Portland Cart Reporter

Mediocre Mexican at Rafael's

2005-12-18T15:32:00.000-08:00

On Saturday, the Cart Reporter had a date night with his youngest cub reporter. Since the rest of the brood was otherwise engaged, it was one of those rare chances to be a bit more adventurous.

It was tough call. The night before, the Reporter hosted his company's Christmas party. The resulting overindulgence created a craving for something meaty, if not downright greasy. In this Reporter's mind, this left two choices (1) burger (the bigger, the better), or (2) Mexican.

Portland, sad to say, is not a burger town. Los Angeles--home to sushi bars, escarole salads, and lite eating galore--has more totally awesome burger joints per capita than any other city in the world. (The Reporter remembers fondly driving the mile or so down Pico Blvd to Mo' Better Meatty Meat Burgers for a half-pounder and fries.) So, rather than face another McMenamins or Red Robin repeat, the Reporter quickly but sadly stifled the burger option.

So, Mexican it was. The Reporter loves Mexican food--he could easily eat it every meal every day for the rest of his life. The Reporter's date is not fussy at all and tends to seek out flavorful, if not spicy, food.

Rafael's Comida Mexicana is only about three weeks old. It occupies the space left vacant by Uncle Butchy's, a very short-lived low-carb restaurant near 39th, I-84, and Sandy. We arrived a little before 6:00 pm and only two other tables were occupied. CNN Headline News was blaring out across the restaurant, so we got to hear almost two news cycles during our meal.

Our waitress was friendly and very attentive to the cub reporter. The board outside listed some specials, but the wintry weather did not encourage any lingering outside. Thus, the Reporter asked the waitress what the specials were. To which she responded that everything is special.

OK, let's try again. "What do you recommend?" this reporter asked.

"I haven't tried everything, so I don't know what is best."

OK, one more try: "How's the chili Colorado?"

"Is that what you'd like?"

"Sure, with corn tortillas. And a horchata, please."

Two rules for server success: (1) everything is not special, and (2) find two things you can recommend, one meaty and one vegetarian.

After a bit of a wait, I was greeted with a large plate of chili Colorado, pinto beans, and Spanish rice ($8.00). Everything was luke warm suggesting that there was some delay between its preparation and its arrival at my table. Since the waitress struck me a someone who'd be quite put-out with a reheat request, the Reporter greedily feasted on what was served. The meat was was very flavorful and tender. The beans were tasty and not watery. The rice was somewhat bland and seemed to come from a mix. The horchata ($2.00) was almost flavorless--more like watery skim milk with spices.

Some of the Rafael's shortcomings can be chalked up to growing pains, but three weeks should be sufficient time to ensure quick delivery of food and for a waitress to develop some recommendations.

Regardless, it was pleasure to spend some time with the littlest reporter. She was an angel the entire meal and enjoyed the chips and salsa and the tour of Christmas lights afterward.

Fong Chong: Down Town Dim Sum

2005-08-19T09:02:00.000-07:00

I had to take a hike to Portland's Chinatown yesterday. My colleague, Bob, suggested that we go to Fong Chong for dim sum. On the way, we ran into the Sinclairs, of Stickers and Martina's fame (see previous post), and their kids, who own Dot's in southeast Portland--a real food service family. John Sinclair augured that I was in for a real dining treat.

I hoped so. The last time I had dim sum was in LA, during Chinese New Year. Needless to say--with two kids in tow at the time--it was madness. I don't even remember if it was good.

Yesterday, the meal was consumed under more ideal conditions. Bob, his off-to-college son, and me. We began with sum potstickery things, sum stuffed with scallops and others with veggies and shrimp. I call them potstickery because they were a cross between potstickers and shumai. Regardless, very tasty. Especially with soy and chili oil.

Next was bbq pork. A little dry, but tasty nonetheless.

Then, off in the distance ... The holy grail of dim sum at Fong Chong: ginger chicken. Tasty thigh meat, marinated in soy and stuff, with thin slices of fresh ginger placed on top, all wrapped in foil. I've never had anything like it, and it was delicious.

I woke up craving it for breakfast. But, instead, I had an artery special: hash browns with gravy and cheese ($2.58) at the Center Cafe in the Standard Insurance building.

Sports, beer, and chicken strips at the Bullpen Tavern

2005-08-08T09:07:00.000-07:00

Sometimes a bricks and mortar establishment provides cart-like food at cart-like prices. Last night, I was pleasantly surprised by the chicken strips and fries basket ($4.50) at the Bullpen Tavern, near PGE Park. A huge basket of fries with three meaty chicken strips hiding underneath, served with a side of ranch dressing. True barfood decadence. It looks like all the Bullpen's fried food comes out of the same tiny fryer, which means every morsel has a melange of flavors from whatever went through before. It's never the same taste twice!

If you're ever in Florida ... Prost!

2005-08-08T08:58:00.000-07:00

The original owners of Stickers Asian Cafe, picked up and moved to Florida. Still bitten by the restaurant bug, and lacking the rubles to retire, they hit the strip mall and took over a German restaurant, owned and operated by a real live German woman named Martina. Check out the website--it too was designed by a real live German! (Warning: Turn down your speakers if you work in a polka-free office.)

The nightlife of food carts

2005-08-08T08:54:00.000-07:00

The Sunday Oregonian has a story on Portland nightlife (and the club crowd's obliviousness to a spate of shootings in the "party" district), that reports on carts at the bar scene.

Thai Sky

2005-08-04T13:25:00.000-07:00

Inertia is the enemy of the Cart Reporter. A taco from King Burrito or a burrito from Mr… Taco is sends the Reporter to the pinnacle of pleasure. It was, therefore, by enormous willpower that the Reporter virtually ventured to southeast Asia with a visit to Thai Sky, on the Fifth Avenue Cartland.

Thai Sky is housed in a blindingly bright yellow cart (though not as blindingly bright as the University of Oregon’s failed experiment with “Lightning Yellow” football jerseys). Every day yields a seemingly different set of daily specials, although sources inform the Reporter that there is very little day-to-day rotation of specials. One item specials, served with white rice, are $4.75; two items for $5.75. Add a quarter if you want noodles instead of rice.

The Reporter had the peanut chicken curry on white rice. The portion was plentiful, and Thai Sky provides a bevy of sauces: Rosemead rooster sauce, sweet and sour sauce, and soy sauce. In front of the sauces are chili paste, chili powder, and crushed peanuts as well as a bowl of limes. This cart leads the pack in condiments—-an important criterion to the Reporter’s rankings.

The curry was delicious, satisfying, and had the right mix of veggies and meat. It’s quality is somewhat better than Suriya (housed in one of Portland’s ugliest buildings), and approximately the same as Thai Go (in the Pioneer Place food court). Since both non-cart restaurants are 5-25% more than the cart, Thai Sky has a higher value-to-price ratio than either of these two.

No Fish! Go Fish!

2005-07-29T14:04:00.000-07:00

Coming back from a meeting at lunchtime, the Reporter wanted something quick and cheap. With a line at Fuego squashing my taste for a burrito, I pressed on half a block to No Fish! Go Fish! on the corner of Fifth and Yamhill.

No Fish! Go Fish! serves little fried corn fritters stuffed with several filling, including:

Cheddar cheese
Spinach and feta
Curried vegetable
Tomato and mozzarella
Chocolate carmel
1 or 2 daily specials, one of which is usually cream cheese and pepperoncini (the best, by far)

I had the spinach and feta, curried vegetable, and a daily special that had olives. The daily special was the best of the three, with curried vegetable a close second, especially with the sweet and sour sauce provided.

Each fish is priced at $1, and one of the soups of the day is $3.50. A combo of two fish and a soup is $5.00. The soups are always good, but not always hot. Sometimes that's a good thing because one of today's soups was chilled gazpacho. I didn't have it, but I probably will next time. Gazpacho is a labor intensive soup and $3.50 is a bargain.

Quick service and friendly proprietor help explain how a business selling $1 fish can succeed even in River City.

Fatty Patties

2005-07-28T12:01:00.000-07:00

Traversing Portland's cartland, the Reporter has had his fair share of hot dogs, burritos, tacos, noodles, cheesesteaks, and even schnitzel. But there has been a je ne sais pas that has been missing. But like a word you've been searching for that someone suddenly says in casual conversation, the realization hits like a bolt with a visit to Fatty Patties. Until Fatty Patties opened on Pioneer Square a few months ago, finding a burger in cartland was an exercise in frustration. With the exception of Phillies on the Phly on Fifth Avenue, burgers were non-existent. How could a city with hundreds of food carts fail to have one, two, or even a dozen burger carts?

Fatty Patties is a relatively small cart with a 12-patty grill and a two-basket fryer. The menu is bare-bones: hamburger ($3.25), cheeseburger ($3.50), double cheeseburger ($4.50), double cheeseburger with bacon ($3.75), chicken strips ($4.75), and fried chicken ($4.75); fries on side for $1.50 more. Order of fries are $2.00 or $3.00.

I ordered the hamburger, no cheese (a cheeseburger is pictured here). All burgers are 1/3 pound and come with lettuce, tomato, onion, and Fatty Patties sauce and a sesame seed bun. Pickles and ketchup are to the side, next to the napkins. It was a satisfying burger, though it could benefitted from the three slices of cheese that come with a cheeseburger (that was my fault, though, for trying to save some calories and fat grams). There was not enough sauce for me to notice it and the layering of the accoutrements was slightly out of order.

You ask: "Is there a correct way to order veggies on a sandwich?" Yes, there is:

Rule #1 is that tomatoes must touch any mayo-based sauce (an extension of this rule dictates that the tomatoes must have a light sprinkling of salt to draw the juice out to mingle with the mayo). There are no exceptions to this rule.
After tomatoes (working vertically downward, i.e., bun, mayo, tomatoes, etc.), come onions. Onions benefit from gravity's effect on the tomato juices which mix with the onion juices.
Lettuce is last, inserting itself between the burger (or other protein) and the veggies.

Finally, in true McDLT fashion, the veggie half of the sandwich shouldn't touch the protein half under mere seconds before consumption. Otherwise, the meat heat will wilt the the lettuce. (Note that even McDonald's gets the order wrong!)

Fatty Patties earns rave reviews among the Cart Reporter's investigative staff. Some investigators get Patties several times a week.

PS: Fatty Patties fries are curly fries which are both plentiful (even for the $1.50 side), hot, and tasty.

King Burrito

2005-07-22T16:30:00.000-07:00

The Cart Reporter kicks off in earnest today with a visit to one of the Reporter’s all-time favorite carts. King Burrito is on the corner of Fifth and Oak in downtown Portland. Unlike most Mexican restaurants in Portland (Original Taco House comes to mind), the King is a true caballero. Approaching King Taco, the first impression is, “Wow, this is a pretty dingy cart.”

Getting past the dinginess, which is easy for the Reporter, the next impression is of the prices, “Wow, this food is cheap!” And it is. A taco for $1.25, a “king” taco (which includes lettuce and sour cream) for $1.50. Cheap meat burritos—ground beef, chicken, or carnitas (pork)—are $4.00 and other burritos are $4.50. The third impression, when the King produces your bag of food, is “Wow, the King has only two-and-a-half fingers on his left hand!” This last revelation has caused more than one diner to check his or her food for crunchy bits.

The Reporter has been to the King on many times and had many of the items on the menu. This report, however, focuses on carnitas King Taco. Since the Reporter is hitting the acceptable limits of girth, he purchased only a single King Taco. At $1.50, one King Taco is just about the cheapest lunch in Portland, but is it enough? The King is generous enough to provide two tortillas per taco. (Actually it is a single burrito-sized tortilla folded in half and cut to yield two taco-sized tortillas—a technique the Reporter has successfully duplicated at home to resounding accolades.) With a simple split-and-divide technique, the diner gets dos-por-uno, as shown below. With the extra time it takes to consume the dos-por-uno, one King Taco is satisfying. Indeed, two will leave one stuffed. A burrito may make one uncomfortable. Yes, they are smaller than a Honkin’ Huge burrito, but the King’s quality higher standards and his caballero status generate greater satiation.

Only a long bout of food poisoning would knock the King Burrito from his throne as the best food cart in Portland … So far.

Tad's Chicken 'n' Dumplin's

2005-07-17T08:11:00.000-07:00

Saturday, the Cart Reporter took the Reporter family along the Columbia River on the Oregon side. We went to the recently re-opened Vista House, then along the scenic Columbia Highway to Multnomah Falls. After the Falls, the cub reporters fell asleep in the car, so we pushed on to Hood River. After grabbing some sandwiches to-go, we parked along the river where a kite boarding event was in full flight. On the return trip the Reporter family stopped at Bonneville and spent some time at the hatchery and the dam itself.

Although still full from the sandwiches, this reporter saw a rare opportunity for us to take in Tad’s Chicken ‘n’ Dumplin’s on the Sandy River (1325 SE Columbia River Hwy, Troutdale, OR, 503-666-5337). We arrived a little before 6:00 pm and, although Tad’s was busy, we quickly got a table for six plus a high chair. Most immediately striking is the view—a great place to take an out-of-town visitor. Nearly every seat has a view of the Sandy River. The restaurant sits in the woods and is shaded and cool. The restaurant itself has beautiful woodwork and tasteful décor. It is spotless to the point that I’d guess it’d recently been renovated.

Of course, we ordered chicken and dumplings ($12.95) which was split between Mr. and Mrs. Reporter. The menu offered fried chicken, chicken livers, and steak, among other things. The fried chicken and steak that other people ordered looked tasty. The chicken and dumplings came in a large metal tureen. Two huge dumplings sat atop one breast and one thigh sitting in a small sea of gravy. The dish came with a side of green beans and a bowl of gravy. Chicken and dumplings are the perfect comfort food—masses of gravy poured over everything is near nirvana—and Tad’s has perfected perfection.

Goose Hollow Inn, the best rueben in Portland

2005-07-15T17:35:00.000-07:00

First, an apology. I recognize that it is somewhat queer that the first post to the Portland Cart Reporter is not about at food cart. There are several reasons why, but none are important.

The Goose Hollow Inn is a Portland landmark. It is owned by former mayor Bud Clark, who is most famous to the rest of the world for his modelling in the now-cliche "Expose Yourself to Art" poster and his frequent appearances on the Tonight Show ("Whoop whoop!")

The Goose Hollow Inn is known for its rueben sandwiches and claims that they are the best on the planet. That is debatable, but they are unique. The Inn does not have a grill. Instead, it heats its sandwiches in a pizza oven. The result is a very crisp toasting that is virtually unachievable with a grill and produces the best rueben in Portland.

The ruebens are generous with the meat (but do not approach Langer's levels of bovine butchery) and cheese, and just the right amount of sauerkraut. It was served with a side of carrots and potato salad, which is tasty but not noteworthy. The Inn does not have a fryer so french fries are out of the question.

Pricing: Rueben is $7.50 (add $1.00 for a split--half a sandwich will not leave you hungry), pint of Bridgeport IPA is $4.00, pitcher for $9.00. Service is friendly, but slow if the place get busy.