Prickly Ash

Rou jia mo — Mo or 肉夹馍 A Chinese street food originating from Shaanix Province.
Of course what Prickly Ash served is quite different from the original. Here the bread is not as doughy and the filling is plentiful!
Pork Belly Mo ($ 6) was decent! Love the fresh cilantro and scallions. Pork Belly was a little dry but still acceptable. Eat like a Taco? A Wrap?
I didn’t find out why it was call Mo until I got back home!

Alberta neighborhood (NE Portland)
W side of N Mississippi Ave just S of N Skidmore
At the Mississippi Marketplace Pod
«Chinese Street Food»
Even though I’m not the biggest fan of Chinese food I kept an open mind and so thankfully descended upon this cart anyway.
I’m pretty sure from stiking out once at the Mississippi Marketplace it was Prickly Ash that solidified my love for the Double M!
I had their Bruce Lee Mo:
which had nicely seared and juicy cutlets of Pork Belly (yeah I said it PORK BELLY!,) Napa Cabbage, Sriracha Aioli, Pickled Red Jalapenos, Chives, Avocado, a Basil-​Cilantro Aioli, and topped off with bits of Cotija Cheese. Yep… that sounds about right… all I know is that all these ingredients meshed together to form a most beautiful concierto of flavors in my mouth. The flatbread was nicley baked without being over or underbaked and detracting, but adding to the other flavors of this flatbread style sandwich. Each bite and chew had my eyes rolling so far in the back of my head that I’m sure a partner in crime would have been in order. I don’t know if the other sandwiches are this good or not as I have not tried them yet, but I was very impressed with this one! The name Bruce Lee is appropriate for I’m sure I heard a couple of strange chirps and my tastebuds were kicked and punched a la the great one!
The gentleman preparing the food was nice, but a little slow to prepare. I like to look at the glass half full so I’m just going to assume it’s because this «sandwich» is made with true Portland love!!!
Their prices are more than fair for what they offer here, so this is definitely a cart to hit up!

«Portland-​style Chinese Roujiamo flatbread sandwich»
So defines the sandwiches served at the Prickly Ash food cart, loveably shortened to a «Mo.» Seven to choose from, plus a few Chinese-​style sides (greens, peanuts, pickles, noodles, chips).
Not that I have too much to compare it to; the only roujiamo I’ve had before was the lamb cumin version at X’ian’s Famous Foods. Lamb, a typical filling in Northern China, isn’t a choice at Prickly Ash, which offers instead pork, chicken, mushroom, and tofu. The pork belly mo had good seasoned stewed pork, topped with fresh cilantro, scallions, and cucumber, in the light, sweet-​salty hoisin sauce. Served on a misshapen, soft flatbread.
The pork belly mo lacks the depth provided by the wealth of spices at X’ian’s, the pork belly could be more tender, and the flatbread more fragrant. Still, in the absence of an alternate version, it makes a satisfying snack and is perfectly fine, and fits its billing as the Portland-​style version of this Chinese sandwich. A-​OK.

One of the few carts I really love, I mean we have so many food carts but how many
A. serve something well done and unique?
B. are cheap and tasty
How many random Thai carts do we need? Or shitty taco trucks (still have not found a decent one in inner pdx closer than 150^th)
They make great flat bread sandwiches (that are not those gross things that are known as wraps that white people love) and the owners are super nice.
The pickle sides are great as well as the sesame noodles
Just go there
You will dig it

Currently my favorite food cart in Portland. Believe the hype (particularly about the Bruce Lee)

It’s good. It’s not unbelievably amazing. People’s reviews for this place are ridiculous. I had a Red Baja Mo with a side of chips. It was tasty with a bit of spice. I won’t dream about it…

I love this place, and I like the friendly guy who usually works there during the day. Truly wonderful, unusual hybrid of food styles blended into delicious meals.
My only complaint? I can’t choose between the peanuts and the chips to go with my Chinese Po’ Boy, and so I end up ordering both — and feeling too full! But that’s a good problem to have.

Every time I go here, I’m just blown away. My current favorite is the red baja. I took a friend with me and she wanted to order another one on the spot. If I ever wind up on death row, I want this to be my last meal.

I’d never experienced «Chinese Street Food» before, so I don’t have much to compare my Prickly Ash experience to, but I can say that I’m a fan!
Thanks to Don B for giving me the insider tour of Portland and especially the food cart scene at Mississippi Marketplace — I love it! It was hard to decide which cart to order from as they all looked fabulous, but Prickly Ash got our business and did not disappoint.
I had the Red Oil Chicken Mo (Szechuan red oil chicken and garlic-​ginger braised Chinese greens and pickled vegetables, which comes on PA’s homemade flat-​bread… all for $ 6. Don and I also shared the cabbage salad and Szechuan pickle sides which were good but nothing amazing. We washed it all down with coconut water.
While I’d likely be adventurous and try another food cart on a future visit, I wouldn’t steer you away from Prickly Ash — flavorful, fresh, friendly, and reasonably priced… you can’t go wrong with any of that!

Yet another reason why the Portland Food Cart Scene is redeeming itself in my eyes. Prickly Ash presents some damn tasty food made with decent ingredients and sold at reasonable prices. That’s how it should be.
These folks are offering up «Chinese» flat-​bread sandwiches and some interesting sides. I use quotes around «Chinese» because my meal here was a «baja» chicken dish — chicken in red oil with a pesto sauce and cotija cheese, avocado and lettuce on a delicious flat-​bread. The chicken itself definitely had some Chinese flavorings, but the cotija and other accoutrement gave it much more of a southwest flavor. Overall a delicious and filling sandwich atop some insanely good flat-​bread. I also got to sample a banh mi style flatbread with the same red oil chicken, cilantro, and pickled carrot/​daikon. Also good. Our sides included a fairly boring cabbage salad and some delicious Szechuan freezer-​pickles.
At $ 6 a flat-​bread sandwich, it’s kind of hard to go wrong here. I am excited to try out the pork-​belly concoctions and make my way through this unique and so-​far-​delicious menu.

Attention all! Prickly Ash now has a stamp card, woohoo!
Initially what caught my attention was the Chinese flatbread. I have lived in China and it reminded me of the mom and pop food stands that were all over the streets of Shanghai. Usually, the bread would just be filled with some scrumptious meat that has been stewed for hours. I guess this is Portland’s own interpretation of the Chinese flatbread. I’m not complaining though because they are freakin’ delicious. These sandwiches, if you wanna call them that, are much lighter than the other offerings in the area and very decently priced. Plus, with a stamp card, you’re closer to getting a free one! The mushroom and Bruce Lee mos are yumyumyum! Grab a chai latte 2 carts down and you’ve got a great meal!

So good! Best food cart by a long shot

Try the Bruce Lee, it’s DELICIOUS!

I want to eat here for lunch everyday! I have tried the Bruce Lee Mo and the pickles. Clearly, I need to go here again to give you any more info about the food, but those two things made me so friggin’ happy!
The combination of items on my mo were so good and not too heavy – which is amazing considering there was avocado, pork belly and two kinds of aoli present. It tasted fresh and perfectly executed.
The pickles. They are the best. Now that Garden State isn’t there to fill my pickle needs, I am ecstatic to have these guys around!

Amazingly simple, and amazingly good.
(I had the red oil chicken.)

Well this throws a wrench in to things. It has always been obvious to me that I will choose the Big Egg every time I am at the Mississippi Pod. This cart has ruined everything.
Sure a chinese sandwich is not really the same as a breakfast sandwich, however they both can only be described as amazing. Now I will be craving the Big Egg, drive down to Mississippi, see the Prickly Ash and I won’t know what to do!
So far I have only had the Bruce Lee, but everything on the menu looks amazing. This place is worth the trip!

I think I may have found another favorite food cart in PDX. The baja chicken sandwich was delicious. A solid 4.6.

In Jeet Kune Do, does Bruce Lee ever teach a way to send messages from beyond the grave? A couple weeks ago, I was at the Cartathlon afterparty several blocks away right by Flavour Spot, and all I could think about was a Chinese flatbread sandwich.
After a month of soft, limited night openings, Prickly Ash held its official grand opening on February 29. I just had to be out of state. Argh.
But another chance quickly presented itself. A friend I met at Cartathlon II thought Mississippi Marketplace was a good spot for food. I asked if she wanted to head there together for some dinner. Awesome, to the Aaronmobile!
Scott said the Bruce Lee Mo was far and away the top-​selling sandwich. I’m sure my post swayed a couple of people here and there. Maybe?
I shockingly defied Bruce Lee this time and went for a different sandwich. The Red Baja Mo ($ 6.50) has Szechuan red oil chicken, Napa cabbage, avocado, basil cilantro aioli, and cotija cheese. A generous portion of chicken and other ingredients topped the flatbread. I was impressed that I could still fold the sandwich in half like a taco. The flatbread, toasted to a golden brown, channeled its own inner Bruce Lee.
I dove right in and enjoyed every morsel. The diced chicken is very flavorful and stays very moist. I can detect some slight kick, but it’s not very spicy. Scott uses three Chinese chili sauces here, and you can get it at Asian markets like Fubonn on SE 82^nd.
Scott doesn’t fear heat. He’d add sriracha to his own flatbread sandwich. I’ll see your sriracha, and raise you a ton of chile extracts and mega hot sauces. Mmm… mega spicy crazy panda.
The crunchy cabbage and creamy avocado brought some refreshing tastes, but that salty cotija cheese was the chief-​in-​command here. It asserted itself into the fold, got all the filling in line, and charged the troops into my mouth. My jaw won, but was it ever a good meal.
Meanwhile, my friend bowed to Bruce Lee’s awesomeness, and she loved the Bruce Lee Mo. She was hesitant about the pickled chiles at first (asking for it on the side), but really enjoyed them once adding it to the sandwich. The pickling process will ensure a milder heat and an added flavor dimension for the sandwich.
Because she got a combo meal, we had some Szcheuan chips. While it may have «Szechuan» in the name, it’s wonderfully seasoned and it won’t do bad things to your insides. Crispy chips. A pleasing side dish.
The group in front of us allowed us to try the vinegar peanuts. The peanuts are boiled in vinegar and soy sauce, then fried and seasoned with salt. At first, I thought they had a toasty nature to them. The salty soy sauce came through more than anything else in my sample helping. It’s not a bad thing, just a mere observation.
Prickly Ash made a huge statement on me in less than a month. While soups were part of their original menu, I’m actually glad Prickly Ash nixed it. Instead, the owners capitalized on a unique, simple menu that remains street-​food friendly. Chinese flatbread sandwiches fits that criteria. Money and time well spent!
I say have a timed challenge for people to eat all seven flatbread sandwiches and six sides. That could attract the hungriest and best competitive eaters…
For winter hours, Prickly Ash will be open for lunch from 11 – 4, then come back for a dinner shift on Fridays and Saturdays, 5 – 11. Scott still plans to be open until about 2 or 3 in the morning for summer. He wants to see how this cart does for the first six months. Honestly, I envision a long life for Prickly Ash. It’s a great cart that should not be missed.

Salt and pepper tofu thin bread wrap — - an excellent and hitherto unknown quantity in the American –Chinese food-​scape. So light, so delish! I also have tried their fried mushrooom sammie, and it, too, was deliciouswas delighted to discoveder just how big them mushrooms were. Capital!
Very nice owner/​operator — a married couple from Vermont making this thing happen. I wish them tremenous success! Wouldn’t be easy to leave it all behind and strike out for new territory 3000 miles from home. New frontiers they’re bringing us, in Chinese– American yumminess.

What is a Chinese street sandwich? Delicious, that’s what it is! Just picture a handmade flatbread wrapping device enclosed with a chicken so lightly fried you almost think it’s calamari. Then add pickled peppers, greens and sauce. You now have the Chicken Po Boy in your hands. Eat and enjoy.