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 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.

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

 

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.

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.
 

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.

The bowl starts with a base of brown rice and black and red beans and includes toppings you can customize including salsa, avocado, sour cream, Tillamook cheddar, black olives, cilantro, and their signature Tali sauce. All the flavors meld together into something that is healthy but also feels satisfying.

Cheese and Meat Sandwiches

The Melty Meaty Food Truck is a collaboration with the wonderful cheeses of Tillamook and the meats of Olympia Provisions. Open 11am-4pm daily, you’ll find the cheesiest and honestly among the best grilled cheeses you’ll ever have boasting a combination of Tillamook medium cheddar, sharp cheddar, sharp white cheddar, served of sliced sourdough. I mean look at this baby.

That’s ok though if you want one of the meaty sandwiches like their Melty and Meaty sandwich with Olympia Provisions Sweetheart Ham and a Tillamook white cheddar and a seasonal fruit mostarda that makes this sandwich different each time -for instance on the last version of this sandwich I had it was a rhubarb mostarda, which is my favorite of their other meaty sandwiches – you be the judge yourself though with the half a dozen sandwich offerings here.

But you may not be able to resist also getting their Tillamook mac and cheese, or cheese fries…both use the Tillamook aged cheddar sauce. This is probably one of the two most kid friendly carts of the group. And, don’t feel afraid to mix it up by getting something from another cart and getting sides from here!

Cheesesteaks, Cubanos, Reubens

This is the cart version of the original open air vendor that has been at Pioneer Courthouse Square, filling the area with the aromas of grilled onions, for years and serving up per its original namesake of Philly Cheesesteaks and Burgers , Philly Cheesesteaks. Now named The Block, the menu has dropped the burgers but expanded to include a Cubano with slow roasted pork and ham, or a Reuben with Pastrami.

Don’t be surprised though if you see all the various construction workers building up our city lining up for the classic though, the Cheesesteak starring thinly sliced steak grilled with onions, green and red bell peppers, mushrooms topped with melted white American cheese and served on a super soft hoagie roll. There is so much loyalty here they even offer a punch card to count off your 5 and 10th sandwiches – and only the Cheesesteak comes in small (the regular sandwich size) and large, ha ha.. They will be grilling those onions 10am-6pm weekdays and 9am-6pm Saturdays, making this cart great for lunch or to pick up after work

Burgers

One of the best burgers in Portland has expanded finally from its original location in Hillsdale to the convenience of downtown Portland. Burger Stevens does only mainly burgers – cheeseburgers, hamburgers, double cheeseburgers, veggie burgers, and a hot dog or fried chicken sandwich, along with crispy fries plain or with chili cheese. It’s one of my top 3 favorite cheeseburgers in Portland. Back when they only had the original location I would order delivery every couple weeks – the burger may not be fancy, but it doesn’t need to because it’s just plain damn good. You’ll be able to ge ttheir burgers and fries 11am-4pm Mondays through Saturdays.

Which of these carts would you visit, or would you visit a few and get assemble a progressive lunch with some of the items?

 

Disclosure: I attended a complimentary event in which I was able to sample some of the cart food, but I had visited some of the carts before the event and also visited the carts afterwards and paid my own way. I was not paid in any way or asked to write this post, I just wanted to share the food carts here because I am a fan of all of them. I will always provide my honest opinion and assessment of all products and experiences I may be given. The views and opinions expressed in this blog are entirely my own.