DesiPDX

"The food at this Prost Marketplace cart is as maximalist in aesthetics as it is in flavor. Bowls and platters come with colorful condiments and sides. Turmeric slaw and seasonal pickles adds a zippiness to bowls of spiced rice and saucy kalonji kale keema, a blend of lamb and kale with a touch of sweetness from butternut squash. It’s hard to leave without an order of the cardamom-chai chicken, brined, steamed, and glazed with tea." - Janey Wong

"Popular Portland Indian food cart DesiPDX closed its location in the Upright Brewing food cart pod in late October. Owner Deepak Saxena told Eater that sales at the cart were not covering the costs of being open. The Desi cart in the Prost Marketplace pod remains open." - Rebecca Roland

"This food cart at the Prost Marketplace pod specializes in a distinctive take on Oregonian Indian fare, with dishes like tea-brined cardamom-chai chicken, tandoori tempeh, and masala pulled pork. The cart’s thalis, a taste of several of owner Deepak Saxena’s dishes, are the best showcase of what the chef is excited about at the moment. The full menu is entirely gluten-free." - Sararosa Davies, Eater Staff

"Desi PDX, a popular Indian food cart from Deepak Saxena, suddenly closed its location in the Upright Brewing food cart pod in late October. Saxena said that sales at the cart were not covering the costs of being open. In addition to the Upright Brewing pod location, Saxena also operates a DesiPDX cart in the Prost pod, and an Indian brunch restaurant, Masala Lab. Before opening DesiPDX in 2015, Saxena spent 20 years as a software developer. The menu is influenced by flavors he was raised on and Oregon’s natural bounty of produce, with dishes like a masala pulled pork bowl, a fenugreek-marinated methu mirchi shrimp bowl, and tea-brined cardamon chai chicken." - Rebecca Roland

"Desi PDX, a food cart whose dark wooden siding is brought to life with long strokes of green and orange paint, is hidden behind Prost on North Mississippi Avenue alongside local cart heavyweights like Matt’s BBQ. Desi serves a number of stunning bowls and plates of Bengali five-spice basmati rice topped with everything from fenugreek-seasoned shrimp to rich and fragrant melanges of lamb and kale simmered with tomato and butternut squash. But it’s hard to leave without an order of the cardamom chai chicken, made with drumsticks brined for 24 hours and then steamed in tea, deep-fried in rice bran oil, and coated in a coconut sugar-based tea glaze. Owner Deepak Saxena also owns the Indian American cafe Masala Lab." - Rebecca Roland, Ron Scott, Eater Staff