Bacon Wrapped Chicken Wings - The Sausage Shack, SW 3rd and Stark

A cold, rainy day in Portland (imagine that) had me wanting to stay close to work for lunch. A cart I've passed just about every day but never bothered to stop at - The Sausage Shack - was open earlier than usual, so I figured I'd see what they had going on.

They have a large flatscreen in a window displaying various menu items, such as burgers, corn dogs, sausages, and the like - and proudly displayed in their window was a trophy claiming them winners of the "2011 Bacon Cup."

The screen faded in and out of various offerings, then, two of my favorite things in one dish: Bacon Wrapped Chicken Wings.

Now, how awesome could that be? I ordered half a dozen. They took about 10 minutes to cook, the sauce choices were "spicy, BBQ, or BBQ spicy" -- I went for the spicy, as I have a preference for savory over sweet.

This gave me ample time to stand watching the flatscreen display all the sinful, heart-attack inducing cuisine they have to offer.

Fries, curly fries, cheese fries, chili-cheese fries, bacon wrapped corndogs, and burgers of various configurations including their "Paul BrOnion Burger" - which features a full pound of meat (beef and bratwurst) - chili dogs, chili burgers... it's quite an extensive menu.

The wings wrapped in bacon were, indeed, a lovely combination. I personally prefer my spicy wings be hot enough to make my scalp sweat. These weren't that spicy, but still quite enjoyable (and I realize not everyone likes their wings as hot as I do) - The breading was subtle, which is always good, and wrapping it in bacon - truly inspired. Mmm. Very nice.

I'm sure I'll be back to try the chili dog or chili burger in the near future, other guilty pleasures I indulge in on occasion... though this seems to be more of a 'late' cart, in that they often aren't open when I go to lunch, but appear to be open in the evenings and late into night and early morning hours - unlike many carts in this pod.

Skewed Concoctions on SW 3rd and Stark - Pork Satay

For today's adventure, I thought I'd try out Skewed Concoctions, which opened up in the spot of a former Thai cart on SW 3rd between Stark and Washington. I've seen it a few times while scouting out lunch, but nothing had jumped out at when casually strolling past...

I took a closer look at the menu this time -- They actually have a lot of offerings, for a variety of tastes. Chicken, Beef, and Pork Satay... Wings... Teriyaki -- all on sticks. (Those who prefer no sticks in their meat, they will kindly remove them after cooking if you'd like) - Pad Thai (veggie, even)- Papaya salad. Something for everybody.

You can order skewers of meat a la carte, or in a meal. I ordered the Pork Satay meal.

It was served with rice, a small cup of chopped up apples, cucumber, and onions, and what I thought was cole slaw - turns out it's served hot, and has broccoli in it. This was an unexpected and pleasant surprise. Very tasty, and perfect on a day like today where we had snow in the early morning and heavy rain following.

The eggroll was delicious - one of the more flavorful ones I've had (and there are plenty of eggrolls to be had from Portland food carts) - I didn't need to dip it in anything.

Same goes for the Pork Satay - it was wonderful all by itself, great flavor - then, I added the peanut sauce (of course) -- it had a very subtle smokey flavor to it that stood out - in fact, I almost want to guess there may be some coffee involved in its creation. HIGHLY recommended.

I kept eating rice just to add the peanut sauce, until it was all gone. Wow, that was good.

Try this place out. :D

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.