Monday, February 6, 2012

Eclectic Eatery

(UPDATE 9/11/12: Eclectic Eatery has moved to the Cartlandia pod on SE 82nd Ave. as of August 2012! Check them out there!)

Eclectic Eatery is a food cart located at the corner of SE 13th and Lexington in Portland, Oregon. This is the newest addition to that Sellwood food pod, opening at the beginning of January 2012.

Now at Cartlandia; picture taken February 2013
Scott is the owner of this cart. He's been in the food business for many years and finally decided to run his own cart. Hey, if you got the skills and want to showcase what you can really do, I say go for it!

It's basically a BBQ menu, from the pulled pork and brisket to the cole slaw and baked beans. Scott reeled me in with a sampling of his brisket coated in BBQ sauce. And that, folks, was all she wrote. Virtually addicted. Hypnotized. Servant to Scott's wizardry in this magical food cart. Juicy and extremely tender meat. The brisket disintegrated on my tongue. The BBQ sauce had the thick, sweet-tangy characteristics I would do shots of (although I'll maintain my professionalism and refrain from that -- for the time being).

Took a shot of the back of Scott's cart as well, just randomly did it
Opened at the beginning of 2012!
Came by about four weeks in!
A sweet BBQ sauce and a spicier BBQ sauce!
Scott may have ESP or something, because he then marketed his Jamaican Jerk chicken. Bone-in chicken thighs marinated in authentic Jamaican spices and slow-cooked in his smoker. Yes, that means there will be some kick in there. After sampling the explosively flavored chicken, I was sold. One Jamaican Jerk Chicken plate and a side of cole slaw. Six bucks. Mega happy panda.

(NOTE: Check just the first pic for an updated menu, as of February 2013)

UPDATED MENU AS OF FEBRUARY 2013!

Top half of menu
(Late January 2012)
Bottom half of menu
Scott's dry-erase board menu
(This was from 1/27/12)
Jamaican Jerk Chicken with Cole Slaw
(Eclectic Eatery)
A closeup of the glorious chicken!
I knew I was in for a major treat when I opened the container and tried to take some of the chicken off the bone. The entire bone came out clean. Same thing with the second piece. The colorful cole slaw was amazing, crunchy and beautifully seasoned. I wanted to savor each bite to its absolute fullest, but I kept on shoving food in my mouth at an accelerated pace.

And then I was sad...the food was all gone. Why can't there be some tube underneath my table pumping more of this chicken and cole slaw into my container? Why?!

I saw Scott putting more of his amazing meats in his smoker as I left. Leaving this cart was like having to say goodbye to your girlfriend. Sigh.

I had to take a picture of the bones
I rarely (and I do mean rarely) do this
The meat came CLEAN off the damn bone
Just out-of-this-world, perfectly smoked, slow-cooked chicken
On my hour-long drive home alone in the car, the superlatives came pouring out. To pedestrians and other drivers, I hope I looked like I was talking to some person on a hands-free phone device. I swear I'm not totally crazy! Many of the jaw-dropping compliments could be followed with "That's what she said....":

"I want seconds!"
"Oh my God"
"I want more of it!"
"I need a second mouth to attack it from underneath!"
"That was f****** amazing!"
Etc. (We can continue this for a while, but I'll stop here)

I was still in a stupor, even as I (safely) got off I-5, navigated back to my place, and went about my usual business. That's one powerful meal...great Scott!

Once I break out of this several week-long trance -- at the least -- I'll come back for more. Don't worry, I'll get home just fine, thanks.

The cart's generally open Tuesdays through Saturdays, starting at 11 a.m. Scott will be open until 6 p.m. on Saturdays (otherwise open 'til 4)

It's extremely rare that one visit nets such a high score on my blog. Go buy Scott's food. Now. Camp outside the food cart if you need to. 9.5/10

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