‘Eat Mobile’ food cart fest at OMSI Saturday
PORTLAND – This weekend there’s a rare opportunity to find some of the best food carts in the city — all in one place.
Willamette Week’s Eat Mobile takes place at OMSI’s north parking lot Saturday evening. The event features dozens of Portland’s favorite food carts, along with local music and other vendors.
“(The Carty Award) is an honor for them and a lot of the past recipients have moved on to multiple food carts, they’re very successful, it’s just something they can wear with pride,” Willamette Week’s Carrie Henderson said.
General admission is $20 and includes samples from each cart. A small number of pre-tasting tickets at $50 will also be available.
“Theres so many different people from different parts of the country that come here and bring their food from that area, so it’s really cool to see all the different kinds of food that you can get here … to be a part of that is really awesome,” Alex Pekar of Bunk Sandwiches said.
KGW Reporter Collette Wieland contributed to this report
Recommended Reading
Local food cart serves positive flavor
PROVIDENCE, RI (WPRI) – Lupe Aguilar has big dreams for his shining silver food cart but he put personal profits on the back page of his somewhat unorthodox business plan.
The former radio personality gave us a hands-on tour of the stainless steel, kitchen on wheels as he told us he was born to help. Although, as a child, he needed the help. His parents gave him up as a ward of the state in California when he was 5.
“When something like that happens, “ the smiling Aquilar says with a clap of his hands. “You grow up really fast. At 5, right after that, I felt like I was instantly 20.”
He credited foster families with raising him. Right out of high school, he traveled the country, settling in Rhode Island. After 10 years as a DJ and marketing maven, he’s now focused on combining his desire to help with his business sense. It’s called The Sammys Kitchen Project .
“It’s a good model that will work,” he explains. “For this and maybe other things too.”
The goal is to fire up his food cart to compete with the growing number of food trucks out there already. He plans on selling hot dogs at first but he wants to eventually expand his compassionate cuisine.
“But the money we make, 100 percent, will be donated to a charity,” he says.
He bought the cart with donations and the hopes to one day grow from two wheels and a hitch to an actual truck and maybe even something grander than that.
‘The plan is, depending on how much money is raised, pick 1 or 2 charities a month and literally just write a check at the end of the month.”
After displaying the potential of his cart and it’s built in grill, fridge, sink and containers, Aguilar is on the go with his friend Ed Brady, posting fliers on Thayer Street utility poles. But not your typical fliers. Instead of advertising rooms for rent or get rich quick schemes, the page sized posters advertise positivity. The tabs that usually hold phone numbers, offer things like hope and kindness.
He thinks it’s a message that fits in with the tragic, explosive negativity from the Boston Marathon bombings.
“It’s times like this,” he says. “Ironically, people become more positive and we get closer and I think that’s the essence in itself. We’re here together. We’re in it together. We’re one big family.”
Aguilar expects to be serving that extended family and paying it forward by Memorial Day weekend.
Send story ideas to Walt at wbuteau@wpri.com and follow us on Twitter: @StreetStories12 and @wbuteau
Recommended Reading
Scenes from opening week of the 2013 Madison food cart season (slideshow)
The start of Madison’s 2013 food cart season at least had two sunny (if chilly and windy) days before the rains set in once again. I was glad for the respite — I like to see the new carts get off on the right foot. There’s a celebratory feel.
Habitual cart diners are always excited to see who’s new, hoping to find a temptation that’ll shake up their routine, someone serving what may become a new favorite. Maybe even a life changer.
There are, I suppose, as many reasons that people like to get their food from food carts as there are people, but two at the top of the list are a) proximity of cart and b) novelty of cuisine.
Of the few new carts out so far these first two weeks, I found myself most interested in those parked in front of the UW Geoscience building in what I’ve been calling the West Dayton mini-pod. Since my office is on the Capitol Square, heading halfway across campus doesn’t fulfill “proximity,” but in weather good enough for bike riding, it’s only about an eight-minute pedal.
I was most taken with a new cart called the Fortune Cafe run by Maggie Jingga and her sister. Jingga is Indonesian, as is most of the menu, but told me she added some Italian entrees to the offerings because she noticed that no one nearby was serving Italian food. I must admit I’ve been thinking far too much about heading back to try the entree described as deep fried mashed potato balls, apparently a common Indonesian street food (as was the balado egg dish I tried).
Jingga also offered me a sample of the dessert cendol — a sweet, soupy pudding that reminded me of a cross between bubble tea and butterscotch pudding, or at least that’s the best comparison I can come up with. It’ll be a good summer refresher. Mainly, there was just something friendly and direct about buying food at the Fortune Cafe that I liked. And I think that sense of connection is probably the third major attraction of food carts.
Here are some snaps from opening week.
Locations and more details about Madison’s food carts are listed here.
<!–
–>
Recommended Reading
Committee comes to food cart compromise
Late night food carts may soon have fewer places to park after a city committee unanimously voted to approve a compromise between vendors and restaurant owners at a meeting Wednesday.
The Vending Oversight Committee gave final approval to a city ordinance amendment that would eliminate several parking spaces in front of the restaurants Asian Kitchen and Pita Pit on the 400 block of Broom Street. The compromise was designed to reduce tensions between the owners of the restaurants and the food cart vendors after restaurants complained that vendors parked in front of the establishments were harming their late-night business.
The compromise was temporarily approved at their previous meeting in March, but could not be officially approved until the map detailing exactly where vendors could park was finalized.
Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, said the amendment changed the perimeter of late-night vending on Broom Street to eliminate the parking spaces in front of businesses on the west side of the street, including Asian Kitchen and Pita Pit. The perimeter still allows vendors to park on the east side of the street, as well as in the loading zone of Riley’s Wines of the World, he said.
The remaining 10 parking spaces will be on a first-come, first-served basis, according to Verveer.
Steve Lawrence, owner of Fried and Fabulous, sets up his food cart in the affected perimeter. He said while the amendment was not perfect, he is satisfied with the outcome of the meeting.
“I think this is a balanced approach that directly responds to the complaints brought up by restaurants while allowing food carts to remain in business,” Lawrence said. “My one drawing line in the sand has always been that food carts go out of business is not a compromise.”
While he hopes the conflict is over, Lawrence said he is concerned that future complaints might lead to further discussion about late-night vending on Broom Street. He cited concerns with the processes of the committee and said if the issue is brought up again, it might not work out in his favor.
Lawrence said he was typically the only vendor who spoke at the committee meetings, compared to the restaurant owners, landlords and city officials. The process ultimately came down to whomever spoke out the most got the attention, rather than looking at the quality of what was being said, he said.
While the compromise took the committee a long time to reach, Verveer said it was a long time coming.
“Hopefully these late night vending issues are behind us, at least for this season,” Verveer said.
The committee also unanimously approved another amendment to make the closing times for sidewalk cafes with alcohol licenses consistent throughout the city.
The amendment requires establishments with a sidewalk café to stop serving alcohol and clear all alcohol off outdoor tables by 1 a.m., according to Verveer. The previous ordinance allowed different parts of the city to have different end times for alcohol sale, he said.
Verveer said the committee has discussed issues with sidewalk cafés many times, but this was the first time the amendment was up for a vote.
Both amendments will face final approval from City Council at its April 30 meeting.
Have a thought? We welcome your input, but please be polite and stay on topic wherever possible. Your comment may be deleted if it is inappropriately off topic or promotional or if it is unnecessarily rude or contains personal attacks. We may delete comments for other reasons as well. Just keep it simple and focus on your points as respectfully as possible.
We allow and encourage comments employing satire, wit and irony to make points. Do not flag comments just because you disagree. Flagged comments will be immunized from further flagging unless they stray far from the guidelines and do not add to the discussion. Before flagging a comment you think is offensive, consider your time might be better spent rebutting it than censoring it.
Recommended Reading
Yakuza Opening Burger-Focused Food Cart in NoPo
Another burger cart is about to hit the streets, and this one comes with an impressive pedigree. Kuza Burger, the food cart offspring of Northeast Killingsworth’s Japanese pub Yakuza, is scheduled to open in North Portland by early May (and word is, it might even be open as early as late next week).
Kuza Burger will be located at the Trading Post, a new marketplace located at the Colony, a just-opened multi-use space in North Portland at the corner of North Richmond and Lombard. According to owner Dayna McErlean (who also owns Yakuza), the Trading Post is not a return to the food cart pod that once filled this North Portland parking lot, but is planned to be a more “well-rounded marketplace” featuring more than just food. For now, Kuza Burgers will be offering three different choices of Painted Hills beef burgers on Grand Central Brioche buns. The Yakuza Burger features house spicy mayo, house catsup, Portland Creamery chevre, and shoestring potatoes. Cascade Chips and Mexican Coke will also be on the menu.
· All Previous Food Cart Coverage [Eater PDX]
· All Previous Yakuza Coverage [Eater PDX]
Image of Kuza Cart courtesy ByronBeck.com
Recommended Reading
WB council not open to woman’s food cart proposal
WILKES-BARRE – A Hanover Township woman wants to bring a food cart to downtown Wilkes-Barre, but city council members didn’t have much of an appetite for the idea.
Nicole Dante pitched the proposal to council during its meeting Thursday. Dante said she wants to sell hamburgers and hot dogs on Public Square during bar hours.
“Mobile food vending is one of the hottest things since bacon,” Dante said. “I think this is a great opportunity for a young, low-budget entrepreneur such as myself to launch my own business.”
The city has an ordinance banning cart businesses from operating after 6 p.m., which means council would have to create new legislation in order for Dante to open her business. Councilman Tony George said operating on Public Square would also be a problem because the park is closed after dark.
“We’re going to have to do a little research on that,” said council Chairman Bill Barrett. “It might be a difficult thing to do. It’s a city-wide thing first of all, and there’s some concerns about the businesses already here.”
Dante said her business wouldn’t interfere with existing ones because most restaurants and bar kitchens aren’t open that late.
LAG Towing
After the meeting, Mayor Tom Leighton said the city is still investigating LAG Towing, the city’s towing contractor accused of improperly billing customers. He wouldn’t say when that investigation would be complete, however.
Leighton also declined to answer questions on whether outside law enforcement agencies are investigating LAG Towing owner Leo Glodzik III and if he’d been interviewed by investigators. In February, an FBI agent delivered a subpoena to Leighton’s office seeking police records related to LAG Towing.
“The investigation on our side is ongoing, and whether other law enforcement agencies are conducting (one), we’re not made privy to that information,” Leighton said.
chong@citizensvoice.com
570-821-2052, @CVChrisHong
Recommended Reading
Chez Dodo
You don’t have to know where Mauritius (moh-RISH-us) is to
delight in cilantro chutney-embellished vegetarian samosas ($5) at Chez
Dodo. Once you pinpoint the tiny island nation in the Indian Ocean, the
ethnic rendezvous captivating your taste buds makes more sense.
Colonization of the island, originally populated by dodo birds, injected
French, African, Indian, Creole and Chinese influences into its
cuisine.
This
culinary kitchen sink somehow hits a sweet spot with eclectic
concoctions of rice noodles fried in turmeric and cumin, topped with
chicken or potatoes. Shyam Dausoa, the owner of Chez Dodo, has sold
boxed island specialties at Whole Foods Market and Food Fight grocery
for years. Now he leans out the window of his beachy cart with a
steaming wok of noodles, asking customers through a thick French accent
to assess the spice factor of their portobello burry, a gluten-free
lentil and mushroom mound ($5.99). “Mound” really is the word for the
heaping portions of noodle curries Dausoa squeezes into to-go boxes. Ask
him for true Mauritian spice in the island fever curry sauce and its
onion, pepper, ginger and vinegar will clear your nasal passages for a
month.
From the office
chairs flanked by Christmas lights in Chez Dodo’s seating area, its
choose-your-own-adventure menu looks deceptively simple. Pick a base of dholl puri flat bread, curried noodles or brown rice.
Next adventure:
healthy vegan, tropical happiness or island fever curry sauces. And for
the final twist, pick from proteins like curried chicken and lentil
fritters. The spicy lamb and portobello burry pack more flavors than the
island has culinary influences. In a world where veggie samosas can be a
disappointing mush wrapped in phyllo dough, Chez Dodo proves its
vegetarian worth, heaped with chutney we’d make a meal of a la carte.
- Order this: Portobello burry ($5.99).
- Best deal: Two big samosas ($5).
- I’ll pass: Taro fritters ($5).
EAT: Chez Dodo, North Vancouver Avenue and Fremont Street, 284-4575. 11 am-11 pm Monday-Friday, 11 am-9 pm Saturday. $.
Recommended Reading
Cart Smarts: Go nuts for good health – Post
Posted: Tuesday, April 23, 2013 6:50 am
Post-Bulletin Company, LLC
I consider nuts, in general, to be a healthy food. But there’s one that stands out from the rest: walnuts. That’s because walnuts are the only nut with a significant amount of the plant-based omega-3 fatty acid, alpha-linolenic acid.
Many people struggle to meet the daily recommendation for omega-3 fats because most Americans are not eating seafood twice per week, as recommended by the American Heart Association. Walnuts, however, can be one way to help bridge that gap.
There are other important nutrients in walnuts, too. Like other plant foods, walnuts provide antioxidants, which protect the body from damaging free radicals and may play a role in heart disease, cancer and other diseases.
Walnuts also provide protein and fiber, which aid in appetite control and weight management. And they are a good source of important minerals such as magnesium, phosphorus, manganese and copper. This is why they deserve a high NuVal score — 82 out of 100.
One serving of walnuts is equal to one ounce, or a quarter-cup. If you count it out, that’s 12 to 14 halves, or about one handful.
Did you know? Walnuts should really be stored in the refrigerator to keep them fresh. This was news to me. Once you open the bag, transfer them to an airtight container and keep them in the fridge. But, if you plan to store them for over a month, keep them in the freezer instead.
Walnuts have become a staple on our weekly grocery list. My husband eats them every morning on his bowl of oatmeal and I like to grab a handful for a healthy snack on the go. Here are a few more ways you could include walnuts in your diet:
• Mix them with whole-grain cereal and dried fruit for a homemade trail mix.
• Add them to a lettuce salad with berries, feta cheese and a light vinaigrette.
• Include them in baked goods such as banana bread, muffins and cookies.
• Combine them with red grapes, celery, diced chicken and light mayo for a delicious chicken salad recipe.
Posted in
Life/food
on
Tuesday, April 23, 2013 6:50 am.
Recommended Reading
Scenes from opening week of the 2013 Madison food cart season (slideshow)
The start of Madison’s 2013 food cart season at least had two sunny (if chilly and windy) days before the rains set in once again. I was glad for the respite — I like to see the new carts get off on the right foot. There’s a celebratory feel.
Habitual cart diners are always excited to see who’s new, hoping to find a temptation that’ll shake up their routine, someone serving what may become a new favorite. Maybe even a life changer.
There are, I suppose, as many reasons that people like to get their food from food carts as there are people, but two at the top of the list are a) proximity of cart and b) novelty of cuisine.
Of the few new carts out so far these first two weeks, I found myself most interested in those parked in front of the UW Geoscience building in what I’ve been calling the West Dayton mini-pod. Since my office is on the Capitol Square, heading halfway across campus doesn’t fulfill “proximity,” but in weather good enough for bike riding, it’s only about an eight-minute pedal.
I was most taken with a new cart called the Fortune Cafe run by Maggie Jingga and her sister. Jingga is Indonesian, as is most of the menu, but told me she added some Italian entrees to the offerings because she noticed that no one nearby was serving Italian food. I must admit I’ve been thinking far too much about heading back to try the entree described as deep fried mashed potato balls, apparently a common Indonesian street food (as was the balado egg dish I tried).
Jingga also offered me a sample of the dessert cendol — a sweet, soupy pudding that reminded me of a cross between bubble tea and butterscotch pudding, or at least that’s the best comparison I can come up with. It’ll be a good summer refresher. Mainly, there was just something friendly and direct about buying food at the Fortune Cafe that I liked. And I think that sense of connection is probably the third major attraction of food carts.
Here are some snaps from opening week.
Locations and more details about Madison’s food carts are listed here.
<!–
–>
Recommended Reading
miss A Suzy Reveals Picture With Food Cart From Fans, ‘So Happy!’
Girl group miss A‘s member Suzy revealed a picture with the food cart sent from her fans.
Suzy posted on her Twitter, “So happy! Thank you to fans who saved precious money to send this. I ate so well. The staff ate so well too so I’m proud. Thank you so much,” along with several pictures.
The picture was of Suzy who is currently coming out in MBC drama “Gu Family Book,” and she is posing in front of the food cart from her fans with a pink doll. She also revealed a picture of an empty plate.
Like Us on Facebook :
Internet users who saw this commented, “So cute”, “She genuinely seems happy” and “Props to her fans.”
Photo Credit: Suzy Twitter
Recommended Reading
Recent Posts
Categories
- albuquerque street food
- austin food carts
- beer festivals
- best food carts
- best food carts in portland
- charlotte street food
- chicago food carts
- chicago food trucks
- chicago street food
- columbus street food
- dallas street food
- dc food trucks
- dc street food
- detroit street food
- food and wine events
- food cart
- food carts miami
- food carts portland oregon
- food events
- food festivals
- food truck festival
- food truck la
- food truck miami
- food truck nyc
- food trucks
- food trucks chicago
- food trucks in los angeles
- food trucks la
- food trucks las vegas
- food trucks nyc
- food trucks orange county
- food trucks seattle
- gourmet food truck festival
- gourmet food trucks
- hot dog cart
- hot dog carts
- hot food carts
- los angeles food carts
- los angeles food truck
- louisville-jefferson county street food
- memphis food trucks
- memphis street food
- Mobile Cuisine
- mobile food truck
- new york food carts
- nyc food trucks
- oakland street food
- philadelphia street food
- phoenix street food
- portland street food
- seattle food carts
- street food
- street food cart
- street food chicago
- street food dc
- street food in china
- street food in italy
- the green truck
- vending food carts
- virginia beach food trucks
- virginia wine festivals 2011
- wine festivals