OLCC approves Portland food cart liquor permit

Well this is exciting news! Ignoring the fact that I am 192 days and 11 hours away from turning 21, Cartlandia's (a pod of food carts located on SE 82nd Avenue) approved liquor license should lead to much more foot traffic around the lot this spring and summer. The different carts include London Pasty shop (traditional pasties and sausage rolls), CheeseSteak Nirvana (phillie-style sandwiches and homemade ice cream), Deb's Blazin' Grill (great weiners), Brotherhood Expresso (traditional and creative Mexican food), Rock House Grill (American and hearty food), La Tinga Tango (spicy Latin food), Relish (specialty hot dogs and more) and GF Chef (the only exclusively gluten-free cart in Portland). Cartlandia is open Monday through Sunday from 6:00 AM to 12:00 AM.

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Click here for more information, including Mayor Sam Adam's and various city commissioners' reactions!

The Whole Bowl

The Whole Bowl is one of my favorite food carts in Portland. Today, I went to the one on NW 11th and Glisan in the Pearl District, but there are Whole Bowl carts in two other locations: 4411 SE Hawthorne (which has indoor seating) and SW 9th and Alder.

Described on their website as "eating a hug," the Whole Bowl has two menu options: Bambino Bowl and Big Bowl. One is $5, the other is $5.50. Even though it only costs 50 cents more for the larger size, I consistently find myself unable to even eat the whole Bambino Bowl. Inside the bowl of deliciousness, you can find brown rice, red and black beans, fresh avocado, salsa, black olives, sour cream, Tillamook cheddar cheese, cilantro and Tali Sauce.

What is Tali Sauce you ask? The first time I went, I was a little ambiguous about the Tali Sauce, primarily because I had never heard of it, but also because it is very yellow. While I still do not know the exact ingredients, it has a lemon-garlic taste and, as I now understand, is referred to by many as "crack sauce". Essentially, it makes the Whole Bowl, the Whole Bowl.

Bambino Bowl without Cilantro $5.00

As a side note, I personally hate cilantro. So while cilantro is one of the main ingredients in the Whole Bowl, The Whole Bowl accomodates its customers by taking special orders, so I do not have to pick out the dreaded herb.

All in all, if you're only in Portland for one day and you are dying to try out or are craving food cart food, I highly recommend the Whole Bowl. Even to those who can't eat gluten, because the Whole Bowl is gluten-free!

Sal's Famous Italian Kitchen

Finally I am able to post about a Portland restaurant after two months of being away! While I am only home for a short stint over my spring break, I am attempting to make as many posts as possible before I return to Southern California for two more months before summer.

While Sal's is not necessarily a hip spot in Portland, it is the restaurant my family frequents the most. Located in the Uptown Shopping Center of Northwest Portland, Sal's offers high quality Italian food for a very reasonable price.

Roasted Beet Salad with Oranges, Goat Cheese and Candied Walnuts $7.00 (I was a little too excited to eat this one to remember to take a picture...)

Roasted Tomato Caprese Salad with Fresh Mozzarella, Oven Roasted Tomatoes, Sweet Balsamic Glaze and Homemade Pesto $7.75

Speaking of the great deals to be had at Sal's, my dad went on a little whee about Sal's over dinner. After taking a bite of his Chicken Picatta, my dad described Sal's as having "a convenient location," "a great wine list," and "delicious entrees for a fraction of the price offered by comparable Portland restaurants."

Chicken Piccata with Seared Chicken Medallions in a Lemon-Caper Sauce, Roasted Potatoes and Sauteed Broccolini $15.00

Carmelized Onion Pizza with Carmelized Onions, Goat Cheese and Prosciutto on a Garlic and Olive Oil Base $13.00

While Sal's is not my favorite restaurant in Portland, it gets the job done. And, it makes my mom happy, which is a bonus (of all the places to eat in Portland, she chose Sal's as her Valentine's Day Dinner restaurant).

P.S. I apologize for the quality of the photos. I accidentally left my camera down in California, so I am left with the camera on my iPhone to document my food adventures during this trip home.

The Omnivorous Michael Pollan

Great article in The Wall Street Journal from late last year about Michael Pollan's home life. Click here to read!

Food Carts Portland

Food Carts Portland is the website to go to for all things food cart related in Portland. The website conveniently has a comprehensive map of the more than 200 food carts in Portland and an app available for your iPhone or iPad!

However, the thing that intrigues me most about Food Carts Portland is their food cart tours! For $25.00, you can learn the history of food carts in Portland, why there is such a scene for them in Portland, what works for food carts and what does not work, visits to some of Portland's best food carts and--the only reason I would go on the tour--food tasting from some of Portland's best carts! I have not heard from anyone who has actually been on the tour, but I am very interested in trying it out the next time I am home in Portland. Even if the actual tour is subpar, I am sure the food is delicious.

Literary Feasts: Inspired Eating from Classic Fiction by Sean Brand

Sadly for this blog, I am back at school, studying and soaking up the 76-degree California weather. However, between playing golf and my hours of homework, I managed to escape the toils of Claremont to visit Pasadena and the Huntington Gardens today. After walking around the property and appreciating the various native plants in the Desert Garden, I stopped to take a gander in the gift shop (one of my favorite parts of visiting a museum).

Much to my surprise, I stumbled upon this gem on one of the bookshelves!

As the book jacket so succinctly puts it, "Our busy twenty-first-century lifestyle doesn't allow much time for us to enjoy the pleasures of a good meal. Literary Feasts aims to change that by restoring readers' desires to eat, drink and be merry."

The book is divided into different sections. The first four sections are "Breakfast," "Lunch," "Tea" and "Dinner," highlighting meals from James Joyce's Ulysses, John Milton's Paradise Lost, Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest and even Beowulf! The other, broader sections are "Eating Outdoors," "Children's Meals" and "Special Occasions."

To give you a sampling of how each section reads, each two pages focuses on one feast in a particular literary work. The spread includes an introduction to the book, what you will need to reenact the scene and sometimes a recipe. To reenact "the splendor of one of Gatsby's famous receptions" in F. Scott Fitzgerald famous novels, you will need: champagne and claret, wine glasses bigger than finger bowls, moonlight on the lawn, banjo players and jazz signers, two suppers (five hours apart), old men dancing with young girls and an air of world-weary sophistication. Sure, it's a tall order, but you get the idea!

Saint Cupcake

Saint Cupcake makes, to this date, the best cupcakes I have ever tasted. If I had to count the number of these delectable little cakes that I have eaten over the years... well, let's just say the number would be pretty appalling.

The menu varies from day to day, but they always have their standard cupcakes available. My favorites include the toasted coconut cream, chocolate with vanilla buttercream, carrot cake and the big top (vanilla cupcake baked with chocolate chips on top). But, let's be real, I will eat any of them--including the few vegan cupcakes they offer daily! Here is a link to their menu to see today's offerings: http://saintcupcake.com/index.php/menus/.

Not too long ago, Saint Cupcake left their original store in Northwest Portland for a much larger location in Downtown Portland, on the corner of SW 12th and Morrison. At this new location, which they call Saint Cupcake Galore, they offer other sweet and savory treats. While the new location is nice, I miss the old store. In fact, I find myself going to the new store less and less because of the distance and inability to find convenient parking (to their credit, there is a single free parking space behind the store for customers who just want to run in and pick up a few cupcakes).

Dot Cupcakes $1.50

Regular Cupcakes $3.25

Better pictures to come with future visits, but for now, here is a photo my friend Paloma took on her film camera during her visit to Portland.