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!