Post 117: Portland - Brunch Box and Portlandia Food Cart Pods (Portland: Southwest/Downtown)

What we know as food trucks in Southern California they know as food carts in Oregon.  There is a reason or two for this nominal difference.  For one, the food trucks in Southern California truly are traveling motorized trucks.  While they can be expected to visit certain locations on a regular basis, sometimes they need to be tracked down using social media as they move from site to site.  On the other hand, the food carts in Portland are much more sedentary and rarely roll away.  They sit in these pods or clusters in organized in the sort of way that books are neatly filed away on a library shelf.  One such shelf of food carts is located on Southwest 5th Avenue called Food Cart Alley.  We came here to visit Brunch Box, one of the most renowned food carts in Portlandia.

Brunch Box makes all sorts of breakfast and lunch sandwiches using burger buns, bagels, and Texas toast.  For those unfamiliar with Texas toast, it is extra thick slices of bread that is great for holding together sandwiches that are piled high quite possibly with ingredients that leak, drip, or run.  For those more familiar with Taiwanese toast, it is quite similar to brick toast except that it is used to hold a sandwich together.  To say that their menu has a wide array of hearty sandwiches is a complete understatement.  There is even a grilled cheese sandwich shaped into a dinosaur called the Cheezasaurus Rex.  Cheesy filled T-rex? Yes, please.

Of all the artery choking foods on the menu, though, what really caught my attention was the Hawaiian.  It had Spam, and lots of it.  I love Spam... and lots of it.  Along with grilled pineapple, cheese, a runny egg, and teriyaki sauce, the Hawaiian was quite a mouthful.  But it was delicious to the very last bite.  There were a few squirts of Sriracha somewhere in there too.  Good stuff.

Moseying down south one block and east two blocks to Southwest Washington and SW 3rd Avenue is another pod of food carts.  Here we found Batavia, a food cart specializing in Indonesian cuisine.  We ordered a lunch box of the house special Indonesian fried chicken.  It was not the crispy battered fried chicken that we are accustomed to, but it was spiced up and flavorful.  The rice was a great accompaniment, and although it looked like there was a large amount of it, the spicy chicken flavor and sauce went a long way.  In fact, the chicken had so much kick that the fresh tomatoes and cucumbers really calmed the fire on my tongue down.

Also located in the same pod of food carts is Elmasry Egyptian Food.  We saw a good amount of the late night crowd stopping for a bite here in the wee hours of the morning after the bars close, so we hopped in line too.  We got a chicken shawarma that was absolutely huge in proportion.  The meat was tender and juicy enough that I picked at it toward the final bites of the pita wrapped sandwich.  Oh, and the sauce... the sauce is amazing.

There seemed to be quite a few food stands specializing in Thai cuisine in the pods that we explored.  Nong's Khao Man Gai is supposedly one of the most popular carts in the Downtown area, but they were not open for business when we visited.  This will be in the plans for a return visit to Portland this June.  Until then, let's all get S.O.F.A.T.

ML - 20120914-15

Post 110: Collaboration with Whisks & Ruffles - Pork Belly, Part 2

In my previous post, I shared the first part of my collaboration with Angelina Ang Lee of Whisks & Ruffles.  This post will continue with more pork belly deliciousness.  Rather than braising this time, I grilled some thinner cuts of the pork belly.  And so continues the life of an inner fatty...

I used thin cuts of pork belly strips with beautiful fat on the trim.  The pork belly was marinated with a mixture of gochujang (Korean hot pepper paste), a bit of soy, sesame oil, chopped perilla (sesame seed leaves also known as shiso), and sesame seeds.  I added some ground black pepper too, but salt is not needed since the gochujang and soy sauce provide enough of that saltiness.

I faux grilled the pork belly using a Korean stone wok, which works great because it heats up quickly and retains the heat even after the stove is turned off.  The strips were cooked at medium-high heat.  The temperature must be hot enough for the fat to sizzle.  Must... hear... sizzle! Like... cooking bacon! Mmmmm... Flip the meat once only, and cook until it's brown and crisp on both sides.  If the heat is high enough, the meat will be fully cooked through because the cuts are not very thick.

Tiffany, my Chinese-American from Taiwan but also raised in Korea friend, came over for a taste test.  We ate the pork belly wrapped with fresh perilla leaves, raw sliced garlic, jalapeños, and diagonally cut scallions (see instructional clip by yours truly).  We also had sides of kimchi, yellow pickled daikon, and kimbap (Korean sushi or rice rolls) from the supermarket.  See Angelina's post on homemade kimbap to prepare your own.

I have been cutting down on some carbs lately, but the grilled pork belly would also work really well with steamed rice.  No worries, I could never cut carbs out entirely, but for now, meat and greens are good enough for me.  If the jalapeños aren't spicy enough for your taste, an extra dash of Sriracha hot sauce also helps add a spicy yet sweet flavor to your dish.  Or try Angelina's method, which is to add dried hot peppers... Indonesian style. 

Check out what Angelina came up with in the Lee kitchen using pork belly two ways.  Her double recipe storm includes a pork belly braised low and slow, which looks absolutely mouth watering.  Her second recipe is something that her mom used to make in Indonesia called babi kecap, a simmered stew of pork belly, tofu, and hard boiled eggs.  Ah, Mom's home cooking... my mouth is literally drooling right now...

Great job, Angelina.  I truly enjoyed our coast-to-coast collaboration.  Let's do it again soon! Until the next collaboration, let's all get S.O.F.A.T.

ML - 20130221

Post 20.2: Flashback - San Francisco, Part 2 (May 2009)

I experienced a whirlwind of international flavors while on my short weekend trip in San Francisco last May... from breakfast at one of the city's many casual cafes to dinner at finer Vietnamese fare... to saliva-inducing spicy Szechuan Chinese to milder Mediterranean munchies... here's a look at the many marvelous meals from that weekend.

Breakfast @ Cafe Capriccio (San Francisco: North Beach)

I had an open-faced bagel piled high with turkey, fresh tomatoes, red onions, mozzarella, basil.  Yum! I really liked that Capriccio packed the tomatoes high.  One stingy slice of tomato in my sandwiches just doesn't do it for me.  And I liked that the mozzarella topped off the sandwich rather than congealing to the bottom slice of the bagel.  It sorta Saran-wrapped the tomatoes and onions together, preventing the pagoda pile from toppling over.  Call it my love for organizations, but I like! And some fragrant basil and a bit of coarsely ground black pepper for minor oomph? Like, like, like!

Dinner @ Out the Door (San Francisco: Union Square)

While we ordered quite a few dishes from the menu, there were two that caught the attention of my taste buds.  The first was the green papaya salad.  I don't normally like the papaya smell or flavor, but the combination of sweet, spicy, and sour was strangely addicting.  I kept telling myself to save my appetite for the forthcoming courses, but while waiting for the dishes to arrive, I began to pick out the peanuts.  One thing led to another, and of course my chopsticks picked up strand after strand of the green papaya.  

The other dish that quickly became a favorite was the crispy duck.  Oh, how I couldn't (and still can't) resist beautifully, golden, crispy skin of pork or poultry.  The meat under the wonderfully crispy skin was tender, moist, and juicy.  Wow, it was like the double trifecta of poultry perfection: skin x (beautiful, golden, crispy) + meat x (tender, moist, juicy).  I honestly couldn't ask for more.  Well, I could... another order please?

Dinner @ Spices (San Francisco: Inner Richmond)

What a fitting name: Spices! The only way the restaurant's name could be any more fitting is if it's changed to Spicy-as-hell.  One dish at this restaurant had officially caused a near-death experience for me.  The mini spicy tofu cubes had a bite that created a psychotic spiciness in my ears.  As beads of sweat rolled down and around my eyebrows, my ears rang with panicked alarm.  Some seeds from the Szechuan chili pepper must have slipped into my mouth somehow, and one off-bite must have caused the seed's juice to explode.  Not water, not tea, not yogurt smoothies (I know understand why those drinks are on the menu) could prevent the forest fire from spreading across the prairie of tastebuds.  Sorry, Smokey.  Call me crazy, but I'd chomp down on these little tofu bombs again.  I'd be crazy not to.

Lunch @ Oasis Grill (San Francisco: Financial District)

I met up with Grace while during her lunch break.  She frequently called me during her lunch breaks to describe what she was having.  Ugh, although it's nice to hear her voice, it's not so nice to hear the delicious meal she was having.  So when I finally made it up to SF on a weekday, Grace grabbed the chance to introduce me to one of her usual lunch spots.

Grace ordered the chicken shawarma.  And while I was pondering over all the menu options (and irritating the on-the-go bankers with my turtle-like decision-making process), Grace instructed, "Get the chicken shawarma.  It's good."  I obliged.  After all, it's the first item on the menu. 

We grabbed our shawarmas and hopped on over to the area across from the Ferry Building for our Greek grub.  On this beautiful day in the San Francisco, those who spent 8+ hours a day in the Embarcadero buildings enjoyed their lunch while basking in the sun.  Ah, shit like that makes me happy.

The super enormous chicken shawarma made me happy too.  It was almost the length of my forearm.  The simple wrap was filled with rotisserie chicken, lettuce, tomato, and a gastronomically gourmet garlic sauce.  The garlic sauce, although typically thought of as a mere condiment, was absolute gold in my eyes.  The sauce added a flavorful bite to the lettuce and tomato and was a mediator of moisture for the chicken.

I suddenly envied all those who worked at the Embarcadero buildings.  Suit and tie to work for this? No problem! If I worked in the city, I'd be a regular at Oasis Grill for sure.  I peeled more of the alumnimum foil off, and nom, nom, nommed away.

Halfway through the wrap, I was absolutely full.  That shawarma was BIG.  And upon annoucning that I couldn't eat another bite, I heard an exclamation of, "WEAK SAAAAAUUUCCE."  I stared.  I blinked.  I thought, "this girl just called me weak sauce.  Must.  continue.  eating."  I wasn't about to let a girl beat me at eating forearm-lengthed shawarmas. No failing.

I finished.  "Oooh...," I thought, "San Francisco, you've done me good."  I spotted a portion of the shawarma pushing out from inside my belly... "I shall return."

Until the next trip to San Francisco, let's all get S.O.F.A.T.

ML - 20100706/20090516-20