I love the little Brazilian community of Portland. Actually, many Portuguese speakers, but not too many Brazilians. They are a very supportive bunch, and they organized a get together in the cart last week. Of course, I had to make Coxinhas (fried potato dumplings filled with chicken), and Empadinha de Palmito (hearts of palm mini biscuits). Brazilians are crazy about their snacks, that's for sure.
I mastered the art of making both of them, and I have to tell you, my Coxinhas and Empadinhas are the best I've had in a while. The Brazilians invaded the D-Street Noshery, and it was so much fun. They were very happy to be here, and they loved the food! There is nothing quite as awesome as hearing a Brazilian tell me that my feijoada is the best they have ever had!
The Sack has been open now for a little over 2 months. I feel like I know all about food carts now! I am sure there is more to learn... Make sure you grey water dispenser is easy to open. Mine is very hard, and every day is extremely frustrating. Several things didn't work inside the cart, but I don't want to focus on that. We are making it work, and if you need references about the people who built my cart, feel free to contact me and I will give you many tips.
Our food seems to be a success. The feijoada, of course is he show-stopper. We have customers who come back several times per week to eat it! Nick and Evan so far are the winning regulars. Jonas eats here pretty regularly as well, but he is a friend, so it might not count. I love to hear when customers come back ans say that they "can't stop thinking about the food" and they just had to come back.
We decided to add the Fish Muqueca to our regular menu as well. Muqueca is a typical dish from the north of Brazil, and it is also known as Brazilian Fish Stew. Sauteed fish with peppers, tomatoes, onions, and Dende oil, topped with shrimp and coconut milk. We serve it over rice and farofa (toasted yucca flour).
We passed the inspection on March 3rd, and we opened On March 5th! Erin has been great, she was there through the whole process. When we opened, some pipes were leaking and the gas wasn't coming out, but she showed up within 30 minutes of my call and saved the day.
My first fear was that we were not going to sell anything... but we did! Tons of feijoada! Our crepe machine is still not working and I am angry about that, but I think we can fix it for the upcoming weekend. The acai was a huge success, and so was the feijoada. People were very open to try it even when they were not totally sure what it was.
I also realized that we need to be more clear with the type of food that we are selling. I guess "samba" and the statue of Jesus don't really scream Brazil as I thought it woul. Hope to see you there sometime soon!
My head is pounding, and my body is aching. We just parked our cart in the D-Street Noshery. We spent the day looking for n alternative for my crepe machine, which comes from Brazil and it's not set up for propane tanks. No one knows how to figure it out so far.
I discovered Rose's restaurant supply. They have used and new restaurant supplies. Pretty much everything you'll ever need for a food cart. I also discovered Curtis trailer supplies. They have everything for trailers. That's where I bought the cables to connect the electricity.
D-Street requires liability insurance, which is great, but I wasn't expecting the extra $85 dollars per month. They also require compostable disposables. I am happy about that. There are about 600 food carts in Portland right now. Just imagine the amount of waste they produce if they are not composting. At least I am part of the solution, and not the problem.
We have our pre-opening inspection today, and Erin is going to be there. There are still several things that need to be in place, such as a thermometer, and a sanitizing kit. Mostly discovering as we go. I am a bit scared now that we are finally parked and ready to blow up.
SAMBA SHACK does NOT like the rain.
SAMBA SHACK's new door frame is swelling more and more.
SAMBA SHACK is dripping water ever so slightly from her ceiling vent
SAMBA SHACK's windows and interior walls are nice and clean
SAMBA SHACK is having gas issues, and BEANO is not helping
SAMBA SHACK is very sad that her more successful and popular cousin, RADIO, has not called to wish her good luck :-(
We are now moving to the D-Street Noshery and it seems like the downtown fiasco worked out for the better. After Al told us to look for another spot, we went desperately looking for something else that would be reasonable and we wouldn't be just feeding 3 people per day. We went to the D-Street Noshery on 32nd and Division and it turned out that I knew the guy who was managing the lot, Michael. He is a friend of a friend of a friend... who I met when he was running his cart on Alberta. The lot was pretty much full, but Michael said that he would take my cart because it's Brazilian food, and because I was a friend of Phil.
The pot has some famous carts, which is good and bad, and a heated area in the middle. Besides that, there is a beer cart too! I know, everything is falling into place, and this spot seems to be much better than downtown.
Erin dropped off our cart today, and the water heater is not working. She said that she is dropping one off tomorrow. Our inspection is scheduled for Tuesday, so everything has to be ready to go. I am glad Erin wants to be there when we park the cart to make sure everything is working and to walk us through any sort of trouble shooting and what-nots.
What a bummer! I just spoke to Al from the City Center parking lots, which dominate all the lots in downtown, and he does not like our trailer. He thinks it looks too old and rusty to put in one of his lots. I am a little hurt because of all the love that we have put into our little Shasta. He told me he knows I did not spend too much money on my trailer, and it's not fair to park next to someone who spent 40K to build their trailer. Does anyone really spends that much money building a food cart? If so, I guess I really don't belong in the fancy part of town, because I might as well buy a restaurant for that amount of money...
Feelings aside, I found out that Star Park is another company that manages some of the lots in downtown, and I contacted them today. Their number is 503.223.4128. The lady said that she would check with their customers (the owners of the lots) and call us back to let us know if anything is available. We are know frantically desperate to find a spot and I am very afraid of having to settle for a pot that is not successful. Downtown is sort of guaranteed, so that is why I am sticking with it for now.
