Food & Drink at XOXO

Like last year, we’re building a cafe in the garage of the YU. We’re building a custom wooden deck extending out of the cafe, with ample seating for food, drink, and conversations.

Two small creators work in that space every day, in the wood-framed office in the garage — Roseline Coffee and Cocanú Chocolate.

In a city known for its coffee, Roseline is something special. Founder Marty Lopes spent years roasting coffee at Extracto and curating coffee at Barista before starting up his own super small-batch roastery. He’ll be serving a variety of freshly-roasted coffee drinks from his newly-built coffee cart at XOXO.

Next door to Roseline, Cocanú is one of only three “bean-to-bar” companies nationwide, taking whole, raw farm-fermented cacao beans, and crafting them into a final product under one roof. Sebastián Cisneros, an Ecuadorian expatriate, has been handcrafting chocolate in Portland since 2009 and will be on-site selling his work over the weekend.

Food Carts

Portland’s street food scene is among the best in the world, with over 400 food carts across the city. Like whales, Portland food carts gather in “pods,” averaging 5-8 but with the largest hosting more than 60 carts. If you’re coming from a city like NYC, LA or SF, you might think food trucks are the same thing, but there are some big differences — while food trucks need to stay on the move, Portland’s food carts are effectively permanent.

For a festival about indie art and technology, food carts are the culinary equivalent. The barrier to entry and costs are low, letting you experiment with new ideas and build a following without falling into deep debt. And several carts in the last year — like Lardo, Salt & Straw, and Nong’s Khao Man Gai — have leveraged their fan base to open brick-and-mortar locations.

About 80% of our attendees come from out of state, many for the first time, so we like to show them the best of Portland by closing down the street in front of XOXO on Friday to Sunday to build our own pod, with our favorite carts from around the city. Two of the carts are even leaving their own pods, towing themselves out to settle in for all three days! Here’s the full lineup:

Nong’s Khao Man Gai — Taken from the street food of her native Bangkok, Nong Poonsukwattana only makes one dish: poached chicken & rice, wrapped in butcher paper and served with a spicy sauce. But it’s so insanely good, the lunch lines at her 10th & Alder location often stretch down the street, leading to two new locations to satiate the addicts. (Saturday-Sunday only)

Cheese & Crack — Funded through a successful Kickstarter project, William Steuernagel makes handmade cheese and cracker boxes, along with charcuterie plates and housemade bitter sodas, out of an adorable reclaimed wood food cart. Perfect for snacktime.

PDX 671 — Named after Guam’s area code, chef Ed Sablan brings the Chamarro cuisine of his native home to Portland, a delicious and unique fusion of Filipino, Spanish, and Malaysian influences. Winner of this year’s Eat Mobile festival, and featured this week on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.

Koi Fusion — Bo Kwon was 12 years old when he started fusing his South Korean parents’ food with other cuisines, adding kimchi to his grilled cheese sandwiches. 20 years later, he’s doing it for his customers with a food cart empire—three trucks and five stationary locations mixing Korean BBQ and Mexican flavors in tacos, burritos, and Seoul sliders.

Taco Pedaler — Melanie and Erica ride their three-wheel cargo bike around Portland, spreading their local and organic tacos across the city like modern-day Johnny Appleseeds. But instead of apple seeds, tacos.

Aybla Grill — Syrian-born chef Saied Samaiel was trained on the Greek island of Crete for ten years before coming to Portland, growing his cart business to five locations across the city with a selection of Mediterranean, vegetarian-friendly offerings made with local and organic ingredients. (Friday and Sunday only)

Bunk Truck — The mobile arm of chef Tommy Habetz and Nick Wood’s sandwich empire of Bunk Sandwiches. Avoid gimmicky carts like Big Ass Sandwiches, and stick with the real thing: simple, high-quality ingredients on damn-good bread. (Friday 6pm-Sunday)

The carts will be out all day Friday through Sunday, and open to the public.

And if the lines get bad, there’s no shortage of fantastic food and drink within a short walk of the YU. Check our Guide for all our recommendations.

(P.S. Voodoo Donuts is still mediocre. Go to Blue Star.)