Portland, Oregon Skyline at Night (© Patricia Betts | Dreamstime.com)

Judging by the country’s burgeoning street food scene it seems that even in these challenging economic times America’s grassroots entrepreneurs remain undaunted. The food carts and trucks on the streets of New York City offer an impressive array of ethnic food choices at marvelous prices and the phenomena seems to be in full swing on America’s West Coast as well.

According to an article by Karen Brooks of the Oregonian, the ambitious vendors are pushing the city's curbside cuisine to the next level. Her report gives some insight as to why Portland is seeing such a healthy surge of quality food vendors on its streets:

Multnomah County has 450 carts, a 20 percent jump over last year, with another 32 carts under review. The surge comes with an ace in the hole: No other big city is friendlier to vendors, with affordable licenses (a mere $315) and unrivaled access to real estate (average rent $500 a month).

She writes that "the volume of experimenters, the variety, the pedigreed ingredients" make Portland the “new face of America's maverick food cart movement.” And, “Next Generation…food creatives are inventing their own model of modern restaurateuring.”

The volume of choices on Portland’s streets makes choosing a vendor difficult, but the article provides a listing of her Top Ten picks, with Addy’s Sandwich Bar on Southwest 10th Avenue between Alder and Washington streets topping the list. (I envy the tasty time she must have had during the research for this article!)

If you’d like to read Karen Brooks’ article as it was posted on OregonLive.com and see the rest of her Top Ten go to: Portland's top 10 food carts

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