Curbside Grill

(Update on 1/29/12: Curbside Grill has closed for now. There are plans to re-open in the future, likely as a brick-and-mortar establishment.)

Curbside Grill is a food cart located on the corner of SE 13th and Lexington in the Sellwood district of Portland, Oregon.

Menu

I tried their Grilled Chicken Salad ($6.50): Romaine lettuce topped with seasoned grilled chicken thigh meat, red onion, tomato, carrots, blue cheese crumbles, and blue cheese dressing. I got the cheese and dressing on the side. Curbside also gives customers a choice of wing sauce for the chicken, and I chose their hot sauce.

As an added bonus, I mentioned to the owners of the cart that I am a person that loves spicy food, and they immediately asked if I would like a sample of their "Hella Hot" wing sauce, which was still in the experimental stages at the time of my visit. The "Hella Hot" sauce is basically Curbside's hot sauce with ground Ghost chili peppers added to the mix. Of course, I couldn't pass that up!

Grilled Chicken Salad
(chicken laced with house hot sauce, blue cheese crumbles and dressing on side)

Curbside Grill's "Hella Hot" sauce
Spiceheads like me will like this one!

Closeup shot of the food

A very nice portion for $6.50, and a colorful presentation! I really enjoyed the salad. The chicken was moist, and their hot sauce was basically a kicked-up Buffalo wing sauce. Good heat here. The vegetables were fresh. The shredded carrots added a nice texture and sweetness to the salad. The onion provided a nice bite and crunch to the meal.

When I tried the blue cheese crumbles and dressing were not overpowering with the chicken and veggies. Classic combination with the wing sauce, no doubt about it.

Now on to the "Hella Hot" sauce. I personally loved it. The smokiness of the ground-up Ghost peppers packed a real nice punch. After a few bites, my tongue was tingling pretty good and the "eye sweats" were noticeable on my face. Trust me, I was enjoying it!

I guess if I had any real criticisms here, it would probably be to have more chicken. It was a very good portion to begin with, though, so it's a relatively minor criticism at that. I would also like to see that Hella Hot sauce on the menu in the future! Put it up there with about 2-3 more unique wing sauce choices, and I'd be one extremely happy panda.

But heck, I'm already a huge fan of Curbside Grill and their awesome staff! If you're more of a sandwich person, they have chicken and vegetarian options there. The wings are apparently a huge hit, if you like that, so get off your behind and check out Curbside Grill ASAP! 8.5/10