Eat Mobile 2014 Recap

Even though I was drenched in a downpour of sideways rain the moment I stepped off the bus onto the Burnside Bridge to walk to Eat Mobile 2014, I was not deterred. Judging by the line of a 20 people already in front of me 30 minutes before the VIP admission started, neither were many other food court lovers.

This year, this annual food cart festival was held on a Sunday rather then a Saturday, and less tickets were sold, resulting in a less crazy experience in terms of lines and crowds. Although it alternated between rain and sunshine, the attendees persevered on, and I seem to be improving in terms of my food photos at food festivals held outdoors!
Eat Mobile 2014 Eat Mobile 2014

There were about 30 food carts that participated this year. The award winners for this year included PDX Sliders for the Carty Award (judged by a select panel) for their Broadway Slider, a juicy sammie of braised pork, Mama’s Lil Peppers, baby arugula, housemade spicy aioli all on ciabatta.
Eat Mobile 2014 - bite from PDX Sliders, won the Carty Award for their Broadway Slider, a juicy sammie of braised pork, Mama's Lil Peppers, baby arugula, housemade spicy aioli all on ciabatta Eat Mobile 2014 - bite from PDX Sliders, won the Carty Award for their Broadway Slider, a juicy sammie of braised pork, Mama's Lil Peppers, baby arugula, housemade spicy aioli all on ciabatta Eat Mobile 2014 - bite from PDX Sliders, won the Carty Award for their Broadway Slider, a juicy sammie of braised pork, Mama's Lil Peppers, baby arugula, housemade spicy aioli all on ciabatta

Meanwhile the People’s Choice award went to 808 Grinds for their kalua pig on crispy wonton with Asian Slaw.
Eat Mobile 2014 - The People’s Choice award went to 808 Grinds for their kalua pig on crispy wonton with Asian Slaw. Eat Mobile 2014 - The People’s Choice award went to 808 Grinds for their kalua pig on crispy wonton with Asian Slaw.

Here’s my Eat Mobile 2014 Recap in photos, which is all I know you came for anyway.

My personal vote for best food cart sample was Mama Chow’s Kitchen with their sample of fried chicken wings with honey soy glaze, garlic noodles… YUM. Also, their cart is adorable!
Eat Mobile 2014 My vote for best food cart sample was Mama Chow's Kitchen with their sample of fried chicken wings with honey soy glaze, garlic noodles... YUM. Also, their cart is adorable! Eat Mobile 2014 My vote for best food cart sample was Mama Chow's Kitchen with their sample of fried chicken wings with honey soy glaze, garlic noodles... YUM.

My personal vote for best style went to Hungry Heart Cupcakes for their beautiful display of baked treats on silver platters. Talk about being incredibly prepared for this event but never giving up on detail!
Eat Mobile 2014 - bite from Hungry Heart PDX Eat Mobile 2014 - bite from Hungry Heart PDX Eat Mobile 2014 - bite from Hungry Heart PDX
I wanted to have more than one, but respectfully only took one sample, and of all the offerings zeroed in on the “Sweet n Salty” chocolate cupcake with peanut butter frosting and bacon and salted caramel.
Eat Mobile 2014 - bite from Hungry Heart PDX of the Sweet n Salty chocolate cupcake with peanut butter frosting and bacon and salted caramel Eat Mobile 2014 - bite from Hungry Heart PDX of the Sweet n Salty chocolate cupcake with peanut butter frosting and bacon and salted caramel

The next vote for style would have been Mix and Match Creamery, who was putting on quite a show as they were making various combinations of ice cream and toppings with liquid nitrogen at their station, such as mint + Heath bar, vanilla + Butterfinger, and what I tried which was with Cap’n Crunch.
The ice cream show at Mix and Match Creamery as they they were making various combinations of ice cream and toppings with liquid nitrogen at their station, such as mint + Heath bar, vanilla + Butterfinger, and what I tried which was with Cap'n Crunch The ice cream show at Mix and Match Creamery as they they were making various combinations of ice cream and toppings with liquid nitrogen at their station, such as mint + Heath bar, vanilla + Butterfinger, and what I tried which was with Cap'n Crunch The ice cream show at Mix and Match Creamery as they they were making various combinations of ice cream and toppings with liquid nitrogen at their station, such as mint + Heath bar, vanilla + Butterfinger, and what I tried which was with Cap'n Crunch The ice cream show at Mix and Match Creamery as they they were making various combinations of ice cream and toppings with liquid nitrogen at their station, such as mint + Heath bar, vanilla + Butterfinger, and what I tried which was with Cap'n Crunch The ice cream show at Mix and Match Creamery as they they were making various combinations of ice cream and toppings with liquid nitrogen at their station, such as mint + Heath bar, vanilla + Butterfinger, and what I tried which was with Cap'n Crunch The ice cream show at Mix and Match Creamery as they they were making various combinations of ice cream and toppings with liquid nitrogen at their station, such as mint + Heath bar, vanilla + Butterfinger, and what I tried which was with Cap'n Crunch

The longest line of the whole food cart festival was for Fifty Licks. You could have a little mini scoop or baby ice cream cone with choices of flavors such as Blood Orange Creamsicle, Jasmine Rice with Pandan, Coconut Lemon Saffron Sorbet, Stumptown Coffee, Chocolate Brown Butter, or my choice, the current new seasonal flavor of Pip’s Original Salted Honey Doughnut! They won the prize for Style Award.
The longest line of the whole food cart festival was for Fifty Licks. You could have a little mini scoop or baby ice cream cone with choices of flavors such as Blood Orange Creamsicle, Jasmine Rice with Pandan, Coconut Lemon Saffron Sorbet, Stumptown Coffee, Chocolate Brown Butter, or my choice, the current new seasonal flavor of Pip's Original Salted Honey Doughnut! The longest line of the whole food cart festival was for Fifty Licks. You could have a little mini scoop or baby ice cream cone with choices of flavors such as Blood Orange Creamsicle, Jasmine Rice with Pandan, Coconut Lemon Saffron Sorbet, Stumptown Coffee, Chocolate Brown Butter, or my choice, the current new seasonal flavor of Pip's Original Salted Honey Doughnut!

I couldn’t help but adore the deep dish pizza served up by Thick Deep Dish pizza since I am originally from Chicago.
Eat Mobile 2014 - bite from Thick Deep Dish Pizza Eat Mobile 2014 - bite from Thick Deep Dish Pizza

Also, I loved the enthusiasm of Bro-Dogs & Burgers who was killing it with their sample bite of Baby Dude, which includes a smoked bacon and cheddar sausage, bacon, cream cheese, and house bbq sauce.
Eat Mobile 2014- Bro-Dogs & Burgers who was killing it with their sample bite of Baby Dude, which includes a smoked bacon and cheddar sausage, bacon, cream cheese, and house bbq sauce Eat Mobile 2014- Bro-Dogs & Burgers who was killing it with their sample bite of Baby Dude, which includes a smoked bacon and cheddar sausage, bacon, cream cheese, and house bbq sauce Eat Mobile 2014- Bro-Dogs & Burgers who was killing it with their sample bite of Baby Dude, which includes a smoked bacon and cheddar sausage, bacon, cream cheese, and house bbq sauce

Hapa Ramen’s Shaka Bowl, or pork belly ramen
Eat Mobile 2014 - sample of Hapa Ramen's Shaka Bowl, or pork belly ramen Eat Mobile 2014 - sample of Hapa Ramen's Shaka Bowl, or pork belly ramen Eat Mobile 2014 - sample of Hapa Ramen's Shaka Bowl, or pork belly ramen

I really like the ratio of the pimento cheese to crackers that Southern Belle’s served up. I also loved the intensity of flavor from the half of a chicken dumpling sample from Momo Cart, the dumpling is stuffed with chicken, garlic, onion, and Nepali spices. Gonzo also delivered on flavors and texture fun with their falafel and hummus sample.
I really like the ratio of the pimento cheese to crackers that Southern Belle's served up at Eat Mobile 2014 Eat Mobile 2014 - bite from Momo Cart, nice intensity of flavor from the half of a chicken dumpling sample from Momo Cart, the dumpling is stuffed with chicken, garlic, onion, and Nepali spices Eat Mobile 2014 - Gonzo's also delivered on flavors and texture fun with their falafel and hummus.

Props to the personable service and considerate option of meat or vegetarian from the Love Belizean cart of either Roasted Red Pepper Tritip or Red Beans in Coconut Curry, either one served with coconut rice and habenero hot sauce was very tasty. Meanwhile, Koi Fusion previewed a taste of their just opened Division brick and mortar location via their sample of Kimchi tortilla soup and that now they can rotate and try out more Korean American fusion dishes.
Eat Mobile 2014 - bite from Love Belizean, option of meat or vegetarian from the Love Belizean cart of either Roasted Red Pepper Tritip or Red Beans in Coconut Curry, either one served with coconut rice and habenero hot sauce Eat Mobile 2014 - bite from Love Belizean, option of meat or vegetarian from the Love Belizean cart of either Roasted Red Pepper Tritip or Red Beans in Coconut Curry, either one served with coconut rice and habenero hot sauce

Whole Foods also thoughtfully offered a meat or vegetarian option with their healthy samples of Asian Rice Noodle Salad with seasonal and organic vegetables, with or without French Prairie Pork.
Eat Mobile 2014- Whole Foods also thoughtfully offered a meat or vegetarian option with their healthy samples of Asian Rice Noodle Salad with seasonal and organic vegetables, with or without French Prairie Pork. Eat Mobile 2014- Whole Foods also thoughtfully offered a meat or vegetarian option with their healthy samples of Asian Rice Noodle Salad with seasonal and organic vegetables, with or without French Prairie Pork.

Moberi also provided a healthy option with their bicycle powered kale coconut water mango pineapple mint smoothies
Eat Mobile 2014 = Moberi also provided a healthy option with their bicycle powered kale coconut water mango pineapple mint smoothies

Taqueria la Merced delivered on flavor with these tacos
Eat Mobile 2014 - Taqueria la Merced delivered on flavor with these tacos Eat Mobile 2014 - Taqueria la Merced delivered on flavor with these tacos

Samples of all the colors via the chicken thighs brined in Thrive Special sauce over brown rice and vegetables from Thrive Pacific NW / Khao Man Gai dish over brown rice from Kesone Asian Fusion
Eat Mobile 2014 - chicken thighs brined in Thrive Special sauce over brown rice and vegetables from Thrive Pacific NW Eat Mobile 2014 - Khao Man Gai dish bite from Kesone Asian Fusion

Two kinds of popcorn were at the festival this year, Topped IKC (kettle corn that could be topped with chocolate or caramel or both) and also a little booth for Masala Pop (mixed with Indian spices)
Eat Mobile 2014 - Topped IFC (kettle corn that could be topped with chocolate or caramel or both) "Eat

Bite from the Art Institute of Portland / a sample from Creperie du Lys / sweet taste of dessert thanks to Mildred’s Sweet Treats
"Eat Eat Mobile 2014 - bite from Creperie du Lys Eat Mobile 2014 - bite from Mildred's Sweet Treats

Since like before, it was held in the OMSI parking lot, OMSI had some food science demos roving around.
Eat Mobile 2014 - OMSI food science demos roving around the food cart festival

I am looking forward to the festival again next year, rain or shine!

Did you attend Eat Mobile? Did you wish you did? What taste would you have said was the best?

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Eat Mobile 2014 is Sun April 27!

Have you heard of Eat Mobile before? It’s a food cart festival that is located in the parking lots outside of OMSI. More than 30 food carts are in attendance, offering samples of their foods. Several carts offer more than one sample item. It’s a great way to try food carts that are usually all over the city, all gathered together conveniently in one place for you, and offering you samples to help you know what they are each about with the hope you will visit them in the future!

This year, it is being held on April 27, which is a Sunday. You can buy tickets now and they are $50 Pre-Tasting Sold Out! (this gets you early admission and free beverages for that pre-tasting time of 1-2:30pm before continuing to eat until the end at 6pm) or $30 General Admission (eating time from 2:30-6pm). All the food samples are included in the price of admission, but alcoholic beverages are on your own.

I personally always buy the pre-tasting because if you are fast, you can hit most of the carts even before the General Admission crowd enters, and so you won’t be waiting in line as much. I call that well worth the price. According to the FAQ this year they are calling it a “carefully curated roster of Willamette Week’s favorite food carts”, so I’ll report back if anything has changed. In all my previous years though, all the carts were open and giving samples during the pre-tasting.

Attending Eat Mobile is a great way to get to know all the up and coming carts- there have been several times that’s how I got introduced to places that later became brick and mortar, such as Lardo and Fifty Licks and Cheese & Crack, to name a few. According to the list at Willamette Weekly, the carts signed up to participate include

  • 808 Grinds
  • Bamboo Café
  • Bardo’s Grill
  • Bro Dogs
  • Creperie du Lys
  • Dalo’s Food Cart
  • Fifty Licks
  • Gonzo
  • Hapa Ramen
  • Hungry Heart PDX
  • Kalua Pig PDX
  • Kesone Asian Fusion
  • KOI Fusion
  • Little Boba Truck
  • Love Belizean
  • Maine Street Lobster Co.
  • Mama Chow’s Kitchen
  • Masala Pop
  • Mildred’s Sweet Treats
  • Mix N Match Creamery
  • Moberi
  • Momo Cart
  • Native Bowl
  • PDXSliders
  • Sila Thai Food, LLC.
  • Sivad’s House of Soul
  • So Cold
  • Southern Belle’s
  • Taqueria La Merced
  • Thick Deep Dish Pizza
  • Thrive
  • Topped ICK

I also promise you, you will get very, very full. I actually want to try a lot of carts so endeavor to only take 2 bites of every sample, and carry a little tote bag with ziploc bags when samples are bigger so I can enjoy them over the next couple days too!

Map of Eat Mobile 2012 layout
Map of Eat Mobile 2012 layout

Here are a few photos from previous Eat Mobile years to give you a glimpse of the atmosphere and samples of food, and also a link to my previous recaps if you want to learn more about what might be available!

Will you be there? This is one of my favorite food events in Portland all year!

Eat Mobile 2014 

Sunday April 27, located in the parking lot outside of OMSI

$30 General Admission (2:30-6pm)

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