Portland Mercado

They are having a Tamales Festival (March 22-26), 11-8pm. I stopped by today at 5pm and got three tamales (and additional ones to go). The elote tamale from Principe Maya was so delicious!! Sweet with a kick of spice, recommend this one for sure!!! We also got a pollo & cheese tamale from Casados Pura Vida. Very delicious that my 5 year old asked for another Chichen (pollo) tamale.

A casual fun place for quick food grab or hangout with friends and don't have to clean up afterwards. There's 8 food carts outside, inside there are a cute little bar, a handcrafted churros, a Xocotl, mini market. On site parking for about 15 cars, then street parking at a very busy intersection so look at all directions before you walk or cross anywhere. I would definitely come back to check out the rest of the food carts when I get really hungry. For today's quick brunch while having out with a few friends, my orders were okay with the exception of fried sweet plantains. You just can't go wrong with fried sweet plantains, right? From the La Carreta Pura Vida, Costa Rican cart, I wanted the fish ceviche since I love and prefer the lime based for fish ceviche style. The cashier said they was out. She convinced me to get the Grilled Tilapia Fillet because it came with side salad, black bean, rice, and you guessed it, sweet fried plantains! I also got the watermelon with lemon. My total at this cart was $21.50. The tilapia was about 3-5 oz and salty with no flavor, salad and black been were typical, but the fried sweet plantains saved the day. The drink was okay, and not much taste of either watermelon or lemon. To got rid of the salty dish taste, I ordered plain churros mini for $5.00 from Don Bigote. They were supper busy! It took almost half an hour for my order. They do have a big menu. The churros were made fresh to order. Their sign shows handcrafted churros! I like the churros but didn't care for the artificial strawberries jelly sauce. Xocotl looked good with all the fresh fruits only so I ordered the Diablito for $7.99 since it supposed to have tamarind fruit which I love. I asked to make sure the fruit was actual tamarind and the staff said there's about 3 oz of tamarind. It was rather disappointed with slushy watery iced with some flavor tamarind.

Deciding where to eat in a foodie city is sometimes difficult, especially if there are multiple mouths to feed, so the Mercado is a great choice with a number of food trucks and many different ethnic dishes. Today I chose an Al pastor burrito from Fernando's Alegria and my wife had chicken in mole from the Oaxaca truck. Everyone was happy! They have both outdoor and indoor seating available.

Came here on a Wednesday for lunch to go and thought it was pretty busy for 11:30 midweek! A few carts were closed, about half but I noticed more opened at noon.I forget which cart I got food at but it was something along the lines of La Carta Pura Vida. Not sure what country of origin the food is from but I got the chicken casados pura vida which is a chicken plate with beans, rice, salad, and plantains! It cost $15.99 for this meal. The meal was very good, chicken a little dry but I love plantains and thought the sides added a nice touch to the chicken and rice. Prices for all the casados were $15.99 I think. Overall, I love the music playing, colorful carts, and unique foods here. It's such a niche food cart pod which I love. Happy they get business during the work week too.

Foster Rd. between SE 82nd and Powell is a food and drink mecca, the Mercado is the crown jewel.All the carts are A-listers, many Latin cuisines are represented. The indoor shops are worthy of your visit and provide a quieter space to enjoy your meal. There's many items at the grocery that are hard to find closer-in. One is delicious Coban pepper-based salsa. Parking is doable.

The Portland Mercado offers a little bit of everything, which at times overwhelms. A stunning variety of cuisines, from the Rio Bravo to Tierra del Fuego, represented across 6 or 7 carts, each in its own colour of the rainbow.Top picks: Patacones from the red cart, and chicken mole burrito from the blue.There's also Kaah Market at the southeast end, a bodega with Mexican snacks, canned foods, sodas, helados and paletas, fresh produce (including whole and diced nopales), as well as housemade salsas, guacamole, and side dishes. Be sure to ask about fresh hot carnitas on the weekend.Berween the carts and the bodega sit a smoothie bar, and Bar Rio. The latter serves draught beer and cider, as well as wine and an excellent housemade sangría. The whole spot is run collectively by the dueñas of each business, working together to support each other, which merits our support.

So many delicious food options. Love the little food hall too. Every place I've tried here has such good food. Everyone is always friendly.

Went there on a social media recommendation. What we got was an experience beyond what we imagined. At Que Bacano, we got Patacones, and we were blown away. I never knew plantains could be savory! Inside, there is a place that does churros. Please do not miss it! They make them to order, and they are amazing!

If you like authentic latin food, look no further. This place is dope. They have 8-10 food trucks with all kinds of latin cuisine, such as Mexican, Cuban, and Puerto Rican. So you got something for everyone. The main building has a little grocery store, juice bar, coffee shop, and deli. Come and get some food to eat here and some hard to find grocery items to go. They have plenty of inside and outside seating.

They have stayed open through thick and thin. A great center and food for our Latin community.