Jeopardy answer: This food was created in support of a labor protest in 1929.

"What is the poor boy sandwich?" 

We had my mother-in-law over for lunch yesterday, as we do most weekends.  We try to serve her New Orleans flavors, since she lived there for 79 of her 88 years and will probably be homesick until she "goes home."  Yesterday that was Barbecue Shrimp.  Barbecue shrimp aren't actually "barbecued," the dish was named by the creator at Pascal's Manale on Napoleon Avenue.  Heads on shrimp are bathed in  garlic, worcester, lemon juice, a lavish amount of butter and an almost unbelievable amount of black pepper.  It's a messy but delicious eat, especially with french bread to sop up the sauce, and it leaves your mouth humming from the pepper.   Not something you're going to eat often, but a true NOLA treat.  Or as Louise would say "A Treat, instead of a Treatment."

As we were eating, I had an epiphany.   I take my knowledge and experience preparing the foods of New Orleans for granted.   So even though it had crossed my mind to feature NOLA cooking, I immediately thought, "nope, not special enough."  And there is some competition, both cart and brick and mortar.  And I've eaten at most of them.   I admit, I haven't tried the Fried Catfish Po'Boy served with arugula, tomato, purple onion, sweet chili sauce, & Creole Aioli.  It might be a very good sandwich.  But I guarantee it is not a classic NO Poor Boy.  Cornbread is NOT traditional with NO fare--french bread is.  Clams do not belong in gumbo.  I'm passionate about doing the classics right.  And, as Mario pointed out, we have a real story to tell about authenticity and history.  

I was noodling around and here's a menu concept that I think could work:

It is a far more manageable menu in terms of the number of ingredients, complexity of preparation and speed of service, meaning more meals per day.  If the concept was successful, it would be relatively easy to scale.

In addition to Daily Specials, we might offer occasional specials like Gumbo Z'herbes (a Lenten file gumbo featuring at least 7 kinds of greens), Barbecued Shrimp, possibly even boiled crawfish by the pound (and no, I do not approve of crawfish swimming in a bath of melted butter in a bowl).  

Whatcha think?

Location, location, location

Thinking about which cart pods to target for space, a few things are on my mind.

I don't think of Allegretto as primarily a grab and go.  Think grazing.  I'd like to be some place that has seating (and ideally, a heated tent!),  having beer and/or wine available would be ideal.  There are a number of carts in town that serve to 'eat here' customers on non-disposables.  I like that concept a great deal if it is manageable for my menu.

Map of Portland Cart Pods

Four potential locations are currently on my list to consider.  All are on the east side.  As time intensive as this is going to be, I don't want to add schlepping across the river.

Pod28.  Small (currently 5 carts), but no weak links.  Burrasco and Grilled Cheese Grill are there, as is Captured by Porches brewing.  Apparently the pod is managed by the owner of GCG, and they have space for additional carts, but want to maintain a high standard.  So it might be possible to get in there.

Good Food Here on Belmont.  Although it has been reported that the pod is closing, the managers have three slots open on Craig's List and are offering their current tenants 18 month leases.  Rogue beers available, good variety, heated tent.  Seems like a good neighborhood / family spot.

Prost / Mississippi.  Some strong carts--Meet, Koi Fusion, Miss Kate's Southern, the Big Egg.  Seating, food can be taken into Prost.  Big Ass Sandwiches just closed their location there--their cart is for sale. Being so close to our favorite tavern could be dangerous.

Rose City Food Park.  This one is fairly new and is a distant fourth.  I haven't eaten at most of the carts, but I think the selection is not particularly strong.  The cart with foods of Guam (PDX 6-7-1) is pretty good, as is the Banh Mi cart.  At least two carts listed on their webpage have. closed.  It has a beer garden, tent, parking.

Anyone have others I should be thinking about?  What are your favorites?  Any dirt on the above locations?

Thanks for your support!

Ciao!

Crossing the Rubicon

So...welcome!

Glad you could make it!

If you've made your way here from What the Peris are Eating, you'll know this already, but long story short, I've decided to make a radical change in my professional life, and am going to use this blog to share the journey.

I'm researching and working to develop a business plan for a food cart, tentatively named "Allegretto".  I chose the name because in the musical sense it means quick and lively...also because it is in the diminutive, I think it also evokes "small", as in small plates.

It's the kind of food I prefer to eat--not a big blob of main course, but a very vivid taste of this and that.   The challenge there is to make sure that it is easy for people to get "enough" food at an acceptable price point.  An initial idea is to offer a choice of two "smalls" and accompany it with a small salad or a thin slice of tortilla espagnola (or tortilla of the day) and two slices of baguette for $8-9.   For example, 3-4 chicken wings with a garlic, saffron sauce; 4-5 lamb meatballs in a greek flavored tomato sauce with feta, radicchio salad, bread.  Or 4 large prawns in green mayonnaise and a serving of chickpeas and spinach with dill, a slice of tortilla, bread.   Of course the items could be ordered a la carte as well.

Even though I intend to offer a number of Spanish tapas, I don't want to be limited to that--more important is that everything over-delivers in flavor and satisfaction.  I might offer New Orleans barbecued shrimp, or salmon cakes with remoulade.  I might offer a cup of watermelon gazpacho or gumbo z'herbes.

Mario and I have talked about, perhaps on a Friday or Saturday evening, offering a special like an unusual but traditional paella, or feijoida--more rib-sticking fare but offered in different portion sizes so it could be a "main dish" if desired.

Much more to come...but I'd love to get your feedback!  Would this appeal to you?  Does the name align with the food description?  PDX readers--do you know of carts that do something very similar?

Thanks in advance for your help and support.

Ciao for now!