2nd Annual Kelly's Jelly Challenge

The 2nd Annual Kelly's Jelly Challenge took place from April 17 to April 23, 2013, in Portland, Oregon. Owners of six great Portland food carts participated to see who would create the best dish using Kelly Calabria's habanero jelly.

The Italian Market

The Italian Market is located adjacent to Belmont Station, just off SE 45th and Stark in Portland, Oregon.

The Cheese Plate

The Cheese Plate is located at the corner of NE 23rd and Alberta in Portland, Oregon. After several months of wanting to visit this cart, I finally got my chance at the end of March.

YouTube: L.A. Part 2; Spicy Chocolate

Several videos have gone up since my last YouTube post. More videos from Los Angeles have made their way onto the channel, and I got to be part of a massive YouTube collab featuring McDonald's hamburgers.

Garden Monsters

Garden Monsters is a salad food cart located at the Alberta-15 food pod (on NE Alberta near 15th Ave.) in Portland, Oregon. When I stopped by in late March, he was still at his original spot two blocks down on NE Alberta, near 13th Ave. Kyle moved to the A-15 pod on April 9.

Kyle's old location on NE Alberta, near 13th Ave.

Kindle's Donuts

Kindle's Donuts is located on S Normandie Avenue in Los Angeles, California. They are probably one of the places known for the huge doughnut on top of the building. It should be noted that at least one other spot in the city has the same type of building design (i.e., Randy's Donuts).

Funky Puffs

(UPDATE 4/23/13: I passed by this area yesterday (4/22) and noticed the cart was gone. An update on the Funky Puffs' fan page today mentioned they were temporarily closed and relocating.)

Funky Puffs is located on NE Alberta St., near 13th Ave., in Portland, Oregon. Tracy and Eric are the co-owners.

The Bridgetown Bagel Company

The Bridgetown Bagel Company is a bagel cart located at the Rose City Food Park (NE 52nd and Sandy) in Portland, Oregon. The pod continues to grow with an array of cuisines and amazing food options!

Barbecue the Blues

Barbecue the Blues is a food truck parked at the Rose City Food Park in Portland, Oregon.

Alma Chocolate

Alma Chocolate is located on NE 28th Ave. (a couple blocks north of E Burnside) in Portland, Oregon. After Nick and Carina of The Cheese Plate food cart mentioned this place on their Facebook fan page, I took a visit down to this small brick-and-mortar shop at the end of March.

Meeting Ted Barrus and Alan Cole

Last week, I had the privilege of meeting Ted Barrus and Alan Cole, two great people with a strong knowledge of superhot peppers and hot sauces. We met up at Buster's BBQ in Milwaukie, Oregon.

(L to R) Ted Barrus; me; Alan Cole
Yup, I'm just a skinny dude

Luigi Ortega's

Luigi Ortega's is a pizza and taco spot located on East Colorado Blvd in Pasadena, California. Basically, I came here for a spicy pizza and some exotic meat tacos.

Biergarten

Biergarten is a German fusion bar located in Los Angeles, California. A couple of friends invited me to join them for dinner one night, and naturally, I can't turn such an offer down.

The Slide Inn

The Slide Inn is located at the corner of SE 24th and Ankeny in Portland, Oregon. This place serves European cuisine, including German and Austrian food. After one of my friends mentioned the interesting weekend brunch dishes offered here, I had to stop by in mid-February.

YouTube: Los Angeles Part 1

Another couple weeks have flown by and I'm checking in with another weekend YouTube update. Slowly but surely, the videos that I filmed down in Los Angeles are finding their way onto the Internet. The ones that are already up should give you an idea of why I'm calling it the most epic trip I've ever taken.

Big Mama's and Papa's Pizzeria

Big Mama's and Papa's Pizzeria has several locations throughout California. I met up with several professional eaters in Burbank to watch an epic pizza challenge.

El Tepeyac

El Tepeyac is a Mexican restaurant located in Los Angeles, California. You may have seen this place profiled on the TV series Man v. Food. Again, I dragged a couple friends out for a big burrito.