Bari focuses on panzerotti, an Italian street food that resembles a fried calzone. The owner, Walter Ferrante, opened this cart last summer. I'm reminded of the dearly departed Whiffies food cart that used to be found at Cartopia.
At Bari, there are two panzerotti sizes. The small usually runs around $3.50 to $4, while the large will cost about $8 to $9.
Bari's cart features around a dozen panzerotti options, a few of them rotating specials. While most of the panzerotti are savory, Walter provides at least a couple of sweet options. You may also see a pasta special around.
Seeking one savory and one sweet, I first enjoyed the Pesto panzerotti ($3.50 small): tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, and basil pesto. An explosion of pesto inside, and the stringy mozzarella is always a plus.
To finish, the Nutella, Peanut Butter, and Banana panzerotti ($4) was a big winner. Tons of crunchy peanut butter in every bite. Most of the nutella inadvertently seemed to sink to the bottom, so I got a lot more of the chocolaty hazelnut spread at the end. A dusting of powdered sugar on top made this one a lot messier than its savory counterpart.
While it may be deep fried, the dough was not greasy and the food not overly heavy. It was more a pillow of airy goodness.
The affordable prices here should allow a group to get just several panzerotti, then just split everything to get the best experience.
Portland has been rapidly stepping its food cart game up. Add Bari to the elite list! 9.25/10
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