Portland.
What’s the first thought that comes to mind?
While the thought of tax-free shopping may pop into some people’ minds, my mind screams food carts!
I admit it, I am definitely the biggest foodie that I know. As one of my friend puts it, “Steph, you light up when you talk food! And you always manage to direct a topic back to food!” Yeap, that’s me.
So anyways, my point is that I planned my trip around food, and I managed to include as many food stops as I could, which made me a very happy person, and quite a satisfying trip in my opinion.
Now, allow me to take you on a magical virtual tour of the food stops I made.
Piazza Italia – a small, cozy Italian restaurant that makes its pasta dishes with lots of love. I loved their creamy pesto pasta with seafood. Rich, fresh pesto evenly coating each strand of al-dente pasta – yum!
Voodoo Doughnut – one of the must-go places. There is always a lineup; fortunately, I picked a rainy day to go so the lineup was much shorter. You’ve got to have the bacon maple donut – it will blow your mind.
Mother’s Bistro – another very popular destination. It has an extensive brunch menu with some very unique dishes. I took a bite from my bro’s egg Benny and it was a bite of heaven – perfectly done poached egg paired with a buttery Hollandaise sauce with a hint of lemon over Canadian bacon and English muffin. I’m salivating at that thought already…
Lamb Gyro – this was a food cart inside the Saturday/Sunday market. The lamb had tons of flavour and the wrap was huge! Worth every dollar.
Altegarz Bradwurst – this food cart claims to have amazing sausages that even Germans tourists are awed by it. So of course we had to try it. And in my humble opinion, it lives up to its claim! I just tried the original bradwurst with Sauerkraut; next time I will try the currywurst, seems promising (the guy said he makes the sauce to order).
Santeria Mexican Tacos – there were a lot of taco choices so we ordered a whole bunch of different ones to try. Everything was tasty, although the hot sauce provided was a little too spicy for me, it was not an issue – I just tamed the hotness with sips of local beer. 
Cool Moon Ice Cream – I admit it, I have no resistance to ice cream so it’s not surprise I had to visit this place. Ice cream is made on site so super fresh. They had quite a collection of flavour and I chose to try Almond Cherry & Saignon Cinnamon. Almond cherry had bites of cherry and pieces of cherry embedded within it, while the cinnamon flavor was so hit-you-in-the-face with cinnamon but not in an intrusive way, it was quite refreshing. I would definitely go back!
Brunch Box – I loved this food cart! It puts a unique spin on burgers. Instead of using burger buns to hold fillings, it substitutes in thick Texas toast. Or, you can go all out and substitute in thick Texas toast grilled cheese sandwich as your bun (so you get 4 thick slices of bread with a ton of filling inside). Super heavy mean, but so worth a visit. I strongly advise sharing!!
Tabor Schnitzelwich – Deep-fried crispy, juicy pork chip pressed between a ciabatta bread smothered in a sweet unique red sauce, layered with fresh lettuce and tomatoes — that makes up the most delicious traditional Czech sandwich I’ve ever had. (Well this is my first ever Czech sandwich but still compares to other sandwiches, this was top notch. Very special indeed.
Lots of stops, plenty of food, a wonderful experience.
Definitely many more places to visit…next time!
I’ll be back, Portland!
Portland: Food Carts Galore
Portland.
What’s the first thought that comes to mind?
While the thought of tax-free shopping may pop into some people’ minds, my mind screams food carts!
I admit it, I am definitely the biggest foodie that I know. As one of my friend puts it, “Steph, you light up when you talk food! And you always manage to direct a topic back to food!” Yeap, that’s me.
So anyways, my point is that I planned my trip around food, and I managed to include as many food stops as I could, which made me a very happy person, and quite a satisfying trip in my opinion.
Now, allow me to take you on a magical virtual tour of the food stops I made.
Piazza Italia – a small, cozy Italian restaurant that makes its pasta dishes with lots of love. I loved their creamy pesto pasta with seafood. Rich, fresh pesto evenly coating each strand of al-dente pasta – yum!
Voodoo Doughnut – one of the must-go places. There is always a lineup; fortunately, I picked a rainy day to go so the lineup was much shorter. You’ve got to have the bacon maple donut – it will blow your mind.
Mother’s Bistro – another very popular destination. It has an extensive brunch menu with some very unique dishes. I took a bite from my bro’s egg Benny and it was a bite of heaven – perfectly done poached egg paired with a buttery Hollandaise sauce with a hint of lemon over Canadian bacon and English muffin. I’m salivating at that thought already…
Lamb Gyro – this was a food cart inside the Saturday/Sunday market. The lamb had tons of flavour and the wrap was huge! Worth every dollar.
Altegarz Bradwurst – this food cart claims to have amazing sausages that even Germans tourists are awed by it. So of course we had to try it. And in my humble opinion, it lives up to its claim! I just tried the original bradwurst with Sauerkraut; next time I will try the currywurst, seems promising (the guy said he makes the sauce to order).
Santeria Mexican Tacos – there were a lot of taco choices so we ordered a whole bunch of different ones to try. Everything was tasty, although the hot sauce provided was a little too spicy for me, it was not an issue – I just tamed the hotness with sips of local beer.
Cool Moon Ice Cream – I admit it, I have no resistance to ice cream so it’s not surprise I had to visit this place. Ice cream is made on site so super fresh. They had quite a collection of flavour and I chose to try Almond Cherry & Saignon Cinnamon. Almond cherry had bites of cherry and pieces of cherry embedded within it, while the cinnamon flavor was so hit-you-in-the-face with cinnamon but not in an intrusive way, it was quite refreshing. I would definitely go back!
Brunch Box – I loved this food cart! It puts a unique spin on burgers. Instead of using burger buns to hold fillings, it substitutes in thick Texas toast. Or, you can go all out and substitute in thick Texas toast grilled cheese sandwich as your bun (so you get 4 thick slices of bread with a ton of filling inside). Super heavy mean, but so worth a visit. I strongly advise sharing!!
Tabor Schnitzelwich – Deep-fried crispy, juicy pork chip pressed between a ciabatta bread smothered in a sweet unique red sauce, layered with fresh lettuce and tomatoes — that makes up the most delicious traditional Czech sandwich I’ve ever had. (Well this is my first ever Czech sandwich but still compares to other sandwiches, this was top notch. Very special indeed.
Lots of stops, plenty of food, a wonderful experience.
Definitely many more places to visit…next time!
I’ll be back, Portland!