US News & World Report has awarded Portland Oregon for having the best street food in the world.
Portland is their top choice out of a list of ten, including Singapore, Istanbul, Bangkok, Marrakech, Tel Aviv and more.
From spicy burritos to saucy Korean barbeque, twice-fried French fries to Nutella-smeared waffles, you’ll have no trouble satisfying that craving — whatever it may be — in Portland. According to Gourmet Magazine, this Pacific Northwest city is doing for street food what it did for coffee at the end of the 20th century: Made up of stands, carts, trucks and even bicycles, Portland’s community of snack vendors are working hard to supply an eclectic variety of cuisines in an efficient and cost-effective way. These gastronomic gatherings — like the one found around lunchtime at the corner of SW 10th Avenue and SW Alder Street — now rival Singapore’s hawker centres in terms of quality and affordability. But it’s the diversity of the fare and the friendliness of both the vendors and the fellow diners that have earned Portland’s street food scene the number one spot. Not sure where to begin? Fellow gastronomes recommend the Cora Y Huichol Taqueria for their tangy Mexican food and Nong’s Khao Man Gai for a serving of creamy Thai curry.
You can read the rest of the article with all the nominated cities here.
Erin says
Hmm. Not sure about this one, considering they got the description of khao man gai totally wrong and ‘tangy’ is not usually the description that comes to mind when thinking of Mexican food (mariscos aside). We also don’t have the infrastructure that places like Singapore have, where the street food scene is more permanent in nature and has covered areas to order and eat, although Mississippi Marketplace is coming closer on that front.
dan says
This kind of makes it look like US News & World Report doesn’t know what they’re talking about. (Gee, ya think?)
I’ve gotten a culinary tour of Singapore from a local foodie, and while I certainly enjoy our local street food, we’re not even playing in the same league as Singapore.
abefroman says
I agree, Singapore rocks it with the hawker stalls.
CiaoFun says
Dunno. Technically, many of the Singapore hawker stalls are in enclosed areas and wouldn’t qualify as street food. Additionally, the variety consists of Malay, Chinese, Indian and Peranakan food. Pdx has them on variety. I’m not saying we should be number one, but quality wasn’t the only criteria.