MUST-TRY PORTLAND FOOD CART: GABAGOOL

Portlanders, do you realize how good we have it here?

I was a restaurant critic and food columnist in S.F. during the booming 90’s and  I got to eat anywhere I wanted, when I wanted, on my newspaper’s dime.

If I became fascinated with say, lobster rolls, I could go to as many places I wanted to to eat those rolls until I found my favorite. I could also walk into any new restaurant with friends and order to my heart’s delight; my newspaper would later pick up the entire check and I’d get paid for my time, to boot.

Tough work, right?

Even so, I wouldn’t trade those days for these ones in Portland right now; our food cart and micro-restaurant culture is proving to be a wonderfully democratizing force in food.

You no longer need to shell out fifty or a hundred dollars a head for amazing food — just find the right food cart and for a pittance you’re able to sample food that can stand proudly head to head with the some of the best restaurant dishes in town.

I try to eat out at least a couple times a week, often on the fly and inexpensively.

And guess what — on whole, I’ve never eaten better. 

As an excellent example of fabulous food delivered informally and inexpensively, take a look a this spot.

Gabagool food cart.

This unlikely named Italian food cart is nestled snugly on Mississippi in a small food cart pod. Allegedly gabagool is southern Italian slang for capicola; I presume this name was chosen as Italian street food is their mission.

I may not have eaten a lot of street food in my Italian travels, but I think I know a good sandwich when I taste one.

Like this Caponata Piadini.

A piadina is an Italian flatbread that’s like a lovechild of both pita and crepe, and in this version, the filling holds stewed eggplant (emboldened with both olives and capers) paired with fresh ricotta, arugula and lemon oil.

It was very messy to eat (I would’ve found it preferable if it was a little less wet), but the combination of crisp arugula and impeccably fresh cheese made it a winner (adding lemon oil was a genius move as it cut through the richness of the ragu and cheese).

Seven bucks for this made-to-order goodness? Yes.

(I can’t wait next time to try the piadina with beef meatballs and fresh mozzarella. Egad.)

Next up, Braised Kale.

I thought that this would bore me but ordered it as a challenge.

Could it wow me?

That would be a solid yes.

A quick sear in warm garlic oil and a generous grating of Pecorino elevated this vegetable from mundane to monster.

And lastly, for just ten dollars, heaven on earth.

Gnocchi.

And not just any gnocchi: truffle potato gnocchi, shiitake mushrooms, asparagus, butter, thyme and a fried egg.

I’m not sure where those eggs come from, but that has to be one gleeful and well-fed chicken to be capable of producing an egg with such a rich, vibrant yolk.

Pillowy gnocchi are given a last minute pan fry with asparagus, mushrooms, and thyme. The yolk, once punctured, adds a sumptuous, glossy ooze of warm richness. Each separate component was cooked impeccably and when brought together, the results symphonic. Masterful.

In a gunfight between this gnocchi and any other pasta dish in town — be it from a cart or a sit-down restaurant — my money would be on this gnocchi.

Right now, I can’t imagine a ten spot better spent. Gaba-gorgeous.

http://www.gabagoolpdx.com/