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.

So what the heck is a funky puff? It's basically deep-fried wontons with various fillings. There are a few sweet and savory options. Each funky puff gets topped with a sauce or some other topping, depending on the order. It's $1 for each puff, six for $5, and a dozen for $10.

With five different funky puff options on the menu, I opted for the six-for-$5 deal.

"The Standard" funky puff contains real crab meat, chives, cream cheese, and spices served with a sweet apricot chili sauce. I didn't get a lot of the crab meat (had a hard time finding the contrasting textures), but still fantastic flavors. The apricot chili sauce is a wonderful pairing.

"The Standard"

I got two of "The Johnny D" puffs. Why? Because there's bacon in there. Bacon, potatoes, peppers, and cheddar. And there's sriracha on top. How glorious does that sound? I personally would amp the bacon quotient up a tad, but I'm also a sick panda who watches Epic Meal Time a lot. Bacon likely will contribute to my ultimate demise, and I'm cool with it.

"The Johnny D"

The "Orange Blossom Special" contains sweet cream cheese, orange, and spices, topped with powdered sugar and caramel. The orange comes through and provides a refreshing, enjoyable experience. Sticky, yummy caramel is a good thing.

"Orange Blossom Special"

I also got two of the "Apple Dumplin' Gang" puffs -- and this was easily my favorite puff of the four I had. Fresh apples, sweet cream cheese, and warm spices, topped with caramel. Apple pie is one of my all-time favorite pies, and I basically a mini triangular, fried version going to my stomach.

"Apple Dumplin' Gang"

As a note, the "Dark Choco-Coffee" puff contains sweet cream cheese, coffee, and dark chocolate, also topped with powdered sugar and caramel. No coffee puff available on my visit, unfortunately. I love chocolate, coffee, and caramel, so I have no doubts that I'd enjoy this.

I also tried a sampling of the "Puffy Fries" ($3 for a regular order). The potatoes are hand-cut, battered in a secret recipe, and deep fried. It honestly looked like mozzarella sticks on appearance, but it's all awesome starch inside. The Puff Fries are served with a tasty mayonnaise-based fry sauce.

Puff Fries with their Puff Fry sauce!

I find that this is a great cart to go to if you want a light snack after filling up at one of the nearby food pods. In that regard, it's also a great moneymaker for the Last Thursday events on Alberta St. People might not fill up here unless they try to eat about 25 funky puffs. Frankly, that still sounds like a kickass idea.

Admittedly, this is probably not something I'd partake in every day; there's only so much fried food this panda can handle. But hey, I say it's worth a stop if you need that deep-fried fix. And if you take a nice walk down Alberta, the exercise should help burn off those extra calories.

As of April 6, Funky Puffs is open from 5-10 p.m. seven days a week. The hours may change again in the future. Check the business Facebook page for the latest.

Check out Funky Puffs and tell 'em Aaron sent you down! 7.75/10