Biking for Borscht

What should you order? Partly, that depends on how far you want to pedal. If you're willing to roll to Boring and back, get the fundamentalist steak sandwich from Cheesesteak Nirvana, a slab of marionberry strudel from Cake on a Hot Tin Roof and a beer, if the tented bar is open.

With a heavy stream of cyclists set to start riding past Cartlandia, 8.5 miles from downtown, we decided to check out the pod's newer carts and a few old favorites. Here's what to eat, depending on your chosen turnaround point.

Mile 9, I-205

Tofu Cilantro Tempeh Wrap ($7)

The Good and Evil Wrap Co.

707-4695, facebook.com/TheGoodAndEvilWrapCompany

Good edges out evil at this cart, which is evenly divided between antioxidant-rich hippie foods and gut-busting lard bombs. Our "Good" wrap was more salad, heavy on crisp spinach and tart cranberries but very light on soy products. It still bested the "Evil" black-and-blue steak wrap ($7.50), filled with fatty steak that had been breaded and fried, bacon and blue cheese.

Mile 10, Powell Butte

Pork Adobo ($7)

Kusina sa Gulong

752-5970, cartlandia.com/kusina-sa-gulong

Philippine cuisine was influenced by Asian, Austronesian, Spanish and American food and can be quite complex. But serving from a tiny cart kitchen, Kusma sa Gulong keeps things simple with stewed meats and rice. The pork adobo is cooked in a garlic-soy sauce to almost dry. The adobo's color was far duller than the bright orange chicken afritada ($7), but the flavor was not. 

Mile 14, Linneman Station

Cheese and Onion Pasty ($6)

London Pasty Company

616-6571, facebook.com/LondonPastyCompany

If you need some quick carbs or to please a picky-eating child, grab one of these potato pasties. While the British hand pies can often be filled with spicy curries and rich stews, this one is basically a giant Mrs. T's pierogi, filled with mashed potatoes that take some flavor from a little onion and cheese.

Mile 17.5, Hogan Road

Cabbage Rolls ($5.99), Manti ($6.99) and Vetrushka ($2.49)

Traditional Russian Cuisine

754-0619, pdxrussiancuisine.com

This is not actually Portland's first Russian cart—a long-forgotten downtown cart opened and closed in 2008—but it's the only one now open. Cabbage rolls stuffed with ground beef, onions and plump rice under a creamy drizzle, and large lamb-filled manti dumplings are deeply satisfying, while the vetrushka, a sweet, puffy pastry filled with a buttercream-like cottage cheese sauce, was one of the best bites we got. Try the salsa-like borscht ($2.99 for 16 ounces) so you can better laugh along with Yakov Smirnoff jokes.

Mile 21, Boring

Country Breakfast Rodeo Dog ($5.75)

Deb's Blazin' Grill

516-2115, facebook.com/debs.blazingrill

The surprise breakout hit of our visit was Deb's country breakfast rodeo dog. A Deb's dog (we tried both beef and elk—the beef was better) is topped with scrambled eggs, bacon strips, tater tots and cheddar. A slathering of peppery country gravy is what really ties it all together. It's like a complete Waffle House breakfast smashed together—with hot dog—but it'd be a great brunch after a long, early ride. 

EAT: Cartlandia, 8145 SE 82nd Ave. 11 am-10 pm daily, though each cart's hours vary.

WWeek 2015