Food Carts in Portland The downtown area of

Food Carts in Portland The downtown area of Portland is scattered with small food carts. Many of them are only open for lunches during the work week, Monday thru Friday. They provide a quick and cheap alternative to eating in a restaurant. Not only do they provide international cuisine, they also showcase Portland’s diverse ethnic community. Also, here is a link to web site that shows you where the food carts a scattered throughout Portland. food cart map

Here is just a sample of the variety of carts and the food they provide. There are carts with food from Russia, Vietnam, Germany, Poland, Greece, Tibet, Czechoslovakia, Japan, and even Peru.

Indian Food There are many Indian food carts in Portland. My favorite is the New Taste of India. Here is a sample of some of my favorite menu items. Chicken Curry: Tender pieces of chicken that are prepared in a flavorful, full-bodied, yet mildly spicy sauce. Naan (plain): Leavened white bread made from fine flour and individually baked in our oven. Rice Pilaf: Our specialty rice is prepared with green peas & spices. Mixed Vegetables: A mixed array of garden vegetables that are mildly spiced & cooked to a delicate firmness.

Thai Food There also many Thai food carts in Portland. The menu below presents some typical dishes and prices. Menu: Salad Rolls are $3 All other dishes are $5 and come with a choice of chicken, tofu, or shrimp. Also included is your choice of drink and your choice of steamed white rice, brown rice, or rice noodles (thin or wide). Curries: Red with Peanut, Red, Green, Yellow Stir-fries: Ginger & Mushroom, Garlic, Spicy Basil, Veggie Fried Rice: Regular, Spicy Basil, Pineapple, Chili & Cashew Specials: Spicy Asparagus, Spicy Mango, Green Young Coconut Curry, Pumpkin Red Curry, Pineapple Curry, Lemon Grass Marinated Chicken

Mexican Food The Mexican food carts provide an array of foods including tacos, burritos, quesadillas, salads, soups, nachos, stuffed chiles, and sandwiches. There are many delicious options to choose from.

Take a look at some of the delicious Mexican food they offer. Yum!

Food Cart Reviews How do you know which carts have the best food for the best price? There are many reviews available on-line, as well as in local newspapers. These reviews also tell you where the carts are located and their hours of operation. Below is a sample review of “Soup Spoons”. Location: The corner of Main Street and Fifth St. Description: “Soup Spoons” serves soups, salads and a few different kinds of sandwiches. Everything looks fresh and nicely prepared. My chicken noodle soup was delicious. It had large chunks of chicken breast and a perfectly seasoned broth. Also, my bread was fresh baked. However, they might need to vary the soups a bit more. One Friday they only had dairy based soups; a corn chowder, a potato cheese, and a clam chowder. Cups of soup with bread are $3. 50, bowls of soup are $4. 50. Salads, including a great tortilla salad, are $4. 50. A soup and salad combination is available for $6. 00. Sandwiches are all $5. 00. I recommend the chicken and vegetable sandwiches. Hours: Monday thru Friday 10: 30 AM to 2: 00 PM.

Controversy Who wouldn’t want food carts? A few years ago a group tried to close down the downtown food carts, claiming that they provided unfair competition to restaurants. Below is an article taken from a local newspaper. The customers fight back Patrons say they want downtown food carts to stay in business Owners of the city’s downtown food trailers say their customers are so passionate about eating the fast-food offerings that more than 3, 000 of them have signed a petition to keep the trailers in business. Chris Shenk said the owners intend to take the petition to City Hall in case new regulations against them are persued. "What we’re trying to do is get a voice out there and show there is support so the City Council will know we exist, " said Shenk. Greek Cusina owner Ted Papas threatened last week to get the trailers outlawed. But on Tuesday, he said he is backing away from his earlier demands after a public outcry. Still, Papas has started a new business group called FARE (Formal Association of Restaurant Entrepreneurs) to fight what he sees as "unfair competition" between restaurants and food trailers offering downtown lunch fare. Papas said restaurants have to pay taxes and meet city regulatory codes for sprinklers and signs. while the trailers escape such restrictions. "People out there think I’m a villain, " Papas stated, "This is unfair competition. It’s an issue that has to be addressed. It can be resolved behind closed doors with members of this organization and the Downtown Retail Council. "Food trailers are one of many issues we are facing. I think the city will listen. We need some changes, like restrictions on the number of trailers in a parking lot. " Continued on the next page

The battle between Papas and trailer owners has gotten personal, with several of the latter circulating an 18 -page handout of the Greek Cusina’s health violations for the last five years. It includes a series of violations, ranging from rat droppings in flour to undercooked chicken and beef. An upset Papas said the violations are public information that any costumer can find online. "It’s a public record, nothing secret about it, " he said. "If someone wants to discredit me, they can go to the Internet and find out. This is not a personal fight with me and any of the trailers. " The trailers — which serve everything from black bean burritos to noodles in peanut sauce — pay anywhere from $450 to $750 a month in rent, two to three times what a car owner would pay for the space. Papas said the parking lots should be devoted only to cars, not food service. "We have brought an awareness and concern, " Papas said. "A lot of restaurants know it is unfair competition. We have to stop the expansion, the multiplying of these trailers. " Some neighboring business owners agree that the trailers are tough competition but bristle at Papas’ suggestion to ban them. "They have a right to be there, " stated restaurant owner Steve Smith. "Obviously, it hurts my business, too, but I’m not going to pull some stupid maneuver to put them out of business. I let my customers decide on their own. " Smith concedes that if not for the trailers, he would make another $75 to $100 a day. There’s also a Starbucks across Fourth Avenue, but, as he put it, "I’m not going to try to get them out of there. They’re just shutting (the trailers) down because they don’t like them. They’re not doing anything illegal, just selling stuff. "