Tasty Pasty! London Pasty Company - Cartlandia - SE 82nd & Springwater

I was teleworking today, and due to some terribly unfortunately timed work-related issues, had very little time for lunch. I took off down the street to Cartlandia, a pod I've never visited before.

I got there early, it was barely after 11am. A few of the carts weren't open. The very nicely Union Jack decorated London Pasty Company was open and had a couple of customers.

The owner was authentic, as one can easily tell by her accent. I ordered the traditional pasty, which has ground beef and mashed potatoes. It was ready within seconds (one of the great things about pasties, she said) - and I had to hurry out of there and eat it at home.

It was DELICIOUS. Very flavorful, buttery crust, good portions. $6. They offer some veggie options, as well.

I'd love to have had more time to look around, there appear to be several good choices at this pod.

Tabor - SW 5th and Stark - Schnitzelwich!!!

Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls of both sexes - I proudly present to you, the Schnitzelwich.
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The name of this cart is "Tabor - Authentic Czech Cuisine" - but everyone knows it as the Schnitzelwich cart.

Their signature sandwich is HUGE, and absolutely amazing. I've pictured it, partially eaten, next to a Diet Coke can for size reference.

You can get it 'traditional' with breaded pork, or with chicken. It comes on a toasted ciabatta bun, with lettuce, horseradish, and a paprika spread.

Positive reviews for this sandwich and cart date back to 2006, this is one of Portland's most successful food carts... having been featured in local magazines, national reviews, placing in top 10 lists of America's best food carts -- you know, little things like that.

Aside from the spectacular Schnitzelwich, they feature daily soups, spaetzel, goulash, potato pancakes, muenster cheese sanwiches, sausages, and more.

If you have limited time to try out food carts, this is a "Must See" while in town.

I am very much a fan of this sandwich, the crispy schnitzel, the horseradish, the crisp lettuce - all of it combines to make a dangerously tasty meal that's hard to put down, despite being enormous*.

* Today, I noticed they've now started offering "half" Schnitzelwiches for $5, and for many people - this will be more than enough meal.

BBQ Pork with Rice and Kimchi - A Taste of Korea - SW 3rd and Stark

It's a very rainy day today, and I didn't want to travel far, yet I also wanted to try a cart I've not been to. There is a Korean cart, "A Taste of Korea" - conveniently located in the pod on SW 3rd between Stark and Washington.

All their dishes are displayed with full color photographs, which is helpful, but can also leave you standing there drooling on yourself for a good ten minutes before placing your order.

Spicy BBQ Pork for me today, please. Looks delicious.
Within 5 minutes, I was handed an extremely heavy container of rice, BBQ pork, noodles, and Kimchi (or gimchi, kimchee, or kim chee, depending on who you talk to) - plus a small salad with dressing.

$6, and definitely enough food for two meals.

Spicy, flavorful, delicious - all of it. If it weren't for the fact that there was SO much food, I'd have been upset that I ran out of Kimchi so quickly, as this was the best I've had, ever... cleverly hidden in a small condiment cup alongside the other items. Mmm. I even poured the remaining 'juices' over my noodles to keep the flavor train running.

I'm impressed. Good stuff, good prices, friendly service... and another cart I can say "wow, I can't believe I didn't try this out sooner..."

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.

Crispy Beef Tongue with Fennel - Big Ass Sandwiches, SW 3rd and Ash

OK, I admit it. Before today, I was a Big-Ass virgin. Despite glowing reviews, television plugs and appearances, and so on -- I'd never ordered my lunch from the famous Big-Ass Sandwiches cart on SW 3rd and Ash.

I had no clear idea what I wanted for lunch today, but figured I'd head back in that direction to see if there had been any changes to the carts on this corner.

Luckily for me, today was a special day at Big-Ass sandwiches, they had a guest chef on board for the day - Kevin Sandri (of Garden State fame) - serving up his own menu of sandwiches...

Which lead me to order the irresistibly described Crispy Beef Tongue with Sauce Gribiche and Fennel & Apple slaw.

There were already a few people lined up, and it did take a few minutes to get my food, but WOW - was it worth it!

Served on a toasted Ciabatta bun, the beef tongue had a light breading and was, as advertised, quite crispy. Very rich in flavor, the sauce and the fennel and apple slaw made a perfect flavor combination. This is only the second time I've eaten beef tongue, and can now say I am definitely a fan of the stuff.

I know this isn't their normal menu, but a good impression has been made and I'll be back to try some of their regular offerings in the future. (Besides, this place is one of the most positively reviewed food carts in the world... there must be something to that)

Check out their web site for their regular menu, links, etc.

.. oh, and did I mention how awesome this sandwich is? WOW. I feel like royalty eating this.

Green Curry with Duck and Avocado - Bangkok Duck and Chicken - SW 10th & Alder

I went for a walk today at lunch, up to the cart pods on SW 9th and 10th off of Alder. This is by far the most populous encampment of Portland food carts, and is home to some of the most successful of the bunch.

Imagine my surprise when I came across Bangkok Duck and Chicken.
If you have duck on the menu, I'm interested. This stopped me dead in my tracks as I looked over the menu of what appears to be a fairly standard Thai/Curry setup -- only, with duck. - Curry *and* duck... and this dish, #6 on the menu, the Green Curry with Duck and Avocado. No need to look any further, folks. This was where I was getting lunch today.

Served with a VERY generous portion of rice, the curry and other ingredients were placed in a separate container. Definitely enough for two meals.

While waiting on the food, I chatted with the owner a bit, who didn't hesitate to tell me this was the best curry around. I asked how long he'd been there, and, much to my surprise -- the answer was "two years" - and that he had, in fact, changed the appearance of the cart a tad recently.

At least 100 times, I must have walked right by this cart and never noticed. I reviewed the cart right next to it as one of my first posts to this blog. Yet, here I was, waiting on my food from what I thought was a relatively new cart... WITH DUCK. How could I have missed it?

My love affair with duck has only occurred over the last year or two -- before then, I'd never had it, to my knowledge. Now, if there's duck on the menu, I'll often order it, as I'm enjoying all the duck dishes.

This curry is no exception - this is AWESOME. The curry is, indeed, delicious - and may be one of the best curries in Portland, as the owner claims. A *lot* of duck meat, alongside crisp bell peppers, avocado chunks, and cashews. As much as I want to eat the whole thing, this is really enough food for two and there's no way I will finish it all at the moment, despite that urge that good spicy Thai food gives me to just keep shoveling it in until there's nothing left.

Bangkok Duck and Chicken, SW 10th and Alder.

Give Pizza a Chance - SW 5th and Stark

Another long-running cart in the area is Give Pizza a Chance - featuring locally sourced, organic ingredients, their own cane-sugar sweetened sodas, breadsticks, etc.

I've been there many, many, many times - but never blogged about it - Today, they had a special with Canadian bacon, goat cheese, onions, and garlic - and it smelled awesome, so I just had to stop and have a slice.

Just look at that! Behold the awesomeness that was this tasty slice of pizza. SO very good.

If you're downtown looking for a quick bite to eat, this is a good bet - I've never been disappointed.

Sure, not a very long blog entry - but, yeah, two thumbs up for quality on this cart's food. It's pizza.