As much as I love food, I’ve often had a mixed opinion on food trucks. In some areas, you’ll find super inventive, interesting cuisines offered up by food trucks and given you’re typically eating outside, in plastic or paper containers, it better be good. So in general, I feel somewhat mixed about eating from food trucks given the whole dining experience is important to me. But one food truck (trailer) has caught my eye and stomach of late: Portable Portugy. Here’s what I’ve experienced during my multiple visits!Â
Portable Portugy, Menu and Food
Given that the Portable Portugy is based out of Fuquay-Varina, they primarily end up in Southern Wake county for their food truck visits but will venture close to downtown from time to time. My visits have been primarily at Vault Craft Beer but I definitely make an effort when I see that Portable Portugy is in the area. Chef Shawn Dagnall does a great job offering up high-quality, well-prepared Portuguese and Azorean food that can match what you would find in a sit-down restaurant.
Contact them by email before a visit and they will get you a copy of the menu for that day’s service. There’s usually a nice range of appetizers, sandwiches, entrees, and sweets available, I’m sure the menu changes often. Order at the truck and you’ll be given a buzzer when your meal is ready. And it may take a bit of time but everything I’ve ordered has been hot and fresh, no luke-warm offerings here. The steamed little neck clams in a white wine, butter sauce (ameijoas a bulhao pato) were nicely cooked and served up in a generous portion with light, crunchy Portuguese bread.
I definitely recommend the Azorean queijo fritters that are fried up with a bit of sausage, mozzarella cheese and pineapple, crunchy and delicious! And their Azorean massa folhada features puff pastry with sausage, sweet pepper jam and cheese, a fun starter. As you can tell, they stay true to their Azorean-Portuguese roots so you may have to take some time with the menu but everything I’ve tried has been really good.
Portable Portugy, Sandwiches and Mains
For the sandwiches, I’ve tried the Hangover dog: Linguica sausage (slightly spicy) with fried egg, bacon, and onion straws. It’s a generous sandwich that’s full of snappy flavor! And I highly recommend the tosta mista, a shaved ham panini with cheese and fig jam. The textures and flavors hit you right in the hunger sweet spot with crunchy, soft, savory, and sweet in each bite, delish!
Portable Portugy, Desserts
While I’m not a huge dessert guy, you HAVE to make room for their pasteis de nata (Portuguese custard tarts) which are served up warm and gooey in a light and flaky pastry cup. I ordered two of these for dinner and then went back and ordered another two for the next day. Yes, they are totally worth the calories! They also have had donuts and tiramisu on the dessert menu but love those custard tarts…
Portable Portugy, Conclusion
Over the years I’ve gotten a bit jaded by food trucks in the Triangle area, they would always seem a bit over-priced and served up food that was just ok. The majority of the time, I’d prefer paying a bit more for a sit-down meal versus sitting out at a picnic table or curb for a food truck experience. But Portable Portugy really offers up excellent and unusual food at decent prices so yeah, I’m willing to make an exception here!
While I’m not super familiar with Portuguese cuisine, I can tell you that for sure, Chef Shawn is serving up just plain old delicious eats. And the fact that he’s doing it all out of a food truck is pretty impressive. So give them a follow on Instagram to keep up with their whereabouts and make an effort to visit them for dinner. While I’m not a huge fan of having to chase down my food, Portable Portugy is worth it. In fact burning off some calories before wolfing down some of their food really makes a lot of sense to me, now!
Vault Craft Brewing, Raleigh – A Lively and Fun Neighborhood Beer Bar