fa m i ly s u p p e R
The Spice of Life Food cart Nacheaux brings Cajun/Mexican fusion cuisine to Southeast Portland. STORY AND PHOTOS BY DENISE CASTAÑON
W
hen I heard about the Nacheaux food truck at the Cartlandia pod on 82nd Avenue, I was intrigued. Husband-and-wife team Anthony and Stephanie Brown serve up Southern-fried goodness with a Mexican twist. Both Mexican and Cajun cuisines are two of my all-time favorites, and I felt their marriage could either be really great or fall flat.
My family had planned to go to Nacheaux for lunch on a Friday, but I called to make sure they were open. It turns out they were closed for a special event. (Pro tip: Always call ahead!) But I was told they’d be open the next day, so we headed out on a blustery Saturday for lunch. You can’t miss the robin's-egg-blue cart adorned with a dabbing unicorn. We perused the menu and decided on our picks. Once we ordered, we were told it’d be a 30-minute wait. So we decided to walk around before finding a covered table. (Cartlandia has an abundance of distanced, covered outdoor spots.) We grabbed tempura-fried onion rings from the Ball-Z cart and a blended strawberry boba from Bobablastic. It was a good thing, because our wait ended up being more like 45 minutes.
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November / December 2020
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pdxparent.com
My 8-year-old daughter, Adela, got a side of mac ‘n' cheese for her lunch. Cart owner Anthony Brown had helpfully offered to make her the less-spicy kids' mac ‘n' cheese ($5.50), especially since it's not a formal menu item. She gave the creamy macaroni a big thumbs-up. And I mean this literally — she didn’t want to stop eating to answer me when I asked how her lunch was. My 5-yearold son, Cruz, ordered a side of cornmeal-crusted fried chicken tenders ($5.50). He ate them with no complaints, which is honestly not how most meals go. My husband tried one of the specials: a fried catfish sandwich on Texas toast ($9) with cabbage slaw, pickled onions and a kicked-up Mexican crema called Nacheaux sauce; this combo is called “Nacheaux-style” and is a recurring theme on the menu. He finished it in about three giant
