Jerk Chicken and Pork Belly Banh Bao - BaoPDX - SW 9th and Alder

Today I rode the Max up to Pioneer Courthouse Square, then wandered over to the pods on SW 9th and 10th, as it's been a while (again) since I visited the carts here.

A new one stuck out, with a brightly colored cart and a very neat set of food photos and graphics.

BaoPDX - Serving up some interesting takes on Banh Bao, including Jerk Chicken, BBQ beef, Spam, and even a tofu version.

Since they are smaller sandwiches, the prices are set to match, $3 each, or a combo of two sandwiches, a drink, and chips for $7.50. I opted for the combo, so I could try out at least two of the varieties of sandwich.

The people in the cart were friendly and talkative, greeting people who were walking by (this trick works really well, I've noticed -- people 'on the fence' as they walk by will stop and order when greeted directly, I watched this happen three times while I was standing there)

Now, on to the food... the pillow-like buns were soft and sponge-like (in a very good way), and generously stuffed with ingredients. The jerk chicken sandwich I ordered was so good, I didn't pause once from start to finish.

The pork belly sandwich was also quite good, my only complaint would be that mine was about half fat -- considering the cut, that's to be expected here and there.

Two sandwiches and chips definitely left me full to the brim, I may skip the combo and just get two sandwiches next time. One might be enough, if you had a decent breakfast, but I'd recommend two.

I'll be back to this place, for sure -- I can't stress enough how good the buns were.

Hawkfire Roast Beef Sandwich - Wagsys's Roast Beef - SW 5th and Oak

I must give another fond shout-out to Wagsy's, a cart I've blogged about before.
These guys are still fairly new on the scene, but they are awesome. This has rapidly become one of my favorite food carts.

Today, I had the Hawkfire, which is a roast beef sandwich glazed in Cholula sauce, with pepperjack cheese, fresh onions and cabbage, jalapenos, and Crema Mexicana.

Just look at this thing -- it's huge, fresh, delicious, and SPICY-SPICY-SPICY. They must have known I was coming, this had all the right ingredients.

They have new signs up indicating they are offering breakfast, which I'm sure is outstanding. Also, for St. Patrick's Day, they'll be offering their "Irish Bliss" sandwich on the 16th: Roast beef simmered in Guinness beer jus, white Irish cheddar, cabbage, and whole grain mustard.

I may have to visit them twice this week.

The guys are super friendly, and sometimes will even hand you a token good for $1 off a sandwich, or a free drink or chips. I enjoyed a free soda with my meal today, using one such token, and was given another for next time... they seem to know how to keep you coming back, as if the excellent food wasn't enough of an incentive.

They also very helpfully include, taped to your food box, a toothpick, and a wet-nap to wipe off your messy hands after consuming these monuments of culinary excellence.

Highly recommended.

Al Pastor Burrito - Northwest Tacos - SW 2nd between Oak and Stark

I know I reviewed a Mexican cart last week, and hinted I might do the same this week. By coincidence, I also ordered the same dish -- an Al Pastor Burrito.

Northwest Tacos is a brand new cart that just opened up, and it is one of the more slick and modern looking carts I've seen (inside and out)

The owners of the cart were very friendly and talkative.

The menu is relatively simple: Tacos, Burritos, Tortas, etc -- but they have a wider variety of meats to pick from, including Beef Tongue - one of my more recently acquired preferred meats. Unfortunately, I got there right after 11am and the beef tongue wasn't ready to be served.

While chatting and awaiting my burrito, they filled me in on why there were a bunch of big fancy trailers taking over the lot --- apparently, the TV series "Grimm" is in town with cast and crew and filming scenes in our lovely rainy town.
Hey, at least they're very well positioned to try out some good food without spending much time out in the elements.

Now, on to the Al Pastor - which is style of pork cooked 'Middle Eastern' style like lamb might be for gyros - and, I've recently learned, often with pineapple. Always fun when I learn something new about cuisine I thought I was already well versed in.

This was a huge burrito, as is somewhat customary from the carts around - but, much to my delight, wasn't stuffed with mostly rice as filler. There was rice (I could go on about my dislike for using rice in burritos, though that's my opinion, really) - but not a whole lot. There are some carts I won't go to because I feel like I get a 'rice burrito with a hint of what I ordered' - Not here.

Overall, this was very tasty, the people in the cart were friendly, it was clean, good prices - if you're in the mood for Mexican and find yourself downtown on 2nd Avenue, check it out!

Al Pastor Burrito - Piñata - SW 3rd and Ash

A brand new Mexican Food cart opened up next to Big Ass Sandwiches this week, so I decided to try it out. Although there is no sign stating so, rumor has it the cart is "Piñata."

The menu is fairly standard fare for Mexican food, featuring tacos, burritos, rellenos, sopas, etc. Tacos $1.50, Burritos $5.50, certainly a bargain.

I ordered the Al Pastor Burrito, and it is MASSIVE. They grill the tortillas, which makes them 100% more awesome. The burrito contained rice, beans, onions, cheese, the meat (of course) - and, something of a surprise -- pineapple. It works, though.

They have their own red and green sauce, and I loved both of them - if anything, this sauce might cause me to prefer this cart when I'm in the mood for Mexican food.

On the way back to the office, I noticed another new cart has opened up on SW 2nd between Oak and Stark - hey, Mexican food! Maybe I'll try that next week.