HOW TO KICK A DEAD GIFT HORSE

that portland's food scene is innovative, diverse and widely acclaimed should be pathetically old news to anyone who surfs the dining, entertainment, style or travel sections of any major newspaper. (that's the "widely acclaimed" part.) foodies absolutely love portland, and portland is proud to bask in the international culinary limelight so long as the limes didn't come from anywhere farther away than california. local food sourcing is an important matter of pride here, no surprise in a city that supports dozens of microbreweries and coffee microroasters (stumptown coffee, by the way, is just indie rock starbucks and has been for at least the last three years so don't be fooled). as with many of the people involved in the hipper corners of portland's music and art scenes, portland's gourmands are able to embrace an insular and sometimes provincial brand of homegrown sophistication so long as it's recognized and publicized as such by a more cosmopolitan media.

well it's more than just hype. portland's restaurants are, in fact, very good -- and astoundingly varied, to the point that portlanders often feel confounded by choice. there's delicious fare for diners of every taste, dietary preference and economic or social disposition. new restaurants are popping up all of the time; and although the characterless ones are immediately marked and destined for failure from the start, others have found success despite the continuing recession and a patronage that is steadily more unemployed. it's bizarre boom times, for sure. what's a local to do between bites but start looking the situation in the mouth?

the most visibly successful of portland's recent food ventures have certainly been the carts. this post at 'food carts portland' (there's a specific blog, yes) mentions a cnn/budget travel story that ranks portland as the top city for street food...in the world. the 'food carts portland' post also reports that there were 580 registered food carts in the city of portland as of july 20th. and those aren't all fried pies and french fries, although you can get those too. ask the guy at the desk at the boutique hotel where you're staying downtown for a lunch suggestion and that's where he'll refer you, or, more specifically to one of the four cart "pods" in central downtown.

it makes sense that a do-it-yourself city of entrepreneurial food lovers would look took the small scale, low overhead opportunities presented by the operation of a food cart as opposed to a brick and mortar restaurant, especially in a bad economy. plus, those original burrito ladies from half a dozen years ago seemed to be making a killing. (not so much the tamale lady that hocks up and down mississipi, but she just has a rolling cooler.) but do we really need two dozen on every commercial boulevard?

i love those original burrito ladies. despite my having tried foods from several other carts downtown to delicious satisfaction, la jarochita has my lunch dollars on most weekdays. the food at lupe's cart is authentic, affordable and damn tasty -- and i don't just say so because she gave me a la jarochita visor two summers ago or because once i got a free bottle of tapatio because the ladies were tired of filling me little plastic cups of the stuff for my to go orders. i don't so much eat dairy anymore, but i have to let myself indulge in a chili relleno burrito from la jarochita once every few weeks. the other burrito carts have nothing on lupe. the other carts in general have nothing on lupe, though there's sound reason behind others' wanting to replicate her success.

but 580? and with more still to come? there are new carts being set up in every empty lot or underused parking lot in portland. they do make it prettier, and the cart pod at se 12th and hawthorne staying open until 2:30 a.m. came as a welcome antidote to a theretofore citywide dirth of decent late night eats. the carts are definitely one of those things that portlanders know they've done more uniquely and free-spiritedly than other cities. and they talk about it. i used to talk about it. i'll still suggest that visitors try some cart food. in all honesty, i'd prefer that people support chefi's gourmet, the mexican food cart around two corners from my apartment that uses a strangely delicious white rice gruel in its burritos rather than the more traditional mexican rice, than go to ¿por qué no? across the street. (the brian's bowl is fresh and filling, but anything else just costs too much for food that should be served, well, out of a cart.)

the problem isn't the proliferation of street food. street food can be both exquisitely delectable and an easy gateway to a place's (food) culture. just go to the night market at the djemmaa el fna in marrakech or have a fish sandwich at the ferry pier in istanbul. eating late night ramen in tokyo is a sublime sensory experience, enhanced by knowing that the diners next to you are probably also a little tipsy and trying to let the tastes and sounds of the ramen stall distract them from having missed the last train. the problem in portland is more the reigning attitude of self-congratulation that drives droves of portlanders to the newly paved, atm equipped pod sites for sushi and escargot, especially when prices start crossing the six and seven dollar per item marks. (we have beautifully designed restaurants that serve foreign street food for top dollar, why not serve traditionally more formal dishes on the street!) i wouldn't be surprised if a pod of carts opened just to sell ethnically inspired pop rocks around a fountain of sparkling mineral water -- eight dollars a glass.

the season can't be a small part of portland's late food cart success, and the crowds at the carts outside downtown that aren't guaranteed regular lunch traffic aren't likely to be so eager come the cold and rains. not that anyone should be encouraged to fail, or that anyone should encourage failure, but there's a certain amount of inevitability associated with that world's number one street food ranking. no one wants to see the same old list twice, so there's bound to be some uncomfortable shifting before next year. so go to hell, gift horse. i don't need you. that's why i have a bicycle.