do more love more

Food carts - Portland has so many of them due to enterprising ambitions, a healthy sense of “fuck the man,” and lax laws about starting new businesses. 

Street food has existed all over the country for decades in the form of hot-dog vendors, taco trucks, and the like. What makes Portland’s street food scene so distinctive and appealing—is the way vendors continually push the genre’s traditional boundaries, so that today, entire food cart villages have laid down roots and offer increasingly sophisticated and varied cuisine. After all, how many other places can you sample white truffle sea- salted fries, salmon fettuccini, perfectly seasoned Pad Thai, and the city’s best espresso—all from a street vendor selling out of a bicycle, a truck, or even a World War II military mobile kitchen?

Artisanal, quirky, independent, and an exceptionally good value, the food carts are in many ways the perfect symbol of what Portland is all about. They bring the local community together with the lure of good food, and the pod system has enabled vendors to create a strong cooperative ethic among themselves. It’s fair to say that the food carts both stem from Portland’s famed livability and contribute to it, forming a virtuous cycle of sorts. - Cartopia

Nong’s Kao Man Gai was the first food cart I ever went to in Portland. Believe it or not, during the last few times I was in Portland, I never tried any food carts. The pork belly arepa at Fuego de Lotus is also a favorite on the south east side as well as poutine from Potato Champion. 

Stumptown at the Ace Hotel
1026 SW Stark. Portland, OR 97205

Ah, Stumptown. A local tradition and institution. Every time I got to Portland, I always try to visit the Stumptown at the Ace Hotel and then sit in the lobby, dropping in on conversations. If Portland is where people in their twenties go to retire, the Ace Hotel is where they do it. As you sip on your coffee, you can see people just sitting for hours on the sofas playing with their phones or having “meaningful” conversations about the philosophical differences between a fixie vs. a single speed bicycle. It’s smelly and kind of damp, like those sofas have been around for a really long time.

The lifestyle of denizens in Portland is interesting, and it really is like that show Portlandia. Since unemployment benefits are pretty good, and the cost of living is pretty low, people in their twenties can move there after college, work about 20 hours a week at a coffee shop, and live in a house with a bunch of other people. They spend the rest of their time working on pet projects, making art, hanging out, reading, and going out. There is a certain air of laxity, an extension of youth where authenticity is more valuable than ambition.

It’s a strange world, completely different from any world I’ve known. But it seems like Portland is a great place for people to work on their passions, crafts, and expression. 

Justa Pasta
1326 NW 19th. Portland, OR

Even though many of us have resolved to eat fewer carbs for the new year, this place is worth putting your resolutions on hold for. I went here with my dear friend when I first went to Portland in 2009, and I came back again during this trip. There’s just something great about sitting in the exact same spot you sat in two years ago and reminiscing about the time that has passed. 

It is the most delicious pasta I have ever had in my entire life, hands down. Nothing compares with the al dente style they have perfected over the years. If you go there, I highly recommend the spaghetti with garlic chili oil and the butternut squash ravioli with brown butter and sage, but I haven’t gone wrong with anything from this place. 

Mee-Sen Thai Eatery
3924 N Mississippi Ave., Portland, OR 97227

Portland is a city that specializes in food, beer, and coffee, so most of our trip consisted of trying various places that were recommended to us by friends, guides, and the internet. We had our fair share of mediocre places, even places that came highly recommended, but I don’t think mediocre things are worth talking about, so this series of food posts will only be about my favorites. 

Post New Year’s Eve festivities, my body was hurting for some soupy sustenance and an injection of vitamins. We headed over to Mee Sen Thai Eatery in the North side of town to satisfy my craving for sour and spicy noodle soup. In the standard Portland way of doing things, many of their interior decorations were made by re-purposing and re-using things that people didn’t want anymore. We sat at a wooden table with a bicycle wheel on the edge, serving as a statement piece that gives the place character. The place was rustic, like a cabin in the woods, with these little quirky elements.

I love a good Thai noodle soup, something that more modern Thai places seem to overlook, so I was excited to hear that they specialize in noodle soups. I had the Look Chin Pla Tom Yum, a glass noodle soup with fish filet, fish balls, ground pork, chili, crusted peanuts, and vinegar in pork broth. Christopher had Khao Soi Gai was a curry noodle dish with roasted chicken and egg noodles served with pickled mustard, red onions, crispy egg noodles, and roasted chili paste. Both were perfect for such a rainy, cold day.

Tasty n Sons
3808 N. Williams, Suite C, Portland, OR 97212

Brunch. It’s my favorite meal of the week because it’s usually accompanied by mimosas, sunshine with an outdoor patio option, and fashionable people who may or may not be nursing a hangover in some shades. In the rainy, foodie paradise that is Portland, brunch is serious business, as it should be. There are several fantastic brunch places we wanted to try, but we ended up trying just Tasty n Sons, a new American joint with an innovative menu. 

Since there was an hour-long wait, we went a few doors down to Risretto Roasters to get some coffee and work-time in. They roast seasonal, handcrafted coffee in small batches to both ensure perfection and appease the hipster masses. Both Risretto and Tasty n Sons share the same Pacific Northwest aesthetic that I love so much - tables and chairs made of beautiful natural wood with metal accents on the appliances, giving the space an industrial edge. Even though it’s a new American place, everything is in tapas form and designed for sharing, the way food should be consumed.

The bacon wrapped date was incredibly rich, drizzled in maple syrup with an almond inside. The polenta and sausage ragu with mozzarella and a fried egg was really cheesy and rich but great in small doses. I love how they take traditionally Italian elements and manage to update it, evoking a playful sense of something that looks like creme brûlée and slapping an egg on it. Christopher’s favorite was the shakshuka red pepper and tomato stew with a baked egg on top, and he has big plans to make it when he gets back to San Francisco.

I love taking elements from different cooking traditions and bringing them together in a mishmash of different tastes. This place does it elegantly with an extensive menu that is sure to satisfy all.