Eight Food Carts and a Vegan Bar: Your Night Out on NE Alberta
Here’s my favorite kind of Portland night. Nobody has to agree on dinner. One person gets barbecue, one gets Thai, the kid gets pizza, and everybody meets back at the same table. Then you walk a few doors down for a drink.
That’s a Tuesday on NE Alberta.
Alberta Carts: eight carts, one block
Alberta Carts sits at 1027 NE Alberta St, in the heart of the Alberta Arts District. Here’s who’s parked there right now:
- Baon Kainan: Filipino food with some fun, non-traditional twists. Thursday through Saturday noon to 8 pm, Sunday 11 am to 2 pm.
- Wonderboy’s Smokestack: Smoked meats with sides, or piled onto BBQ nachos and tacos. Daily 11 am to 8 pm.
- Chubby Bunny: Vegan breakfast sandwiches. Daily 8 am to 2 pm, so this is your morning stop.
- Paladin Pie: Wood-fired, New York-style pizza on a naturally leavened crust.
- E-San Thai: Thai and Laotian food, cooking since 1999. Open seven days a week.
- Gyro World: Gyros, falafel, hummus, and Greek salads.
- Soul Korean Fusion: Korean dishes.
- Ramblin’ Rose: Vegan soft serve and coconut-based scoops. Wednesday through Sunday 1 to 8 pm. Save room.
Carts come and go, so check albertacarts.com or @alberta_carts on Instagram before you head over.
Then walk into the patio Bye and Bye
The Bye and Bye has been on Alberta since 2007, at 1011 NE Alberta St. It’s an all-vegan bar, and VegNews readers named it the best vegan bar in 2023. You don’t have to be vegan to love it. Most of the people I know who go there aren’t.
Think barbecue tofu, peanut broccoli bowls, buffalo soy curl wraps, and house-made seitan. The cocktails are the real draw, especially the slushies.
Inside is cozy for a rainy Portland night. When the sun’s out, the two big patios fill up fast.
Here’s the insider move: you can bring your cart food into The Bye and Bye. Grab your brisket or your pad thai at the pod, walk it down the block, and order a slushie to go with it. Everybody gets the dinner they want and a real seat to eat it in.
The details:
- Hours: Monday through Thursday noon to midnight. Friday noon to 1 am. Saturday 10 am to 1 am. Sunday 10 am to midnight.
- Brunch: Saturday and Sunday, 10 am to 2 pm
- Kids: Minors are welcome until 8 pm every day, then it’s 21 and over
- Where: 1011 NE Alberta St
- Website: thebyeandbye.com
- Instagram: @byeandbyeportland
Why I’m writing about this
I help a lot of people move to Portland from somewhere else. Once they trust me, the question is always the same: “What’s it actually like to live there?”
This is what it’s like on Alberta. You walk to dinner. You run into neighbors in line at a cart. The guy making your Thai food has been doing it since 1999. There’s art on the walls and people out on the sidewalks.
You won’t find that on a listing sheet. It’s the stuff that makes a street feel like home.
If you go
Go early on a weekend if you want a patio seat. If you’ve got kids, do the carts first and get to Bye and Bye before 8. And on the last Thursday of every month, Alberta hosts the Last Thursday art walk. In June, July and August the street closes to cars and turns into a party.
Want to make a day of it? Explore the shops and murals with our Alberta Arts District guide, grab a pastry at Orange & Blossom a short walk north on Killingsworth, or find more plant based spots in our Portland vegan restaurant guide. For what is happening this weekend, check the community events calendar.
If you’re thinking about a move to NE Portland and want to know what the neighborhoods feel like before you ever tour a house, book a call with me. That’s my favorite conversation.
