Carts on the Square: Pioneer Courthouse Square Food Carts

If you haven’t been to Pioneer Courthouse Square, you may not know that recently the construction from the Parks Bond Renovation has been completed to add refurbish the old bricks, add new bricks (where you can purchase personalized bricks) and now as parts of Carts on the Square, there are also 5 food carts close to the eastbound Max stop offering a sample of Portland food flavors. Unlike the other food cart pods in downtown Portland, thanks to the location in Portland’s Living Room, you’ll find plenty of places to sit and eat, be it on the amphitheater like setup or at some tables and chairs, depending on what event may be scheduled at the Pioneer Courthouse Square Food Carts.
Pioneer Courthouse Square
Pioneer Courthouse Square during the 2018 Festival of Flowers during the first half of June

The view can’t be beat dining here either – al fresco, great people watching, and who knows what may be installed in the main square? Sometimes you’ll find a farmers market (Mondays), music concerts (Tuesdays and other days), movie showings on summer Friday evenings, or you may find people attending an Italian festival, or like next week, an Oregon State Fair Flash Fair on July 12 for a brief lunchtime preview of the Oregon State Fair. You should check the Square Events calendar to know what events are coming (many are free), but for now, here’s a look at the individual offerings of the Carts on the Square.

Pioneer Courthouse Square, the Carts on the Square are the 5 food carts located in the upper level of the square

The five carts that are located here at Pioneer Courthouse Square have been curated by Feast co-founder Mike Thelin as a consultant, and you can trust that each and everyone offers fresh, tasty food that can be trusted. All the carts are equipped Square payment so can take credit card as well as your cash of course. All are open for lunch, with one open for breakfast and one open as late at 6pm. The only question is, what do you feel like eating? Disclosure: some of the photos are from a tasting at their grand opening where I was able to sample some of the menu offerings, but I also had already visited some of the carts before, and also went back and visited them to taste most of the menus
Pioneer Courthouse Square, Carts on the Square food cart pod

Pioneer Courthouse Square, the Carts on the Square are the 5 food carts located in the upper level of the square Pioneer Courthouse Square, the Carts on the Square are the 5 food carts located in the upper level of the square

Fried Egg Sandwiches

If you are looking for breakfast, the only cart you’ll find serving it up bright and early is Fried Egg I’m In Love. This cart has an original location on SE Hawthorne that has been serving up its famous fried egg sandwich with punny names for more then six years and helped elevate the breakfast sandwich scene in Portland when it opened. They are open 7am-3pm Mon-Fri, 7am-6pm Fri, and 8am-6pm Sat and Sun. You can even get your food faster by calling ahead to order.
Pioneer Courthouse Square, Carts on the Square food cart pod, Fried Egg I'm In Love cart offering fried egg sandwiches for breakfast and lunch

All of their sandwiches are either served on toasted sourdough bread from Portland French Bakery or New Cascadia gluten-free bread (except for their burritos), eggs are sourced from local farms, cooked over-medium, and sprinkled with their special magic egg dust spices. The signature is the pesto kissed Yolko Ono, but I’m also a huge fan of the sandwich Free Range Against The Machine with fried egg, avocado, tomato, and havarti cheese. Sandwiches can also be made vegetarian and they have a house vegan patty.
Pioneer Courthouse Square, Carts on the Square food cart pod, Fried Egg I'm In Love cart offering fried egg sandwiches for breakfast and lunch Fried Egg I'm In Love Food cart specializes in toasted sour dough bread egg sandwiches with local bread and eggs. This is their signature sandwich, Yolko Ono with fried egg, homemade pesto, parmesan, and a hand-pressed house sausage patty.

Rice Bowls

If you are looking for a healthy option especially if you are vegetarian or vegan, this is a great cart to make your go-to. It’s extremely popular and successful- this downtown location is one of eight around the city. You’ll find them open 11am-3pm Mondays through Saturdays.

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Happy Holidays 2013: Christmas Decorations

Happy Holidays 2013… Don’t you feel cheered just looking at the below Christmas Decorations?
Christmas Decorations holiday twinkle animated gif of Christmas tree and lights in Pioneer Square downtown Portland
Twinkles from Pioneer Square in Portland. This tree is giant- look below how the people are only reaching the bottom branches!

Downtown Portland had an #uglysweaterpdx campaign that included adorable sweaters on various statues downtown. Some of the sweaters change out- I think because perhaps some people steal them. But the animals then get new sweaters! It’s now sad seeing them without the sweaters, even though I know they don’t actually feel cold.
Downtown Portland had an #uglysweaterpdx Christmas Decorations on statues

Meanwhile in Chicago…White and gold holiday cheer, white and silver holiday Christmas tree at Chicago French Market, then red and gold holiday cheer with trains at Union Station. Google Auto Awesome twinkled these up too. I had no idea that Auto Awesome had a twinkling algorithm, did you?
White and gold silver holiday cheer Christmas Decorations Christmas Decorations on a white and silver holiday Christmas tree at Chicago French Market Christmas Decorations of red and gold holiday cheer with trains at Union Station

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Portland’s Fareless Square

I am *trying* to balance this blog by talking about Portland the city and other things (anything…) besides food once in a while. These photos I've actually been meaning to post for a while: I took them the week I was meeting F for lunch while I was waiting for UPS boxes to arrive and I had not started work yet.

Portland has taken an interesting strategy to decreasing the congestion in the downtown area of the city. For more than 30 years, they have let the people ride for free on the various public transportation options (bus, light rail, and streetcar), any time of day (not just certain hours). The area is designated "Fareless Square" and includes not only the downtown area proper where you find various corporate and government offices and hotels, but also the Amtrak and Greyhound stations, convention center, a large shopping mall, and a indoor sports/concert arena. No, the area is not really a square at all, but it has a nicer ring than "Fareless Area". Actually, I think the area looks a bit like a rabbit foot, including the chain.

There is an actual area that is a square that in my mind at least, I see as the middle of the city, even though actually it should be the street intersection of Burnside and the river that is the true center. But it's sort of inconvenient to have an intersection be the heart of a city, so instead it is an area called Pioneer Courthouse Square. It is a big public space that I often see people gather just to eat lunch, watch movies in the summer, or attend political demonstrations, or see the city christmas tree. I used to really dislike this area when I was a visitor because this is where you can most often see the bums of the city.

Unlike the homeless in Chicago who generally have psychological problems of some sort, the bums in Portland are lazy youth between high school and their 30s who don't work and instead sit around with cardboard signs asking for money. Sadly, they eek out an ok existance this way: Portland's people are very mother earth-loving, including wrapping their uneaten leftovers and placing them on top of garbage cans for others to enjoy. Recyclable materials, such as metal, aluminum, and glass can actually make people money as well at recycling centers, so on one hand, recycling programs are successful here, but on the other hand, meth heads steal pipes, air conditioners, and plaques off of buildings and graves.

More recently though since I have been able to pass through Pioneer Square a few times (ok, a few times I was also lost wandering around for landmarks without remembering what the address was), I have gained appreciation for a lot of the art displayed in and around the square too. One art work that I always mean to see in action but keep missing is the Weather Machine. As per Wikipedia's concise description of the Weather Machine: 

"Another public art installation, the Weather Machine, consists of a tall metal column topped with a large silver-colored orb. At noon each day, the following day's weather is announced with a fanfare of trumpets, flashing lights, and a spray of mist. The orb opens to reveal one of the following:

  • a golden sun, for a clear day;
  • a great blue heron, to forecast a rainy day;
  • an open-mouthed dragon, when storms are forecast.

Light bulbs on the side of the machine are reminiscent of a mercury thermometer and light up progressively as the temperature increases."

The other artwork/public works installation I really like are the fountains. There actually is a two hour walking tour of the various fountains you can take. On one hand, the fountains are pretty cool public works because they were built with the intent to encourage more water drinking and less drinking in saloons (you actually shouldn't drink the water in the decorative fountains now: they have real water fountains on the sidewalk for that). On the other hand, the variety of fountains built in Portland also bring some great art among all the buildings in Portland's City Center. I took some pictures of one of the twelve fountains: the "Animal In Pools" Fountain just one block from the Pioneer Courthouse. I've always liked these fountains eternally paddling ducks, upright otters that can't seem to believe what they see when they look at you, mama bear fishing for her two cubs with chubby butts, and earnest beavers.

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Despite that sorta complaint/rant from me about how the granola earthy aspect of Portland is abused by some, the fountains are a reminder of some of the artsy quirkness of Portland that give the city a whimsical personality.

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