Pedalpalooza and a new food court

Sisters Erin and Saylor operate Speedi Gourmet.

I guess you could call last night a quintessential experience here in River City. Went out to a casual dinner, as we do every Thursday, and headed for the new Green Castle food court in Northeast Portland, a few blocks south of Sandy Boulevard at 20th Avenue.

For a few minutes on a lovely spring evening Lori and I had the place nearly to ourselves. So many choices: Thai, Middle Eastern, Korean-inspired sandwiches, gourmet hot dogs and garlic fries, all-day breakfast, fried chicken. Even Viking Soul Food. Who knew?

By the time we made up our mind and approached one place to order, we'd been joined by about three dozen bike riders, people of both genders wearing tutus and garish accessories. Of course! It was the event billed as "Tutu Food Cart 2: Electric Boogaloo," part of the Pedalpalooza 2011 event taking place for two-plus weeks in June.

Starting from downtown Portland, riders were invited to set aside three hours for biking and eating, basically riding from one group of food carts to another until their bellies were full. For once, I left the house without my smartphone so, unfortunately, no pictures to share.**

The Speedi Gourmet food cart

As for our meal, we split a sandwich from Lunch Box Wizard -- pan-fried chicken with greens and a tonkatsu (brown) sauce served on a warm roll (wasabi optional). Also shared a bowl of Drunken Ladle Soup (made with beer, pork, sausage, potato, carrot, onion and kale) from Speedi Gourmet, whose cashier, Erin, drew us in with her welcoming personality and no-pressure attitude. Finally, tried a couple of small items from Lebaneser Scrooge, a roll-up with vegan hummus and a puff pastry filled with ground beef, onions and spices. Topped everything off with a strawberry lemonade.

All in all, I'd say the food was three-star quality (on a scale of 1 to 5) and a good bargain for the price: $18 for everything, including tips. Best items? The sandwich and the soup.

Next time, I'll be more adventurous and try the Viking Soul Food cart, billed as Norse comfort food. By the time I decided to give it a try, there were too many men and women in tutus ahead of me and I was too hungry to wait.

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**  I returned to the scene Friday morning, camera in hand, to snap these photos and try Speedi Gourmet's  breakfast burrito. They make it two ways -- with kielbasa or black beans -- and it's become the most popular item on the menu. I can see why. It was a delicious way to start the day, with a warm tortilla wrapped around eggs, potatoes, kielbasa, cheese and onion.