PDXGuide
The Best Food Carts In Portland
photo credit: Emily Triggs
Sure, lots of cities have food trucks. But in those cities, you might be hard-pressed to find ones serving Pueblan mole next to Japanese egg salad sandos, and Guyanese bakes stuffed with salt cod. Not in Portland. A staggering amount of options is the beauty of food cart culture in a city that isn’t old enough to have staunch traditions.
Despite weather that’s not exactly conducive to outdoor dining—it’s gray and rainy for a good part of the year—collections of food carts, or “pods,” as they’re locally known, have existed in the city since the early ‘80s, and they keep reinventing themselves. From North Mississippi’s Prost Marketplace to Piknik Park in Sellwood, as well as newer suburban developments like Hillsboro Downtown Station and Rockwood Market Hall, food carts can be found practically anywhere in town. Here are some of our favorites.
THE SPOTS
photo credit: Emily Triggs
Before this popular family-run cart arrived in Portland, bakes, puffy fry bread sliced and studded with Guyanese curries and hash, were pretty much nonexistent in the city. Now, this Caribbean staple at the Lil’ America pod in Buckman has won over locals, likely because they’re delicious, filling, and the broader menu is vegetarian-friendly. We recommend the more traditional scrambled egg and shredded salt cod bake or chana aloo, chickpeas and potatoes seasoned with spicy curry powder—just don’t forget a drizzle of Chef Bibi’s Famous Peppersauce, a yellow condiment that’s more piquant than blistering.
photo credit: Emily Triggs
There are a handful of choices for food cart pizza in Portland, but not all are as compelling as the wood-fired, Neapolitan-style pies being turned out by Reeva, a Latino-owned cart in a welcoming Roseway courtyard outfitted with potted plants and umbrella-topped tables made from oak barrels. Sure, purists can order a margherita, but what makes Reeva’s pies unique is that they often incorporate seasonal and Latin American ingredients. You’ll find rajas and chorizo on a huancaina base, specials featuring prosciutto, burrata, and cactus chimichurri, and the signature pizzaleada, a refried bean and cheese-topped mashup paying homage to Honduran baleadas.
photo credit: Emily Triggs
Depending on the day of the week, Baon Kainan on Alberta serves familiar Filipino dishes like chicken adobo and brunch food like pork belly tosilog with eggs and garlic rice on Sundays. But what you’re really here for are the desserts, like the wonderfully chewy ube bibingka and daily specials (announced on Instagram). They do fun twists, like braising octopus in squid ink for an adobo that turns the traditional soy-and-vinegar-based poultry dish on its head, or a croque maamsir—it's a creative take on a brunch favorite, with palabok sauce, fish sauce bacon, shrimp, and pickled fresnos.
One trip to this food cart on Cully’s main drag will make you wonder how they manage to pack so much flavor between a square of housemade sourdough focaccia. Their always-changing vegetarian panini breaks the mold (no hummus and sprouts here) with fillings like fava tops, triple-cream brie, roasted carrots, and pickled chilies for something luscious and a little decadent. The sandwich they’re known for, though, is the traditional Tuscan 5&5 featuring grilled, marinated eggplant and a slice of torta di ceci, a chickpea flour pancake. Even though Sorbu excels at transforming vegetables, don’t miss the salciccia that’s like porchetta in sausage patty form, or the cavatelli with braised lamb ragu if it’s on the menu. Order a Peroni and take a seat at one of the wooden tables inside the white tent that almost feels homey.
photo credit: Emily Triggs
Tokyo Sando brings the best of Japanese convenience store culture (“combini”) to the Midtown Beer Garden, the revamped version of a longstanding downtown food cart pod, with picnic table seating for 300 and a stage for live music. While egg salad sandwiches might be a 7-Eleven staple in Tokyo, they’re nothing like this food cart’s overstuffed version that incorporates two soft-boiled eggs, sliced to expose their jammy yolks, on crustless shokupan. The katsu sandwich featuring a breaded pork cutlet and savory brown sauce on a bed of shredded cabbage leans closer to tradition, but if that’s too pedestrian, opt for the naka sando that amps up a chicken cutlet with tartar sauce like they do in Kyushu. The plaza comes alive during lunchtime with nearby office workers and tourists.
photo credit: Emily Triggs
This Chinese cart in downtown’s Midtown Beer Garden is named for the hand-pulled, stretched, and slapped noodles that form the base of their beef soup, fragrant with five spice, and stir-fries slick with chili oil. The chewy texture of the noodles really shines in their stir-fried dishes with your protein of choice like tofu, chicken, or beef, and sliced scallions and crushed peanuts on top. The portions are big enough for two, so we recommend coming with a group, and ordering most of the menu (it’s short) so you can taste a variety of dishes.
Matt’s Texas-style BBQ already had a legion of local fans, but when they started serving their now legendary slow-smoked brisket and pulled pork on homemade flour tortillas, their popularity soared. Located at Hinterland Bar & Carts near Mount Tabor (you can also get them inside Great Notion Brewery on Alberta), people come for the all-day breakfast tacos and more-is-more creations like the G.O.A.T. (no goats are harmed in the process). It’s a Tex-Mex showcase for juicy brisket and pulled pork served on a corn tortilla on top of a flour tortilla, glued together with queso. Let’s hope Taco Bell doesn’t catch wind of this glorious beast.
photo credit: Emily Triggs
The Lil’ American pod has quickly become one of our favorite food hubs thanks to carts like Bake on the Run, Cache Cache, the seafood specialist behind Fracture Brewing Taproom, and Frybaby—their menu of Korean-American fried chicken means hyper-crunchy wings and massive drumsticks that are seriously meal-sized. Maybe that’s the American part? The move here is to order a bag, a.k.a. the chicken combo with a side (get the kimchi mac and cheese). The soy garlic glaze might be the obvious choice, but don’t shy away from the snow cheese, a slightly sweet umami blitz that’s akin to parmesan shaken from a container but actually good. Take a beeper, find a seat at a communal picnic table, and wait to be dazzled.
photo credit: Stu Mullenberg
One dish we’d nominate to represent the Pacific Northwest are jojos. Nobody does the thick-cut, deep-fried, and battered potato wedges better than this SE Powell food cart (they have a sit-down restaurant in the Pearl District). They’re not relegated to just a side here, though, as you can get them loaded with cheese and one of their ten different sauces (go with the jojo sauce, a blend of Duke’s mayo and ketchup). Despite the cart’s name, they also make a standout spicy chicken sandwich with pepper relish, honey, and alabama white mustard sauce that puts Popeye’s to shame.
photo credit: Emily Triggs
Kee’s Loaded Kitchen, the bright red cart in the MLK Street Food pod, consistently draws crowds—even from out of state—with huge servings that are a rare case of quantity and quality. This soul food spot is also the place for solving decision fatigue: You pick your main from a daily roster posted on Instagram, and you’ll automatically get all six or so sides, a dessert, and a drink for around $45. Whether you order the exemplary "crackfish"—a.k.a. a slew of peppery, fried catfish filets—or the unbelievably craggy and crispy fried chicken is up to you, just know that Kee’s often sells out, so go early if that gooey mac & KEEs made with Tillamook cheddar is on your day’s bucket list.
photo credit: Emily Triggs
Merendero Estela, a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it vermillion cart with covered picnic tables, makes the case that Portland needs more Honduran restaurants. Located along a stretch of 82nd populated by used car lots and vape shops, this is the spot for baleadas, plush flour tortillas made à la minute, filled and folded with refried beans, cotija cheese, and crema. But what makes us regulars is the winning combo, pollo con tajadas. Calling this dish fried chicken and plantains doesn’t really do this pile of green banana chips and burnished thighs blanketed in cabbage, red pickled onions, and a creamy mayo-based sauce justice.
photo credit: Emily Triggs
Nob Hill’s Farmer and the Beast is Portland in a nutshell—beautiful seasonal salads that showcase the bounty of local produce (farm of origin noted, naturally) and a killer smashburger. In the spring, you might find arugula tossed with snap peas, grapefruit, rye croutons, peppery almond crunch, ricotta, and a preserved lemon vinaigrette, and sandwiches where homegrown asparagus is the star. The Beast Burger will make a believer out of you with its juicy patties made from fattier-than-usual ground beef. Add american cheese, special sauce, and Franz seeded buns, and you have a double smashburger that ranks among the city’s finest, food cart or otherwise. It's available no matter the season.
Yoshi’s isn’t the only sushi cart in town, but thanks to the quality fish and original rolls incorporating everything from jackfruit to curry shrimp, this Multnomah Village option operates a little differently from your typical food truck. Ordering is decidedly old school—by phone only—so you can’t walk up and get maki on a whim. Ask about the specials (or check their Instagram) for rice-based bites like nigiri topped with Japanese snapper and sakura jelly or rolls filled with scallops, salmon, and tamago, crowned with house-cured salmon eggs. The French Quarter food pod has plenty of covered outdoor seating to enjoy your Oregon albacore belly comfortably.
The Eastport Food Carts in a fenced-off parking lot on 82nd Ave. don’t get the same love as carts in more popular (dare we say, touristy?) neighborhoods, but locals know what’s up. Don’t hesitate to ask for recommendations from the big photo grid menu at Indian Hunger Point because the owner is happy to help. We wouldn’t skip the flaky vegetable samosas, though, or the lamb vindaloo, which balances heat with vinegar tartness.
photo credit: Emily Triggs
Kabba’s Kitchen in Alberta fills a West African gap in Portland’s eclectic food scene with Senegalese and Gambian dishes not commonly found at any brick-and-mortar. Start with the fataya, a fried meat handpie, then move on to the main event: the #1. It's a crash course in Senegalese classics, including fish yassa (also available with chicken), a whole-fried tilapia on a generous bed of yellow rice, served with a deeply flavored sauce of caramelized onions that’s livened up with lime juice, scotch bonnets, and a hit of dijon. Pair your exemplary combo with bissap, a tart hibiscus drink.
The city isn’t known for Mexican food, but there are actually so many choices that you can dive into regional cuisines if you want. Their original location on Alberta (there’s a new outpost at Prost Marketplace) manages to please practically everyone with their namesake specialty. There are often multiple moles to choose from, too, including the dark, semi-sweet Pueblan version, mole verde made from poblanos and jalapeño, and a mole rosado that gets its pink hue from beets. Order all three atop your choice of enchiladas, accompanied by Mexican rice and a little arugula salad. It's served on colorfully painted ceramic dishes that elevate the entire experience—even if you’re sitting at a picnic table.
photo credit: Emily Triggs
Birrieria PDX, in East Portland near the Gresham border, was one of the city’s braised beef pioneers, and they’re still going strong with multiple locations and a sit-down restaurant. Ignore the flashy birria ramen and fries and order the PDX sampler featuring the greatest hits, including the very necessary quesataco oozing with melted cheese and a cup of consomme—the fortifying broth will leave you feeling like you can take on the world (or more realistically, a short hike at Powell Butte). You’re given a beeper so you can wait in your car until your food is ready, or hit the Supermercado across the street and pick up some bottles of Topo Chico for the road.
Papi Sal’s, a Puerto Rican-meets-Philly food cart in Buckman, introduced eastern Pennsylvania vernacular to Portland in the form of “jawns.” It’s a multi-purpose term that can refer to, well, practically anything, including sandwiches. Papi Sal’s PDX Jawn is a border-hopping masterpiece that features tender pernil, swiss, hot peppers, and tangy escabeche on a hoagie roll from Dos Hermanos Bakery. Order tostones and salsa criolla on the side, and you have a solid dinner. This former cart now operates inside Lollipop Shoppe after 4pm, with a walk-up window on Grand Ave.
