Bari Food Cart Serves Up Italian Street Food in Southeast Portland

https://www.youtube.com/view?v=jDOTStiHWDA

In this pizza-obsessed city, how do you choose the doughy, cheesy staple to the next degree? Just ask Trifone Walter Ferrante—he goes by Walter—who serves a Southern Italian avenue foodstuff hardly ever witnessed stateside named panzerotti out of a Foster-Powell meals cart. 

In its essence, panzerotti is basically like a fried pizza or calzone. Fresh new dough will get rolled out by hand and stuffed to get with tomatoes, cheese, and options including anchovy-caper (Ferrante’s preferred), comfortable spicy Southern ‘nduja sausage, or our choose, the carciofi (artichoke). Then, it is lovingly deep-fried right until golden brown, in which the dough puffs up and will become crispy although someway not absorbing also a great deal grease. Magic! It is airy, flavorful, and delicately crunchy—think Chinese fried dough stick or frybread. Slice open up a panzerotto to reveal the stretchy mozzarella in, and really don’t fail to remember to get a freshly piped, lemon zest-loaded cannolo for dessert.

But if panzerotti and cannoli on your own aren’t enough explanation to take a look at, then Ferrante himself is just as significantly of a attract. Born and elevated in a tiny town in the Apulia region, he delivers that Southern Italian warmth and hospitality to each individual shopper conversation. “How are you?” he explained, popping his head out the window when I was ending paying out with the cashier throughout my initially go to to Bari. “I’m fired up to cook dinner for you!” When my panzerotto was prepared, the cashier squeezed a bicycle horn, drawing curious stares and laughter from all the other foodstuff cart patrons. Afterwards, a neighboring food items cart owner arrived more than, gave Ferrante a big hug, and requested, “Can I do the horn?” He tooted the horn rhythmically, and quickly the total cart pod was cheering, “Walter! Walter!” Come for the puff, stay for the occasion. 

Bari Food Cart (shut July 23 – September 1 for vacation), 5205 SE Foster Rd, barifoodcart.com