A Vegetarian in Portland: Food Cart Series (Summary)

Seven food carts in twelve hours seemed like a lofty goal, but we knew we’d have fun trying.  On a forty-degree Friday in Portland, Oregon, my favorite travel buddy and I ate from nine to nine.  I researched the vegetarian-friendliness of things ahead of time so I knew what our best options were, but on this day we mostly just followed our cravings and appetite around the town.  We did a fair amount of driving, and as a result, got to experience many different cuisines and some of Portland’s most popular groupings of food carts, or pods.

There’s a great website called Food Carts Portland where I got nearly all of my information. Their map lists approximately 200 carts and many are exclusively vegetarian or offer veggie options.   I even coughed up the $0.99 for their iPhone app and was impressed with its handiness.  You can use it to search by type of food (including vegetarian and vegan), location, or time of day when the hunger strikes.

The hours of operation for the carts vary widely, so to avoid famished disappointment, I would recommend double-checking this detail before you trek too far to a particular destination.  Most pods and individual carts have ATMs nearby if you need cash and seating varies so weather may be a consideration for you as well.

I’ve written up a post for each food cart we visited, if you want to learn more.  Here’s the epic eating itinerary:

9:01 am

Flavour Spot (Waffle Sandwiches)

1:24 pm

A La Carts Pod

La Arepa ( Venezuelan)

2:03 pm

7 Hills Turkish Grill (Turkish)

2:33 pm

Cartlandia Pod

Cake on a Hot Tin Roof (Desserts)

8:19 pm

D-Street Noshery Pod

Roshambo (Indian)

Fuego de Lotus (Venezuelan and Mexican) and Captured by Porches Guerrilla Public House (Beer) are mentioned in the Roshambo post listed above.

There were many vegetarian food carts that we just couldn’t make it to, so a return trip is definitely in the works.  And, next time we need to make nutrition more of a priority vs. just aiming for meatlessness.  Thanks, Portland.  We’ll be back real soon.

Any suggestions for our next trip?

Kristine Duncan, Registered Dietitian

I’m a Registered Dietitian, the author of Veg Girl RD, and a vegetarian who loves to eat. I’m a nutrition nerd who teaches at the University of Washington and Skagit Valley College. I also write about nutrition professionally for magazines and books. If you want to know more, check out my About page.