Koren Twist

Location: 3rd & Washington - Stark
Type: Korean (fusion)
Cost: $6.00
Food: bulgogi beef rice bowl
Wait: fine
Size: enough for good leftovers

I'm beginning to think my pallet just doesn't understand Korean fusion food.  The woman here was quite nice.  It was easy to turn down the plastic fork.  But the food was just not that exciting.  Copious, yes.  Memorable, no.

Summary:
Would go again if someone else wanted to? probably not
Would take Dave there for a repeat visit? no

Boolkogi Korean Tacos

Location: 5th & Stark-Oak
Type: Korean
Cost: $6.00
Food: Chicken yakisoba
Wait: On the longer side
Size: Enough for leftovers

Yum.  I liked that.  The vendors were nice.  The packaging was minimal.  No bag, just the waxed paper box with napkins and chopsticks (although I didn't need those as I pack my own eating irons).  Very good for my plastic sensor that freaks out at the food carts.  The wait seemed long and others waiting definitely seemed impatient, but it really wasn't bad and I could see them moving quickly and cooking right there in front of us.  I'd like to go back to try a rice bowl or the taco combo.  My only concern is the cost; there's something comfortable about the $5 price point and going above that makes me feel more extravagent.

Summary:
Would go again if someone else wanted to? yes
Woudl take Dave there for a repeat visit? sure

Portland Smoothie Company

Location: 3rd & Washington - Stark

Type: Smoothie/Juice bar

Cost: $4.00

Food: Mango, orange juice smoothie with ginger

Wait: Short

Size: Perfect

I loved seeing her cutting my fruit up right on the spot after I ordered.  She was very patient with me as I figured out what I wanted and mangled the division between the juicer juice ingredients and the smoothie ingredients.  The result was very tasty.

Summary:

Would go again is someone else wanted to? sure

Would take Dave there for a repeat visit? hmm

Sonny's Bowl

Location: 3rd & Washington - Stark
Type: Rice bowl
Cost: $5.00
Food: A full-size Two (veggies and curry pineapple)
Wait: Longer than Whole Bowl
Size: Nom nom nom, how can there still be so much food left in this box?

I had a great time chatting with a woman on business from Atlanta, so the wait was pleasant, if long.  The sun came out.  It was all good.  And the food was tasty.  At first, I wanted to sauce to be spicier to balance out the sweet, then I sensed the heat accumulating in my mouth.  Yum.  Inspires me to create similar simple meals this summer.  Cut up veggies.  Throw veggies and beans in sauce and cook.  Serve over rice.  Simple formula, tummy fantastic results.

Summary:
Would go again if someone else wanted to? yes
Woudl take Dave there for a repeat visit? If he surprisingly turned vegetarian

Phillys on the Phly

Location: 5th & Stark - Oak
Type: Cheesesteak
Cost: $5.25
Food: Medium cheese steak with onions and peppers
Wait: Surprisingly short
Size: Next time I'd be fine with a small

Yum!  I don't have much to compare to, but this Philly cheesesteak was tasty, not too heavy, comfort food like.  I enjoyed it thoroughly.  I probably would have been satisfied with just a medium.  They also offer mushrooms for those who want.  Minimal packaging, which I love.  Just wrapped in foil and handed to me.

Summary:
Would go again if someone else wnated to? Yes
Would take Dave there for a repeat visit? maybe

Veli's Thai Food

Location: 5th & Stark - Oak

Type: Thai

Cost: $5.00

Food: Red curry noodles

Wait: Fairly short

Size: Lots

Why is it that when I visit a cart after a 'regular' I feel like chopped liver? That aside, I enjoyed this food. It hit my need for noodly food craving. It was spicier than I expected for medium, but not a problem. There was eggplant, which is a personal issue, and the sauce was a bit messy and liquidy, which is a curry issue. Ate a bunch and have some for leftovers.

Summary:

Would go again if someone else wanted to? perhaps

Would take Dave there for a repeat visit? nope, prefer Thai Sky

Taste of Greek

Location: 2nd & Oak - Stark
Type: Greek
Cost: $5.00
Food: Kafta sandwich
Wait: She told me it would take 4 minutes. It was sunny and I didn't mind the wait. However, now knowing I don't prefer kafta over gyro, I wouldn't wait again. The gyros came out very quickly.
Size: Good for my tummy, but you can get more for your money elsewhere. And leftovers are good.

Kafta is ground lamb formed into a patty. I wanted to try it. The sandwich came wrapped in foil and tucked inside a mini paperbag wrapper. It was pretty good, but there were some problems. The pita used to wrap the sandwich was too small, making it hard to pick up and eat. The sauce got very messy, particularly at the end. Not good for street food where you're eating off your lap, with restricted napkin quantity, etc. The paperbag came in handing for keeping sticky trash contianed. With Hush Hush so close to work, these guys don't stand a chance with me.

Summary:
Would go again if someone else wanted to? yes
Would take Dave there for a repeat visit? no

Thai Basil

Location: 2nd & Oak
Type: Thai
Cost: $5.00
Food: Chicken pad thai & thai iced tea
Wait: A few minutes.
Size: Lots of food. More than one Bex! sized serving.

Yum. This came with a little spring roll, too. I failed to turn down bag and platic fork, but it wouldn't have been too hard if I'd been paying a little more attention. Very enjoyable noodles, though I could have passed on the spring roll. The that iced tea was a tasty treat, too.

Summary:
Would go again if someone else wanted to? yes
Would take Dave there for a repeat visit? maybe

Francisco's Taqueria

Location: 3rd & Stark - Oak

Type: Mexican

Cost: $5.00

Food: Pastor burrito

Wait: Short

Size: Huge

The carts certainly do know how to knock out a big, satisfying burrito. It's sort of the comfort food of the carts. You know what you're getting, it's got carb and cheese, etc. This one had a bit of crunchyness from a salad/salsa addition that a quite enjoyed. However, I do still need to learn to only eat half the burrito in one sitting.

Summary:

Wood go again if someone else wanted to? sure

Would take Dave there for a repeat visit? hmm

Big-A** Sandwiches

Location: 2nd - 3rd & Ash

Type: Sandwich

Cost: $6.00

Food: the Big-A** sandwich with ham, added cheese

Wait: Very reasonable.

Size: Um, Big-A**. Duh.

First, no, I'm not being polite. That's how they actually write their name on the sign and menu. Now, on the the visit... Ugh. That wasn't a nice thing to do to my body. I enjoyed the novelty of it. Walking away with a massive foil wrapped sandwich. Having fries inside the sandwich. But the flavors weren't all that. Cheese sauce was bland and a bit grainy, as bechamel is wont to be. Fries lacked salt and had no crispy on the outside texture. All in all, somewhere I'd send Rich on a late night, but not a repeater for me. Sorry ten sandwich punchcard, it's the recycling for you. I loved the people, though.

Summary:

Would go again is someone else wanted to? just to watch

Would take Dave these for a repeat visit? no

Parker's Waffles & Coffee

Location: 4th - 5th & Harrison

Type: Dutch taco (waffle sandwich)

Cost: ?? (hm, not sure)

Food: Dueful for me and pulled pork for Ted

Wait: Longish

Size: Too big for one Bex! sitting, but too messy to save part of.

Meh. Good, but not amazing. Enjoyed less than the dutch taco place on Missisippi and Fremont. I'd love to go for just a dessert waffle sometime, though. They do a nutella one that you can add bacon to.

Summary:

Would go again is someone else wanted to? maybe

Would take Dave there for a repeat visit? no

Julie's Food

Location: 5th & Stark - Oak

Type: Chinese

Cost: $5.00

Food: #8, chow mein, teriyaki chicken, and two springrolls

Wait: Minor

Size: Double my tummy size. Leftovers.

Lots of food, especially for the price. And it made good leftovers. But, I like Saigon much better. Julie's food had the expected level of greasyness (too much) and the veggies were cut to a size where they did not blend well with the chow mein noodles.

Summary:

Would go again if someone wanted to? naw

Would take Dave there for a repeat visit? mo