Nominate your favorites as the search begins for Portland’s 10 best vegan dishes
View full sizeJulie Hasson grills up some of the soy curls that are used in dishes at her North Portland food cart Native Bowl.What are the 10 best vegan dishes in Portland? We’re seeking out the most-delicious, plant-based fare coming from the city’s food carts, vegan restaurants and mainstream places to eat, and we’re looking for nominations for your favorite things to eat.
Maybe it’s the addictive Mississippi Bowl from North Portland’s Native Bowl, the food cart known for its barbecued soy curls and homemade peppercorn ranch dressing. Maybe you love the lentil and wild mushroom veggie burger at downtown’s mainstream Veritable Quandary (minus the blue cheese and aioli, of course). Or maybe your idea of a great vegan dish is a plate of pillowy potato gnocchi at Southeast Portland’s all-vegan Portobello, where the food is so good you can be forgiven for not wanting to share.
We already know a few of our favorites, but we want to hear about the dishes you love and think ought to be on our list to sample. So give us your shouts for favorite dishes, dishes we may have overlooked, or even your own “best” lists. We’ll check out the nominations that look particularly promising, and share our top 10 picks later this summer.
And if you haven’t tried out many (or any) vegan dishes, this is a golden opportunity to check out food that other readers have recommended. There’s a wealth of dynamite plant-based cooking in Portland, and there always are new things to discover.
– Grant Butler
Follow @grantbutler
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Kennewick’s El Fat Cat Grill becomes food cart
El Fat Cat Grill is on the move — literally. Jenny and Felix Sanchez opened their restaurant last March at Fourth Avenue and Vancouver Street in Kennewick.
“We had a lot of loyal customers,” he said. “But the costs and overhead of running a restaurant were just too much. Yet we couldn’t give up on our dreams.”
They closed their brick and mortar site Feb. 29 and bought a 24-foot trailer, already outfitted as a mobile restaurant. On May 1, they took their menu on the road.
“My grandmom knew this was the direction we wanted to go and her next door neighbors had this trailer for sale. They had been using it in Pullman, selling food to the students, but it wasn’t working out for them,” he said.
It’s perfect for Chef Felix’s needs.
“All I needed to do was upgrade a few things and we were ready to go,” he said.
“We had looked into having one built. But that would have taken months,” Jenny Sanchez said.
Weekdays you’ll find them parked at John Dam Plaza in Richland. Look for the big red trailer with El Fat Cat Grill emblazoned across both sides.
The Sanchezes like the flexibility of the food trailer.
“Just being able to move, to go to our customers, to be in Kennewick one day and Richland the next, has a lot of appeal,” Felix Sanchez said.
“Food trailers like ours are popular in places like Seattle and Portland,” he said.
Like concession stands at fairs and other events, customers place their orders at a counter on the side of the trailer and can watch as Felix works his culinary magic inside.
“It’s a full kitchen, just compact,” Jenny Sanchez said.
“What they’ll find is they can get gourmet food out of a food trailer and have it taste like what you can get in a restaurant,” she said.
Once served, customers can enjoy their meal at one of the tables in the park or take it back home or to the office.
Anyone familiar with their Kennewick location will recognize many of the items on El Fat Cat Grill’s current menu.
“We still have the tacos, burritos and tortas, including our popular Triple Threats and Crabby Melts,” she said.
However, Felix’s popular paella and clam chowder are off the menu until the weather cools off in the fall.
“They’re just not warm weather meals,” Jenny Sanchez said.
Instead, Felix Sanchez plans to take advantage of seasonal, locally-produced veggies and fruits in hearty summer salads.
“I don’t like to cook the same things all the time. It gets boring, at least for me,” Felix Sanchez said.
The Sanchezes plan to park their food trailer at John Dam Plaza during the week and take it on the road to different events and locations on the weekends.
Hours are flexible. Generally they’re open and serving by 11 a.m. and close between 5 and 6 p.m. Depending on the event, like the Live at Five concerts Thursdays at John Dam Plaza, they’ll stay open later.
To place a pick up order, call 546-1413.
To check on the menu, go to http://elfatcatgrill.
blogspot.com.
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Pleasant surprise: Culinaria’s inaugural Food Truck Event a hit
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The Food Truck Event
Event organizers estimate 2,000 people were in attendance at the inaugural Food Truck Event. (Jessica Elizarraras/San Antonio Express-News)
Wine and beer volunteers serve guests from dozens of wines. (Jessica Elizarraras/San Antonio Express-News)
Lines didn’t deter guests as they waited for the mobile kitchens to crank out orders. (Jessica Elizarraras/San Antonio Express-News)
A family chows on dinner from the new 4110 Mobile Kitchen food truck. The menu included sliders and lettuce wraps. (Jessica Elizarraras/San Antonio Express-News)
Guests choose from savory or sweet crepes. (Jessica Elizarraras/San Antonio Express-News)
Two savory crepes from Crepe Nation LLC, based out of Boerne: A Mediterranean chicken crepe, bottom, and a shrimp and avocado crepe, top. (Jessica Elizarraras/San Antonio Express-News)
Folks make use of the parking median curbs in place of tables and chairs. (Jessica Elizarraras/San Antonio Express-News)
Guests line up by the dozens for a taste of Colombian, American and Vietnamese fare. (Jessica Elizarraras/San Antonio Express-News)
Flour Power Cafe and Bakery serves chocolate cake balls. (Jessica Elizarraras/San Antonio Express-News)
A young guest purchases sweets for the night from Flour Power Cafe and Bakery, 2211 Northwest Military Highway Suite 131. (Jessica Elizarraras/San Antonio Express-News)
Culinaria took the plunge into mobile vending by organizing its first ever Food Truck Event Thursday night at the Alon Town Centre parking lot. The $10 admission included samples of dozens of wines and several beers, and guests were asked to buy food separately.
At about 7 p.m., the entrance to the event was getting “hammered,” as Culinaria president and CEO, Suzanne Taranto Etheredge puts it.
“I think it’s a success,” Taranto Etheredge says. “We were worried it was going to be too much seating, but we’re pretty happy-go-lucky right now.”
The event included 14 food trucks serving everything from Colombian staples to Parisian crepes, American BBQ and worldly cuisine from Spice Runner, Rickshaw Stop and Jason Dady’s DUK Truck.
Aside from the long wait times (which no one seemed to mind), more seating would have been great to accommodate an estimated 2,000 guests in attendance.
“At first, we didn’t quite really know what to expect,” Jennifer Ramirez, co-owner of Crepe Nation with husband Frank says. “I think we’re all pleasantly surprised with the turnout.”
Culinaria continues tonight with Best of Mexico at the La Villita Assembly Building and a winemaker dinner at 18 Oaks inside the JW Mariott San Antonio Hill Country Resort. For a full list of events visit the site here.
Jessica Elizarraras/jelizarraras@express-news.net
Twitter: @shrinkingfoodie
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Food Truck Park back in business – WXIA
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ATLANTA — The Food Truck Park on Howell Mill is back in business.
Some of the most popular food trucks in the city, like the: Banged Up and Mashed, Yumbii, Fish ‘N’ Chips and the Blaxican truck were lined up and ready to serve after the Howell Mill Food Truck Park was shut down earlier this month.
The food truck park was shut down due to issues with permits — however, the Atlanta City Council fast tracked their permits and the park is back in business.
“People still want it and every day I’m seeing an increase in the number of foot traffic through this park. It’s awesome we’ve got a following already here,” Brett Eanes, the owner of the “Mixed Up” food truck commented.
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Gourmet Food Truck Block Party Comes to Suncoast Hotel, 6/9
Suncoast Hotel and Casino, partnering with Cluster Truck Events, will become the epicenter of rolling culinary greatness on Saturday, June 9, as it hosts the Gourmet Food Truck Block Party. The Gourmet Food Truck Block Party brings together more than 25 food trucks from Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Diego and Orange County, including: Snow Ono, Sin City Wings, Sausagefest, Chitown Hustler, Slap Yo Mama, Chef Ludovic Lefebvre’s LudoTruck, along with trucks featured on Food Network’s “The Great Food Truck Race.” (Participating truck line up is subject to change.)
A $5 per person admission fee will be charged, with 100 percent of proceeds benefitting Special Olympics Nevada.
Advanced admission tickets are available, along with a complete list of participating food trucks and additional information, at: http://bit.ly/suncoastfoodtruck. Discuss this event on Twitter: #SuncoastFoodTruck.
The block party will take place Saturday, June 9 from 12 to 6 p.m. at Suncoast Hotel and Casino, located at 9090 West Alta Drive, Las Vegas in the Marquee Parking Lot.
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Mentor hopes a food truck will entice visitors to Lagoons Marina and Nature …
MENTOR, Ohio – This summer, city officials plan to offer a food option to fishermen, hikers and beachgoers who use the Lagoons Marina and Nature Preserve.
“With the resurgence of all of these food trucks, we’re hoping we could get a little bit more upscale than a hot dog vendor to come down there and offer a concession for food and drink for the people who are down at the marina, and also for the people who are coming to use the lagoons,” said city Parks, Recreation Public Facilities Director Bob Martin. “We’ve been kicking the idea around for a couple of years. We just thought the time was right now.”
The impetus for the move stems from the area’s traffic, with the city’s 465 in-water slips all rented and half of its 150-rack storage boat area sold. Martin said the Flagship restaurant had been at the marina for decades, but fell into disrepair and was demolished shortly after the city took over the Lagoons in 1998.
An estimated of 100 to 125 people use the Lagoons Marina and Nature Preserve each day, and those numbers sometimes quadrupling on the weekend. City officials consider adding a food presence as a win-win for the city in that it’s a low-cost affair without any infrastructure needs. More so, they believe it’s more of an amenity than a moneymaking endeavor.
“We were going to use it as more of a service to the people who come there,” Martin said. “Also, the Lagoons Preserve is really underutilized. People realize the gem that they have, so we’re looking for other ways to get them to finally make a trip down there and see what’s down there. Relatively few people, in comparison to the other parks, go down and use that park for hiking or walking along the mile of beach we have down there.”
Martin said the city has sought proposals from vendors for offering food and non-alcoholic beverages. He said once the decision is made, the food truck vendor can start as soon as possible. While the city’s request calls for a weekend and holiday presence, the vendor will have the option of serving hungry fisherman weekday mornings.
“I want the vendor to feel whatever they can do to generate business that we’re not going to stand in their way,” Martin said. “We want to have the service down there more than anything else. We really want people to come enjoy the park, and we’re willing to do whatever people might want to do.”
Long-term plans for the marina and preserve include repairing 3.5 miles of bulkheads that protect the area. Martin said that project is roughly $12 million. This year, the city is spending $250,000 on a wall to protect lagoons from breaching into Lake Erie.
“Right now we’re sort of at a maintenance stage,” Martin said. “It’s not glamorous work, just utilities and roadways and paths. We’re in the process of just trying to rebuild the lagoons into a really nice park. Once we get the infrastructure to the stage we want it, then we can think of long-term improvements.”
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Food truck operator, Hollywood’s new go-to job
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Originally published: May 17, 2012 5:09 PM
Updated: May 18, 2012 7:04 PM
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rafer.guzman@newsday.com
Photo credit: Universal Pictures | In The Five-Year Engagement, Jason Segel is Tom Solomon, a San Francisco chef who coverts an ambulance into a taco truck called 9-1-Yum. (April 27, 2012)
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The hot new vocation for movie characters? Driving a food truck.
Meals on wheels, increasingly fashionable among young urban gourmands, are popping up everywhere in the movies, and Friday’s release of “What to Expect When You’re Expecting” makes the trend official. It’s the third film this year to feature at least one main character who slings mobile cuisine. The first was “Think Like a Man,” starring Michael Ealy as Dominic, a chef who dreams of opening a restaurant in Los Angeles but decides to test it out as a truck. In “The Five-Year Engagement,” Jason Segel plays Tom, a San Francisco chef who does the same thing, converting an ambulance into a taco truck called 9-1-Yum.
“What to Expect” goes those movies one better with two food truckers in Atlanta: Chace Crawford, as Marco, runs The Great Big Pig, and Anna Kendrick, as Rosie, drives Cheezy Rider. (Would you believe her “truck” has a Twitter account? It does.) The two even get cozy while comparing food-prep injuries.
MAP: Movies shot on Long Island
PHOTOS: Movies on LI | Notable Long Island celebs
Movie jobs don’t always take up much screen time, but they say a lot about a character. Novelists and artists can seem romantic but perhaps unstable; Wall Streeters may be sexy but materialistic; and the insurance industry has long been movie shorthand for boredom and misery. For a while, the perfect job was architect — Steve Martin in “It’s Complicated,” Joseph Gordon-Levitt in “(500) Days of Summer,” Greg Kinnear in “I Don’t Know How She Does It” — which conveyed creativity without seeming overly glamorous.
Not long ago, “food-truck driver” sounded more like a character in a drama about economic hardship. But the newer, fancier vehicles are proliferating at parks, parades, festivals, even weddings. With their clever names and high prices (a sandwich off Brooklyn’s roving Red Hook Lobster Pound truck, for instance, can set you back $16), these things are definitely not your average business-district coffee cart.
Of course, we all know how trends work: By the time you spot one, it’s over. Next month, “Seeking a Friend for the End of the World” will feature Keira Knightley as a flighty 20-something and Steve Carell as — surprise! — an insurance agent.
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Terroir on The High Line; Chefs Weigh in on Food Fests
CHELSEA — Here’s a picture of the soon-to-open Terroir outpost on the High Line courtesy of @benleventhal. [Twitter]
GRAMERCY — Coffee Shop owner Carolyn Benitez just put her Gramercy Park townhouse on the market earlier this month for the low, low price of $25M. Cubed NY has a look around, plus the floorplan. [Curbed NY]
HOT TOPICS — Eater National asks a ton of big chefs about the pros and cons of doing food festivals. Frank Falcinelli, of Prime Meats and the Frankies restaurants, explains how they get involved: “A lot of the time, they need an anchor. Someone will call and say that Jean-Georges and Daniel Boulud are attached to an event. Are you going to say no? Conversely, especially for things in Brooklyn, they use us as the anchor and we do the outreach.” [Eater National]
BOSTON — To celebrate the restaurant’s 15th anniversary, Clio in Boston is going to host a blowout dinner on June 5 with 15 chefs who worked under chef Ken Oringer. Alex Stupak (Empellon), Jason Hua (The Dutch), Sam Gelman (Momofuku), Phillip Kirschen Clark (Demi Monde), and Renae Herzog (Marea) will represent NYC. The meal is $175; call 617-536-7200 to make a reservation. [EaterWire]
[Photo: Twitter]
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Drift food truck granted one week extension
Updated: Fri May. 18 2012 18:51:37
ctvedmonton.ca
Dozens of Edmontonians participated in a “sandwich flash mob” Friday in support of a food truck being forced to move from a busy downtown corner, on the same day the city granted the truck a one week extension.
People came out to show support for Drift food truck, which had been asked by the city to move from its spot on 108 Street and 100 Avenue, after complaints that it was stealing business away from a nearby restaurant.
“We really support growth in our community and people doing different and interesting things to make Edmonton a more vital place,” said Trish Walker, who organized the sandwich mob through Twitter.
“I came down specifically to support this group and what they are, the little guy,” said mob participant Denis Budd.
Drift had been parked at a different location a half block down from 108 Street and 100 Avenue, but recently moved to its current spot when construction began in their original area.
It was ordered to move out of 108 Street and 100 Avenue by the city, after Grandma Lee’s restaurant inside the nearby office tower, complained that the mobile food truck was stealing the restaurant’s business.
Along with lost business, Jim Timmons, owner of Grandma Lee’s, also says it’s unfair that he has to pay thousands of dollars in taxes and until food trucks do the same, it’s not a fair playing field.
Drift was originally ordered to move on Friday, but Drift owners’ Kara and Nevin Fenske refused.
“If we move somewhere and the same situation arises again, we’re in no better position,” Kara said.
The Fenskes’ say they want a clear set of guidelines for food trucks in the city.
On Friday, the city granted Drift a one week extension, giving them time to file an appeal and continue discussions surrounding guidelines for food trucks.
The Fenskes’ say the extension is just one step towards developing clear rules for mobile vendors.
“We’re just looking for something that’s concrete, that everyone can reference, restaurants and mobile vendors,” Kara said.
“Then we know right from the get-go where we can park and where we cannot park.”
Mayor Stephen Mandel says senior management is looking for a balance for permanent restaurant owners and mobile vendors.
“I really believe that the service that industry brings to citizens is important,” he said.
“That kind of creativity is valued in the city but we have to be careful where it goes so we allow everyone to be successful.”
Drift sold out on Friday, saying they were busier than they’d ever been before.
The owners says seeing Edmontonians come out to support them through the flash mob, and sending notes of encouragement online, has been very motivating for them and for the food truck business in Edmonton.
“It shows us that we are gaining support and that people not only like our food per say, but that they do want to see this as a type of food establishment in the city,” Kara said.
With files from Amanda Anderson
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