SomTum Gai Yang

After spending a lovely day at the Japanese Garden and the International Rose Test Garden in Washington Park, Portland, Oregon, I hit up my first food cart in the downtown area. Portland loves its food carts. These carts are not random hot-dog stands--they are serious!

I wandered around, scoping them all out before deciding on SomTum Gai Yang on SW 10th and Alder. It was a Thai spot, and I was instinctively drawn to it. The pictures of the food on the menu looked amazing, and I knew I was in the mood for Asian cuisine. Jackpot.

I decided on the SomTum Gai Yang combo, which was described as being "highly recommended." I could see why. It was green papaya salad with lime juice served with sticky rice and Thai barbecued chicken.


The green papaya salad had some carrots, tomatoes, and green beans mixed into it. The salad was served chilled, and it was doused in a spicy lime juice. When Jenny, the proprietor, asked me what spice level I wanted I just told her to go hot. And it definitely was! The spiciness of the lime juice was juxtaposed nicely with the coolness of the salad, and a little bit of sticky rice cleaned my palate for the next bite, making me hungry for more delicious barbecue chicken.

I simply love this style of chicken. There was lots of skin and fat and the chicken was on the bone. Some people are turned off by that almost primitive quality of just gnawing away at a hunk of meat on the bone, but I love it. The flavors of the chicken were very nice--light and not overpowering while still being pleasantly seasoned. A little dish of dipping sauce offered a sweet and slightly spicy accompaniment to the more savory and salty chicken. It was a splendid meal.

It seems you can't go wrong with a food cart in Portland, but if you get the chance I highly recommend grabbing a quick and delicious meal at SomTum Gai Yang.

Food York

A visit to New York City this past weekend was simply filled with inspiring food experiences. It's difficult to not eat good food in the city--even just walking down the street the air is laden with the scent of delectable treats. There's sizzling meat, mustard on soft pretzels and hot dogs, and gourmet ice-cream trucks. Roasted corn-on-the-cob at a street festival dispels a smoky sweet smell among the shoppers. In Brooklyn take-out margaritas in styrofoam cups litter McCarren Park. Warm bagels are slathered in soft cream cheese on a Saturday morning. Delightful sushi dinners are accompanied with all-you-can-drink sake. And of course, sex, drugs, and lobster rolls. The list is endless and it changes with each day in the city.

New York is a conglomerate of various people from around the world with different motivations and intentions. It's no wonder that regardless of what food you're in the mood for, you can almost always find it in New York. The variety stimulates the senses--each bite offers a new opportunity to experience the richness of life through taste, smell, and texture. As your body transforms the deliciousness of the city's food into energy, the soul of New York becomes a part of you as well. Welcome to Food York...

Street Food: Because There’s Nothing Quite Like Meat-On-A-Stick!

Anthony Bourdain’s recent special on No Reservations featuring street food from around the world raises a good point—street food is some of the best food out there! And from kebabs in Greece to corndogs at American county fairs, it seems that the street foods of most cultures involve some array of meat on sticks. There’s just something about a pointed piece of wood or metal impaling various meats that are coated in spices and grilled that makes people stop wherever they are and buy food of unknown origins from strangers.

Cities are definitely the place for street food. Simply taking a stroll down any New York City avenue yields a plethora of scents that titillate the mind and stomach. If Bourdain is correct, and he usually is, then the best way to experience a city is through the food from the street. A New York City hotdog could make any tourist write home to friends and family about how he “really” experienced the Big Apple, not while at the top of the Empire State Building or the Statue of Liberty, but when he bit into that tube of mystery meat with a squeeze of mustard as he watched a bum doze off by the nearby subway entrance. Ah, the city!

The first step is to get over any fear of what is going on inside those dirty carts. (Note: If you want to get over any qualms regarding where your food comes from or what is in it, just visit China. Seriously, even the most avid ingredient reader cannot decipher the nutritional labels on packaged foods, and once you watch women chopping cabbages on the sidewalk outside a restaurant you often eat at, all your fears will go out the window—especially when you realize that small children urinate and defecate on that same sidewalk.) The second step is, of course, to just try what’s available. Luckily, street food is usually inexpensive, so even a disappointing dish is not too much of a waste.

Despite the lax health codes, the best street food I ever experienced was in Chengdu in Sichuan Province, China. It was not meat-on-a-stick, and I can’t identify precisely what the food consisted of or what it was called, but I admit that I’ve dreamt of it more than once. It can best be described as a thin, crepe-like pancake that was savory, salty, and filled with scallions. The batter was spread thin on a hot griddle in large sheets until it sizzled. Then it was flipped, folded, cut, and placed in a plastic bag for easy take away. After one bite I wanted to eat the whole thing—unfortunately, there were two friends with me at the time. What was this mysterious pancake, and will I ever experience it again? I tried a “scallion pancake” at a fusion restaurant, but it was thick, dry, and could not compare to that magical street food moment…

So what about you? Any interesting street food stories out there to share? Any great experiences with meat-on-a-stick or unlicensed food carts?