Food Trucks

Our friends Peter Reinhart and Dan Huntley evangelize the food truck movement in Charlotte...we decided to check out the scene in Portland.  Food trucks have clearly taken hold...according to Food Carts Portland, there are over 475 food carts available at any given time.

Our first stop was in a parking lot where trucks had established essentially a permanent locale.  There was a central tent which housed picnic tables and a wood stove.  The beer truck was aligned with it, so it could clearly contain the alcohol to a specific area.

Beer Truck Next to Central Seating			Just a Parking Lot with Food Trucks
Blues City Biscuits			Portland Food Trucks!
Roshambo: Nice Shelter for Ordering			Venezuelan inspired fare
Blues City Biscuit Menu		Bo Kwon's Koi Menu		Pie Spot Menu

In addition to central seating, the site provided hookups for electricity and water around the edges, allowing the food trucks to stay in position longer.  They also provided a couple of money-making opportunities such as an ATM and soda machine.

Central Eating Area

Well-placed ATM and Soda Machine

My personal favorite was getting PIE!  It was a quaint little spot, big enough really for only one person to work inside, but essentially a decent size kitchen for that one person.  Very cute and tasty.

Pie Spot
Pie Spot: Pie Making	Pies Right Outta the Oven
	Marionberry & Lemon Curd

After the first 'pod' we decided to hike up to Hawthorne, a neighborhood which had great thrift stores and eclectic shops.  And of course, more food trucks.   Fried Egg I'm In Love was AWESOME.  I had the yolko ono, which included avocado with sausage, cheese and scrambled egg on an english muffin.

Lunch!	Fried Egg I'm in Love
	Yolko Ono

Later in the day, we headed up to Alberta, which is another neighborhood in transition.  It was on our way there that we discovered Voodoo Doughnuts.   And with every other neighborhood we'd visited thus far, we were surrounded once again by food truck options. 

I thought that the seating provided at this location was particularly interesting.  It seems as though they are recruiting food trucks to locate here...

Food Truck Seating: a Bus!

Stopped for Dumplings...

In addition to the parking lot phenomenon, we found food trucks tucked in just about everywhere.  Even single width driveways between structures housed trucks.


Another interesting aspect of the movement is the other businesses that spring up as a result.  We saw one truck labeled with NMK...Northwest Mobile Kitchens.  And on the Food Carts Portland site, we saw insurance companies, food suppliers, and more who are now view mobile food trucks as a target market.