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Eat Mobile isn't just about sampling the wares of some of the city's best food carts. It's also a competition—a 50-way showdown for the kinda-sorta prestigious Carty Award.
There are three Carty categories: Judges' Choice, People's Choice and Style. Past winners include Whiffies Fried Pies, Garden State and Fifty Licks.
While our experts are choosing their favorites, you, the Eat Mobile-attending public, will make your opinion known with the even-more-kinda prestigious People's Choice Award, this year via the phone app Instagram.
Introducing your 2014 Judging Panel:
JOHN FIMMANO
Co-Owner, Shut Up & Eat
How did you become acquainted with Portland's mobile food cart scene?
John moved to Portland six years ago from Philadelphia, where he grew up cooking Italian-inspired food alongside his mom. He opened his food cart Shut Up and Eat in SE Portland in 2010 with co-owner Glen, who he met working for a commercial painting company. In 2012, the duo moved Shut Up and Eat into their current brick and mortar location.
If you could only eat one type of cuisine for the rest of the year, which would you pick?
Cheeseburgers & Mozzarella Sticks
MIKE GOLUB
President of Business Operations, Portland Timbers
How did you become acquainted with Portland's mobile food cart scene?
Mike, the President of the Portland Timbers, comes from a long line of food-obsessed fork and knife people. One of his proudest accomplishments is having a menu item named after him at the wonderful Mother's Bar and Bistro in downtown Portland. (Mike's Special Scramble). As a native New Yorker, Mike's love of street food courses through his arteries (along with the attendant cholesterol) so when he moved to Portland eight years ago, he hit the food carts early and often.
If you could only eat one type of cuisine for the rest of the year, which would you pick?
Sushi, sushi, sushi!
VALERIE HURST
Anchor, KATU Channel 2 News
How did you become acquainted with Portland's mobile food cart scene?
Val has what she calls the "best news beat at KATU." As the PTown Eats beat reporter, Val covers all kinds of stories about food in Portland. She's learned so much and met so many great people. As a native Bostonian, Val visited Portland for the first time in college. "That's when I laid my eyes on Portland's vast amount of food carts," she said. "What was a tourist activity then is a common food stop for me now!" Last year, Val covered Eat Mobile for KATU's newscasts and she's thrilled to be able to judge this year, as well. Catch their report live on KATU Sunday, April 27.
If you could only eat one type of cuisine for the rest of the year, which would you pick?
An Italian sub toasted with all the fixings
KIR JENSEN
Owner/Badass Baker, The Sugar Cube
How did you become acquainted with Portland's mobile food cart scene?
Kir owns The Sugar Cube, once a sweet, little food cart that's now a brick and mortar bakery, located on NE Alberta St. She has lived in Portland for the past 12 years and has baked her way through many fantastic bakeries and kitchen in town. In 2008, Kir decided she wanted more creative autonomy and figured a small food cart would be the place to start. "It was an inexpensive way to test the waters and get my sweet treats out to the hungry masses with minimal risk," Kir said. Since starting the cart, The Sugar Cube has been featured in local and national publications, including the New York Times and LA Times, and Kir published her first cookbook in 2012.
If you could only eat one type of cuisine for the rest of the year, which would you pick?
Thai food, because it has so many amazing flavor combinations, lots of spices and it's super fresh. "I never get bored eating it," she said.
LEFTY KATSAVOPOULOS
Co-Owner, Tony & Lefty's Services
How did you become acquainted with Portland's mobile food cart scene?
Lefty is connected to Portland's food cart scene because of his former business, Nikki and Lefty's Food Cart. Having grown up in Portland, Lefty has been exposed to the city's booming food cart scene most of his life. Now, his business services several of the carts in town by removing the grey water from them. "I feel privileged to be able to help them the way that I do by keeping things clean," Lefty said.
If you could only eat one type of cuisine for the rest of the year, which would you pick?
Lefty didn't answer this question for us yet, but we assume it'd be Greek.
RACHEL VAN HOLLEBEKE
Defender, Portland Thorns
How did you become acquainted with Portland's mobile food cart scene?
Rachel has lived in Portland since March 2013, when the last soccer season began. She has really enjoyed the food scene and she and her husband have been slowly trying restaurants whenever they get the chance. Within days of moving to the city, a friend took Rachel to the food carts at Mississippi Marketplace. She had so much fun eating out on the patio and just enjoying the atmosphere.
If you could only eat one type of cuisine for the rest of the year, which would you pick?
Vietnamese food
WWeek 2015