Farmhouse Carts Food Pod

The Farmhouse Cards food pod is located on SE 35th Place, just off SE Division, in Portland, Oregon.

Well Portland, it's been over a year, but earlier this month, I finally got back to your neck of the woods for a few days. I intend on making it an annual trek, health and finances permitting.

The Farmhouse Carts food pod opened in November 2022, after I moved away from the Portland area. While some food carts probably closed or moved away in the almost-two years since, there are still eight carts there as of September 2024:

Shera Indian Food serves an array of Indian dishes.

Sunrise Co has coffee/espresso, handmade English muffins, and other breakfast sandwiches. They are usually open only through lunchtime.

Mama Chow's Kitchen, likely one of the original carts who moved into the Farmhouse pod, serves various Chinese dishes, including from-scratch dumplings, garlic noodles, lollipop chicken wings, and soups.

Ginzake Sushi has an array of sushi, poke bowls, and "sushi burritos" (basically larger sushi rolls with more protein filling). 

Papa's Frita is Portland's first Nicaraguan food cart, ranging from various Nicaraguan plates (protein, rice, beans, plantains) and smash burgers that highlight more Nicaraguan techniques and flavors.

Narm Pouh Thai touts a typical Thai menu, including Pad Thai, various curries/soups, and pot stickers.

Gyro World brings the Mediterranean cuisine to the pod. A large menu of options here.

Finally, Smash & Grab has a diverse menu. One side features burgers, chicken sandwiches, and fries. The other side has rice plates for vegetarians (eggplant stew, chickpea stew, etc.) or meat-lovers (skewers of lamb, chicken, or beef).

Migration Brewing Craft Collective is in the adjacent building to the pod, and you can head there for some beer or wine from Wednesday through Sunday. There's usually seven Migration Brewing beers on draft, plus three others from different breweries.

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While I was in the area, I tried three different carts over two days. I'm sorry to the places I didn't get to try, jut simply not enough time or stomach space these days.

I went to Ginzake Sushi first and tried a form of their Ginzake Bowl ($15). It normally comes with sushi rice, crab salad, salmon, tuna, seaweed salad, edamame, carrot, avocado, cucumber, tamago, and spicy eel sauce. Unfortunately, I was there later in the evening, after they had already gone through their sushi rice, so I was offered a bit more seaweed salad.

Top marks for presentation, and the fresh ingredients shined here. Fresh seafood comes in constantly, and it shows. Glistening tuna, wonderful preparation all around, and simply delicious.

Next up was Gyro World. The #25 Falafel Wrap ($14) includes cart-made falafel, salad, pickles, and tzatziki in a tortilla that's sealed and browned on the flattop. Excellent falafel here, well-seasoned and light. It comes with more sauce on the side.

I enjoyed these two dishes with Migration Brewing's Mo-Haze-Ic Hazy IPA. At 6.1% ABV and 40 IBU, it had the ideal blend of hoppy, tropical, without being overly bitter. A true hazy/New England-style IPA, in my book.

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The following day, I returned to the Farmhouse pod because I wanted to get some food from Mama Chow's Kitchen. They had been in downtown Portland for years before they had to find a new place a few years ago. I've featured them on my blog and my YouTube channel in the past, and I'm so happy to see them still thriving.

The Garlic Noodles are still my favorite dish from this cart. Jeff makes his own char siu BBQ pork so it was only fitting to get the noodles with the pork ($16). He only started doing the pork after I left Portland, probably in the last year or two. My mom had never tried Jeff's food before, but it only took 1-2 bites to make it her favorite dish from the entire Portland trip.

I also had to try the Pork & Shrimp Wonton Noodle Soup ($12). It's much more of a soothing, homey experience here, not as in-your-face with the flavors. But those house-made dumplings were easily the star of the dish. Perfectly wrapped and cooked. I could probably eat 25 of those just by itself.

Finally, some Chicken Wings, which again were delicious. Largely deboned here, they were easy to eat. I'd go back for more of those in a heartbeat.

Whatever you might be in the mood for, I highly recommend checking out the Farmhouse Carts food pod. An array of cuisines so there's likely something for everyone.