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.

Mole Platter - Mr. Taco, SW 5th and Oak

Today I realized, during the entire time I've been doing this blog, I have neglected to stop at a single Mexican cart. There are plenty, almost as many of them as there are Thai food carts.

Perhaps they seemed the least exotic of the carts around, yet - they do often offer the best value for your money, with many offering tacos around $1.50 each, burritos for $5, etc.

Mr. Taco has been around for quite some time, and I think this was my first time stopping there. They have a rather extensive menu, and -- MOLE SAUCE. So, today I ordered the Mole Platter.

It came with a generous amount of small corn flour tortillas packaged in tinfoil, so they kept warm. Refried beans with cheese and a scoop of rice on the side.

The mole was very tasty, not too sweet, and was generously applied to the tender, almost shredded chicken. I actually ran out of tortillas and finished up the remainder with my fork.

Unfortunately, I didn't notice their sign advertising a new dish, which was a cactus platter. This is something I may want to try in the near future, to help erase a traumatic childhood memory where my stepmother taught us that cacti were edible, and proceeded to pull some out of the back yard, prepare and serve it to us - without taking all the spines out. We were picking it out of our tongues for a week. Don't try this at home.

Yeah. Maybe this cart will help undo my fear of eating cactus. Maybe.

Overall review: Good stuff, generous portions, and a very robust menu. Breakfast is also offered, this is one of the carts that is almost ALWAYS open. Tortas, burritos, tacos, enchiladas, and more. Their hot sauce is amazing, if you like to sweat while eating your food... which I do.

Chicken Burrito with Spicy Chipotle sauce - The Burrito Box, SW 3rd and Washington

The Burrito Box is a bright yellow cart on the corner of SW 3rd and Washington. I've been there a few times, and enjoyed the food, yet hadn't been back since I started this blog.
(To be fair, this cart opens at 11:30 most days, and by then, I've already retrieved my lunch)

I was in search of the Wild West, which is their buffalo burrito. [Fantastic, by the way] - Unfortunately, their menu is somewhat rotational and this was not the day for buffalo. Not to worry, though, the mix of ingredients available at this cart give you some tasty non-traditional burrito options.

One clear point about The Burrito Box - This is *not* a Mexican food cart.

The owner/operator, Cameron, uses fresh local ingredients (which is a common theme here, of course) - throws your tortilla on the grill and whips up tasty burritos with mixtures of chicken, pork, tofu, red quinoa, hummus, rice, collard greens, pinto or black beans, etc. (and sometimes, buffalo!)

The portions are generous and the flavors are rich. You can also order a quesadilla, or soft tacos, if you've got a smaller appetite.

So, I had the chicken with spicy Chipotle sauce, and it was filling, delicious, and spicy enough to break a sweat. Perfect.

Bulkogi Fusion: Udon

Today as I wandered the pod on SW 5th between Oak and Stark, I decided to stop by "Bulkogi Fusion" - which is right on the corner at Stark.

This cart's been there a while, and I tried it out when they first opened, as it looked interesting. Their main attractions are the Korean Tacos/Burritos - pretty much a delicious way to deliver Korean food from a cart.

The "fusion" theme continues through some of their other dishes, where they tend to mix Japanese and Chinese dishes in with the more Korean-tinged ingredients for their own twist.
Teriyaki, potstickers, salad rolls, ramen, etc.

Their tacos and burritos are amazing, bursting with flavor, and everything is cooked for you right there after you order. They don't use oils or fat of any sort, it's just plain good stuff.

I decided to branch out and try to Udon today... never had it before.... and yes, I know it's a Japanese dish. ;)

Udon noodles with seaweed, mushrooms, 'fishcakes,' carrots, etc. The noodles were thick, and still had a bit of an 'al dente' texture to them. My only comparison would be to Pho, but without any meat, and much thicker noodles. Also, this is VERY spicy. The broth itself has quite a bit of zing to it.

As I'm eating it, it's pretty decent, but I think the next time I visit this cart, I'm going back to the delicious burritos or the kimchi quesadilla. Those are excellent.