OR Coast comes to PDX via new food cart!

There’s a new food cart in Portland, and it comes with a coastal pedigree. The Tillamook Coast food cart—operated by Jeff Wong, a sustainable-practices fisherman based in Garibaldi, Oregon in Tillamook County—is a partnership between CS Fishery and Visit Tillamook Coast, the county’s tourism organization. The cart, based at NE 8th and Couch in Portland next to Cider Riot cidermakers, will be featured at the Oregon Zoo’s ZooLights celebration, from Thanksgiving weekend to January 7.

The menu features locally sourced foods from Tillamook County, including fresh seafood from Wong’s sustainable CS Fishery, grass-fed meats from Nehalem River Ranch, certified organic produce from DeNoble Farms, hand-ground hot dogs from Tillamook Meats, Tillamook Cheese, and Jacobsen Salt harvested from Netarts Bay. Menu items include fish tacos, chowder, crispy crab grilled cheese, fish & chips and other Oregon Coast specialties.

Wong hired Chef Brae Bartlett, a Portland area chef who had operated a ramen and seafood cart along the Oregon Coast. “It was serendipitous, that’s for sure,” Brae said of meeting Wong. Brae, a Portland resident, has cooked professionally for more than 15 years. Her favorite cuisine is Japanese food, so “…I will probably add a few Asian twists to our menu,” she says.

“The cart is a mobile billboard for our coastal cuisine and food producers,” said Nan Devlin, tourism director for Visit Tillamook Coast. “In our county, there is a groundswell of farmers, fishers, growers, brewers, chefs and restaurants that are collaborating on locally sourced foods and seasonal menus. The cart brings our delicious food to Portland, and we hope to inspire Portlanders to visit Tillamook County for more culinary experiences.”

While best known for Tillamook cheese and ice cream, Devlin says there is much more to the food scene in Tillamook County. She sees this public-private partnership as an innovative way to share the Tillamook Coast culinary and agritourism story with people who appreciate knowing where their food comes from, and who brings it to the plate.

For more information on the food cart, call the Visit Tillamook Coast office at 503 842-2672 or email nan@tillamookcoast.com. To learn more about ZooLights, visit www.oregonzoo.org.