Eat Mobile

EAT MOBILE 2014 IS HAPPENING ON SUNDAY, APRIL 27TH AT OMSI.  YOU CAN BUY TICKETS HERE.

Sometimes Portland’s food cart scene is a little overwhelming.  There are just so many and more opening all the time. These days most neighborhoods in Portland have a pod, but how do you know which carts are the best?  Is it worth it to drive to pods on the other side of the city?  That’s where Willamette Week’s Eat Mobile Festival comes in.  It is easily the BEST festival I went to last year and tickets are now on sale!!!

The whole thing takes place on Saturday, April 27th in one of the parking lots at OMSI.  It’s $20 per person and all ages, for those of you with kiddos.  We absolutely got our money’s worth because it is all you can eat!   There are around 50 carts represented and we only made it through about half of them.  Even though this is an all-ages event, there  is beer, but we had no space in our stomachs to drink.  You will leave this place STUFFED.  How many miniature sandwiches can you eat in one night?  Add on mini waffles, mini ice cream cones, and tiny pieces of pie.   At a certain point we had to start getting strategic about our “must-try” spots because we were getting so full.

The highlight for me last year was the Banh Mi sandwich at Lardo, which I’ve written about since then.  This year I’m excited to try Chez Dodo, and Thrive Pacific Northwest and they only have about half of the participants listed on their website.

There was one BIG drawback.  The line to get in.  It started at the OMSI parking lot and curved through the neighboring parking lot, along the Eastbank esplanade, back to to water avenue, around a building, then onto the off ramp from the Hawthorne bridge!  It was crazy.  We were actually worried we would get hit by a car, so we walked back to the front of the line, pretended to have will call tickets and got in within seconds.  I know we kind of cut in line, but that whole situation was really poorly set up.  So be warned.  Hopefully they’ve figured something out to speed up the process.

If you are considering going to this event, get tickets now.  They will sell out.   You will leave stuffed and inspired to head out and try carts in parts of town you otherwise may not have made it to.  So bring empty stomachs and some patience and I think you’ll have a great time.

Go here for all the info on the event and to buy your tickets.