Portland’s Best Food Carts

Nong’s Khao Man Gai Food Truck, Portland, Oregon © John | Flickr

Portland, Ore., is a street food paradise. The quirky city is the birthplace of the modern “food cart” movement, wherein vendors sell astoundingly high-quality cuisine prepared out of a miniscule trailer about the size of a Suburban.

“Street food” often calls to mind cheap, low-quality food that’s probably not worth the calories — or the stomachache. But in Portland, food carts (also called food trucks) serve up some of the best meals anywhere in the city. And with more than 600 spread across the area, it’s easy to stumble upon one that will serve you one of the best meals of your life. Portland’s food carts are mostly stationary, which makes it easier to track down the one you’re after.

For the best trucks, hit up:

Homegrown Smoker Vegan BBQ Food Truck, Portland, Oregon © John | Flickr

Viking Soul Food, with its modern twist on classic Scandinavian dishes like Norwegian meatballs and potato lefse.

Nong’s Khao Man Gai, serving only a Thai-style chicken and rice dish that has grown legendary in Western Oregon.

Homegrown Smoker Vegan BBQ, which routinely makes even the staunchest meat-eaters think twice.

PBJ’s Grilled, crafting incredible sandwiches from a bizarre assortment of ingredients like almond butter, bacon, goat cheese and apricot jam.

More options can be found at Food Carts Portland.