Food Carts of Portland Bike Tour: local flavors and stories
Description
Portland’s famous food carts are scattered all over the city's five (now six) quadrants, over 600 in total, in over 60 pods — collections of food carts! Starting at our shop, 833 SE Main Street #124, we'll put you on one of our lightweight bicycles and guide you on a 8-12 mile (11-17 km) culinary experience through some of our best-loved chefs and makers, sampling everything from Oregon farm-to-table delights to snacks appropriate to late-night cravings. Our focus is on locally-owned businesses with a great story; we’ll take you to a few of our favorites, many of which were important in creating the food cart scene as it exists today. Without these unique and passionate people, we may not have even half of what Portland offers to residents and guests alike. Expect flavors and fusions that tell not only a culinary, but also a cultural, tale. Bikes, helmets and plentiful food samples provided. We keep groups small, so you'll have an intimate experience with your passionate guides!
Tour Options
Itinerary
We'll start by fitting you for bikes at our shop at 833 SE Main Street #121, before we head out on the day's excursion.
In the Ladd's Addition neighborhood is the heart of the original food cart scene and we'll set the scene by trying some of our favorite coffee and discussing our route for the day.
One of the most iconic sorts of food carts in Portland is a fusion between traditional cuisines. Matt's is one of the ultimate: take Southern US-style barbecue and place it in the best tacos anywhere. (For vegan and vegetarian guests, we'll choose a different but equally awesome first stop!)
In the neighborhood anyway! We'll ride up in the direction of Mt. Tabor (one of four extinct volcanoes within the city's core!) toward another food cart pod, this one the descendant of our dearest departed collections of food cart -- RIP Tidbit. Luckily the carts themselves live on, especially some fun and beautifully executed versions of favorite snacks from our childhood. These are made with sustainable ingredients, interesting and delicious flavor combinations, so we'll sample these and maybe we'll teach you a few new words, too!
Hawthorne Boulevard is part of our hometown story: the heart of all that's delicious, funky, and hippie, a thoroughfare with a street food soul! We'll ride into our personal and the city's foodie history (this goes back over a century!) and stop at a special coffee food cart made in a unique vehicle. Here we'll get some caffeinated beverage (if that's what you like) to begin our day!
Well visit Cartopia or another nearby pod! Cartopia was the first-ever permanent food cart pod in the city. This one is the epicenter of the food cart craze. We'll talk about how the food cart explosion began (a story told uniquely by us) and visit either Cartopia or its next door neighbor, the Hawthorne Asylum.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
- Allergies and dietary requirements must be communicated at booking. We can accommodate the needs of vegetarians and pescatarians, but changes may be made to the itinerary for gluten-free, dairy-free, or vegan needs. We are sorry that peanut and other nut allergies cannot be safely accommodated.
Reviews(73)
Repeat! This is our second time taking this bike/ food cart tour when we passed through Portland. It is still my 11 year olds favorite thing in the city. Kelly, our guide, was AMAZING! Her passion for food, the city, and biking is infectious. I feel like this is a great way to explore what can be an intimidating city for the uninitiated. Thank you and we will keep this experience in our back pocket whenever we are spending time in Portland. 10/10. Cannot recommend enough.
What a delicious and delightful tour! Our tour was on a Monday and it was just my husband and I. Lucky us! Kelly was a fantastic guide--engaging, energetic and fun. We felt safe the entire time, learned a lot about the city of Portland and visited food truck pods we didn't even know existed. The food was all very good, biking was at a great pace and we couldn't believe how quickly the day went. Would most definitely do again. Highly recommend!
We did the bike tour on our last day in Portland and had so much fun. Our guide Kelly was funny, informative and had such good energy. She took us to some really good pod carts where we tried different yummy foods and the bike tour around the neighborhoods was fun and at a good pace. Totally recommend this tour.
Kelly and Austin were great guides! I felt very safe while riding and all the food was fabulous (and there was SO MUCH)! Kelly also provided interesting history and facts about food carts and neighborhoods. Austin gave us some great tips of things to do for the rest of our visit too. Perfect tour!
Such a great time! Kelly was so warm and informative. The bike ride was fun and a unique way to do a food tour. All the stops were excellent and I felt like we got a well rounded experience and of course, the food was amazing. Highly recommend!
Kelly was an awesome tour guide. A lot of fun and very knowledgeable about the Portland food cart scene. We biked through beautiful neighborhoods between the Willamette and Columbia Rivers and stopped at many delicious food carts. By the end I was bursting at the seams! lol. I would highly recommend this tour.
We had a great time on our food cart /bike tour! Kellie was knowledgeable, friendly and fun to tour with. We saw lots of art, but best of all we ate some really yummy food! Come hungry! The bike ride was easy and fun. A few surprises along the way. Highly recommend!
Great way to explore the green parts of the city! Of course we happened to book a day with a heat advisory which was less than ideal. It was my 10 year olds favorite part of the trip which is saying a lot. 100% would recommend and do again!
Amazing for bikers of all levels! Such friendly and educational tour guides. Fantastic foods and a good range of the Portland food cart scene. Loved that they talked about important political topics that are affecting the Portland landscape, including the benefits of diversity and being environmentally conscious. Absolutely would recommend to anyone who wants to get a local perspective on Portland!!
Wonderful way to see the local neighborhoods of Portland and eat delicious food!!! Saw amazing murals and plant life. Food was top notch and our guide was the best!
