Topic: Portland's Food Cart Community

So, I lost my wallet in Portland.  I was in Starbucks when I lost it (charging my phone, otherwise I would have just stuck to Ole Latte Coffee... more on that later).  I have had to deal with calling credit card agencies, the bank, and health insurance about the stuff that was in in my wallet, which may account for me being slow to update the blog.

One of the food carts I revisited deserves another review.  I have already reviewed Fried Egg I'm In Love for their delicious food, but I think I should focus on the service on this one.  How do I relate this to culinary geography?  We'll see.

Fried Egg I'm In Love on SE Hawthorne.

Review: It was my third time getting a meal at Fried Egg I'm In Love.  I walked by, and the owner greeted me.  I told him about the missing wallet, and he immediately offered me a free fried egg sandwich.  Having only six dollars with me, I accepted.  I did leave a two-dollar tip (I needed money for the bus to the train station).  This was probably the nicest food cart owner I've ever met, and I've eaten at quite a bit of carts for a non-local.

Geography: Come to think of it, most food cart owners I've met have been welcoming, happy to chat with their customers, and seem to like their job (even with the job being stressful).  Why is this?

I would say that it is because of the often-negative stigma attached to food carts spread by word-of-mouth from people in other cities.  In many other cities, people often look down on food carts due to an idea that they are unsanitary.  This could not be further from the truth, at least in Portland.  But this limits it to more of a local crowd, along with people like me who have already visited Portland a couple of times, and also major foodies who are kept up-to-date on local food trends.  In this way, food cart owners know their customers more, and thus creates a sense of community between food cart owners and customers.  It's always easier to like your job when you have that.