Portland, OR, has many nicknames relating to food. One of the lesser known, but no less significant, is Porklandia. With that title, and a myriad of products specifically featuring bacon, it’s hard to believe Portland did not have a food cart specializing in bacon. Until Bacon PDX opened in 2014 that is.

The Bacon PDX food cart

Bacon PDX is the brainchild of Dave Elkin. Dave moved to Portland looking for new opportunities. When the traditional avenues failed to crisp his bacon, Dave decided to turn to a skill that had always garnered compliments, cooking.

A food cart offered to Dave, as with many other talented chefs, an avenue to independence and a way to share with the citizens of the Rose City his creative expression through cooking.

Bacon is the featured item on the menu at Bacon PDX (as you might expect). You can get bacon by the slice (not unlike another favorite American food), served in Frittata cups, as candy, over an incredible kinwa-based salad, and in sandwiches.

The Bacon PDX kinwa salad

Along with a traditional BLT, Dave serves the BSSST (pronounced besst) sandwich. Smoked salmon topped with bacon, tomato and spinach and dill, served on a toasted telera roll. The balance of flavors in this sandwich must be experienced to understand how close to perfection they are.

The Bacon PDX BSSST sandwich

The sandwich that got Bacon PDX rolling is the Kalua Double Pig. Kalua (not Kahlúa, the Mexican liqueur) refers to a traditional Hawaiian method of cooking pork in an imu or underground oven. The sandwich combines pork shoulder (slow-cooked for as long as sixteen hours and fork-pulled), two strips of bacon, a creamy pineapple coleslaw, cilantro all served on a toasted hoagie roll.

Bacon PDX can be found makin’ bacon at the Rose City Food Park located at NE 52nd and Sandy. The cart is open 11 AM to 7:30 PM, Friday and Saturday and 11–6:30 Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday.

Listen now as Steven Shomler and Ken Wilson talk with Dave Elkin of the Bacon PDX food cart about slow-cooked Kalua pork and why smoked salmon and bacon make the besst sandwich.

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