different “style” options: Cali style—avocado, cheddar, bacon; BBQ style—sautéed onions, cheddar, bacon, BBQ sauce (I know these by heart, by the way…) is deliciousness. And you cannot beat the price. At around eight dollars, you will be full for a while when you finish it. Another place that fits my food Venn diagram of taste, price and full-getting is Brunch Box. Get the I Can Haz Cheeseburger with French toast buns and a coffee at 9:00 a.m. and you’ll be good ’til the next day, or at least until dinner. They are very filling. You can walk out for six or seven dollars. It’s a great deal that will fill you up. Can you give us an insider’s pulse on the Eat Mobile festival? Eat Mobile is fun. Planning outdoor events is challenging in PDX because it can be windy and cold. Each year, there are tons and tons of people, so if you don’t show up early, you won’t be able to get full because you’ll be waiting in lines a lot. I think that means the demand is still high, which is great. I hope to see more carts and more space to help offer more food. 808 Grinds had a taco, PDX Six Seven One is a Fijiian cart that had curries and potatoes. Cheese and

Crack was pretty awesome because you get to pick and choose different flavor combinations. 50 Licks ice cream truck was there. Moberi smoothies were really great. He had a stationary bike that actually drives a blender that blended smoothies for you. I love popcorn, and the different varieties of popcorn at Eat Mobile were really interesting. I can think of at least three carts that were there that were dedicated to popcorn. But yeah, the biggest tip I can offer is show up early and have a plan of attack once you get inside the gates! Outside of food carts, what are some popular points of interest in Portland for people who want to explore the city and the arts? Standbys are the Portland Opera and Portland Art Museum. There’s always something cool going on at the Pacific Northwest College of Art. Students are a great source of creativity for the city. For film, the Northwest Film Center is always showcasing great films and great filmmakers. Brand-new in 2013 in film is the Portland Film Festival, which had its first festival this year in the city. There are a lot of film festivals throughout the calendar year, but this one has bigger aspirations and isn’t just focusing on films that are made here in the city. They are also about bringing different films and filmmakers to Portland, with a big focus on connecting national, international and local filmmakers and supporting the creative film community as a whole. Cycling is always a big thing. Portland is a cycling mecca. I’m a huge cyclist, and there are always cycling events, rain or shine, for the diehards. Always something for everyone: fun rides for families or low category criterion and road races are fun to watch and ride in. Music is another Portland-area touchstone. There is a lot of indie music going on at all times. There’s always a good show at some pretty intimate venues. Bunk Bar on the waterfront has shows all the time and great food. There are some cool venues you wouldn’t expect to find live music in. On the other end of the indie spectrum is the Crystal Ball Room. They showcase the upper echelon of indie, alternative and mainstream shows. And the floor of the concert hall is bouncy!

If you’re in the city visiting for a weekend and are interested in art, be sure to download the Public Art PDX app. You can download it to your iOS device, and it will show you where to find public art all around the city. It also shows you where you are in relation to various art and historical landmarks and different points of interest throughout the city. The team that designed the app has also made this type of mobile guide for a bunch of other interesting areas. With regard to festivals and regional activities, what is the best time of year to visit Portland? The best time to visit Portland is in the summer. Easy. Portland has the well-deserved reputation for being cloudy and damp, but what people are discovering is that Portland has probably the most perfect summer weather that you can think of. Sure, it only lasts about four and a half to five weeks, but it is the most spectacular summer weather you can find. Maybe it’s global warming or something, but from about mid-July to early September, it is nothing but blue sky, green trees and warm weather. Every year, the temperatures seem to launch into the triple digits for a spell, and people flood to festivals like Pickathon, which is probably the area’s premier music event, with multiple stages, big-name bands and, yes, food. In fact, a lot of restaurants interestingly downsize their operations and create their own mobile carts just to take them out to Pickathon. Music Fest Northwest and PDX Pop now are two other great music festivals that are going on during the year. Tell us more about Portland’s passion for local products. When covering food in particular, that’s the big thing that Portlanders look for: “Is it local?” People who visit here are interested in being part of the culture of a locally sourced economy. It’s part of Portland’s cultural currency. When tourists come, they are interested in eating locally with food that is sustainably raised. It’s a big selling point when a food cart can say they are using local ingredients. But it’s not just about food. This kind of thinking is pervasive in almost every other local industry, from music to technology, as a

way to further sustainable living. It’s part of the local fabric of this community. Portland State University is known for having created the Center for Global Leadership in Sustainability, one of the first business majors in sustainability, pushing to advance corporate responsibility and social innovation.

Sides The sides are as interesting as the main courses at Portland food carts. A side of Rosemary Sweet Potato Home Fries from the Egg Carton, Creamy Pimento Mac and Cheese with Garlic Kale from Retrolicious or some traditional Red Beans and Rice from A Cajun Life describe only part of the array of noteworthy side dishes.

  

Creamy Pimento Mac and Cheese with Garlic Kale Courtesy of Retrolicious

This recipe is a mash-up of America’s favorite comfort food and a southern tradition. We’ve added the sautéed garlicky kale with a dash of lemon that almost seems Tuscan in origin but lends a pop of health and flavor that traditional mac never has. Garlic Kale: This is optional, but you’ll love it. You can do it in advance and eat it hot or cold, and it can be a great side dish on its own. 3 tablespoons olive oil 2–3 cloves garlic, well smashed 1 bunch kale rough, chopped salt and pepper to taste 1–2 lemons • Use a medium-high skillet or, better yet, cast iron if you’ve got it (yes, it’s heavy). Not because “it’s retro”; they are usually inexpensive, you can find them on the shelves at any Goodwill and they really hold an even heat that does not dissipate as soon as something is thrown in it.

• Add oil and, quickly, your smashed garlic. Keep it moving so it does not burn, but the heat has to be good to quickly cook the kale. Now you have two choices: you can remove the cloves or leave them in. They’ll cook through, and if they don’t, they will be big enough that you’ll catch them. • Add your chopped kale and keep it moving as it crackles from its own moisture in the pan. Salt and pepper it generously and add the lemon to taste. It should really taste good on its own before it’s added to anything else. Remove kale and set aside. Nibble on it while you assemble your Mac; it’s a superfood. 1 pound cooked penne, al dente or toothsome and not mushy A Couple Quick Thoughts on Pasta: • You know how to cook pasta, right? But you can follow the manufacturer’s suggested cooking methods and time and then cut a little time off; you don’t want mushy Mac. Also, if you like to bake yours, you’ll be cooking it again. Salt the water well. They say like the ocean, but it doesn’t have to be that salty; however, there is not enough salt in the recipe to flavor the pasta properly, and you don’t want well-cooked, bland pasta. Lastly, when you strain it out, don’t run cold water over it. Lay it out on a cookie sheet and lightly oil it to cool if you are not making your Mac right away. Any pasta should follow these simple suggestions. Creamy Pimento Cheese: 8 ounces cream cheese 1½ pounds medium-sharp cheddar cheese, shredded ¼ cup Dijon or Creole mustard or any good mustard ½–1 cup red/pimento peppers 2 tablespoons garlic, minced

2 tablespoons paprika salt to taste pepper to taste 1 tablespoon sugar 1½ tablespoons Worcestershire sauce Sriracha to taste 2 cups heavy cream The Topper: 1 cup cheddar cheese or a blend ¾ cup smashed crunchy (we mean crunchy) kettle-style potato chips • If you know anything about traditional pimento cheese spreads, they all have mayo. This one does not; therefore, it is not traditional. But unlike any other pimento cheese, this one will not tend to separate when heated as quickly as others with mayo that end up looking like curdled yuck. • Let your cream cheese and cheddar soften in your mixing bowl, as this will help your mixer (with paddle attachment) or good ole wooden spoon and your muscles do the job a little easier. Use a good-quality cream cheese and cheddar cheese, as they will have a better cream content and not separate when heated as quickly. We are lucky to be in the Northwest, where the dairy seems to be naturally better than other places we’ve lived and cheeses like Tillamook are local and readily available. • You can use any mustard you’ve got, but we prefer a mustard with more personality than classic yellow. Add it to the pool. When it comes to pimentos, everyone says, “I don’t like it too spicy.” Guess what, folks, they are just the Spanish name for peppers—in this case, sweet, mild red peppers. You can buy the canned because quite frankly there’s so much

going on that will work just fine. I’ve roasted my own plenty of times, and other than being a little heartier, your effort may be lost in the end. Regardless which you choose, chop half very finely to add extra color and some more coarsely so you can see the chunks. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix. Oh, I’ve forgotten one? Yes, add a little cream at a time so it helps to blend, but not too much. You’ll want the rest for when you finally assemble the pasta. The salt and pepper are to taste because quite honestly you are eating it, not me. Sriracha is our contemporary twist on the cayenne pepper and hot sauce element you often see in pimento cheese recipes. Add it liberally or sparingly depending on you and your guests. Now You’ve Got It All Ready… • Turn your skillet down a little and warm your cheese sauce. This should be enough for that pound of pasta with the remaining cream. Next, add your pasta and warm through. Add the kale, as much or as little as you’d like. I check for flavor and adjust as needed. If it’s too thick at this point, you can add a little water; if you just cooked the pasta, add pasta water. You can also add cream or milk, but it’s pretty rich at this point. • Now the finish! We have an oven but not a broiler, and regardless, with food carts it’s about the show, so we top our Mac with smashed-up Oregon’s own Kettle brand chips and top it with extra cheese and Kimmy blow torches it to order. Mac & Show! But if you used a cast-iron skillet, you can top it and pop it in your oven for a quick melt. Use a dry towel or mitt to remove.

   Retrolicious Roy and Kimberly (Kimmy) Swope opened their Retrolicious food cart in May 2012. Born in Southern California, Kimmy experienced a variety of food when they moved to the back roads of Georgia. “What a gift to find all the food: blackberry brambles to make pies and cobblers, big bowls of honey with honeycomb and fresh biscuits, falling in love with fried chicken. It was so yummy and different than Southern California,” remembers Kimmy. “My mom was an amazing gardener. Her fried green tomatoes and pimento cheese sandwich is one I want to do on the cart.” Her family packed up and moved to Texas, where she experienced the flavors of southern barbecue and Tex-Mex. Eventually, Kimmy found her way to meet Roy in Arizona by way of France. “The first food cart I was introduced to was in Paraguay, not too far from the hotel where we were staying when we first moved there,” recalls Roy. “My dad was in the oil industry, so we moved every two years. My mom is from Guatemala. We lived in Central and South America, and I graduated when I was eighteen. I went to Arizona State for college. In Paraguay, there was a trailer in a gravel lot. Street food is common in Latin America in the market. This guy was an engineer from Uruguay, and it was called Punto Diez. He made three things but mainly sold a tenderloin sandwich (lomito). His schtick was he had ten sauces—you could pick one or use them all. One day, I might try to do a special to emulate his sauces. He would build it in front of you, and you needed ten napkins. The tenderloin was beautiful, grilled quick with salt and pepper tossed in a toasted bun—it was amazing. He eventually bought the land and put in some structural things, but he stayed a trailer—never tried to make a restaurant out of it.”

“We owned a little café in Arizona at the Arizona republic building downtown. The NBC affiliate was housed in the same building,” shares Kimmy. “We did that for three years. We had fallen in love with Portland, Oregon, and refurbished a trailer in the hope that we would be able to start as a food truck, but we hadn’t installed any equipment. We went to retrofit it and found out it was too expensive. So we saw it was going to be better to build one fresh from scratch. We pooled our resources and had a trailer built, painted it pink and called her Bertha. It’s been incredible to start a new life in a wonderful town. You never know day to day who’s going to come to your window. It’s wonderful to be able to work together; it’s above average how much fun we have and how meant-to-be it was.” Roy’s grandfather was half Chinese and half Guatemalan. He drove his family to New Orleans from Guatemala in the mid-1960s and opened a Chinese American restaurant. “I was born in New Orleans but not raised there. So the southern and Latin mash-ups on our menu come naturally,” says Roy. “We do a lot of southern-influenced flavors, like green chili pork with eggs on it.” The Fried Chicken is their bestseller. It is soaked overnight in buttermilk along with a blend of spices and herbs that permeates the meat. “We fry in a huge cast-iron wok, changing the oil frequently. We put the chicken on a timer. So many people don’t do that, and then it’s overcooked or undercooked. For as much chicken as we fry, it’s all boneless and delicious. Some of our customers say ours is better than Roscoe’s,” shares Kimmy.

  

Red Beans and Rice Courtesy of A Cajun Life

This authentic Louisiana side dish can also be served as a one-dish meal. 1 pound red beans garlic powder, to taste onion powder, to taste A Cajun Life All-Purpose Cajun Seasoning, to taste ¼ large onion, chopped ¼ large green bell pepper, seeded and chopped 1 teaspoon oil 1 pound smoked sausage, thinly sliced 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning • Soak beans overnight by adding beans to a large pot and then covering with water approximately 1 inch above beans. The next morning, rinse and sort. The bad ones usually float or will be on top. In a pot, cover beans with 1 to 2 inches of fresh water. Add garlic powder, onion powder and A Cajun Life seasoning (available nationwide on Amazon) and cook over medium heat.

• While beans are cooking, sauté onions and bell pepper in oil, then add sliced sausage to skillet to brown, occasionally adding a bit of water to scrape bottom with. Once meat is well browned, add some water and scrape bottom. This should make a brown gravy-like liquid. Add all contents of the skillet to the pot of beans. Add Italian seasoning, cover and continue to cook on medium heat, stirring frequently. Add water as needed. After beans are soft, mash some of them to make a creamy sauce. Serve over rice with corn bread.

   A Cajun Life Husband and wife Chris and Hilary Fontenot met in north Louisiana when Chris was in college. His work with a corporate company moved them from Louisiana to North Carolina and most recently, in 2010, to Portland. “Our journey to food cart ownership really started in north Louisiana,” shares Chris. “Believe it or not, north Louisiana is very different from south, so much so that we consider it the ‘north.’ I started cooking some of my favorite dishes for friends up there, and they all loved the food. When we moved to North Carolina, a similar thing happened. Everyone we cooked for loved the food, and several asked why we never sold it. That’s when I got the thought to package my food; however, nothing really came of it. Upon moving to Oregon, the same thing happened again, however this time, we had a friend of ours who mentioned opening a food cart. Many late nights discussing with him over drinks eventually convinced me and my wife to give it a go. Just over a year and a half after moving to Oregon, we had purchased our first cart.” All the recipes at A Cajun Life are family recipes that Chris tweaked over the years to suit his preferences. “In Louisiana,” he shares, “food is very near and dear to everyone’s heart. As a result, most children learn to cook at a very young age. I started learning to cook long before I was a teenager and then started cooking for the family probably around ten or eleven. I would experiment with my mom and dad’s recipes and even used to watch Food Network just so I could see how they plated dishes. I remember having a little notebook of how I could plate a dish based on what I watched.”

Chris’s favorite dish on his menu is the Bayou Boogie. This dish consists of chicken, sausage and tasso (flown in from his hometown) served over rice. “It was my favorite growing up and is still my favorite today, although don’t go to Louisiana and ask for one,” says Chris. “They won’t know what you’re talking about. It didn’t have a name; we simply called it by what was in it.” One of the youth students in Chris and Hilary’s youth group helped come up with the name Bayou Boogie. “When I was in high school, I worked for a fast-food chicken place called Crispy Cajun,” Chris says. “Our whole situation is somewhat ironic because I had sworn to my parents that I would never work fast food; however, the need (or rather want) of a new car motivated me to pull a favor with a friend’s dad who owned the place. I basically did a little of everything during my time there. Cooked, cleaned, rotated product, rang up customers, all the things a typical teenager working fast food would do. It’s funny ’cause now, after over fifteen years of swearing I’d never work fast food, I own a fast-serve food cart.” When it was time to develop the menu, Chris started with going through what Cajun dishes he cooked best. “I actually wrote down the recipes when I cooked them and tweaked them for larger quantities,” he says. “We had looked at several used carts before finding this one. I knew it was our cart because as soon as my wife and I walked up to her, she [my wife] immediately named her ‘Roux.’ Roux now has her own personality and often posts on our Facebook and Twitter feeds, as well as has her own blog on our website. From planning to actual opening day, it took about seven months and then an additional couple months to further tweak operations and serving quantity and spice level. “We are one of, if not the only, true authentic Cajun cart in the Portland Metro. We are transplants and still use ingredients from our hometown in Louisiana. People should try us because they most likely have never had such flavorful food, especially not served out of a food cart, and if they

have, they most likely paid way more than we charge,” says Chris with a smile.

  

Rosemary Sweet Potato Home Fries Courtesy of the Egg Carton

Most of this recipe can be prepared ahead of time. 2 pounds white sweet potatoes (not yams/orange sweet potatoes) ¼ cup olive oil 3 tablespoons rosemary, roughly chopped 1 teaspoon sea salt 1 teaspoon pepper • Peel the sweet potatoes and chop them into 1-inch pieces. Place the sweet potatoes in a pot and fill with water until it just covers the potatoes. Bring the water to a boil. Cook the sweet potatoes in the boiling water until they can be pierced with a fork. The potatoes should still be firm, not mushy. • Remove the potatoes from the heat and strain. Put the strained potatoes in a large bowl and add the olive oil, rosemary, salt and pepper. Gently fold the potatoes to coat. At this point, the potatoes can be refrigerated for several days if desired. • Heat a large saucepan to medium-high. When hot, add a single layer of potatoes to the pan. They need room to move, so this may take a couple batches. Move the potatoes around to allow all sides to brown.

• Salt and pepper to taste and serve hot.

  

Eat Mobile

The Food Cart Festival Experience Eat Mobile is arguably Portland’s largest gathering of food carts. My first year to experience Eat Mobile was in April 2013, when it was held at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry. The Eat Mobile model is unique in that food truck participants provide a predetermined number of samples of their food for the ticket holders to come taste. VIP ticket holders are let in the gates first. This gives them the advantage of smaller lines and a surplus of food. When the rest of the public is let in, the lines get long fast, and the food supplies start to decline. Awards in various categories are issued at the end of the night via judges, as well as people’s choice. When I talked to some of my food cart friends, they had some strategies for winning those awards. Although it is tempting to give away as much food as you can, a few advised some of the rookies not to give duplicate samples out to fans who were coming back for seconds. After all, these people already had their vote, and the goal was to get samples of their food to as many different people as possible. I have had the privilege of attending large food truck festivals all over the United States. So when I went to my first Eat Mobile, I had a good idea for strategy on how to make the most of the experience, yet I was going to be bound to my cookbook booth for the majority of the event. I was let in the gates early (before VIP), as I was setting up a table to sell food cart cookbooks. I made the rounds, hugging food cart owners I had met previously, taking pictures and introducing myself to some carts that were new to me. I sampled as best I could before I needed to head back to my

cookbook booth. Steven Shomler, Scott Batchelar and Brett Burmeister were kind enough to share their beer and samples since I was stuck at my table. I could see the line of general admission wrapping around the corner for a good length, and I was glad I was inside the gates. When general admission was let in, it was the madhouse everyone had promised. Even though all the carts were prepared with all their samples ready to hand out, lines to each of the carts were super lengthy. Some people went in groups, hoping to get samples for their friends, but this strategy didn’t work for some of the carts that were trying to limit the number of duplicate samples. At the end of the day, both cart owners and cart lovers knew the experience they had signed up for. The masses and the entrepreneurs all left with good tastes in their mouths after a massive festival held in just one evening.

Sauces I have often felt like I could write an entire cookbook on the aiolis, jams and sauces that food cart owners are making in Portland. This section covers a variety of flavors and textures with sauces made in food carts.

  

Asian Chipotle Sauce Courtesy of Stumptown Dumplings

Use this as a dipping sauce, condiment or glaze to cook with. cup mayonnaise 1 cup sweet chili sauce (we use Mae Ploy) 1 cup Sriracha hot sauce cup oyster sauce cup hoisin sauce • Blend all ingredients together using a whisk.

  

Balsamic Caramel Sauce Courtesy of the Gaufre Gourmet

This recipe yields approximately 2 cups of to-die-for caramel sauce. Top a Buttermilk Biscuit Waffle (see ) with about 3 ounces of our Chevre Mousse (see ) and drizzle with this caramel sauce and toasted pistachios for our delicious Milk and Honey waffle. 2 cups sugar ½ cup water 2 tablespoons corn syrup 1 tablespoon white balsamic vinegar ¼ teaspoon salt 1 cup heavy cream 2 tablespoons butter 1 tablespoon vanilla 1 tablespoon dark balsamic vinegar • Mix together the sugar, water, corn syrup, white balsamic vinegar and salt in a large saucepan. • Once the mixture is stirred together and on the heat, don’t stir again until the addition of the cream. The sauce will cook and boil and begin to caramelize. It is very important not to stir it! If crystals form above the surface of the sauce, brush them with a wet brush.

• Let the mixture cook until it becomes a deep amber color. Let it get a bit darker than you think it should be, as this color is deepened flavor. This will take about 20 minutes from the time you started cooking. When it is the right color, turn off the heat and add the heavy cream (be careful; it will boil and expand a bit). Now you can stir it and also add the butter, vanilla and dark balsamic.

  

Cart-Made Pesto Courtesy of Pizza Box

Use this pesto in between slices of French bread similar to garlic bread, toss with your favorite pasta, smear over grilled corn on the cob, use in sandwiches or come up with your own specialty dish. 2 handfuls basil 1 handful baby spinach 2 ounces walnuts 2 ounces asiago cheese 1 head roasted garlic (cloves only) 1 tablespoon lemon juice approximately ½ cup extra virgin olive oil kosher salt, to taste black pepper, to taste • Place basil and baby spinach in a food processor along with walnuts, asiago cheese, roasted garlic and lemon juice. Turn on the food processor and slowly add up to half a cup of extra virgin olive oil. Add kosher salt and black pepper to taste.

Pizza Box

Although he worked as a cook all through high school, his undergraduate years and law school, Paul Mayo was working as an attorney prior to starting his food cart in Portland. “I started working as a dishwasher when I was fifteen and held positions all the way down the line, from pantry cook, broiler, sauté, souschef,” explains Paul. “I worked at several restaurants that did pizza, so this is my first purely pizza venture. I always wanted to own a restaurant, and the relatively low cost of startup and comparatively few barriers to entry made building a cart seem like the best way to move toward that goal.” Initially, he opened Pizza Box at Southeast Woodstock and 85th in the fall of 2011. In November 2012, he relocated to Base Camp Brewing Co. The White Pizza is Paul’s favorite on his menu. It has an olive oil base, red peppers roasted in the wood-fired oven, bacon, sweet onions (caramelized in the oven) and creamy goat cheese. But it’s the PBBP that is the fan favorite. “PBBP stands for Pizza Box Bacon Pesto and includes roma tomatoes and artichoke hearts in addition to Cart-Made Pesto and bacon,” shares Paul. If you’re wondering what makes Paul’s pizza stand out from others in Portland, he’s got an answer for that: “We offer wood-fired sourdough pizza, which is a little different than most of the other wood-fired pizza places in town. The sourdough gets its flavor from a symbiotic relationship between a wild yeast culture (ours is from Naples, Italy) and lactobacilli bacteria. While most Neapolitan and neo-Neapolitan pizza dough utilizes instant dry yeast, we primarily use wild yeast for leavening, adding a unique flavor to our dough.”

  

Fijian Chutney Courtesy of Fiji Indian Curry

This Fijian chutney looks a lot like salsa to this Texan girl, but the flavors of the islands shine through. 5 medium whole tomatoes 1 clove fresh garlic small piece of fresh ginger the size of a garlic clove 3 mint leaves ½ cup coriander sea salt • Put the tomatoes, garlic, ginger, mint leaves and coriander in a food processor for less than a minute. Add salt to taste.

  

Chimichurri Sauce Courtesy of Thrive Pacific NW

This is a classic sauce that was discovered by Erika while traveling in South America. The cart owners think it goes best with their grilled hanger steak. Yields approximately 6 servings. 16 cloves garlic, minced 4 fresh bay leaves, minced 1½ cups parsley, minced 2 tablespoons dried oregano 2 tablespoons crushed red pepper flakes ¾ cup extra virgin olive oil ¾ cup grapeseed oil ½ cup red wine vinegar salt and pepper to taste • Combine all ingredients together and let sit at least 30 minutes before serving.

   Thrive Pacific NW Best friends Stephanie Vickers of Colorado and Erika Reagor of California joined forces to open Thrive Pacific NW. Their menu emphasizes local, homemade, fresh and clean flavors in international rice bowls. In Erika and Stephanie’s words, “To be able to share our recipes and help enhance the creativity of those around us helps us to create and appreciate the fresh and local ingredients the Northwest has to offer. We intend to continue to grow into something that will outlast ourselves and something that will maintain the qualities that we believe Portland has enabled us to ‘thrive’ from. Every day, we are able to nourish ourselves with delicious flavors and homegrown food; we want to share this with others.” Erika is the chef in the team, having drawn inspiration for her menu from worldly travels as well as her education in holistic nutrition at both the Institute of Integrative Nutrition in New York City and then Bauman College for Holistic Nutrition in Berkeley, California. The Thai Bowl (brown rice, seasonal sautéed vegetables, Thai coconut sauce, peanuts, mint and cilantro) is one of their personal favorites and also their bestseller. Stephanie’s contribution to the Thrive menu is one of the cart’s main highlights for all their bowls. It’s called the Special Sauce, and customers have claimed to put it on everything including “eggs and potatoes, sautéed vegetables, pizza, French fries, sausages, sandwiches, noodles, nachos and salads,” share Erika and Stephanie. “We even heard someone state they put it on their cereal. Maybe a joke, but I think the point has been made. It’s some pretty special stuff!” They have also developed the Extra Special Sauce. “It’s just a little bit hotter, with more of a punch than a kick. Equally delicious but different,” says Erika. “We are doing something that no other truck is doing. We provide highquality food that makes you feel good, is well balanced and affordable,” share Erika and Stephanie.

  

Coconut Chutney Courtesy of Tiffin Asha

Modify the heat according to taste by adding or decreasing the amount of peppers and chilies you use in this intriguing chutney. 1½ cups fresh coconut, grated 1½ cups whole plain yogurt 1 Serrano chili, seeded ½ tablespoon ginger, minced salt to taste • Toast ½ cup of the fresh coconut. Set aside. • Grind/blend fresh coconut, toasted coconut, yogurt, chili and ginger until smooth. Add salt to taste. Spice Mix: 1 tablespoon unrefined sesame oil 1 teaspoon whole black mustard seed 1 teaspoon split urad dal (black lentil) 1 teaspoon whole cumin seed 5 curry leaves 2 dried red chilies, crumbled

• Heat oil in sauté pan and add mustard seeds. Wait until they sputter and then add remaining ingredients. Watch for urad dal to turn golden and the rest of the spices to become fragrant. • Pour Spice Mix over coconut chutney as a garnish or fold mixture into chutney.

   Tiffin Asha The name Tiffin Asha comes from the Indian words for snacks/light meal (tiffin) and hope and wish (asha). With the Tiffin Asha cart, Elizabeth Golay turned her dreams into reality through her love of good food and opened her cart in May 2013. She and her wife moved to Portland via Seattle for a job opportunity as well as it being a good location to attempt cart life. “It’s a city open to food and small businesses,” Elizabeth shares. Before starting Tiffin Asha, she worked in the restaurant industry in Seattle, Boston and San Francisco, but it was a restaurant in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that inspired her to try her own take on Indian food. “The chef there did her own take on eastern Mediterranean foods,” shares Elizabeth, “and it inspired me to have fun using traditional aspects but also making it your own. Also, my wife is south Indian. She introduced me to the food of the south, which is different than a lot of the food you get in restaurants that is focused on the northern region. I had cooked curries and used Indian spices, but when she introduced me to that food, I fell in love with it. It’s lighter, healthier and high in vitamins and protein.” The Hot Chick is Elizabeth’s favorite item on her menu. “It’s a dosa that is wrapped with chicken inside like a crepe drizzled with black cardamom honey, yogurt cheese (strained yogurt with spices like white poppy seed and black mustard—has a nutty, astringent flavor),” she shares. Tiffin’s Trilogy is a great menu option for newcomers to the cart. It focuses on three popular snacks in south India: dosa, vada (a savory fried donut) and idli (rice cakes).

  

Lemony Sweet Cheesecake Spread Courtesy of Smaaken Waffles

Use this spread over waffles, pancakes, teacakes or any pastry of your liking. 3 8-ounce packages cream cheese, softened 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest 1½ tablespoons lemon juice 1 tablespoon vanilla extract 2¾ cups powdered sugar • Make sure cream cheese and butter are completely room temperature so they can mix evenly without lumping. • Whip the cream cheese and butter on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Mix in the lemon zest, lemon juice and vanilla. Slowly mix in powdered sugar. Mix thoroughly. Voila, perfection.

   Smaaken Waffles Life partners and business partners Melanie Walker and Matt Feiner opened Smaaken Waffles in September 2012. Melanie explains how they entered the food cart lifestyle: “Matt worked in the construction industry and was building large projects doing condos when things went south with that profession several years ago. We decided together it might be a better choice for us with the food cart in offering us an opportunity to be with our newborn so that we could have a job we could share. “I was working as a Waldorf teacher before,” Melanie says. “I needed a change from working with kids all day and then coming home and being a mom. I’ve always enjoyed cooking. When I was pregnant, I was craving waffle sandwiches from across town in north Portland twenty minutes away. I really missed the waffle sandwiches. They were such a great food for breakfast instead of having to sit down and wait for sausage and eggs and the whole rigmarole of waiting to be seated and paying the bill. I just wanted an easy place to go have breakfast. The waffle food cart hits that need for fast and quality breakfast food.” While the Sausage Maple Waffle may be their bestseller, the Popeye is Melanie’s personal favorite on the menu. It has eggs, cheese and spinach, and she usually adds sausage. When I asked if there was any family history with the cart, Melanie smiled and shared: “Basically, it’s my grandmother’s cart because she left me a little bit of money when she passed, and we used that as our investment into the cart. My grandmother always made awesome breakfast for us, and because of her generosity, it lives on. That’s been one of the biggest blessings of where we are located and that it provides contact with the neighborhood and community we live in ourselves. I really like that aspect of this a lot. If we were downtown, we would probably be getting more business, but we’ve been blessed to meet the people in our neighborhood, and our food is trans-generational. I love it when

the older ladies and gentlemen come up and get a simple powdered sugar waffle. They are always very curious about what we are doing.”

  

The Fried Onion Chipotle BBQ Sauce Courtesy of the Fried Onion

This homemade Chipotle BBQ Sauce will win fans at your next barbecue. 1 medium onion, julienned ¼ cup olive oil 4 cloves garlic, chopped ½ teaspoon cumin ¼ teaspoon chili flakes 2 tablespoons chipotle powder 2 cups ketchup ½ cup mustard ¼ cup honey ½ cup water 1½ tablespoons Worcestershire sauce 2 pinches salt 1 pinch pepper 2 tablespoons rice vinegar ¼ teaspoon hot sauce • Caramelize onions in pan with oil. To caramelize, cook onions on medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. Cook until browned or caramel colored,

approximately 15 to 20 minutes. Add garlic and cook 1 minute. • Add cumin, chili flakes and chipotle powder. Cook 1 minute to bring out the flavor of the spices. Add the remaining ingredients and cook 5 to 10 minutes on very low heat.

The Fried Onion After forty years of marriage with eight children and careers in retail grocery management and teaching, former New Yorkers Marcy and John McGrath started a second career path when they opened their food cart in Portland. The Fried Onion aims to “re-create that incredible feeling of the hot dog stands back home in New York,” as the McGraths put it. “The Fried Onion” is a bit of a misnomer in that the onions they use on their classic sandwiches and sausages are not fried in the true sense of the word. The McGraths start their day by “frying” about ten pounds of freshly sliced yellow onions, garlic and salt over a large oiled grill until they are caramelized.

  

Tips of the Trade

Advice from Food Cart Owners Many people recognize the value of low overhead and accessibility when starting their own food cart, but often there is more to the business than meets the eye. From electrical challenges to city permitting, creating a following to watching the weather, an inexperienced food cart entrepreneur can learn much from a seasoned truck or cart that has been in the field for a while. I asked the food cart owners what three things they wished someone had told them before they started their business. They responded with some invaluable tips to help any food truck rookies get off to a good start: A Cajun Life: Thoroughly think out what you want from your business and how you want to brand it. If you haven’t thought about branding, you need to. We named ourselves what we did because food carts are just one part of a bigger picture, and our name allows us to expand into multiple segments of business and, if needed, to pivot easily without a name change. I wish someone had told me how much time is needed before and after actual business hours to successfully run a cart. There is a lot that goes into a week beyond just serving customers, something I think a lot of us forget to consider. The Cheese Plate PDX: 1. In order to be supported, you must support others. There is enough love in this world to go around: share it. 2. Think of the experience you most crave and create that. Chances are, many people crave what you do. 3. Be kind. To those you work with, to those who give you their time and money, to those who support you and also to yourself. Some days are very hard. Some days are very

wonderful. Be kind no matter what. 4. Prepare for winter. 5. Be brave. Think big and never assume that what you envision is impossible. Everything is possible. If you can think it, you can do it. Chowdah: Research is huge. Research everything you want to do, what kind of vehicle you need to put it in and how big that has to be. If you think it will cost you fifty cents, plan on it being one dollar. If you want to be open in three months, plan on six months because it takes more time and money than you think. If you make a good burger at a friend’s barbecue, it doesn’t make you a good cart owner. You can bust out a great batch of whatever you want at home for fifteen friends, but you have to cook in large batches every day on top of owning and running your own restaurant. Once you’re into it, you’ve already spent a ton of money. It happens a lot; I’ve seen four carts in my old Sellwood pod that have really struggled. The Egg Carton: We actually have many people visit us to ask about our business, our cart pod, our cart, etc. I love giving advice to help them, even if it’s rarely followed (food cart owners tend to be headstrong entrepreneurs). First, figure out what there is a need for in your area. Portlanders wait up to two hours for a table at some brunch restaurants. There are very few breakfast carts. We did the math. Second, I read a book called The Restaurant Man, and in the first chapter, he wrote that there are people who can make food and there are people that can sell food, but rarely can one do both. Your food is only half the battle. You must market any way that you can and choose your parking wisely. We are parked in an area with lots of homes but not many breakfast options. We had social media presence before opening. Find all bloggers and invite them to your cart. Third, there is no downtime. When you sink into a rut because it’s slow (aka winter), it’s hard to motivate yourself to push forward. Downtime is R&D/marketing time.

808 Grinds: Keep it simple: it’s definitely one thing I would recommend. Keep it simple as far as menu, pricing, everything. As a general rule, keep things as simple as you can. Fiji Indian Curry: Patience: starting a food cart is not an easy thing. Our first month, we were open some days, we were only making ten dollars a day and it was a cold winter. Nothing is overnight. You have to work on it. First, we show people we are here, then we show people, hey, we are different from other Indian restaurants. Everyone makes curry, but what will attract you? (Jackfruit, pumpkin curry, okra curry.) We are doing things that are rare. When we opened it took time, and that is why I say the main thing is patience. There are a lot of food carts opening and closing every day. They don’t make enough money and have to shut down. Also, I advise you to cook fresh food. All of our food is cooked fresh with no microwave. Your food has to be fresh. Fried Egg I’m in Love: Keep the menu simple and keep your prep limited. We’ve seen other carts struggle because they have too many menu items or have to make every single thing from scratch. I think you have to find the balance. We work hard but have seen other cart owners kill themselves and eventually go out of business because they thought this was the best thing to do. Food carts aren’t big kitchen. You gotta keep it simple. The Fried Onion: You have to be patient and persevere in creating a menu. I think some of the most difficult things are sourcing quality product. Garden Monsters: Get a bigger food cart—make it bigger. I have one of the largest lists of ingredients and yet one of the smallest food carts in Portland; that’s one thing I would have done differently. Tell everyone. If you have something you are

trying to do, tell everyone that is willing to listen. Anyone that’s willing to listen, tell them about it. The Gaufre Gourmet: This is a business. Don’t start a cart because you think you can cook. Be realistic about what you can do and create a business plan. Don’t try to do too much; pick something unique to offer and do it the best! Graffiti: Cram as much refrigeration as you can into your cart; you can never have enough. The Italian Market: Know your builder! We weren’t familiar with contractors, and neither of us are very handy with tools. I wish we had done more research as to local building codes and health code requirements. We should have met with the local health inspector and just gone over our menu and listened. Also, if we could have talked to more plumbers and RV specialists (most food cart plumbing—water tanks, etc.—is actually RV equipment), we could have come up with a more realistic budget. We were over budget on our build, about $10,000. We also should have invested more into the ventilation system; it is HOT HOT HOT in our cart! We are open seven days a week, so it’s tough now that we’re open to overhaul the exhaust system and upgrade, but spending extra and some moving air can really save you some sanity down the line. J Mo’s Sandwich Shack: I got some great advice when I started. I talked to a lot of different cart owners. I would suggest doing the same. Don’t think you know it all just because you’ve worked in kitchens and eaten at carts. Ask others what they would have done differently about their cart if they had a chance. Have good food and be unique. Kargi Gogo:

Buy yourself a pair of comfortable shoes. You will be on your feet all day! Don’t get too busy to eat and drink. It sounds simple, but it’s hard when you’re running a food cart. And finally, cut yourself some slack. What you’re doing is hard, hard work, time consuming and emotionally draining. Celebrate your success when you have it and try to do better tomorrow. Masala Pop: Start small (few menu items/products) and test out the market before jumping in. Everything takes twice as long as you think it will. Moberi: Get quality plumbing. Olé Latte: Advice for future food cart owners? Take it seriously as a business! Be passionate! Be patient! PDX Six Seven One: Maintenance. The amount of time you spend on your food, you’re going to be spending the same amount of time on plumbing, electrical work, repairs… You basically need to learn how to be a jack-of-all-trades. Otherwise, you’re going to be spending a lot of money paying someone else to take care of your needs. Popcorn Publishers: Find a good recipe and stick with it. Don’t compromise on ingredients. Keep it simple. Be friendly; your customers are your best marketers, dollar for dollar, by an enormous margin. Retrolicious: The one thing, even being in the business as long as we have and working together for the last five years, it’s never as easy as some people make it look. They need to be prepared for hard work. It’s rewarding but physically taxing. Try and find a way to maintain a sense of humor. People come at their worst

times because they are hungry. So keep your sense of humor. When you design your cart, you need to think about how many things you want to sell in a day but build your cart with the maximum number of sales you think you can handle in a day to be able to facilitate generating that revenue. Regardless of the design elements, if you can make it happen or give yourself room to grow with that in mind. Have some extra reserves in the bank. Be handy because something is always breaking. Even if you’re fixing it for yourself, the store still only sells it to you for that price. Smaaken Waffles: We are in this space right now where we are almost a year in, and looking at the numbers, it’s been much more difficult than we thought it was going to be. The place where we are is new. It’s never been there before, and I would say that the marketing and development of the property is so important for the neighborhood to be interested to stop in. For example, we have had no activities going on at the park at all until the last two Sundays. We had live music and crafters, and we made double the money on both of those days just having the energy of people out and about and coming up to the area. Have events that support the pod itself. It’s been a struggle for us to jump start that energy and figure out who should be promoting: the landlord, the developer, us, etc. Stumptown Dumplings: There’s a lot of labor of love involved that I wasn’t aware of. You have to invest a lot of your own time in order to be successful. You can’t wait for people to come. I’m pretty knowledgeable about marketing my product. You have to market your product very well. You have to go out there and get people to try your food. You have to use what people are using now, so social media is a huge platform for finding people. Facebook, Twitter, mobile web apps for people to text their order in—keep up with technology and ease of ordering. Keep your menu simple as well. Sugar Shop:

We met with a lot of people before we opened, and we got a lot of good information. I would recommend not skimping on a lawyer; that’s the best investment we made. Do your research with everything—your location, your cart builder, what you’re going to serve—exhaustively. Thrive Pacific NW: This is the hardest work you will ever do. Maybe reconsider…just kidding. Also, don’t buy a truck from “the Russians.” We got our truck off Craigslist from “the Russians.” Anything that could have gone wrong with it did: clutch broke while driving, hood fan went out at a busy zoo concert, plumbing broke with water spraying everywhere, the generator died, the battery died, the carburetor went out, the electricity was wired backward—all within the first year. Nightmare. Tiffin Asha: You have to really believe in what you are doing. Focus on your goals and know you will get through the minor setbacks. Stay focused on your goal and your dream. Don’t let the minor setbacks get in the way of your dream.

Sandwiches, Wraps and Dogs Sandwiches, wraps and dogs are great street food fare because of how easy it is to travel with them. However, in Portland, you will need to bring a fork and take a napkin to catch all the extra goodness that overflows from these handheld treats.

  

Damn that Castro Courtesy of Retrolicious

“Our cart concept is really quite open on purpose. We feel like in music, almost all the notes have already been used, but the ability to funkify something by riffing on it like jazz is really the new frontier. What’s old is new, and vice versa, with a little twist. So this sandwich represents that era of the ’60s when I Dream of Jeannie was on the boob tube, the Beverly Hillbillies and Green Acres rocked the airwaves and people like Kennedy, Castro and Khrushchev were at the top of people’s consciousness. With Castro’s rise and domination of the small island and subsequent expulsion and exodus of so many Cubans, places like Miami became a haven for expatriated immigrants and their amazing cuisines. The exotic converged on our shores, blending amazing new culinary traditions. So this sandwich is an homage to that ubiquitous presence of Cubano sandwiches with some of the elements with new flavor riffs. It’s creamy, tangy, salty, crunchy and sweet. What’s not to love!”—Kimmy Swope Sandwich recipe for 4. 2 pounds pork loin roast 2 tablespoons coarse salt 2 tablespoons coarse pepper 4 good rolls (could be a hoagie, ciabatta…something tender inside with a little crust) 8 thick 8/10 bacon (this means 8–10 slices per pound)

½ cup mayonnaise ½ cup Dijon, Creole or any good mustard 8 slices Havarti or a creamy melting cheese *Flamingo Pink Pickled Red Onions • Rub the pork loin thoroughly with coarse salt and coarse pepper and roast in a 375-degree oven until it reaches 135 to 140. (If you don’t have an inexpensive quick-read thermometer, then get one. Any recipe that doesn’t give you an internal temp to pull meat is not doing you any favors.) Meat will carryover cook, which means it keeps cooking outside the oven. Let it rest. Don’t nibble, just let it rest! • Now that your pork is cooked, you can slice it thin—not shaved but thin so you can stack it. Cook the bacon to your preferred doneness. I like it a little soft with some crunch. We do it in the oven on a baking sheet—no splatter, no babysitting. It’ll take about 20 to 30 minutes in a 350- to 375-degree oven. • Get a cast-iron or heavy pan hot on just over medium heat. If you have two, even better because you can make your own panini press. But one is fine; you can press it with a metal spatula and flip and press again. • Blend your mayo and mustard and slather it on your bread. Put a slice of cheese on either side. Put a generous helping of Flamingo Pink Pickled Red Onions on the top bun. • With a little of your bacon grease, heat up the thinly sliced pork quickly so you don’t dry it out, but it should be perfect. Remove to a plate because you need to be ready to assemble. • Layer pork and bacon cut in half on your buns and flip over the onion side on top. If your pan is dry, dab a little bacon grease on there to sear your sandwiches. You just want to melt the cheese and give a little yummy crunch on the bread. Since your pork is already hot, it should happen fairly quickly, but it’s now in your hands. Buen provecho—enjoy!

*Flamingo Pink Pickled Red Onions: 3–4 large red onions, sliced ¾–1 cup white vinegar 1½–2 cups sugar 2 tablespoons kosher salt (or 1 tablespoon table salt) 2 teaspoons red pepper flakes 1 bay leaf 4 cloves garlic, smashed 3–4 fresh thyme sprigs, whole (optional) • Cut onions in half, trim the root and end, then lay flat and slice against the grain about to ¼ inch thick. Set aside in a large enough bowl or plastic container until you stop crying; using a sharp knife will always help with this problem. Place the rest of the ingredients in a saucepot large enough to allow the ingredients to simmer and get to a short boil to dissolve and meld the flavors. They may expand and want to boil over, so give yourself enough room in the pot if they start to so you can catch it. It can be an ugly, sugary mess if you don’t. Be forewarned. Once that is ready, pour over your onions and let cool overnight. Your onions will be best the next day.

  

Graffiti Barbecue Sandwich with Smoked Mayo Courtesy of Graffiti

“This barbecue sauce and smoked mayo combines all of my favorite styles into one tasty sandwich. It has the tomato of Texas, the sweetness of Kansas City, the mustard of South Carolina and the mayonnaise of Alabama.”—Travis Mason, chef/owner, Graffiti Sandwich For the Pork: 1 pork shoulder salt and pepper 1 yellow onion, sliced 2 tablespoons olive oil 2 cans Dr. Pepper • Cube pork shoulder into 2-inch pieces and toss with salt and pepper. In a large cast-iron pot, sauté onion in olive oil until translucent, add pork and let brown for a minute on each side. Add 2 cans of soda, bring to a boil and then reduce heat to low. Cover and let simmer until the pork is falling apart, usually for about 2.5 hours. If the liquid starts to get low, add some water. Make sure that the flame isn’t too high: if the Dr. Pepper reduces too quickly, it will burn and taste horrible.

• At Graffiti, I sous-vide the pork shoulder. If you have a thermal immersion circulator, rub the pork with your favorite spices, vacuum seal and cook at 179 degrees for 16 hours. • Let pork cool at room temperature, then shred with hands to desired texture. Sauce: ½ yellow onion, diced 3 garlic cloves, minced ¼ red pepper, diced 2 tablespoons olive oil 3 cups ketchup ¼ cup cider vinegar ¼ cup Worcestershire sauce 2 tablespoons lemon juice 3–4 dashes hot sauce ¼ cup brown sugar ¼ cup stone ground mustard 1 teaspoon black pepper 2 teaspoons Old Bay 2 teaspoons granulated garlic ½ teaspoon kosher salt ¼ teaspoon onion powder • In a medium saucepan, sauté onion, garlic and pepper in olive oil until tender. Add remaining ingredients, stir well to combine and simmer for an hour. Mix some of the sauce with the pork and reserve the remaining barbecue sauce for the sandwich. Smoked Mayo:

2 cups prepared mayonnaise, either homemade or store bought 6 cloves roasted garlic ½ teaspoon *liquid smoke ¼ teaspoon Jacobsen’s sea salt ½ teaspoon black pepper • Combine all ingredients; stir well to incorporate. • *At Graffiti, I use a handheld cold smoker that I made out of an aquarium pump to infuse the mayonnaise with smoke. I don’t use liquid smoke, but the end result is about the same. For the Sandwich: • Toast the bun; it’s very important to toast the bread. Spread some barbecue sauce on one side and Smoked Mayo on the other side. Add pork and some pickles or slaw and enjoy!

   Graffiti Travis Mason had been cooking professionally for about twenty years prior to opening the Graffiti food cart in March 2013. “I used to own a restaurant in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. I have cooked in high-end restaurants in Oregon, Idaho, Montana,” Travis shares. “I was looking for a restaurant and couldn’t find what I was looking for, so I decided to build a cart.”

“The name Graffiti refers to street art; that’s what we’re doing with our sandwiches,” shares Travis. “I like to take traditional sandwiches and put my twist on them.” The smoked ham with spiced bacon and pimento cheese is Travis’s favorite item on his menu, he says, because it reminds him of his dad. But it’s the Da Nang Pork that is his bestseller: pork meatballs, cilantro, Vietnamese slaw, hoisin peanut butter and Sriracha mayo.

  

Smoky Caramel Grilled Cheese Courtesy of the Cheese Plate PDX

This fancy grilled cheese sandwich utilizes the salty and sweet flavors of sea salt, cheeses and caramel sauce. This recipe yields 4 sandwiches. 8 slices brioche bread 4 ounces fontina cheese, shredded 4 ounces goat cheese smoked sea salt 4 tablespoons caramel sauce 4 tablespoons butter, softened • Heat a large sauté pan or griddle on medium-low heat. Lay out 4 slices of bread for the bottoms. Spread 1 ounce of shredded fontina on each slice, then crumble 1 once of goat cheese on each. Sprinkle a pinch of smoked sea salt on each sandwich. Lay out the other 4 slices of bread for the tops and spread 1 ounce of caramel sauce on each. Put the tops and bottoms of the sandwiches together, caramel side down, and press together lightly. Spread about a half tablespoon of butter on each side of each sandwich and place sandwiches in the heated sauté pan or griddle. The butter should sizzle lightly; adjust heat if needed. • Placing a lid on top of the sandwiches will help melt the cheese. Grill for 3 to 4 minutes until bread is golden brown, then flip sandwiches and grill for

another 3 to 4 minutes. Depending on the size of the pan or griddle being used, you may only be able to grill 1 or 2 sandwiches at a time. You can keep grilled sandwiches warm on the stovetop near heat while other sandwiches are grilling. Cut in half and serve as soon as all sandwiches are grilled.

  

Sriracha Mix-a-Lot Courtesy of Fried Egg I’m in Love

This sandwich is great for breakfast, brunch, lunch or dinner. sourdough bread Havarti avocado tomato ham eggs Sriracha • Very simple. Butter and toast your bread on a flat pan. Put your cheese on the bread to allow it to melt. Add the avocado and tomato. In a separate pan, sear your ham and place it on the bread. Fry your egg and add it to the bread as well. Assemble your sandwich and add Sriracha to taste.

  

The Dirty Mo Courtesy of J Mo’s Sandwich Shack

The Dirty Mo is J Mo’s signature sandwich—so much so that he’s got it tattooed on his arm and written in stone on his license plates. 1 pound extra-lean ground beef 1 small onion, diced ½ teaspoon garlic salt 1½ teaspoons Italian seasoning ¾ teaspoon dried oregano ¾ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes 1½ tablespoons Worcestershire sauce cup half-and-half ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese ½ cup seasoned bread crumbs

4 French or sourdough rolls butter garlic, minced provolone cheese spaghetti pasta, cooked according to package instructions *J Mo’s Marinara parmesan fresh basil *J Mo’s Marinara (J Mo encourages you to use all of these ingredients to your personal taste preferences): olive oil white onion, diced fresh garlic, minced sea salt Italian seasoning oregano canned tomato sauce fresh tomatoes, diced • Heat pot and add olive oil to coat bottom of pot. Add onion and garlic. Sauté until onion starts to cook through; add salt to taste. Let cook for a few more minutes, then add Italian seasoning and oregano. Let cook for a few more minutes, then add tomato sauce and fresh diced tomatoes. Let simmer for at least 15 minutes; longer is better. Note: everything is to taste. You may want more onion and garlic or less. I would go with more! Building the Dirty Mo:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. • Place the beef into a mixing bowl and season with onion, garlic salt, Italian seasoning, oregano, red pepper flakes and Worcestershire sauce; mix well. Add the half-and-half, parmesan cheese and bread crumbs. Mix until evenly blended, then form into 1½-inch meatballs and place onto a baking sheet. Bake in the preheated oven until no longer pink in the center, 20 to 25 minutes. • Slice rolls and spread butter and minced garlic liberally and toast. Add sliced provolone when rolls are golden brown. Remove rolls when provolone is melted. • Add meatballs, pasta and J Mo’s Marinara. Top with parmesan and fresh chopped basil.

J Mo’s Sandwich Shack Jason Moreno came to Portland around 2003 with a job that quickly laid him off. “I was selling insurance before I opened my food cart, and I was married,” he shares. “I was unhappy and always wanted to go back to food. I was on the road five to six days a week, and I was miserable. My wife saw that. I hated my job and hated being away from my wife. My unhappiness wore her down, and she left our marriage in 2010 with no hint or preview. So at that point, I had some savings and decided to quit my job. Four or five months later, I was out of insurance and quickly looking for a cart or trailer to convert into a kitchen. A bunch of friends helped me gut it and turn it into a kitchen, and I’ve never been happier.” Jason’s love of cooking is hereditary. “You know, it was basically hanging around my mother and grandmother as a kid,” he says. “I found some 1950s cookbook in my grandmother’s basement when I was seven or eight and started making recipes out of that. I think the first thing was cinnamon toast. It was a child’s cookbook that was my mother’s when I was a kid, and it’s now framed in my living room. It encouraged me to start cooking.”

The Dirty Mo is his bestseller. “The Dirty Mo has morphed over the years from something cheap and basic into something that I have put a lot of heart and soul into—developing the meatballs, getting the right flavor with the marinara,” shares Jason. “It started out as cheap drunk food when I was young. Make a pot of spaghetti at the beginning of the week, and by the end of the week, it’s between two slices of garlic bread.” There’s a play on the name too. “I was originally going to call the shack Dirty Mo’s,’ says Jason. “J Mo is short for my name, Jason Moreno, and my nickname with my friends was Dirty Mo. My friends encouraged me not to call my food cart the Dirty Mo, but I did get a tattoo skull with a chef’s cap and chef’s knives with blood dripping off them and the license plate for the vehicle that says Dirty Mo. I’m all in with the Dirty Mo thing.” Looking back at his food cart journey, Jason has the following advice: “Follow your dreams. Don’t let anyone hold you back. If I could look back and see my wife was going to leave me, I would have told her I wanted to open the cart. Follow your dream and follow your passion.”

  

Uncle Mike’s Meatball Sub Courtesy of the Italian Market

Whether you want to make a batch for a big group or you want to eat some and freeze some, this recipe will make enough for 7 sandwiches. 4 slices white bread (or bread insides) 1½ cups milk 3 large eggs 1 clove garlic, minced 2½ tablespoons grated parmesan 1 teaspoon fennel seed 1½ tablespoons kosher salt 1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper 6 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped 1½ pounds ground chuck beef 1½ pounds ground pork canola oil *Tomato Sauce ½ cup fresh basil, chopped 7 8-inch rolls 7 slices provolone (preferably Belgioso Sharp Provolone)

• In a large bowl, soak ripped bread in milk until saturated. Add eggs, garlic, parmesan, fennel seed, salt and pepper. Blend well (we use a Vita-Prep, but a food processor would do too). Fold in parsley. Add beef and pork. Lightly fold and incorporate ingredients without overworking meat or warming much with hands. • Sear a small sample of meat in a skillet on high heat and taste for salt. Scoop meatballs with ice cream scooper and form into golf ball–sized meatballs. Line up meatballs on a sheet tray. Heat a large skillet with canola oil on high and sear meatballs all around in batches without overcrowding pan. Set aside all meatballs and finally add them all together to Tomato Sauce with chopped basil.

*Tomato Sauce: 1 yellow onion, minced 4½ cloves garlic, minced 1 bay leaf

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil salt and pepper, to taste 54 ounces crushed canned tomatoes 20 ounces water • Sweat onions, garlic and bay leaf in a large pot with olive oil over medium to low heat. Add salt and pepper. Add crushed tomatoes and water. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to simmer for at least 2 hours. Skim funk and foam from top of pot. How to Build Uncle Mike’s Meatball Sub: • Cut rolls in half lengthwise of the way through. Pull open rolls gently to leave crease intact. Place provolone across bottom half of roll. Toast in oven or broiler on high heat until cheese is melted and bread is golden brown. Remove from toaster and place meatballs on dry side of roll. Top with extra sauce and close. Cut in half. Serve.

  

The Carts’ Choice

Where the Cart Owners Eat Sometimes the best food cart recommendations come from within the food cart community. Although it’s hard for them to get out to eat at other carts when they are working the same long hours, the food cart entrepreneurs find time to support one another. I asked the food cart chefs where they liked to eat when they aren’t eating on their own trucks. They responded: The Cheese Plate PDX: Retrolicious, Gonzo, Tiffin Asha, Picnic, Egg Carton. Chowdah: Zenbu. The Egg Carton: Timber’s, the Cheese Plate PDX, the Angry Unicorn. 808 Grinds: The People’s Pig: phenomenal porchetta sandwich on a ciabatta roll with an arugula topping and roasted garlic spread. Fiji Indian Curry: Right now, I’ve only been to a few. I did eat at Taste of India in downtown, and I did like their food. The Cheese Plate PDX. Stumptown Dumplings. Fried Egg I’m in Love:

It’s too hard and unfair to decide. Some of the carts I like just because of the people that run them. The food at most of the carts I go to is all above average for what you’d expect from a cart. The Fried Onion: New Thai Blues. Garden Monsters: Stumptown Dumplings, Cultured Caveman. The Gaufre Gourmet: Mai Pho, Frying Scotsman, Viking Soul Food. Graffiti: My neighbors at El Gallo and my good friends at the Big Egg. The Italian Market: Viking Soul Food (previously featured in Trailer Food Diaries). Portland has a large Scandinavian population, and this cart combines that with solid comfort food. Definitely worth checking out! J Mo’s Sandwich Shack: Ramy’s Lamb Shack. Kargi Gogo: How can we name just one? Sideshow Eatery makes some delicious duck fat fries, pork belly sandwiches and “fancy” burgers. A Little Bit of Smoke serves up some of the most mouthwatering Carolina-style barbecue we’ve ever had. And Rolling Gourmet rolls up sushi and Asian fusion dishes that are amazing and an incredible value. Masala Pop: That is hard—so many good ones! My go-to is Wolf and Bear’s falafels that are so delicious and satisfying and a short stroll from where I live. My

other favorite is the Cheese Plate PDX for their heart and optimistic outlook! (They also feature our popcorn on some of their special cheese plates.) Olé Latte: Picnic Food Cart. PDX Six Seven One: SushiPDX. You can tell when the chef cares about his food. I can taste the freshness and the care they put into their food. Pizza Box: I Like Thai Food has been my favorite spot for affordable Pad Thai and Pad Ki Mao since I moved to Portland. Popcorn Publishers: Koi Fusion really rocks. Their bulgogi tacos are off the chart. Retrolicious: Olé Latte (Todd is a quality guy all the way around and amazingly talented—enjoys what he does and it shows). Before Lardo went to brick and mortar. Fried Egg I’m in Love; Ramy’s Lamb Shack. Smaaken Waffles: The part of town we live in, there aren’t any carts. There is a creperie we like, and Violetta had the most incredible turkey burger with blue cheese to die for. I miss them; they were my favorite. Flavor Spot in north Portland is another favorite. Stumptown Dumplings: There’s so many I haven’t tried yet. Potato Champion and Koi Fusion. Sugar Shop: Pupuseria la Miguelena, the Cheese Plate PDX and PDX Six Seven One.

Thrive Pacific NW: Mai Pho, Taco Peddlers, Tamale Boy. Tiffin Asha: The Cheese Plate PDX and the Italian Market.

Gourmet Street Food The gourmet street food offered by Portland food carts is dipped in street couture and cultural charm. Food is represented from Fiji, Georgia and Guam, as well as playing off the bounty of the Pacific Northwest. In this section, you’ll learn how to cook recipes from PDX Six Seven One, Fiji Indian Curry, Kargi Gogo, Chowdah, Pizza Box and Garden Monsters.

  

Chopped Grilled Chicken/Kelaguen Mannok Courtesy of PDX Six Seven One

This is the cart owner’s personal favorite item on his menu, as well as his bestselling recipe. It is served cold and yields 6–8 servings. 2 cups soy sauce 1½ cups cane vinegar 1 teaspoon ground black pepper 1 yellow onion, thinly sliced 2½ pounds chicken 4 cups green onions, sliced 1 cup yellow onion, diced small 1½ cups fresh coconut, grated 8 Thai Bird’s Eye chili peppers, stemmed and thinly sliced ¼ cup fresh lemon juice • Combine soy sauce, cane vinegar, ground black pepper and sliced yellow onion in a large bowl. Add chicken and cover bowl. Refrigerate for at least 8 hours or overnight to marinate. • Grill the chicken until cooked through. Arrange the chicken on a sheet pan and cool in refrigerator about an hour. Chop chicken into ½-inch cubes and place in a large mixing bowl.

• Add sliced green onions, diced yellow onion, fresh grated coconut, Thai Bird’s Eye chili peppers and lemon juice. Toss to combine. Refrigerate. Serve cold.

  

PDX Six Seven One Ed Sablan arrived in Portland in August 1993, just a few months after graduating from high school in Guam. “I was originally interested in opening up a restaurant,” shares Ed. “Starting up a food cart not only helped to keep costs down, but it was also a good way to introduce our food to people who have never tried food from Guam.” In 2003, Ed entered culinary school and received his associate’s degree from Western Culinary Institute’s Le Cordon Bleu Patisserie and Baking. He gained culinary expertise mixing, forming, proofing and baking various doughs, as well as making up sauces and creams and presenting multiple French pastries as the production manager at St. Honore Boulangerie. He also gained culinary experience at Heathman restaurant, Hilton Guam Resort and Spa and McMenamins Kennedy School. The Kelaguen Mannok (or chopped grilled chicken) is Ed’s personal favorite item on his menu, as well as his bestseller. It is served cold and spicy and contains chopped grilled chicken, onions, grated coconut, peppers and lemon. “I love it when people from the islands come to eat our food and it reminds them of home,” shares Ed. “My family, along with friends from Guam who live here in Portland and Vancouver, would get together often, and we’d always prepare Guam dishes. Beyond that, there was no outlet for people from Guam and the Mariana Islands to celebrate the food. The mission of PDX Six Seven One is to provide an outlet for enjoying Guamanian cuisine and hospitality while supporting environmental respect, promoting local food sources and showing appreciation for our customers and community.”

  

Green Jackfruit Courtesy of Fiji Indian Curry

Also known as khatar, green jackfruit is a delicacy in Fiji reserved for special occasions. One of the biggest fruits in the world, some have weighed in at eighty pounds. Although completely vegetarian, the jackfruit in this dish has a texture of tuna fish. 2 pounds young green jackfruit (fresh or canned; use a food processor to chop) 3–5 tablespoons olive oil ½ teaspoon cumin seeds 12 fenugreek seeds ½ teaspoon mustard seeds 1 medium-sized onion, finely diced 4–5 garlic cloves, chopped (can use food processor to chop) ½ teaspoon turmeric 2 tablespoons yellow curry powder or garam masala sea salt to taste handful of coriander leaves, chopped half a cup water naan or rice to serve • Use a food processor to chop your jackfruit. Heat up pan on medium heat and add olive oil. When the oil is hot, add cumin seeds, fenugreek seeds

and mustard seeds. Heat seeds for 1 minute, stirring continually. Add onion and garlic. Simmer for a minute or 2 until color changes and the aromatics become slightly translucent. Add turmeric and curry powder (or garam masala). Continue to cook another minute. Add chopped jackfruit and salt to taste. Cook all for 2 to 3 minutes. Add coriander leaves. Put lid on and let cook 15 more minutes. Add extra water as needed if the mixture sticks to the pan. Do not cook more than 19 minutes. Serve over rice or naan.

   Fiji Indian Curry Roshan Ber was an independent contractor in a delivery business prior to starting his food cart. “When I first came to the United States in 1997, I started cooking for my friends, and they all loved it. I had a dream to open a restaurant one day. But I started my delivery business. I guess sometimes dreams do come true, because now I’m in the food business,” Roshan shares. “I was having a problem with my vision at that time,” he told me. “I decided I didn’t want to do a job that required me to drive. When my dad was alive, he was a great chef in the Fiji Islands. He always told me, ‘You should learn how to cook: it’s in our blood.’” So Roshan found himself opening Fiji Indian Curry in November 2012. Aaron Nath is Roshan’s nephew and business partner. “He cooks most of the meat, and I do the most of the vegan cooking,” shares Roshan. “Our menu is mostly dairy free and gluten free since our recipes are native to Fiji. We make our own masala right away, and we will modify the spice according to your taste. We use fresh ingredients, always adjusting the spice, because overdoing it can make the food bitter if you put too much stuff in.” Traditionally only used on special occasions like prayer meeting or weddings, Jackfruit is a featured dish at Fiji Indian Curry. “It’s the biggest fruit in the world (a record of eighty pounds) that hangs on a tree. It stinks when it’s ripe. We use it when it’s still green before it stinks so it doesn’t have any smell, and then we add flavor. It has a meat texture; it’s something that you have never eaten before. When someone new comes to my food cart and wants jackfruit curry, they think it’s going to be sweet, but we tell them it is very savory and more vegetable like. We cook it and blend it in the food processor to make smaller chunks, which makes it easier to eat and mix with your meal or mix with rice. It tastes really good with roti (Fijian flatbread).” Because of his cooking style, Roshan actually converted to veganism. “I was eating a lot of meat every day, but since I was cooking so many vegan

meals, I became vegetarian, and now I’m vegan,” he explains. “None of my family believes that I’m vegan. None of my friends think I really am. When I go out with my friends, they are wondering where my chicken is. Even back home, my mom and my and sister don’t believe that I am vegan now.” Roshan says that becoming vegan was the biggest change in his life. “It was the customers coming and eating vegan; I wondered what was in the food that they liked so much. Seventy percent of my customers are vegan and vegetarian, so I began wondering what I was missing. I realized health was the main thing I was missing. I cook everything fresh with great care because it’s the same food that I like to eat.”

  

Khinkali (Stuffed Georgian Dumplings) Courtesy of Kargi Gogo

Khinkali are juicy and traditionally eaten by hand. Cutting into them with a fork will spill the juice (and is a true sign of an amateur!). Simply grab the dumpling by the nub on top and use it as a handle. Flip it over, take a bite, suck out some of the juice and devour the rest! Dough: 2½ cups flour 1 tablespoon kosher salt 1 cup water • In a large bowl or stand mixer, stir together 2½ cups flour and 1 tablespoon kosher salt. With your mixer or by hand, slowly pour in 1 cup of water, mixing continuously. Dough should not be overly wet, but feel free to use more water if needed. Once dough has formed, knead into a ball on a lightly floured surface. Place kneaded dough in a large bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to rest for at least 30 minutes. Meat Filling: ½ pound 85 percent lean ground beef ½ pound 85 percent lean ground pork 3 ounces fresh raw onion, finely grated 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

¼ cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped ¼ cup fresh cilantro, finely chopped *Spice Mixture 2½ cups water • In a large bowl, combine the ground beef, ground pork, grated onions, red wine vinegar, parsley, cilantro and Spice Mixture. Stir with a wooden spoon to combine. Slowly add water, stirring as you go. Keep adding water until the mixture is smooth and thin. • On a flat surface, roll out the dough until it is in the form of a sheet, approximately ¼ inch thick. Use a 3-inch biscuit cutter or top of a glass/cup to cut circles out of the sheet. Combine the leftover scraps, knead, roll into another sheet and cut circles. Repeat until the scraps are gone. With a rolling pin, roll each 3-inch dough circle into larger rounds, approximately 7 to 8 inches in diameter and a millimeter thick. • Place 1 heaping tablespoon of the meat mixture in the middle of one of the large dough rounds. Carefully fold the edges of the dough in a pleated fashion, gathering the top edge in your hand as you go. You should end up with accordion-style folds and a “nub” on top of the dumpling. Twist off the top part of the nub and discard, being careful to ensure that the dumpling is still sealed. • Heat a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil. Carefully drop the dumplings in the water, upside down, and stir immediately. Continue to stir to ensure they don’t get stuck to the bottom or sides of the pot. Boil for 10 minutes. • Using a slotted spoon or skimmer, remove the dumplings from the pot one at a time and place on a large serving platter. Dust them with black pepper. *Spice Mixture: 1 tablespoon kosher salt ½ teaspoon black pepper

½ teaspoon dill weed 1 teaspoon ground coriander 1¼ teaspoons ground caraway seed

Kargi Gogo Sean Fredericks and his wife, McKinze Cook, made their way from Iowa to Portland and opened their food cart in March 2013. “My aunt, uncle, cousins and their families have been in Portland for thirty years, and I have been coming to Portland for Christmases most of my life,” shares Sean. “From 2010 to 2012, McKinze and I served in the Peace Corps in the Republic of Georgia. When we returned, our bags and belongings were already packed. Instead of moving back to Iowa, we decided to explore somewhere new. Portland had everything we were looking for: a vibrant urban center, nearby natural attractions like mountains and the ocean, family connections and, of course, a great food scene.” McKinze shared more about their experience in Georgia that inspired their food cart menu: “We serve Georgian food, all of which we learned to love while serving in the Peace Corps in the Republic of Georgia,” she shares. “Food is an integral part of Georgian culture, and we found it was an easy way for us to connect with Georgians even before we knew much of the language. We lived with a host family our entire two years there, and our host mother was an excellent cook. We spent hours with her in the kitchen, making doughs, folding dumplings and learning the names of spices we’d never tasted before. We also spent time in other Georgian kitchens, including our friend’s Georgian restaurant. We explored the bazaar with our Georgian tutor, tried Georgian restaurants in our town as well as in every city we visited and ate our fill at the homes of generous neighbors and friends. So while neither of us are professionally trained, we went to Georgia as an avid home cook [Sean] and home baker [McKinze] and came back as fans of Georgian cuisine.”

“I could eat the Khachapuri every day,” says Sean. “In fact, I do. Khachapuri is the national dish of Georgia for a reason—it’s delicious. We take creamy Georgian sulguni cheese, mix in a touch of feta (to replicate the salty tang of Georgian village cheese), wrap it in a simple dough, roll it out to a nineinch round and cook it on a flattop grill until the cheese is gooey and melty and the crust is golden brown. Finish with a bit of butter, and you’re in for a heavenly treat.” McKinze’s current favorite item on their menu is Badrijani. “We take eggplant, slice it into strips and sauté it, then top it with a puree of crushed walnuts, garlic and Georgian spices,” she explains. “We fold it all together and top it with pomegranate seed. They are unique, flavorful and, for a vegetable lover like me, delicious!” The Khachapuri, Khinkali and Badrijani all rank as bestsellers. Khinkali are Georgian dumplings. “We stuff them with a mixture of ground beef, ground pork, grated onions and Georgian spices,” McKinze explains. “Each dumpling is hand rolled in the traditional Georgian way and then boiled. The dumplings are flavorful and slightly juicy and require eating with your hands so you can drink out the juice as you eat. It was shortly after we moved in to our host family’s home in Georgia that our host mother offered her daughter and me a Khinkali dough lesson. She has a small hand mixer but prefers making dough by hand, so the three of us started mixing the flour, water and salt together by hand, little by little. It’s easy for the dough to be too wet or too dry, and out of the three of us, only my host mother’s dough came out right. Still, we had fun being in the kitchen together and, later, enjoying fresh watermelon with our dumplings. Later, I learned to make the dough on my own, and my host mother would tell her friends how I was becoming a Georgian girl because I could make dough without her help!” Both Sean and McKinze had worked in the food industry, but most of their professional experience had been in other fields. Before they joined the Peace Corps, Sean was the executive director of the Englert Theatre in Iowa City, Iowa, a historic nonprofit live performance venue. “At the Englert, I was responsible for leading a team that turned the theater around from a struggling operation saddled with debt and operating losses to a profitable business with a

budget of nearly $1 million,” he explained. “Prior to my time at the Englert, I was the director of marketing for West Music Company, one of the nation’s largest retail and wholesale musical instrument dealers. I have a master’s of business administration from the University of Iowa Tippie College of Business.” McKinze is passionate about community building and has spent the last decade promoting volunteerism, civic engagement and economic development in Iowa. Most recently, McKinze served as the director of member services for the Iowa City Area Chamber of Commerce. In this role, she was responsible for coordinating the recruitment and retention strategy for over one thousand member businesses. Her greatest satisfaction in this position came from connecting small business owners with community resources and assisting them in building mutually beneficial relationships. McKinze also helped launch and raise funds for the 10,000 Hours Show, a youth volunteerism effort that is still active in the Midwest today. She holds a BA in anthropology and American studies from the University of Iowa. The couple wanted to start their own business and, in particular, a food business. “As we explored our various post–Peace Corps options, it became clear that starting some kind of a Georgian food business was the natural thing to do,” shares Sean. “First of all, we truly came to love the food of Georgia and the traditions that surround it. Secondly, there is very little awareness of Georgian food in the United States, which is amazing for a country whose identity is so closely intertwined with its cuisine. We thought that opening a Georgian food business would be an excellent opportunity to share Georgian culture with Americans (which, in fact, is one of the stated goals of Peace Corps). We have found it incredibly rewarding to share what we came to love about the country. Finally, because opening a food cart requires relatively little startup capital and Portland’s food cart culture is so vibrant, starting Kargi Gogo as a food cart became the manifestation of our ambitions and unique circumstances.” McKinze said they remember the moment they decided to open a Georgian food business. “We were in our room in our host family’s home, brainstorming

potential food-oriented endeavors,” she says. “Our host mother called us in to the kitchen for an afternoon snack. On Saturdays, the kitchen tended to be in use all day, as we ate small meals here and there. On the table was a stack of four to five khachapuris—Georgian cheese breads—fresh off the stove. As we sat down, she took off the top bread, buttered it and sliced it into four pieces. The cheese oozed out, the steam rose from the hot, fresh bread and Sean and I looked at each other and knew. It has to be Georgian food! “The biggest compliment for us is when a Georgian loves our food. That, after all, is our intent—to share authentic Georgian food with Americans—and Georgians can vouch for the authenticity. We have several Georgian regulars who visit our cart to have their fill of food from their home country. One in particular offers pieces of his Khachapuri to people on the street considering our menu. He says, ‘This is the best food in the world! Trust me, I drive up from Salem for this food! Here, eat a piece of mine, and then you will want to order your own!’ And nine times out of ten, it works!” Kargi Gogo means “good girl” in Georgian. “It’s a term of endearment you hear often, given to women of all ages,” McKinze shares. “In our host family, our host father would always tell our host mother she was a ‘kargi gogo’ if she made a particularly excellent meal. From there, we developed our logo and design scheme of the cart. Our logo is a cartoon of a Georgian girl with the traditional dark braided hair, Georgian flag bow and a big smile. “All our spices (excluding salt and pepper) come from Georgia, giving it its unique flavor. Some of our spices—like utskho suneli (exotic spice)—are only grown in the Caucasus Mountains,” shares McKinze. She continues, “We are extremely thankful for the amazing support we’ve received from Georgians. From the day we launched our website, we’ve received e-mails and messages from Georgians all over the world wishing us well and passing along their congratulations. We recognize that we are representing Georgia to many people who have never had any experience with it before, and we take that very seriously.”

  

Northwest Corn Chowdah Courtesy of Chowdah

Chowdah cart owner Chris says, “Today’s soup is always better tomorrow. Any soup or sauce that you make, cook and cool in the same day and serve it tomorrow.” 1 small–medium yellow onion, diced 2 medium carrots, peeled and diced 3–4 stalks celery, diced ¼ cup vegetable oil for cooking 2 medium-sized bay leaves ½ teaspoon celery seed 2 teaspoons coarse ground black pepper 2 teaspoons dried thyme 2 medium red potatoes, skin on and diced in ½-inch cubes 2 cups chicken stock, approximately (more for thinner chowdah, less for thicker chowdah) 2 16-ounce cans creamed corn ¾ pound frozen corn (most bags come in 1-pound sizes) 1 cup *heavy cream or half-and-half ½ teaspoon ground sage ½ teaspoon granulated garlic ½ teaspoon granulated onion

½ pound smoked salmon cooked lump crab, for garnish toasted hazelnuts, crushed for garnish chopped fresh chives, for garnish • Sauté onion, carrots and celery on medium-high heat in a stock pot with oil, bay leaves, celery seed, ground black pepper and dried thyme until onions are translucent, stirring frequently, approximately 10 to 15 minutes depending on your heat source. Avoid onions turning brown. • Cook potatoes separately in the chicken stock uncovered. Start with cold chicken stock, and once the potatoes come to a boil, test for softness approximately 5 minutes after boil. Set a plate in the fridge ahead of time. When the potatoes are done, strain and place them on the cold plate to stop the cooking process. Cooling the potatoes immediately will help avoid a mushy soup. After you strain the potatoes, save chicken stock to put into the soup. • Add chicken stock to the cooked carrot, onion and celery mixture, bringing everything to a boil. Add creamed corn, frozen corn, *cream, sage, granulated garlic and granulated onion. Immediately bring heat down to low to medium heat to avoid scorching. Simmer 15 to 20 minutes. Add smoked salmon in cubes or chunks and cooked potatoes. Bring soup to your finished temperature. (The salmon and potatoes are introduced in the end to maintain integrity and avoid either disintegrating into mush.) Adjust with additional chicken stock to your liking. If the soup is too thick, adding chicken stock will thin it out. • Garnish with a few tablespoons of lump crab, crushed and toasted hazelnuts and chopped fresh chives. *Note: If you’re using milk instead of heavy cream or half-and-half, add it at the very end to avoid curdling.

   Chowdah Originally from Massachusetts, Chris Langley lived in New England for thirty-three years. “My wife is from Tigard, Oregon. I met her in New Hampshire. When she brought me home for Christmas, I saw there was no winter in the Portland area. After so many harsh winters in New England, I liked the weather and the people in Oregon. We have been here since 2005,” shares Chris.

He was initially interested in a brick and mortar concept, but once he realized the difference in overhead, he decided to move forward with the

Chowdah cart and opened in February 2011. “The steam rolled really quickly when I realized how soon I could put together a food cart without having a huge lease over my head. I could scrap it and sell it for parts if I needed a quick out.” “The New England Clam Chowdah is the menu item that launched the whole thing,” shares Chris. “When I first started, soup carts weren’t overdone. I wanted something unique that also represented me. We dabbled around with some weird names, but the chowdah is what I’ve always made. I am confident that I can produce the best chowdah in this city, and it represents who I am and where I’m from. It sticks out like a sore thumb with people from Maine to Jersey that say ‘chowdah.’ ‘Is this the real good chowdah?’ ‘This is the wicked good chowdah.’ My chowdah provides comfort food from back home in the Northeast that you can’t get everywhere.” When it’s not chowder weather, Chris’s Philly cheese steak and Italian cold cut sub are his bestsellers. Chris attributes the core of his cooking abilities to his mother and grandmother. “They raised me,” he says. “I remember wanting to learn how to make chocolate chip cookies at ten or eleven years old. I would help my mom, but I would also make them on my own without them around. My grandmother showed me how to make chowdah. She made hers thin with condensed milk and whole baby clams. I improved upon it as I learned more about cooking. Big holidays were always interesting, and I wanted to know how everything was made in addition to the football games going on.”

  

Pumpkin Curry Courtesy of Fiji Indian Curry

This is one of Roshan’s bestselling dishes at his Fiji Indian Curry cart. 3 teaspoons olive oil 1 small onion, chopped 5 cloves garlic, chopped (can use food processor) 5 curry leaves ½ teaspoon cumin seeds ½ teaspoon mustard seeds ½ teaspoon fenugreek seeds (don’t use too much, as it can be bitter) ½ teaspoon turmeric 1 teaspoon curry powder 5 pounds pumpkin, peeled and chopped salt, to taste ½ cup water, if needed ½ cup cilantro leaves, chopped for garnish rice, for serving • Heat a pot on medium-high heat. Add olive oil, onion, garlic, curry leaves and all seeds. Stir for 2 minutes. Add turmeric and curry powder and stir for 1 minute. Add pumpkin and salt and stir. Cover and let cook slowly for 8 to 10 minutes.

• If you see liquid released from the pumpkin, let the pumpkin cook in its own liquid. If liquid is not released, add ½ cup of water. Let cook for 18 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. When pumpkin is cooked, it should look mushy. Add cilantro leaves and stir to achieve desired consistency. Serve with rice.

  

Shrimp Fritters/Boñelos Uhang Courtesy of PDX Six Seven One

This recipe yields about 15 fritters. ½ pound shrimp ½ pound corn ¼ pound peas and carrots 3 ounces all-purpose flour ½ teaspoon salt ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper ½ teaspoon baking powder 1 ounce evaporated milk 1 egg 1–2 quarts peanut oil for deep frying • Combine shrimp, corn, peas and carrots, all-purpose flour, salt, ground black pepper and baking powder. Toss to ensure the shrimp, corn, peas and carrots are evenly coated with the dry ingredients. • Combine evaporated milk with egg in a separate container. Whisk. Pour evaporated milk and egg mixture over the rest of the ingredients. Using a spatula, mix well. • Heat oil in a deep fryer or large pot to 375 degrees. Slowly drop a heaping tablespoon of batter into the hot oil. Fry until golden brown (about 3

minutes). Remove from the oil and drain on a paper towel.

  

Spinach Salad with Warm Bacon Dressing Courtesy of Pizza Box

With just a few simple ingredients and not much time, you can create this gourmet salad. This recipe is for one salad, so modify as needed to adjust for your guests or family. handful baby spinach approximately 2 ounces olive oil 2 ounces bacon 2 ounces caramelized onion 1.5 ounces balsamic vinegar 1 large roma tomato, diced 2 ounces chevre (goat cheese) freshly ground black pepper, to taste • Place a large handful of baby spinach in a mixing bowl. Warm olive oil in a sauté pan, add bacon and cook over low heat until the fat from the bacon has rendered (to where the white fat has melted into grease). Add caramelized onion and balsamic vinegar and set aside. Dice one large roma tomato into bitesized chunks and crumble 2 ounces of chevre. Add both to the bowl of spinach. • Whisk the warm dressing together and pour over the spinach. Toss the ingredients together with tongs until the goat cheese has melted and covers the

spinach leaves. Top with more crumbled goat cheese and freshly ground black pepper.

  

The Loch Ness Monster Courtesy of Garden Monsters

This salad uses local steelhead fish to add a little protein. 1 head iceberg lettuce, chopped into 1- by 1-inch cubes 1 head Romaine lettuce, chopped into 1- by 1-inch cubes 1 medium red onion, diced into ¼-inch pieces 1 roma tomato, diced into ¼- to ½-inch cubes 1 ounce Garlic Black Pepper Almonds 1 ounce sweetened dried cranberries 2–3 tablespoons coconut oil, for cooking 3½ ounces fresh Columbia River steelhead water, for cooking 2 ounces creamy balsamic dressing (or balsamic vinaigrette) 2 ounces sliced water chestnuts • Take one medium-large handful each of iceberg and Romaine lettuce and lay evenly in a bowl. • Take a small handful of diced red onion and sprinkle evenly over greens. Then take a small handful of cubed tomato and sprinkle evenly over greens. Next sprinkle premade Garlic Black Pepper Almonds and sweetened dried cranberries evenly over greens. Place all contents in refrigerator.

• Bring pan, skillet or griddle to medium-high heat, coat with 1 tablespoon coconut oil cover and allow to cook for 3 minutes. Flip the steelhead, drip approximately 1 teaspoon of coconut oil on top, drizzle with small amount of water (for steam), cover and cook for 2 minutes. • Remove salad contents from refrigerator. Take 2 ounces creamy balsamic dressing and coat all toppings evenly. Chop steelhead into approximately 1-inch pieces, spread over salad with sliced water chestnuts, toss and enjoy!

  

The Paul Bunyan Courtesy of Garden Monsters

This hearty salad is full of meat and potatoes and topped with blue cheese. 2 medium baby red potatoes, diced into 1- by 1-inch cubes coconut oil, for cooking 1 head iceberg lettuce, chopped into 1- by 1-inch cubes 1 head Romaine lettuce, chopped into 1- by 1-inch cubes 1 red bell pepper, chopped into 1- by 1-inch cubes 1 medium red onion, diced into ¼-inch pieces 3½ ounces grass-fed steak 1 piece bacon 2 ounces blue cheese dressing • Coat baby red potatoes with coconut oil, season to taste and bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees. Remove pan, toss potatoes and cook for 10 additional minutes. • Take one medium-large handful each of chopped iceberg and Romaine lettuces and lay evenly in a bowl. Spread one small handful of chopped red pepper evenly over greens. Sprinkle a small handful of diced red onion evenly over greens. Place all contents in the refrigerator.

• Cut steak into bite-sized pieces, place onto griddle and cook for 2 minutes. Place bacon on griddle simultaneously and cook for 2 minutes with bacon press on top. Flip both bacon and steak and cook for 2 additional minutes. Remove bacon from heat, cut into chunks and place next to steak pieces. • Take a handful of cooked baby red potatoes and add to the meat. Remove contents from refrigerator, take approximately 2 ounces of bleu cheese dressing and coat evenly over all toppings. Toss the meat and potato mixture together over heat for 20 to 30 seconds, spread over salad, toss and enjoy!

  

Garden Monsters Kyle Hulings randomly lost his job one day after working for Yahoo for six years. “I was making really good money but wasn’t all that happy,” shares Kyle. “I didn’t go to college, but they paid me well. When I lost my job, it felt meant to be. I was forty and didn’t know where my life was going with them. I woke up a month later with an idea in my head and knew what I was meant to be doing.” But as Kyle began making preparations to open a restaurant, he fell short on financing. “I went to my bank and credit union with my plan and kept hitting roadblocks,” he says. “I’ve never been big into food carts; I had only been to them at one o’clock in the morning after bars.” So Kyle worked with several of his best friends and ultimately launched Garden Monsters in February 2013 with the hopes that it would eventually become a restaurant.

The Paul Bunyan is Kyle’s favorite salad on the menu. It is a grass-fed beef and potato salad that he pairs with his grandma’s blue cheese dressing. The

Hercules is his bestseller. It contains grilled chicken or grilled steak, baby spinach and iceberg lettuce, artichoke hearts, black olives, feta, red onion, green peppers, shredded carrots, pepperoncinis, sliced cucumber, diced roma tomatoes, pita chips and your choice of dressing (their signature oil and vinegar is recommended).

  

Local Bounty

How Carts Utilize the Pacific Northwest Portland food cart owners are proud of using locally grown and sustainably raised food products, and with good reason. They have a bounty of options to work with regarding earth-friendly practices and foods. I asked the food cart owners what their eco-friendly practices are as well as their favorite local ingredient. They responded: A Cajun Life: Given our menu, local just isn’t really an option. We do, however, use Oregon crawfish when they are in season for crawfish boils since the season is opposite Louisiana’s. The Cheese Plate PDX: Cheese! We support local businesses. We source our food locally or we make it ourselves. Chowdah: I’ll go salmon. It’s a pretty stereotypical pick, but there are so many great varieties. In my Corn Chowdah, I use local corn, Dungeness crab, hazelnuts and all the local stuff. Salmon—gravlox smoked salmon, candied salmon, toss grilled salmon on the salad—that’s the one for me here from this region. If I take one from back home, it would be the clam or the lobsta. The Egg Carton: Berries! I love Oregon berries. In the summer, we do seasonal specials with berries. Our customers are always excited for that to come back around.

Anything food waste goes to our chickens at home (yes, we have bacon-fed chicken eggs at home). Anything our chickens won’t eat becomes compost. We use cage-free eggs and buy our meat from local butchers. 808 Grinds: We shop at places that carry regional food, but we tend to use the best ingredients for our cuisine. For example, our chicken is not local, but it’s great quality chicken. We get it at a good price; therefore, we can put that savings on to our customers and keep our prices low. As far as utilizing local companies, our plateware and that kind of stuff. Local companies for our graphics. Fiji Indian Curry: We don’t use many local ingredients in our cooking; our spices are coming from Fiji. I do shop local in Oregon. My onions and potatoes are Oregon-grown. The Fried Onion: We use bread from the local Alessio Baking Company and Secret Aardvark sauces. Garden Monsters: I love the local high-quality meat I use—as much organic as possible, but my menu is so big it’s impossible—we take a lot of pride in our beef, grass-fed from Painted Hills not far from here. The Gaufre Gourmet: Bacon…everybody loves bacon! But seriously, it would be the fresh berries at the peak of the season. We top waffles with all kinds of berries; they are a great match. Graffiti: We serve amazing local meats, and our bread is delivered daily from a local bakery. Carleton Farms pork shoulder—we use a ridiculous amount of it

every day. We sous-vide it, braise it and smoke it. It’s my favorite cut of meat from my favorite pork producer. The Italian Market: We are very proud of our local bread, made by Alessio Bakery. Last summer, we flew out to Portland from Philly with carry-ons filled with just rolls: Lucio’s and Amoroso’s, two different styles but both Philadelphia musthaves. We met with half a dozen bakers and presented them with our East Coast rolls and asked them if they could re-create these for us. Our current baker, Dean Chiotti, nailed it. Sometimes East Coast transplants come by the cart and immediately ask what bread we are using. Other East Coast shops around town actually have Amoroso’s flown in! When we try and tell them about the bread, they always scold us for not having the good stuff flown in from back home until they try our bread. It’s fantastic, and what’s better than having custom rolls baked and delivered fresh every day twenty blocks away that remind you of home three thousand miles away? When we get our bread delivered every week, we really make sure to use it all. A twenty-four-inch roll will be used for three sandwiches, but we also toss the bread ends into our salads. We rip out a chunk of the middles of our rolls for the binder that makes our meatballs. We also recycle and compost just like when we are home, and all of our packaging is compostable. We have recently upgraded our gray water tank to hold more wastewater. This cuts down on pickups and gasoline burning from our water removal company. We’d like to think we throw away virtually no food because we are busy enough to be selling whatever we can prepare each week. That feels great! J Mo’s Sandwich Shack: I buy my produce from the local produce market. I know he gets his produce from local farmers. Kargi Gogo: We are proud to use all-natural Painted Hills ground beef and all-natural Carlton Farms ground pork in our dumplings. Not only does the meat taste

excellent, it’s also supporting local farmers. Our Khachapuri (cheese bread) is vegetarian, and our Lobiani (bean and onion bread), Badrijani (eggplant, garlic and walnut rolls) and Tomato and Cucumber Salad are all vegan. The rolls and salad are also gluten free. We are proud supporters of GO Box, a local business providing reusable to-go containers to Portland food carts. We recycle and reuse whenever possible. Masala Pop: We are limited in terms of sourcing local ingredients. Our popcorn comes from an organic family farm in the Sacramento area, though I would love to find a local source. Since sustainability is all the work I did previous to trying to build a popcorn empire, I have really struggled with packaging. I have been told that I have done more research around packaging than most people do, and after exhausting all the options, I came to the conclusion that currently, there really isn’t a great option for popcorn that does not compromise the freshness of the product. For now, my solution is trying to incentivize people to invest in a recyclable or reusable aluminum tin by offering 50 percent off refills and punch cards for free refills. Our cart is also bike powered, and we use it for events, famers’ markets and deliveries. Moberi: Kale. So hot right now. Kale. I use it in everything! All of our to-go cups, lids and straws are 100 percent compostable. We also offer mason jars for customers that choose to eat on site. PDX Six Seven One: Saturdays usually provide me with time to offer other specials. Sometimes I will stop at the local farmers’ market and pick up seasonal vegetables and prepare them in a spicy coconut milk sauce. Other times, I will visit Flying Fish Company for some sustainably caught seafood to offer my customers. Salmon tastes the freshest in the Pacific Northwest. I like to feature it in a ceviche-style dish I offer as a Saturday special. All my paper products and utensils are compostable. I use real dishes for customers who dine in our food

cart pod. We compost as much as we can in the cart. On our menu, we really like to promote local food sources. Pizza Box: We often feature a special with locally sourced, organic ingredients and are always happy to accommodate vegan and vegetarian diets. I think Carlton Farms Heritage Pork is fantastic, and I try to incorporate it wherever possible. We compost and recycle just about everything. Popcorn Publishers: I love Oregon strawberries. Maybe I could figure out a way to incorporate them with kettle corn in the future. Strawberries, some of which are native to Oregon, make a great groundcover (keeping out pesky weeds) and are just ridiculously tasty. We believe wholeheartedly that sustainability is a holistic concept, something that must have material as well as ethical foundations and recognized as having social as well as economic implications. We strive to produce our product using not only wholesome and healthful products but wholesome business practices as well, coupled with a genuine care for the customer. Retrolicious: We grow our own herbs for our recipes and dry them for a stockpile. We buy peppers, tomatoes, peaches, etc. from Green Acres farmers’ market. We purchase local items over items from far away. As a food truck, we don’t have the buying power the restaurants have. Smaaken Waffles: We have a bread maker out here called Dave’s Killer Bread. Their onehundred-mile bread they were getting local wheat—amazing opportunity to get to know the people who are growing our main product. The farmer himself comes up and delivers a wonderful burlap sack full of flour. We are buying at a decent price. They do worm composting. Worms eat the compost, and their poop is called black gold. These farmers have massive poop collectors for the

worms and mix it with water and spray it in their fields with massive combines. They are smart farmers making their own fertilizer and doing their very best. Green Willow Grains. To make your waffles. They are an organic supplier and really involved in their community, gives us a connection to the actual farmers. It’s cool to get to know these people that starts with them hand milling the grain and ends with us. The farmers’ wives go back and hand-sift a second time with a lot of intention to create a really good product. Our meats, sausage and bacon/pork comes from Pendleton, Oregon, in the high desert. It’s not organic, but they raise them humanely and ethically and are processed in a humane way. Our coffee roaster is located about an hour outside Portland outside the mountains of Mount Saint Helens, Millars. He is one of three people in the U.S. who is using old-fashioned wood-roasting coffee drums. So they live on eight acres, and they don’t cut down anything new—just use fallen timber and bring it back. There’s a video of his family bringing the timber back in a Radio Flyer wagon with his son. He hand cuts and mixes batches from Africa and South America and roasts them in a wood roaster. I’ve drank espresso all my life; it is the best I’ve ever had my whole life. It has an earthy, smoky scent and taste that is exquisite. I love Campfire Coffee and So Organic. Stumptown Dumplings: We do offer special items that we will make using local ingredients. Sugar Shop: We go kind of farmers’ market crazy. Marionberries, strawberries, blueberries, but marionberries are our favorite. They are delicious and have a short season (two or three weeks in mid-July and early August). We’ve been making marionberry ice cream. One of the main reasons we chose to move to the pod where we are now is that it’s the only completely compostable pod in Portland. Everything that comes out of our cart is compostable or reusable. Thrive Pacific NW: Leafy greens. We sauté ’em up!

Tiffin Asha: I use a lot of farmers’ markets to buy my produce and get inspired. Since I’m fairly new, I’m just starting weekly specials in being able to use the seasonal products from the farmers.

Sweets Portland is home to several carts that are dessert-centric. Some focus on cupcakes, while others specialize in pies. Then there are some carts that do it all. The cart-made sweet treats in Portland please anyone’s sweet tooth.

  

Chevre Mousse Courtesy of the Gaufre Gourmet

This decadent recipe yields approximately 7 cups of mousse. Top a Buttermilk Biscuit Waffle (see ) with about 3 ounces of this Chevre Mousse and drizzle with Balsamic Caramel Sauce (see ) and toasted pistachios for our delicious Milk and Honey waffle. 11-ounce log chevre or similar fresh goat cheese, chilled 1 teaspoon salt 1 quart heavy whipping cream • In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the chilled goat cheese and salt. Whisk with whisk attachment until broken up. Slowly add the cream in a steady stream while mixing on a medium-high setting. Once all the cream is added, continue mixing until stiff peaks form.

  

Lemon Cake Courtesy of Sugar Shop

This delicious Lemon Cake can be served with either a tart lemon glaze (lemon juice, powdered sugar, lemon zest and limoncello to taste) or a fresh fruit compote of your choice. Get creative with it! Some of our favorite compotes for this recipe are cranberry riesling, blueberry muscat and marionberry ginger. 3 cups all-purpose flour 2 cups unsalted butter 3 cups granulated sugar 8 eggs 8 tablespoons lemon zest 8 tablespoons lemon juice 1 teaspoon salt • Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease two 9-inch cake pans and line the bottom with parchment paper. • Sift flour into a bowl and set aside. Beat butter in an electric mixer with the paddle attachment until soft, add sugar and beat until light and fluffy (about 3 minutes). Whisk together eggs, lemon zest, lemon juice and salt in a separate bowl. Alternately add the flour and liquid and mix until smooth and creamy.

• Divide the batter between both cake pans and bake for about 20 minutes. Cakes are done when a toothpick inserted in the center is clean and top is springy to the touch.

  

Snickerdoodles Courtesy of Retrolicious

“It’s lunch time! Kimmy fondly remembers row upon row of lunch boxes lined up against the school building, her metal Brady Bunch lunch box among them, baking for hours in the toasty Southern California sunshine. By midday, a sun-marinated tuna salad sandwich, baggie of grapes and thermos of milk to bacteria-filled perfection was hastily consumed before speeding off to recess. The highlight of the bounty was a scrumptious and freshly baked cookie, warmed by the sun, that brought the whole lunch experience to a blissful culmination. This recipe is an ode to a timeless lunch box favorite— pillowy, cinnamony and soft—that evokes the fondest memories of childhood days on the playground.”—Roy Swope A few tips as you begin baking: Use a good-quality flour such as King Arthur, Bob’s Red Mill or good old Gold Medal. Have all ingredients at room temperature; it helps the ingredients to blend smoothly and bake evenly. Unsalted butter is preferable; you can control the salt in the recipe better. If no unsalted butter is available, you can adjust to three-quarters of the requested amount of salt. In this recipe, salt would be reduced to ¼ teaspoon. Scale or weigh out ingredients for more consistent results. You can pick up an inexpensive model that will work reasonably well at your favorite hardware store. Restaurant supply stores will have it, but you’ll have to bake a metric ton to justify the cost! Lastly, purchase a few good cafeteria-style “dishers” (scoops) at a restaurant supply or your good-quality kitchen store.

Snickerdoodles: 36 ounces sifted flour 2 teaspoons cream of tartar 2 teaspoons baking soda 1 teaspoon salt (iodized or fine sea salt) 1 teaspoon cinnamon 4 large eggs, room temperature (If eggs are smaller, add 1 tablespoon almond extract. You’ll notice the difference; however, they are nuts, so tell people.) 1 pound unsalted butter, room temperature 3 cups sugar 2 tablespoons vanilla extract Rolling Sugar: 1 cup dark brown sugar 1 cup granulated sugar 2 tablespoons cinnamon (I like a lot of cinnamon, but you can reduce it to your taste) 1 teaspoon salt (more or less depending on your taste) • Optional: If you have access to a coarse crystal sanding sugar, sprinkle immediately as cookies come out of the oven; it offers a nice texture contrast with the soft cookie and a little shimmery bling! • Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Sift together flour, tartar, soda, salt and cinnamon and set aside. Crack eggs into a small bowl, making sure they are shell free, and set aside. • In the bowl of a standing mixer with the paddle attachment, cream/blend together butter and sugar until smooth, approximately 1 minute. Scrape the bowl down with a long spatula and add the almond (if necessary) and vanilla extracts; blend again until smooth. Scrape down again as needed, and with

mixer running on low, add eggs one at a time until fully incorporated, scraping bowl yet again after all the eggs have been added. • With mixer running on low, add flour mixture in 3 even batches and mix only until dough is formed. Once formed, stop the mixer, remove the paddle and bowl from the stand and lightly blend by hand, making sure the mixture is even and smooth. If you overmix/overwork the dough, you will have tough cookies (no pun intended). • Select a disher/scoop depending on the size of cookie you want and roll the dough ball in the Rolling Sugar mixture, coating the ball thoroughly. Place dough balls on a parchment-lined baking sheet, spacing evenly, so they will not connect together during baking. • You may want to line only a few cookies at first and bake a test pan to get your spacing right. Place cookies in preheated oven and bake for 12 minutes. Test for doneness by pressing lightly on the edge of the cookie; if firm to the touch and the center has risen slightly but it is still soft, remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack. Sprinkle with a little more Rolling Sugar if desired and gussy up with coarse crystal sanding sugar if you have it. • Pour a glass of cold milk and enjoy!

  

Molasses Spice Cookies Courtesy of Sugar Shop

With this cookie’s fall flavors, it’s the perfect treat to have in your cookie jar. 2¼ cups all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons baking soda 1 teaspoon ginger 1½ teaspoons cinnamon ¾ teaspoon cloves ¾ cup unsalted butter ½ cup packed brown sugar ½ cup sugar 1 egg, room temperature 1 teaspoon vanilla extract cup molasses ½ teaspoon salt • Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Sift together the flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon and cloves and set aside. Beat the butter in an electric mixer with the paddle attachment until soft, then add both sugars and beat until light and fluffy (about 3 minutes). Add the egg and vanilla and mix on low until combined. Add the molasses and salt and mix until combined, making sure to

scrape down the bowl as needed between additions. Add all the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. • Scoop the dough into slightly larger than tablespoon-sized balls. We use an ice cream scoop, but a spoon will work just as well. Roll the cookies in sugar and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. • Bake for about 10 minutes, or until edges are set but center is still puffy and moist.

  

Sugar Shop Autumn Burns from New Mexico and Shannon Scully from California went to culinary school together in Oregon, where they became best friends and business partners. “We were both working various jobs and didn’t get to be as creative as we would have liked. We got together over margaritas on Cinco de Mayo and decided we wanted to open a food cart,” shares Autumn. The pair opened Sugar Shop in August 2012.

The Chocolate Honey Mousse is Autumn’s favorite thing on their menu, while Shannon loves their Lemon Bars. But it’s the Salted Caramel Brownies that are their bestsellers. The Molasses Cookies are another menu favorite that were inspired by Autumn’s family. “As a kid, we would visit family in Mississippi, and that’s where I fell in love with the molasses cookies,” Autumn shares. “As I got older, I called family to see how Aunt Leona made her molasses cookies.

“One unique thing about us,” shares Autumn, “is that we are the only dessert cart in Portland that doesn’t specialize in one dessert (pies or cupcakes, for example). Being in culinary school together, we were always in a group together. We met and became friends over food, so it seems silly for us not to have a business devoted to food.”

  

Peppered Peanut Popcorn Brittle with Chia Seeds Courtesy of Masala Pop

This unique dessert makes 20 servings. 4 quarts freshly popped corn 1 cup light brown sugar ½ cup agave ½ cup butter ½ teaspoon salt ½ teaspoon baking soda ¼ teaspoon black pepper 1 teaspoon cinnamon pinch or two cayenne pepper (optional) 1 cup peanuts, toasted 1 tablespoon chia seeds • Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil or a silicone baking sheet and set aside. Put the popcorn in a large bowl. • In a heavy 2-quart saucepan, combine the brown sugar, agave, butter and salt. Stir constantly over medium heat until the mixture comes to a boil; allow it to boil for 5 minutes without stirring. Remove the pan from the heat; stir in the baking soda, black pepper, cinnamon and cayenne if using.

• Pour the mixture over the popcorn, add peanuts and chia seeds and toss to combine. Transfer the popcorn mixture to the baking sheet and bake for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove the pan from the oven and allow the brittle to cool. Break apart into pieces and serve.

   Masala Pop

Prior to opening Masala Pop in October 2011, Neha Patel worked for nearly fifteen years in the sustainability field with a focus on environmental health. She worked to develop tools and standards for the healthcare and outdoor industries to help them be more sustainable in their practices. “Doing something with food has always been a bit of a dream. I actually thought about a food cart for years but decided against it many times (too much work!),” shares Neha. “The story of Masala Pop began with my mom. Over thirty years ago, she started spicing up popcorn in the tradition perfected by the popcorn walahs found all over her native India. After spicing the popcorn in a big kettle, she added papadums [lentil chips] and peanuts. The result was a spicy-with-a-touch-of-sweet snack sensation! Over the years, wherever I went, care packages of my mom’s popcorn snacks followed. When those packages filled with tasty tidbits arrived, my happy friends always devoured the contents on the spot, inevitably exclaiming, ‘Where can I get more?’

“Early on, soon after I put my bicycle cart together, I was working a concert in a city park along the Willamette River. After the concert, I followed the bike trail that is adjacent to the river back to my kitchen. Everything looked so pretty, and in that moment, I felt like I had the greatest job in the world!” Neha’s cart was designed to be a landscaping trailer for bicycles. “The company Wike, based out of Canada, was very agreeable to making a few adjustments, and now it is the perfect ‘pop shop’ cart,” she shares. “I have a ‘kitchen kernel,’ ‘chief popping officer’ and ‘pop bot.’ My own title is ‘snack master.’ Sometimes I think I started the business so I could hire great people and come up with fun titles.” Neha explained how her community made the entry into her popcorn business a viable option: “Oregon is one of a handful of states that allow you to license your home kitchen—makes for an easy entry point to test out an idea. I doubt I would have ever pursued renting out a commercial kitchen had that not been an option. Our official launch happened when I made some for a friend and she brought it to a dinner party, and the host loved it and was actually under the impression that I was a ‘real’ company. At that point I was not; it was just a silly little idea. He e-mailed me and placed an order for his wife’s fortieth birthday dance party with one hundred guests for the Savory Masala. This happened to coincide with my R&D team—my parents—visiting from Maine and our kitchen renovation being completed. It took the three of us five hours working at night after putting the kids to bed. My son did sneak down to help with manning the air-popper. “For popcorn fans, we offer truly unique flavors using real ingredients. We have been known to convert those that are not fans of popcorn with our authentic flavors. Our popcorn is also a low-calorie snack that is extremely satisfying (unlike typical cardboard-tasting low-calorie snacks!),” shares Neha. You can experience Masala Pop by ordering online.

  

Ginger Carrot Cake with Orange Cream Cheese Frosting Courtesy of Sugar Shop

Moist and delicious, adding ginger to the cake and topping it with orange cream cheese frosting gives this traditional carrot cake recipe a zesty twist. For the Cake: 1 cup walnuts 2½ cups grated carrots 3 eggs, room temperature cup buttermilk 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 cups granulated sugar 1½ cups vegetable oil 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger 3 cups all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1 teaspoon salt

• Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Grease two 9-inch cake pans and line the bottom with parchment. • Toast the walnuts until golden on an ungreased tray, cool and roughly chop. • In a large bowl, whisk together the carrots, eggs, buttermilk, vanilla, sugar, vegetable oil and ginger until well combined. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Fold dry ingredients into wet until well combined, then fold in the walnuts. • Divide between both cake pans and bake for about 25 minutes. Cake is done when a toothpick inserted in the center is clean and top is springy to the touch. Allow to cool completely before assembling and frosting. For the Frosting: ¾ cup unsalted butter 24 ounces cream cheese 3 cups confectioners sugar, sifted pinch salt 1 tablespoon orange zest 2 tablespoons freshly grated ginger • Beat the butter in an electric mixer with the paddle attachment until light and fluffy. Scrape down the bowl, add the cream cheese and beat until light and fluffy (about 5 minutes). Gradually add the confectioners sugar and beat for about 5 more minutes, scraping the bowl as needed. Mix in the salt, orange zest and ginger.

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About the Author

Serving up the American Dream one plate at a time, Tiffany Harelik (rhymes with garlic) has been writing about iconic food histories and recipes since 2009. An avid outdoorswoman and equestrian, Tiffany is also rumored to make the best fried chicken south of the Mason-Dixon.

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