Bite Club: Fried chicken, ramen and tacos at Nob Hill Food Carts
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I'm glad I grabbed a Coca-Cola to wash this entire meal down. Photo: Meira Gebel/Axios
Portland's plethora of food carts are perfect for popping in to grab a quick lunch, or, what I like to do, crafting a "choose-your-own adventure" buffet.
The latest: Last weekend, I checked out the Nob Hill Food Carts, tucked away off-street on NW 23rd Place, across from James Beard award-winning restaurant Langbaan.
- I tried the three carts I've never been to before — fish taco hotspot Bajala, gluten-free fried chicken slingers Your Side Chicks and Japanese ramen shop Ippo Ramen.
🍜 The menus: Ramen Ippo sticks to the classics (just a handful of different style broths) with an array of topping choice; Bajala has batter-fried shrimp and sturgeon on flour tortillas; and Your Side Chicks has an eye-popping number of sauces and rubs.
- I went with a bowl of Ippo's namesake dish (thin noodles in chicken broth with chashu pork), a shrimp taco and sriracha truffle tenders, and crinkle-cut fries with black garlic ranch.
🍗 Best bites: Kicking things off with the ramen, the standout was Ippo's fatty, melt-in-your-mouth chashu, while Bajala's buttery shrimp in a crunchy crust made my mission to find a Californian-approved fish taco complete.
- Most impressive were the tenders — served extra hot and in a thick coat of spicy seasoning, the meat was juicy and delicious, complemented by the rich, zesty black garlic.
😮💨 The bottom line: Here's a pod worth going out of your way for.