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.

Salmon Fusion on SW 3rd between Stark and Washington - Salmon Chowder Breadbowl

The sorely missed Gin Thai cart has been reopened, this time as "Salmon Fusion," - a cart specializing in bringing you salmon in many, many forms.

There have been a few 'fish and chips' carts that have come and gone over the last few years, the only one I can think of that has staying power is The Frying Scotsman - which was never solely a fish and chips cart in the first place. (also the only place I've ever had Haggis, but that's another story)

Salmon Fusion, however, brings a little more to the table than a fish and chips cart... in fact, "Fish and Chips" isn't an option here.

Everything in their menu is salmon based, but there's a bit of variety.

For instance - Salmon chowder, salmon tacos, salmon pot pie, smoked salmon sliders, salmon pita wrap, bagels with salmon and cream cheese, salads (with salmon)... you get the point.

I didn't notice until I looked at the menu AFTER leaving, that they have two dessert offerings that... I guess I'll have to try at some point... though hesitantly -- "Peppermint dark chocolate salmon," and "Peppermint white chocolate salmon" - $4.
I'm really not sure how to interpret that, but I am certainly curious. An opportunity for another visit, perhaps.

The owner has worked deep sea fishing in Alaska, and catches and smokes the salmon himself. He was giving out samples of the chowder to passersby, and had quite a line of interested patrons.

Now, I'm a sucker for soup in breadbowls. I've always loved that method of soup delivery, so the chowder was my pick for my first Salmon Fusion meal. It was served, as advertised, in a breadbowl (Alessio Baking provides the baked goods) - along with Hawaiian coleslaw, saffron rice, and a wedge of dried pineapple with some cayenne pepper coating it.

The chowder was delicious, filling, and disappeared way too fast - and there was plenty of it. I needed to save room for the slaw and some rice. The slaw was a little on the sweet side (That must be Hawaiian style, I suppose) - and I ate all of that, as well. Now, left in my takeout container, is about half a breadbowl, cleaned of any trace of chowder, and most of the rice - but I simply cannot eat any more - this was A LOT of food.

$7.50 - not too shabby, especially considering you could probably feed two people with this meal.

"Welcome to the neighborhood." - Another cart I'm sure to return to.

Beef Tongue Taco and Hot Tamales - El Sultan - SE 50th and Foster

Today, I had to work from home to facilitate the delivery of a new washing machine.
This left me nowhere near downtown, which is where I usually report from... however, this did not deter me from eating cart food, and gave me a chance to check out a nearby cart pod local to my 'hood, which I usually don't have the chance to try.

This brings me to El Sultan, the longest running cart at the seemingly troubled Carts on Foster pod. I've watched several carts come and go from this location since it was started up, but this one's been a mainstay.

An interesting cart, as El Sultan provides both Mexican and Mediterranean style dishes. I had greek food yesterday, so I opted to go the Mexican route.

I was in luck, their menu offered beef tongue as one of the meat options. I'd been meaning to try this for some time, so here was my chance. (Though, I was hesitant, as they spelled it "tounge" on the menu, a BIG pet peeve of mine, how seemingly half the population misspells this word consistently the same way -> T-O-N-G-U-E, OK?)

They had a sign up declaring the special to be chicken tamales, as well, and those sounded good. I ordered two chicken tamales, and one beef tongue taco. It took a few minutes to get my food, but they wrapped it up 'to go' nicely on a plate, and gave me some small cups of hot sauce to go along with it.

The beef tongue was soft and tender and flavorful - very good. Up until the last year or so, I'd have instantly rejected the idea of eating tongue, but had read a few articles in its defense explaining it's some of the best meat you can get. I'm inclined to agree, after this taco. It was served in street taco fashion, with soft, warm corn tortillas, onions, cilantro, and of course, little chunks of tender tongue meat. Perhaps I should have had two beef tongue tacos, and one tamale.

The tamales were great. The chicken inside was quite spicy, and I didn't need to use the hot sauce except to soak the remaning chunks of tamale after I liberated the spicy chicken from inside. Ate up every bite, and now I'm rather stuffed... and satisfied. Not a bad deal, $6.50 for the meal I had, which was more than enough.

If you haven't tried beef tongue - give it a whirl - I was impressed... and if you find yourself out in the Foster/Powell area, maybe give this struggling cart pod a try - it looks like they're trying a few good ideas out -- such as a beer bar, and heated tent for eating during inclement weather. There was music playing, but hardly anyone in sight. Currently, there appear to be four operational carts, including an Italian, Thai, and Hawaiian cart, plus the one I just reviewed.

Hog Time - The Hog Dog

Today, I was going to try to go somewhere and not get pork, as it's been a recurring theme in my relatively new practice of blogging my cart meals.

Somehow, I lost that argument with myself when I wandered down Washington between SW 2nd and 3rd, and there was Hog Time, open and ready for business... I've eaten here before and loved it each time. I've not gotten through the full menu yet, but I'm getting there.

It's Friday, Payday, and I was hungry. The "Hog Dog," I decided, was to be today's gluttonous celebration of money in the bank and no work tomorrow. This is actually their 'smallest' meal item.

Now, imagine, if you will -- a large, juicy sausage (1/4lb, beef)... topped with a generous heaping of pulled pork, onions, and hot sauce, wrapped in a house-made toasted pita, hot dog style, then wrapped in paper and foil so you don't get any on you.

I may feel like I'm going to explode after eating it, along with an order of tasty, crispy fresh french fries - but it's SO worth it.

I chatted with Dave, the purveyor of this tasty pork, while he was preparing the food - he makes a point to get to know his customers and remember their names when they're regulars... and watching him work is impressive, this guy has his craft down. The fries were fried up, strained, and tossed in a bowl with salt, all came out crisp and salted just right.

He has a variety of sauces available to top his foods off with, from mild to spicy (Hoganero sauce is my personal favorite) so you can tweak your food a bit to fit your fancy.

Some other offerings:

Hogzilla, a very generous heaping of pulled pork stuffed into his tasty, soft pita bread
Pig Pen, freshly fried fries, topped with delicious pulled pork, cheese, and sauces.
Boss Hog: HUGE pulled pork sandwich, again with a variety of tasty toppings and sauces
Pulled Pork Tacos - the same great pork, in delicious pita bread, you get the point. :)

Quick, efficient, tasty, generous portions, this cart really has it together.

Now, if only I could take a nap for the rest of my work day...