Food Carts - Restaurants on the Go

Portland, Oregon is famous for its beautiful location along the Columbia River, its view of Mt. Hood, its eco-smart citizens...and its food carts.

In most cites, grabbing lunch from a roadside vendor selling goods out of a food cart might seem desperate or sketchy at best. People might be skeptical about the overall cleanliness of the "restaurant" facilities and the food handling precautions of such establishments. However, in Portland, Oregon such food carts are not only considered respectable, they are a regular part of the locals' favorite "restaurant scene." The appearance of each food cart can vary as much as its menu. While some food carts are more of a trailer style, others are more of an ice cream truck styled business. What started as probably a fairly small amount of food carts strewn throughout strategic locations in the Portland metropolitan area has now boomed into a restaurant selection of about four hundred different food carts.

The success of these food carts can be attributed to several factors, their location in the city of Portland being one of them. Portland residents will be quick to inform visitors that they are proud of the creativity of their home city; they love that others might see them as a little weird. Portland is also a city that prides itself on being "trendy" and "unique." Food carts definitely fall into both of these categories; additionally, supporting locally owned and operated businesses is a Portland tradition. Portland, Oregon is also a very bicyclist-friendly city. Food carts fit perfectly into this cityscape, as they are always easily accessible for passing bicyclists.

Food carts are also a successful business in this time of economic recession. The overall price of the meal items on most food carts around the Portland area are much cheaper than you would find in a regular restaurant, but often the quality of the food is the same as regular restaurants. With less overhead cost and staff wages to pay, the food carts are able to offer customers their favorite foods for less. Additionally, since Portland has so many different food carts competing with one another (there are multiple food carts for most styles of food) the prices of the food carts are forced to be comparatively low. In a city where a few food carts had a monopoly on the entire populace the prices might be higher but not in Portland. Low prices means that the general populace can easily afford the food, and thus the food carts enjoying a study stream of customers.

Finally, in line with "keeping Portland weird," the food carts offer just about every possible type of food you can think of-and even some you probably wouldn't think of. Take PBJ's Grill for example; this favorite food cart offers variations of your favorite childhood lunch-variations that include tossing in bacon or jalapenos to the traditional peanut butter and jelly sandwich. The Dump Truck, on the other hand offers delicious handmade Chinese dumplings while other food carts offer gyros, soups, or crepes. Many food carts are more culturally specific in their food menu, from Bosnian to Jewish to Cuban to Japanese to "Southern" food styles.

If you're in the Portland area, be sure to grab at least one meal from a food cart; you won't regret it.