Rey Taco – Montavilla News

Because Portlanders love food carts and week-long eating celebrations, the food cart community created Food Cart Week. Sponsored by Downtown Portland, The Oregonian/OregonLive, and Here Is Oregon, the second annual street-food dining event runs from April 16th through the 22nd and spans the entire city. Although cart discovery is the primary focus for participants, people can also enter several contests to win $100 in prizes.

Contestants have a few ways to participate. Oregon Live is hosting a People’s Choice Award. Submissions of a favorite Portland food cart will enter participants into a chance to win a $100 Visa gift card. Cart diners can also participate in a mobile app-based contest run by BabbleBuy. Top posters could win $100 worth of food from their favorite cart. Organizers will update the event’s website (portlandfoodcartweek.com) with more information as the festivities kick off this Sunday.

Supporting food carts helps small business owners and is an excellent way to experience the widest variety of culinary possibilities. Montavilla has a collection of options inside the Yard at Montavilla Food Carts pod at 8220 NE Davis Street. Other carts are anchored next to local businesses, including Rey Taco Cart at 145 SE 82nd Avenue and Thai Me Drunken Noodle at 803 SE 82nd Avenue. Beyond the neighborhood boundary, CORE – Collective Oregon Eateries at 3612 SE 82nd Avenue and Eastport Food Carts at 3905 SE 82nd Avenue host many eating options. There are also often overlooked nearby pods, including Powell 82nd Food Carts at 3405 SE 82nd Avenue and The Barley Pod at 6035 NE Halsey Street.

Jacob Loeb

Disclosure: The Author of this article serves on a board with BabbleBuy’s founder

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This week, Rey Taco opened at 145 SE 82nd Avenue, replacing Su Casa Taqueria. This standalone food cart is a new venture offering “LA Street Food.” Although reusing the Su Casa Taqueria cart, Rey Taco staff upgraded interior kitchen elements ahead of opening. The owners demolished the preexisting outdoor seating area and created a new covered deck with tables. The black cart now has a colorful wrapper featuring LA skyline imagery and the restaurant’s logs.

Su Casa Taqueria opened in that location around 2007 as the lone food cart in the area. Based on filings with Oregon’s business registry, several people operated the cart over its sixteen years. The host business for the restaurant also changed during that time. When food service began from this site, Meineke Car Care Center operated out of the single-story service station building. Later, Trendsetters Truck and Auto upgraded vehicles from this location. Now, the mobile kitchen sits in the northwest corner of the parking lot for Max’s Auto Spa.

Rey Taco serves an assortment of tacos, birria quesa tacos, machetes, tortas, mulitas, burritos, enchiladas, and chilaquiles. Consider visiting this new open-air dining destination and explore the extensive menu. The cart is open daily for lunch and dinner. There is a discrepancy between Facebook and Google Maps regarding the hours of operation. However, they should start serving guests by 11 a.m. and close sometime after 9 p.m.