THERE'S A WHOLE LOT going on at the Portland Mercado, which opened this spring at the corner of SE 72nd and Foster. It's a whole lot of good, in fact—a rainbow-colored building and food carts built through the efforts of nonprofits and donations to create an incubator for Latino-owned businesses. The result is so much good that heading in unprepared could easily leave a newcomer adrift in a sea of endless choices. We've combed through each of the small shops in the Mercado and all the food carts so you can get to the best eating possible. Grab a bite, do some shopping—and don't forget to snag a michelada at Barrio.
Go inside: Don't skip the interior shops. The offerings at meat market El Carnicero (a division of Beaverton-based Ponderosa Provisioners) run the gamut from Northwest-raised chicken and beef to buffalo and lamb. But the important inside tip is that all of the carnicería's pork is Carlton Farms—at a fraction of the price found at other retailers ($7.99 a pound for nitrite-free, $5 a pound for regular, delicious nitrite-laden). HEATHER ARNDT ANDERSON
Slip us the tongue: The El Gato Tuerto cart's massive sandwiches are worth a trip alone. But the real star is a side dish: the Argentine-style lengua ($3). Served cold, sliced super-thin and as tender as a gentle French kiss, this tongue arrives on a small bed of lettuce, onions, and herbs, dressed in vinegar. This South American dish wouldn't be out of place at a Russian spot like Kachka, and the result is sublime. ANDREA DAMEWOOD
Pambazo: The pambazo ($5) at Los Alambres is admittedly the first pambazo I've ever tried, but there couldn't be a better entry (entrée?) into the sandwich. The soft disk of bread is dipped in mild guajillo sauce, achieving an arresting vermilion hue. It's then toasted and filled with spicy chorizo and fried potatoes, with lots of crema, queso fresco, and shredded iceberg to cool things down. Los Alambres' pillowy gorditas, at only $3 a pop, are another wonderful way to usher juicy nuggets of pork into your gaping maw. HAA
Oaxaca!: When I'm knocked out by certain Mexican dishes, they're usually from Oaxaca. These next two gems both hail from the Southern Mexico state—home to the native Zapotec and Mixtec cultures, and a damn fine masa. Mixteca makes my hands-down favorite tamale in the city: the Tamal Oaxaqueño. This banana-leaf tamale is moist—in the least creepy way—and wrapped around shredded chicken cooked in Mixteca's savory, rich, brown mole sauce. It is a thing of beauty, made all the better when topped with cabbage slaw and a generous dose of in-house pumpkin hot sauce, which is so fiery and addictive that a coworker of mine regularly carries an empty mason jar that he gets refilled for home use. (Bonus: You can also score this tamale every Tuesday at the Lloyd Farmers' Market.)
If you're running low on cash, snap up a tetela de frijol for $3 at Tierra del Sol. It's clear these owners care about provenance: It's black beans cooked in avocado leaves and chiles, piled into a thick organic blue corn tortilla, then topped with salsa, queso fresco, and the tartest, tangiest, thickest sour cream out there, made by Ochoa's Queseria in Albany. AD
Wrap it up: Being so spoiled at the Mercado, it might be tempting to overlook something as simple as the humble burrito, but to do so would be a grave mistake. The El Coyote burrito ($8) at Fernando's Alegria, while disappointingly lacking in coyote meat, is one egg away from being Part of a Complete Balanced Breakfast™. The al pastor burrito does the Coyote one better by adding grilled pineapple. The sweet acidity cuts right through the rich sour cream and cheese, and brightens the fatty spice of the chorizo without stealing focus. The cart's Alegria burrito, filled with nopal and egg, was similarly intriguing, and will be the highlight of my next visit. HAA
Mercado hours: daily 10 am-9 pm. Cart hours vary; check website for schedule and full menus.
