INDIGO @ twelve|west — Portland, Oregon apartments

Fans of our local food carts down on SW 10th and Alder know that one of the most enticing aspects of grabbing lunch from a cart is the diverse variety of options all concentrated in one convenient location. Not in the mood for pad thai? No problem, just order up a burrito, green curry, Vietnamese noodle soup, a lamb gyro, or some Japanese yakisoba. The options available can actually be overwhelming at times, and to make matters worse, many items are available at multiple food carts. Did you know that you can order a Vietnamese Grilled Pork Sandwich from two different food carts. But how do you know which is the best lunch for you?

Luckily, an Indigo native and I took it upon ourselves to be your food cart guinea pigs. I present to you, hungry readers, The Which Sandwich? Blind Taste Test.

Contestant #1  is a $3.50 Sandwich from Huong’s Vietnamese Food

Huong's Vietnamese Food, Located on SW 10th

Contestant #2 is a $3.75 sandwich from Pho Sam

Pho Sam, Located on SW 9th

 We wanted to remain unbiased in our tasting so we had our lovely assistant property manager, Elisabeth, secretly cut the sandwiches and label them so as to hide their origin from us tasters.

Official Taste Test Secret Identities

After much munching, tasty tasting, and deliberate deliberation, a clear favorite emerged. To be honest, there really was no contest; Andy and I both agreed that sandwich A was, hands down, the best. The pork was more flavorful, the toppings were more diverse, and the streak of Sriracha hot sauce, absent from sandwich B, tied it all together.

So, by unanimous decision, the winner is sandwich A!

Sandwich A WINS!

The moment of truth revealed sandwich A’s identity to be Huong’s Vietnamese Grilled Pork Sandwich. It sells for a modest price of $3.50. We both agree that it is well worth its small asking price and we will definitely be returning to Huong’s happy little food cart soon.