Bari Food Cart Serves Up Italian Street Food in Southeast Portland
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In this pizza-obsessed city, how do you get the doughy, cheesy staple to the future stage? Just check with Trifone Walter Ferrante—he goes by Walter—who serves a Southern Italian road foods rarely viewed stateside termed panzerotti out of a Foster-Powell meals cart.
In its essence, panzerotti is fundamentally like a fried pizza or calzone. Fresh dough receives rolled out by hand and loaded to get with tomatoes, cheese, and options including anchovy-caper (Ferrante’s most loved), gentle spicy Southern ‘nduja sausage, or our select, the carciofi (artichoke). Then, it’s lovingly deep-fried until golden brown, wherever the dough puffs up and turns into crispy while by some means not absorbing also substantially grease. Magic! It’s ethereal, flavorful, and delicately crunchy—think Chinese fried dough stick or frybread. Cut open up a panzerotto to expose the stretchy mozzarella within, and do not forget to seize a freshly piped, lemon zest-loaded cannolo for dessert.
But if panzerotti and cannoli by itself are not sufficient rationale to check out, then Ferrante himself is just as much of a draw. Born and lifted in a small city in the Apulia region, he brings that Southern Italian heat and hospitality to each consumer conversation. “How are you?” he stated, popping his head out the window when I was ending having to pay with the cashier throughout my very first visit to Bari. “I’m psyched to cook dinner for you!” When my panzerotto was all set, the cashier squeezed a bicycle horn, drawing curious stares and laughter from all the other foodstuff cart patrons. Later, a neighboring food stuff cart proprietor came in excess of, gave Ferrante a major hug, and asked, “Can I do the horn?” He tooted the horn rhythmically, and quickly the entire cart pod was cheering, “Walter! Walter!” Come for the puff, keep for the bash.
Bari Foods Cart (shut July 23 – September 1 for getaway), 5205 SE Foster Rd, barifoodcart.com