Eat Mobile 2009

Yippy!

Will there be bike parking this year? I had a really tough time finding somewhere to park my bike last year. There's this guy who provides event bike parking you might contact (bikeracker.com/).

There are some racks at the venue and free lockers at the nearby North Denver MAX stop.

Last year there were well over 70 bikes when I arrived. I doubt that installed racks and lockers can accommodate that. Am I wrong? Maybe they have the best bike parking ever!

on the MAX line and a healthy walk home (for digestive purposes). Thanks for making my North Portland neighborhood the best in the city! Don't forget Sunday Parkway coming up on June 21!

Event Mgmt will be providing bike racks, so there should be enough bike parking.

One email a friend sent about this said "all ages welcome". can anyone verify that bringing my 1 Y.o. won't be a problem?

TIA

Correct - this event is all ages.

It lists that its all ages:

www.disjecta.org/events/eatmobile.p...

So, is this event is $5 to sample food, or is that a entry fee then the cost for food is on top of that?

$5 to sample food. All munchies included.

The event was really great, but I have to comment on the bike parking. There was a good deal of it... but unfortunately it was located inside the area of the event (beyond the admission gate) and no one knew it was there until they had locked up their bike to a stop sign 3 blocks away. I appreciate putting the bike parking in a secure location, but signage to let people know it was there was essential and missing. Who would think to stand in line (which wrapped around the block for at least the first 90 minutes of the event) with their bike instead of locking up first?

this was a total cluster... got there at 5:30, waited 30 minutes to get in, and then there were long lines at all the carts i wanted to try. spent an hour in lines for 3 bites of food. total waste of time and $5. shame... food carts are for quick, fun eats, you disgraced them with this poorly planned event.

Ridiculously good food. Ridiculously cheap beer. Super long food lines and by far the best grilled cheese I've ever had- "The Jaime". As the menu says, "you might want to eat this one in private." They aren't lyin.

What a disappointment! This was one of the most poorly organized events that I have been to. I was ok with waiting in line for 45 min, but to get inside and have to stand in more endless lines for an infant-sized sample of food was ridiculous. The flyer says "please limit your sampling", but you can't actually buy any food. For a "food festival", there certainly wasn't much food to be had. Had this event been a little more thought through, we would have stayed long enough to enjoy it.

I was really disappointed. When we got there, around 6ish, the line was all the way around the block and not moving and the lines inside looked very long. We decided to go to a nearby restaurant, instead. No one in the neighborhood knew what was going on - the restaurants were ill prepared for the amount of people. We waited 45 minutes before the waiter even brought us water, then we ended up leaving before ordering food. They had no idea there was an event in their neighborhood and didn't plan for extra staffing. We had people stopping us and asking us what was going on - people working in businesses nearby. Was no one notified that this was happening? It's a terrific idea, but perhaps some better planning and working with nearby businesses to support the event would be beneficial. I'm sorry I missed tasting the cart food.

I was really disappointed. I got there just before they ran out of food, and never even got inside. Maybe it would be better to have a food cart version of the Bite, where you can buy food from a variety of carts and the gate fee/part of the proceeds would still go to Mercy Corps.

While waiting for 30 minutes to get in I got hungry so I had my friend hold my place in line so I could go buy a bag of pretzels at the Triple Crown Convenience store in the neighborhood. When I got back in line it had barely moved an foot. Boy was I glad I bought those pretzels! The lines were so long and the event so crowded that when we left I had only had the patience to wait for a thumb-sized sample of bread, a thimble-sized sample of soup, and a 1/2" slice of falafel wrap. Glad to support the charity but will never attend this event again.

I was thoroughly disappointed and I didn't even attend the festival! We drove by at 7pm and the line to get in went around the block. I think that the festival should be extended for more than just 4 hours. It should be either an all day event, or all weekend. How could we possibly experience what Portland foodcarts have to offer in just a few short hours, and in such an uncomfortable environment? I'm better off exploring the food carts on my own...

completely agree with the above comments. We went to the cart festival last year, and it was fun until it got really crowded and the carts started running out of food. We had thought that the organizers would have realized the popularity of the event and planned accordingly--bigger space, etc. We waited in line for about 20 minutes and left. I'd gladly pay $10 or $15 for all you can eat samples for an event that's better organized.

We wanted to participate but applied too late. The organizers suggested we simply attend instead. We fully intended to, but after our systems recovered from the sight of the shocking line, we went somewhere else instead. Me feel sad.

Feel free to try our food on for size at our spot in the SW 5th & Stark lot. We don't have samples, but the wait/payoff ratio is vastly preferable.

brunchboxpdx.blogspot.com/

Does anyone know the bands that played? Mimicking Birds were on the bill but the music on their myspace page doesn't sound like the guitar/horns/vibraphone band I saw while waiting for grilled cheese.

Hey out there, anybody know of a good "roach coach" that travels to business sites at a set time each day? looking for one in the Gresham area. thanks

Hi there,

I was wondering if you would contact me. I have a potential new venue for the 2010 food cart festival that may be more conducive for your attendance potential. Thanks, Gloria