Tasty Thursday: Food Cart Life

Time for Tasty Thursday, July 17. And, this week, one of our favorite food carts dreams of going to brick and mortar.

After only two days, Love Belizean‘s Kickstarter campaign has about 40 backers, and is nearly one-third of the way toward its $15,000 goal: to help owners Andy and Tiffany Love establish their first real restaurant.

Their love for Belizean food began on their honeymoon, the Loves say, when they discovered Belizean chicken and rice, “a national staple dish made with a spice rub called recado rojo. Everywhere we went we were served this dish and fell in love with its unique flavor. We took as much of the spice back to Portland as we could but soon ran out and had to learn to make it on our own.”

According to their story on Kickstarter, the Loves bought “an old trailer, tore it down to its metal frame, and over the next six months built our own restaurant on wheels! In January 2013 we opened our food cart in downtown Portland.” They went on to critical and popular success, and now want a more secure location than a food cart affords. (As PRP.FM Food Cart Correspondent Steven Shomler reported in June, Love Belizean was recently displaced.)

More food cart news for July 17:

Food carts will join forces to battle multiple sclerosis July 19, an event appropriately named MS Bites. Cartlandia, the cart pod on S.E. 82nd Ave., will host live music, prizes, and of course food this Saturday.

Lovers of lefse, rejoice! Viking Soul Food is back. (Lefse is a scrumptious Norwegian bread.)

And: a Cajun Life Food Cart Second Anniversary Celebration Crawfish Boil!

Portland Radio Project Midnight Party at Cartopia is Saturday Night July 26. PRP.FM’s Teri Briggs will be there.