Blue Plate Navigator: listings
| happy (hour) meals
As the weather turns pleasant, the thought of using your lunch break to
re-enact Manet's Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe on the Park Blocks
is more and more tantalizing. You may have the leisure to act on your
vernal appetites, or you may have only enough time to quickly forage for
nutrition and return to work. Either way, downtown Portland has an abundance
of mobile kitchens, which in many cases make a better lunch than you'll
find for the same money at restaurants.
Most of the carts and trailers that cater to pedestrian traffic are
located in three main areas: around the Portland Building (between 4th
and 5th avenues and Main and Madison streets); at the south end of Pioneer
Courthouse Square; and in a row at the edge of a parking lot on 5th
Avenue between Stark and Oak streets. A few others are scattered throughout
downtown. What follows is a brief rundown of where they are and what
they serve. Give it a good look; you may find that you've been missing
out on some great food by not walking an extra couple of blocks. And
be prepared to seek new ones, which will undoubted crop up as the days
become more hospitable for outdoor cooking.
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1.
CHINTOS
This taqueria-in-a-trailer is the king of the downtown burrito
slingers, with an extensive menu including everything from tacos,
nachos and tortas to lunch plates of enchiladas, flautas, chiles
rellenos and quesadillas. The food's great, the folks at the window
are supremely friendly, and nothing costs over $4 (tacos go for
$1.25).
9TH AND WASHINGTON, 5TH BETWEEN STARK AND OAK
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2.
CUGINO'S
A couple of cousins (cuginos, in Italian) came up with
the idea for this well-appointed cart, which serves Italian food
made according to family recipes. There are panini sandwiches
for breakfast (eggs and cheese, with or without sausage) and lunch
(including cacciatore with provolone); the bread is fresh from
Pazzo. There's always a baked pasta, such as rigatoni or ravioli.
Prices are in the $3.50-$4.50 range--excellent, considering that
this is top-drawer food for a cart. If only the cousins could
serve wine, I'd be down here every day.
PIONEER COURTHOUSE SQUARE AT BROADWAY AND YAMHILL
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3.
EL SOL MEXICAN FOOD
Kevin McLaughlin has been at this job for 17 years, and it
shows: He can assemble a burrito faster than anyone I've ever
seen. El Sol puts out some of downtown's better burritos for a
mere $2.75; McLaughlin also makes a warming black-bean chili for
only two bucks, as well as nachos and taco salads.
5TH AND MADISON, 5TH AND STARK
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4.
FULL MOON BURRITOS
Attention to detail wins Full Moon high points: Everything's
made from scratch with high-quality ingredients. The burritos
feature grilled chicken, which makes them immeasurably more flavorful
than most.
5TH AND YAMHILL, 4TH AND MADISON
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5.
GOLDEN CRUST
Decent pizza by the slice, but don't go too late in the lunch
hour because it can get tired and lukewarm.
PIONEER COURTHOUSE SQUARE AT 6TH AND YAMHILL
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6.
INTERNATIONAL BENTO
Lunch fusion, with items such as mesquite chicken bento and
fajita in a pita.
5TH BETWEEN STARK AND OAK
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7.
MARY'S DELI
Like a concession stand from days gone by, Mary's serves hot
dogs, Polish sausage, popcorn, chips, candy and hot chocolate.
You may think you're immune to corn-dog cravings, but make a mental
note of Mary's, just in case.
PIONEER COURTHOUSE SQUARE AT 6TH AND YAMHILL
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8.
NAMASTE
In this trailer kitchen, the taciturn Gooruduth Sharma Dudhee,
who moved here from Mauritius, makes vegetarian Indian cuisine
that rivals that of any restaurant in town. His offerings include
baigan sabji (eggplant in onion and tomato sauce), chana
palak (garbanzo beans and spinach in Northern-style malasa
curry) and masala bhindi sabji (seasoned okra in coconut
milk), and they're superb. The $5 lunch special (three entrees
and a pakora) can feed two easily, which should leave you with
enough money for lassi, chai or Indian coffee. Lunch at Namaste
makes going to work worthwhile.
SALMON BETWEEN BROADWAY AND 6TH
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9.
NO FISH! GO FISH!
When he was in Korea, Sean Brown picked up a classic item
of street-food cookery: a grill that makes stuffed sandwiches
in the shape of fish. They're called pung ap bang, "fish
bread with no fish"--hence the name of his business. Brown makes
the delicious little items with spinach and feta, curried vegetables,
cheddar or pizza filling. He also makes gourmet soups--from a
repertoire of about 40--and the two make a great and unusual combination.
You can't beat the special: $4 for soup and two sandwiches.
5TH AND YAMHILL, 4TH AND TAYLOR
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10.
PALAPA TACO NORTE
Tacos, burritos and quesadillas for $3-$4.
5TH BETWEEN STARK AND OAK
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11.
PASTA FROM VENUS
Fusilli with pesto, garlic or garden red sauce. A basic small
portion costs $3.50. A full meal, with a large portion of pasta,
salad and focaccia, will set you back $5.50, which is worth it
even if it seems steep for lunch. The sauces are quite good, even
though the garlic is potent enough to give you heartburn and keep
prospective kissers far away.
PIONEER COURTHOUSE SQUARE AT 6TH AND YAMHILL
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12.
PHILLYS ON THE PHLY
East-coast transplants rejoice--Philadelphia cheesesteak sandwiches
are here in the heart of downtown! Mmmm...just think: grilled
steak with onions, peppers, mushrooms and Swiss. It's enough to
make you want to use your turn signal. Phillys on the Phly also
makes a chicken version, but ignore the heresy.
5TH BETWEEN STARK AND OAK
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13.
SAIGON TO GO
Chinese-American classics such as sweet-and-sour pork, pepper
beef and kung pao kitchen; not great, but serviceable.
5TH BETWEEN STARK AND OAK
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14.
SAIGON KITCHEN
The mobile outpost of the popular restaurant dishes up three
kinds of chicken (hot and spicy, curried and teriyaki), as well
as curried tofu and pad Thai. At $2.75, the small size (slightly
less substantial than the large) is one of the best lunch deals
in the city. Combine two entrees and rice and get a whopping lunch
for only $4.
5TH AND MAIN
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15.
SHELLY'S GARDEN
Size matters. Portland's dominant street-Mex purveyor makes
the famous Honkin' Huge burrito, which could feed a family of
Mexican peasants for a week. Some people like Shelly's burritos,
which come in more modest sizes as well, because they taste healthy;
others find the same taste bland. There's nothing wrong with them
that a good dose of salt won't fix, but Shelly's gets points off
for using canned tomatoes.
10TH AND MORRISON, 10TH AND OAK, 5TH BETWEEN STARK AND OAK,
PIONEER COURTHOUSE SQUARE AT 6TH AND YAMHILL
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16.
TASTE OF INDIA
A Taste of India supplanted Bit of Britain--or Haggis Hut,
as I preferred to call it--at its location on Alder Street across
from the Galleria. (Authentic British food didn't make a splash?
Now there's a shocker.) It's less a lunch trailer than a full-scale
Indian restaurant on wheels, with everything from biriyanis, tandoori
and samosas to chicken and lamb curries. With such a wide range,
not every dish is top-notch, but overall it's quite good--and
you can keep coming back for a while without exhausting the menu's
possibilities.
9TH AND ALDER, 5TH BETWEEN STARK AND OAK
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