WHATEVER EVENING ESCAPADES may have led you to be awake and hungry after midnight, there is one destination sure to satisfy your wee-hour cravings: Cartopia. In just two years, this once-empty lot at SE Hawthorne Boulevard and 12th Avenue has sprouted an array of carts that draw night owls like bees to blossoms, for everything from fried handpies to po’boys and burritos. With six quirky carts encircling tented clusters of communal picnic tables—lit by strands of Christmas lights and serenaded by a symphony of vintage rock—Cartopia is an intimate and often boisterous haven of edgy urbanity. There’s no better place in town to put a punctuation mark on your night.
Bubba Bernie’s: Shrimp Po’Boy ($7)
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One of the newer members of the lineup at Cartopia, Bubba Bernie’s adds a welcome dose of Southern charm to the mix. The shrimp po’boy—a French roll brimming with crispy, deep-fried shrimp (catfish, clam strips, and oysters are your other options) in a bed of lettuce and perfectly spicy-sweet rémoulade—is enough to transport you straight to the bayou.
Perierra Crêperie: Mozzarella/soppressata/basil/red-pepper crêpe ($7)
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For those times when fried food seems a little much, there is the friendly Perierra, churning out all manner of crêpes generously stuffed with fresh, sometimes surprising ingredients. (Craving smoked salmon? They’ve got you covered.) Classic combos like Nutella and banana are always a safe bet, but for a more savory brand of satisfaction opt for the inspired medley of mozzarella, soppressata, basil, and red pepper.
Potato Champion: Poutine ($5)
503-505-7086 Find It!
This classic Québécois dish has become a kind of Holy Grail of the Portland food scene, and it’s always well worth the pilgrimage—and the indulgence. A heap of hand-cut, twice-fried, Belgian-style fries is strewn with Ellsworth Creamery cheese curds and doused in peppery, creamy, and (especially when those three sheets are blowing in the wind) mind-bending gravy.
Pyro Pizza: Traditional Margarita ($8)
503-929-1404; pyropizzacart.com Find It!
With an impressive wood-fired pizza oven tucked inside their cart, these tattooed pizzaiolos serve up irresistible, perfectly sized Italian-style pies—with the added twist of a thin, crispy, whole-wheat crust. Pyro’s Traditional Margarita is a stunning exercise in simplicity: fresh basil and organic extra-virgin olive oil sing against a background of mellow, homemade mozzarella and tangy marinara sauce.
Published: September 2010
What about Whiffies, the quintessential Portland food cart? I’ve been hearing about Whiffies long before food carts got trendy and dinosauric magazines tried to sound relevant about them.
To me, this cart may have great food, friendly staff and so on but this is literally the reason Portlander’s don’t think carts are clean. A flat tire is unsightly and truly just seemingly lazy. Was there no tire at any local tire outlet? Was the money more important over image? This is common mistake among owners who think the customer doesn’t care. We do. It looks tacky and dirty and run down.
It is the single best cart in Portland, at the single best Pod, and it is skipped over? I’m assuming it is featured somewhere else in the issue, otherwise that is an unforgivable mistake.
Correction though… aside from the potato champion and the taco stand, Bubba’s has been there longer than whiffies, perierra or pyros. Probably whiffies wasn’t mentioned because it isn’t food… its a treat at best. “single best cart in portland”… are you serious? What are you a fried-pie groupie (aka. big-boned)? The real mistake is not mentioning the taco cart.