Traditional Russian Cuisine

Traditional Russian Cuisine is located at the Cartlandia food pod in Portland, Oregon. Food Carts Portland posted a profile on them almost three months ago.

Add Russian to the growing list of diverse Portland food cart cuisine that I've had. I'm not sure if this is the first Russian cart Portland's had, but still a rare find.

Lyle and Bella are the owners. They're from Moscow and want to give the people here a taste of what Russia has to offer. The menu here contains items like pelmeni, borscht, and piroshky.

Vegetarian Piroshky menu

Piroshky are usually baked buns that can be stuffed with a wide variety of fillings. Savory fillings can have meat or no meat, while sweet fillings are usually fruit-based.

I first tried the piroshky with lamb, potato, and onion ($2.49). A good, light blend of seasonings on the filling.  The potatoes were soft and the lamb retained some juiciness. The bun itself looked like a flat strudel-like item.

The "Very Berry" Piroshky ($2.49) at this cart is not a filled bun, but a flattened biscuit with berry jelly and a maraschino cherry on top. I do wish the jelly got injected into the bun here instead of having it spread on top. That way, I'm more likely to get the jelly in my mouth instead of having it end up in the container. It ended up being a bit messy.

The underside of the Very Berry Piroshky

All in all, two comforting food items. Nothing extremely memorable on this visit, though.

I'm not an expert on Russian food, so I can't speak to its authenticity. But hey, with very reasonable prices, this cart is worth a stop. 6.5/10