Good Food Here

One of my favorite food cart pods in PDX. So it has made me very sad to see many carts leave before the official close at the end of this year. Fishbox is always so terrific, as is Namu — great Kim Chee and the coffee place has delicious housemade sodas. Sorry that it is being replaced by yet another condo building. I only hope that the carts each find a new home close in.

Great food truck location in Portland. Some trucks have changed since last time I visited but, the Mac and cheese is the best I’ve ever had. First time my daughter added blue cheese and hot dogs to it and it was delicious! This time, bacon and jalapeño, I couldn’t help but say mmmmm every bite. Had a philly cheese steak that was excellent also! Fun food truck stop, add it to the list!

Nice food cart pod on Belmont with its own parking lot. Multitude of options ranging from Scandinavian, Mexican, Mac n Cheese, Fish, Korean and Brazilian. nice seating area too. good place to have a bite.

We had the Mediterranean food and the Mac and cheese. What an amazing place. They were both pretty tasty!

Excellent food pod with lots of seating. Good number of food carts and some the very best in Portland here! Indian, Scandinavian, Vietnamese, Thai, Brazilian, Mexican, good ol’ Mac and cheese and fish and chips to choose from. Easy to find parking on the street as well.

It is more than a tad likely that Good Food Here is the best listing in Portland. This refers to a collection of food carts kept in a large pod on Belmont Street. Covered seating and the variety of food are both plenty. Parking can be found easily nearby and the location is somewhat close to Hawthorne.
Herb’s serves Mac and Cheese that rivals the famous Beecher’s in Seattle. Monk’s serves some good Philly cheesesteaks and Cackalack’s has exceptional fried chicken. Sushi PDX has delicious sushi. Cuisines that you’d not come across every day such as Polish and Nordic make a presence here. The place almost serves as one of those multicultural potlucks.
The narcissistic name tends to be a more than justified description.

We tried the Fish+Chips store, the Cackalack’s Chicken Shack and the Mac+Cheese store.
All three were very heavy-​handed with salt; in particular, Cackalack’s Chicken Shack. I cannot taste anything in the fried chicken except salt and salt and salt. It was the same thing with the fries. If anyone own disposable kidneys, feel free to frequent this store. I think eating foods like these on a frequent basis will kill your kidneys.
Same thing with clam chowder from the Fish+Chip store.
I am not coming here again.

Very large enclosed seating area. Thats important! I have eaten from most if not all the carts there, they are a pretty permanent selection. Havent had anything less than delicious. Dont leave without some of Herbs Mac!

Best pod in town, in my opinion, both for the greatness of the space and the quality of the food. Imma be one sad sack when this pod closes down, which I think has been pushed out a year or so now, but still, we are probably going to have yet another mixed use housing/​retail space with no parking, no doubt, in place of this excellent neighborhood pod. yay.
So that said, go give this pod your patronage while you can, and help all these owners carry on elsewhere when it closes for good…

Never been to a pod till tonight. What a great food concept that I would love to see in San Diego.
Here’s what we tried:
Japanese cart — California Real Crab Sushi was good. YUMMY!
Thai cart — We love Thai food and have spent a lot of time in Thailand so we were hopeful. Needs Major Improvement. Ordered the chicken noodle soup for my toddler. There was a lot of confusion. They charged me more than what the chalk board sign stated. They young lady taking the orders seemed to be really confused. When we got it, there were no noodles. They then wanted to charge extra money for the noodles. Sure ok whatever, let’s just get the noodles so my kid can eat. The sign says Northern Thai food. There is nothing on the menu that’s a specialty of Northern Thai, it’s pretty much standard gringo thai. But… it tasted just fine and my toddler slurped down all the noodles.
Mexican Seafood place — Ordered their Salmon Melt with side salad and fresh squeezed limeade. Pretty damn good. Yummy!
Greek Food — Husband got lamb, it looked good. And it looked like they had the most steady amount of customers.
Beer Garden — Good.
Parking — a breeze, right next store. Nice to not have to fight for a street spot.
Live Music — toddlers loved it, dancing and running around.
Overall pretty awesome for those with kids and without.

So many yummie things in one place. It’s foodie heaven. We were in Oregon for 10 days and stopped here twice it was that good. Burgers, taco, Hawaiian, sushi, mac and cheese it’s just so hard to decide. Plus you have covering seating areas, and parking.

The best (laid out, organized, cleanest, maintained, planned) food pod I have ever seen, hosting some of the finest food carts in Portland. Great Job, Good Food Here, Great Job!

Let’s play a game. Let’s call it «What Does It Take to Become Anna’s Favorite Pod?»
To win, you have to have the best of all three categories.
First up, PARKING:
The best would definitely be free, in a private lot, adjacent to the pod lot.
Next category, SEATING:
I love a good mix! This is Portland, so covered and heated is a must most of the the year. But let’s also soak up the sun with some picnic tables!
Finally, and most importantly, the FOOD:
Variety is the spice of life. First, a coffee cart that serves espresso is mandatory. Then, bring on the cuisines of the world! Hmm, maybe like Hawaiian, Mediterranean, Japanese, and Scandinavian. Or, specialize in one item! It could be… say… mac & cheese! Or, how about fried chicken? Shave ice? Do your thang.
HOLD UP NOW. I just got word that this little game is no fantasy, it’s a reality over at GOOD FOOD HERE. That’s right folks, all of the above, and more, can be found at this fantastically well-​planned little pod. Some of the carts are cash-​only, but don’t fret. You are armed with knowledge! Also, there’s an ATM on site. Their website is definitely out of date, but I promise this pod is the happenin spot to get your lunch or dinner. Good Food Here is a real winner!

This is probably one of the best pod of carts in Portland! Herb’s Mac & Cheese is my favorite and Cackalack’s Chicken Shack is a close second. I do wish that Fifty Licks Ice Cream was there all the time, I believe it makes an appearance during the summer. Their Tahitian Vanilla ice cream is delicious. Overall it is a nice pod with plenty of different foods to choose from. It has seating and some of it is covered, plus sometimes there is entertainment.

Great little area dedicated to some of Portland’s tastiest food trucks. Port-​a potty bathrooms. Benches scattered about for seating. Indoor option when inclement weather arrives. Adjacent parking lot. What more could you ask for?

Here for our second visit. Two more restaurants to try. This place is going to be a our new go to inexpensive food place. They are all so good. Lots of different options for seating AND they have some parking for cars and a nice big bike rack. The place has a good feel to it to.

While the Cartopia pod was my first experience with PDX food carts — and thus my favorite for a while — GFH has quickly eclipsed them.
As I mentioned in my Cartopia review, that pod seems more of a snack-​food type of place. At GFH, I feel I can get more meal-​like sustenance. Lots of options here — many of which I sadly haven’t experienced yet — from Cackalack’s, to Herb’s Mac & Cheese, to Namu, and many, many more.
Big bonus here is plenty of parking — there’s a small lot, and ample street parking to be found as well. My only gripe with GFH is that it’s hours aren’t nearly as convenient as others such as Cartopia.
My personal favorite is by far Cackalack’s Hot Chicken Shack! Can’t get enough of that wonderful Jalapy!

I don’t eat at carts very often. It isn’t for lack of want or trying.
There’s just something that gets lost in the translation for me. On one side is my desire to be a proud participant in Portland cart culture and try all there is to try. On the other side are the seemingly limited-​to-​heavy/​greasy choices, the exhausting mental resistance to sometimes steep prices, and the hackneyed seating situations, especially in the cold and wet.
Still: I try. One night, I drove to three different pods, in search of something, but seeing nothing that really rang my bell. Ultimately, I stopped by the grocery store. I know, right?
Then Good Food Here enters the scene. It’s been around and I’ve driven past for long enough now that I’ve run out of excuses not to try it. JUST TRY IT. JUST GO, Katrina.
And it’s lovely. It’s not a big circle with the seats in the center, like a state fair food court. It has greenery, and little pods within the pod, giving you a wandering feeling, like with every turn you’re discovering a cute cart tucked into a corner and offering up its unique goodness with its own culture and environment. And you get a true variety of quality options.
Does it hurt that within its streets you’ll find both ice cream and a dessert cart? And a bus that doles out beet salad? Decidedly NO!
The only thing that would make Good Food Here more precious would be cobblestone paths. Can they do that? It’s a small, small world, and I fully intend to eat my way from one end of it to the other.

When it comes to technology, I’m not what you would call an early adopter. I’ll let the first wave of techies pay premium for the latest gadget and troubleshoot all the inevitable glitches. Just think of all the feedback those designers get which is then incorporated in the new and improved second or third version of the product. That’s the one I’ll buy.
I feel very much the same way about food cart pods in Portland. There are the classic locations that have been around for years but have some issues. Due to geographic restrictions and those pesky city permits, they have some limitations that are difficult to overcome. Some pods may have delicious food options, but aren’t especially comfortable for the diner or their hours are solely for the benefit of the downtown lunch crowd so my schedule doesn’t match well.
As far as I’m concerned, Good Food Here took note of the issues at some of these original locations and put together one of the best overall food cart experiences in Portland.
It is one of the only cart pods with a dedicated parking lot. No stress over the predatory towing down the road at Cartopia on Hawthorne or the hassles of finding a parking spot downtown.
The quality and diversity of the carts is excellent and has continued to improve. Lardo, Crème de la Crème, Da-​Pressed Coffee and Namu to name a few. They also have one of the only ENCLOSED dining areas at a pod. Rain is annoying, but we have rain and wind in Portland, so an awning can only provide so much comfort.
I’ve visited here midweek and on the weekends. Sometimes I time my visits well and other times run into the typical food cart dilemma of seasonal and random hours where you are just out of luck. One of my favorite visits was for a UYE earlier this year to see the Christmas Lights on Peacock Lane with other Yeeps. Only a few blocks away, this was the perfect location to meet friends, grab food and hot drinks and actually be comfortable ‘outside’ in December.
At first I thought the name of the pod was silly, but it ain’t no lie. Good Food Here, indeed.

It’s frickin’ freezing outside, but GFH has the sense to put up an enclosed tent with seats inside to protect against the wind! There are actually some small heaters in there too, which, while they don’t do much, still help out a bit.
Word up.