I have had many wonderful summer eating adventures, but my favorite so far was a visit to Paradise Hamburguesas in Portland, OR. This is a summer pop-up food cart serving up incredible food in the patio behind Guero, one of my favorite restaurants ever. They are serving up a small, thoughtfully put together menu of burgers, cocktails and a few sides. 4 burger choices: a standard one, a deluxe one, a vegetarian one, and a shrimp one. I got the Camarones (shrimp) pictured above. It was an explosion of tastes and one of the best things I’ve ever eaten. Shrimp, queso, cucumber, papaya and cilantro. I certainly have never had anything like it. Delicate but brimming with flavor, hard to put down.

I also got their Paradise Salad, which was unique and delicious. Filled with endive, jicama, cucumber, tomato, mint in a delicious and tangy sikil p’ak dressing. Certainly an “untraditional” salad, but I love that salads can be so many things. Loved the endive and especially the jicama. Only small complaint is that the jicama could’ve been cut into smaller chunks. I grew up eating jicama and never see it anywhere on menus, so excited to see it. It’s a perfect summer snack. In fact this salad and whole meal are perfect summer fare. Fresh, filling but light. As you can see, the presentation is casual, which suits me just fine. The quality of the food belies the casualness however. They also have an excellent cocktail list that features Mezcal prominently. Mezcal cocktails have been my go-to the last few years. The smoky quality of the liquor works so well in a variety of cocktails, especially fruity ones. I got the Patron (pictured below): Mezcal, pineapple, avocado, lime, orgeat, mint, herbals. Very light and refreshing. Visit Paradise Hamburguesas before the summer is over, you won’t be disappointed! Happy eating.