Third Avenue Food Cart Pod

"In 2019, the Alder Street Food Cart pod closed to make way for a major new development: Block 216, a 35-story mixed-use building in the heart of downtown Portland." - Brooke Jackson-Glidden

"One of Portland’s longest-standing food cart pods has reopened with an expanded roster of carts and a beer garden by Fracture Brewing." - Eater Staff

"But the 2019 closure of the longstanding Alder Street food cart pod — making room for a Ritz-Carlton downtown — seemed to signal a shift in the way the city valued the diversity of food carts and their impact on the overall food scene." - Brooke Jackson-Glidden

"Third Avenue Food Cart Pod, a no-frills, carts-only pod (no tables, no tents) in Downtown Portland, has been affectionately dubbed Gyro District, thanks to the sheer volume of Middle Eastern carts serving—you guessed it—gyros (plus shawarma and hummus platters, too). But sprinkled among them are a few carts that offer a welcome, though somewhat random, sense of variety. There are the chewy, hand-pulled noodles at Stretch the Noodle, which draw the biggest lines (they’re totally worth the wait); for a no less tasty Asian option, Mama Chow’s Kitchen serves up garlic noodles, wonton soup packed with the eponymous dumplings, and sticky-sweet lollipop chicken wings that always sell out by noon. Though most of the carts are open until dinnertime or later, the pod is at its most popular during lunch—so plan accordingly." - Danielle Centoni

"The Alder Street food cart pod is home to spots like The Dump Truck." - Brooke Jackson-Glidden