I must admit that I am a fan of the Pacific Northwest. Ladies and Gentlemen, I am in Portland, Oregon. I’ve been having a bit of writers block here. You would think with the vast amounts of food, both restaurant and truck, I would be inspired and inundated with edible options to discuss. One minor detail. It rains...all...the...time.
After canoeing myself around for a week, I was able to figure out where North and South were, and which streets ran East to West. As silly as it seems, as much as I love Google Maps on my phone, I seem to get more lost using these devices. Eventually, my caveman instincts (stomach and nose) tend to lead the way.Prior to arriving here I had started doing research on food trucks. Food trucks here are like coffee shops and drifters. There is a gaggle of them every two blocks in Portland. This, to me, became an issue. All of the trucks look the same. All of them seem to serve up Mexican, Gyros, or Asian cuisine of some sort. Nothing stands out and nothing seems to be special about what is being served up.
It took about two weeks, but in the SW region of downtown Portland, alas... The Portland Soup Company. Portland Soup Company is a food truck and like most of the food trucks here, they are all congregated in a parking lot. Much like drifters. Portland Soup Company (PSC) serves soups, salads, and sandwiches. The food is delicious, creative, and extremely affordable.
I stopped by for a quick bite before work one afternoon. The menu is ever changing, both seasonally and for creative purposes. This particular day, I arrived towards the end of the lunch rush, which meant that some items were no longer an option. Disappointed and all, I still had my option. I settled on ordering a cup of soup and half a sandwich.Todays’s soup was a Hungarian Mushroom soup with dill and cream. Absolutely delicious, and perfect for the dreary cold day in late March. The soup was not to creamy, which in my mind means its a “lite” option to a cream of mushroom soup.Now the best part -the sandwich. Roasted Pork Butt with a red cabbage and apple slaw. I need to find a way to make this at home. It was like eating the world's best pulled pork sandwich, minus the heart burn and the calories. The Pork Butt was seasoned to perfection and was literally pulling apart bite after bite. It was insanely tender and savory. The cabbage apple slaw served almost like a BBQ sauce, adding a nice level of sweetness, without the guilt, and a fun crunch that made me forget the sandwich did not come with chips. All of this goodness on a sensible crunchy cibatta roll. All of this for about $7, what a bargain!!!
