This food cart pod is located on the corner of Hawthorne and Southeast 12th Avenue next to Tiny’s coffee shop and across the street from Burgerville. You can access the carts by bus number 14, which stops across the street from the pod. Street parking is available and free on the east side of the river. The carts are only 10 minutes away from Portland State University.
This food cart pod is known for being open late, catering to the bar scene and being a hipster playground. Most of the carts are open from 11 a.m. to 3 a.m. every day.
Here, you have six opportunities to satisfy your taste buds with everything from French fries to crêpes. Whether you have a sweet tooth or want a full-on dinner, these food carts will keep you coming back for more.
The carts are generally vegan-friendly and offer options that are gluten-free and vegetarian. All the food carts help support local farming and use local ingredients.
Seating is quite manageable. Each cart has its own seating with plenty of shelter from the rain. In the center of the pod is a huge undercover seating area where you can relax without getting rained on. In the winter, they offer standing heaters so you can stay warm.
Since most carts only accept cash, the pod has an ATM. Some carts give you the option of using your credit card with a $1 charge.
The atmosphere is family-friendly and a great environment to hang out with your friends and enjoy a bite to eat.
Whiffies Fried Pies
If you like hand pies or pizzas, then you may be interested in grabbing yourself a Whiffie Fried Pie.
A common question asked at the cart is: “What is a Whiffie?” A Whiffie resembles a hot pocket, only deep fried.
The cart’s menu is divided into savory and sugary options. The savory side includes tofu pot pie, BBQ brisket (their most popular savory item) and mac and cheese.
If you have a sweet tooth, you can enjoy pies with mixed berries, apple, pumpkin cream or mounds, which consists of coconut cream and chocolate chips. Savory pies are $5 while sweet pies are $4.
All of the ingredients are fresh and made daily.
“The crust is vegan and the pies are always made fresh, hot and delicious. Where else in Portland will you buy a fried pie that’s not frozen?” employee Amanda Buckman said.
You can also quench your thirst with jasmine tea and coconut green Kombucha along with a variety of sodas. Whiffies also serves ice cream for just $2.
The cart is open Tuesday through Thursday, 6 a.m. to 3 p.m., and on the weekends from 12 p.m. to 3 a.m.
“We’re open so late so we cater a lot to the bar scene. Whiffies are also really good bar food,” Buckman said.
While most food carts only accept cash, Whiffies accepts Visa and MasterCard with a $1 service fee charge. The cart does not have an official website but employees frequently update its Twitter account, @Whiffiesfriedpies.
The inspiration for a fried pie food cart came from childhood cooking sessions between a father and son.
“The food itself came from the idea my dad and I had,” said owner Greg Abbot. “We used to bake pies, but frying them seemed more practical for a cart because frying is a lot faster than baking.”
Potato Champion
If you’re looking to dip your fries in something other than ketchup, then make your way over to Potato Champion. This cart is great for your late night cravings. It’s conveniently open till 3 a.m. and is only closed on Mondays.
“We’re known for our late-night hours—everyone knows we’ll be open till 3 a.m.” employee Michael Hughes said.
The cart specializes in its french fries and variety of dipping sauces.
“We make good ol’ American food with a twist. French fries are America’s favorite,” Hughes said.
The sauces come in sweet and savory, making it easy to satisfy any taste bud. Some sauces include rosemary truffle, bourbon honey, pesto mayo, buttermilk ranch and more. There are always 10 sauces that stay true to the menu while the rest change seasonally.
The french fries come in four different flavors: peanut butter and jelly, pulled pork, poutine and your generic, regular fries. The prices for these items range from $2.25 to $12 and offer sizes to fit your desire from extra small to extra large.
The items on the menu are made from the freshest ingredients. The french fries are prepared in a distinctive way: These Belgian-style pomme frites are cooked using special oil to give the fries a richer taste.
“We use rice bran oil rather than canola oil. Most all of our products are gluten free,” Hughes said.
For more information, visit PotatoChampion.com for a full list of their sauces, details and history of the cart.
Perierra Crêperie
Sweet, savory, healthy, milk shakes, smoothies, crêpes and high-class cooking all describe Perierra Crêperie. With fillings such as gorgonzola, Gruyére and smoked salmon, these crêpes aren’t your typical dough wrapped fillings.
“We have everything anyone wants,” employee Brianna Laughlen said. “We have vegan and gluten free options and an extensive milkshake menu.”
Their milkshake menu offers flavors such as basil with coconut ($5.25) and lavender with honey ($5.25). The cart also specializes in crêpes. They offer a variety of different flavors from ham, Gruyére and sweet mustard to nutella and banana.
Prices range from $3.50 to $7.25 and go from simple to extravagant. Crêpe zests and fixings change as often as the seasons. To keep up with the menu change, you can always look up Perierra Crêperie on Facebook and on Twitter at @PerierraCreperie.
The owner and employees are keen to serve the community with unique produce and seasonings.
“We use an amazing amount of top-quality ingredients. Rather than the generic vegetables and seasoning we use soppressata, Italian salami,” Laughlen said. “We are dedicated to keeping the classic flavors with high quality ingredients.”
The food cart is family friendly and the loudest in the pod. With alternative music blasting at top volume, the cart also caters to young children, offering a mini carousel to keep them entertained.
“The cart wants to make the atmosphere fun and upbeat,” Laughlen said. “We are really laid back and blasting our music attracts our customers.”
You can try these gourmet crepes every day from 8 a.m. to 3 a.m.
Pyro Pizza
Say goodbye to pizza dripping with grease and fake ingredients and introduce yourself to Pyro Pizza, which specializes in fire-roasted pizzas.
Pyro Pizza bakes a variety of thin-crusted pizzas such as margherita ($7), marinara ($7), spinach and mushroom ($7), pepperoni ($8), onion ($8) and truffle ($8). They also provide salads ($5) to accompany your pizza. Some side salads include caprese salad, which contains tomatoes on a bed of romaine in balsamic dressing and the basic Caesar salad with romaine and a house-made dressing.
If the menu items don’t fully appeal to you, the cart offers the option to take any ingredient off or to substitute vegan cheese on any pizza for an extra $2.
Their main attraction is the wood fire oven located right in their food cart, gives all their pizzas a unique and healthy taste.
“We have a homemade oven in our cart,” employee Jeremy Reeves said.
Homemade is the theme of this cart. Along with the home based oven, they make their own soda as well, replacing high-fructose corn syrup with organic cane sugar. Some soda flavors include natural cola, sarsaparilla, root beer, ginger, Thai coffee and basil with lime.
“We make our own sauces and soda and support local growers,” Reeves said. “We use as much local produce as we can get our hands on.”
Pyro Pizza is open every day from 11:30 a.m. to 3 a.m. You can order to-go pizzas at 503-929-1404 and can check out their website at
PyroPizzaCart.com for a complete listing of menu items.
Bubba Bernie’s
“We are known for our pulled pork sandwiches. It’s the largest known to man,” employee Lindsay Parsons-Scott said.
Bubba Bernie’s serves Cajun-infused comfort food with a Southern twist. Items on their menu include hush puppies, po’boys, jambalaya, bubbaque sandwiches, sausages and burgers. If you’re not in the mood for a full menu item, you can order a side of mini hush puppies or fried okra.
Whether you’d like to eat something complex or something as simple as a hamburger, this cart can gratify your hunger.
The items range from $4 to $8.50. A regular Philly Cheese Steak starts at $8.50, while black beans with brisket chili and cheese are just $4 for 8 oz. and $7.50 for 16 oz. Pulled pork on a French roll is priced at $8 and chicken or shrimp jambalaya is just $8.50.
Bubba Bernies uses a variety of different ingredients, which makes their menu highly flexible. With the tractability of their products they are able to have a few menu items that stand out. The cart puts a twist on the traditional tater tot and replaces the regular potato with a sweet potato, making sweet potato tots.
Like most food carts in the pod, Bubba Bernie’s uses fresh and local ingredients. Nothing is frozen before it goes on the grill.
“We smoke all our own meat. Once it arrives to our cart we do not freeze it. It goes straight to the grill,” Parsons-Scott said.
This small red cart is homey and smells delicious. Weekday hours are 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Weekend hours are 11 a.m. to 4 a.m. They are closed Monday and Tuesday.
Bubba Bernie’s takes credit cards with a $1 service fee.
You can call them at 503-858-3354.
El Brasero
If you like traditional Mexican food, you will enjoy eating at El Brasero. The cart is open seven days a week, 24 hours a day, so customers can always fill their stomachs with authentic burritos.
“I love to cook and want to share my Mexican culture and food to the public,” owner Juan Garcia said.
The menu is divided into breakfast and lunch burritos.
For breakfast you can enjoy a tortilla wrapped in rice, bell peppers, egg, bacon, sour cream, cheddar and corn. All breakfast burritos are just $4.50. Lunch and dinner burritos consist of flavors such as chorizo, ham, veggie chorizo, salchichar and zucchini.
One feature of the food is cactus as an ingredient; it is in almost every item on the menu, from the burritos to the jicama fajitas. All dinner and lunch burritos are just $7.50.
The most popular item on their menu is their vegetarian burrito, which is a flour tortilla wrapped around rice, black beans, cactus, pico de gallo and lettuce. Their vegan and vegetarian burritos are $7.
Garcia wants to give flavorful food to the community. Every order is fresh and made right in front of you. The cart gives you the option to create your own burrito and take out or add any ingredients.
The cart allows you to call in and order food so it will be prepared when you arrive. There are two lines to call: one for English speakers 503-997-5913 and one for Spanish speakers 503-997-5270.