So many great eats this week! Let’s start it out with the plate lunch pictured above. Huli Huli chicken & Mahi Mahi, mac salad, coleslaw and rice from Mahi Taco. Mahi Taco is a food cart located in the Piedmont Station at 625 NE Killingsworth. They just celebrated their 10 year anniversary. Jeff makes what I consider the best fish taco in town using that delicious blackened mahi fish, which is truly a food of the gods. The plate lunch is also excellent. I opt to get a double protein plate. Very well put together, and each component is excellent. One of my favorite plate lunches in town.

Cold Noodle Salad, current special from Kau Kau. Kau Kau is a Hawaiian restaurant that opened last year located at 2026 NE Alberta St. Serving elevated Hawaiian food with unique and delicious ingredients and cooked with care. This cold noodle salad had Toya’s Tokyo noodles, smoked pork collar, kamaboko, tamago & sesame shoyu vinaigrette. The pork collar was so smoky and delicious! One of the best cuts of smoked meat I’ve had recently. When you got a bite of everything the dish really hummed. I also got an order of their delicious pork lumpia and mac salad (not pictured). I find myself drawn more and more to both Hawaiian food and BBQ. It helps that there are so many delicious options in town of both cuisines!

Speaking of BBQ, here is the McBarky from Bark City BBQ. Ribs off the bone, pickles, raw onions, Alabama sauce and bbq sauce. I love that they are doing rib meat off the bone and stacked high on this sandwich! So delicious. Bark City is a long time favorite BBQ food cart of mine. They operate at The Heist, the premier food cart destination in Portland. On Wednesdays they run their “pitcrew” sandwich menu which is well worth checking out. The sandwiches are packed, stacked and delicious! No skimping on the meat here. Their sides are great too, I got the potato salad this time but I’ve had them all. Nothing on the menu I wouldn’t recommend.

Garlic Noodles with Lollipop fried chicken wings from Mama Chow’s. IYKYK. This is such an iconic Portland dish. The garlic noodles are so incredible and flavorful, the fried chicken is delicious and oh-so-crave-able. Love the bok choy as well. This is just a great meal all around. I have so many food carts and restaurants on my regular rotation that sometimes it takes months to cycle through them. I might only make it down to Mama Chow’s every season or so, but it hits every time. Jeff has been doing his thing here in town for a long time and the food is incredibly consistent and delicious throughout the seasons and years. Located at Steeplejack Brewing at 3757 SE Hawthorne Blvd.

The Mama Fratelli from Walter French’s. If you’ve ever read this blog before, or especially if you follow my IG, you know of my undying love for Walter French’s. Making some of the best sandwiches hands down in town out of their food cart at 1027 NE Alberta St. Every single sandwich on the menu is stellar. But if I had to pick one to eat and recommend, it’s this one. They use Olympia Provisions meat, some of the highest quality around, as well as this delicious sesame hoagie roll from Dos Hermanos. It’s the combination between using such high quality ingredients and being certified sandwich geniuses that yields some of the best in town. This sandwich has Capicola, Ham, Fresh Mozzarella, Mama Lil’s Peppers, Roasted Red Peppers, Arugula, Pesto Aioli and Walter’s Hot Honey. Go get this sandwich today! Happy eating.