A Tale of Two Portland Food Carts and a Stifling Heat Wave | Eater Portland

"I learned that Ren opened Bing Mi Dumpling and Noodle Bar partly to provide a safe haven for his Bing Mi food cart, which specializes in the Northern Chinese crepe dish jianbing; he has even popped up in Seattle or offered jianbing at his restaurant during past heat waves. On a 105-degree day he ran a portable air conditioner-fan and multiple fans in the cart and kept all hood fans on full blast, yet the cart hit 88 degrees by noon with a line for egg- and sausage-filled jianbing and he sent an employee home by 1:30 p.m. Because the cart fridges aren’t well insulated, they began to struggle above 100 degrees, so he transfers food into a low-boy fridge, empties the failing fridge, and prepares to close early. He also has clear rules for extreme heat: employees don’t need to show if the high is 95°F or higher, he tries to close by 3 p.m. if it’s over 100°F, and at 105°F he usually shuts down because he can’t trust food safety." - Brooke Jackson-Glidden