Kendrick Lamar, Dave Chappelle, Kanye West and Jay Z all have one thing in common: They all ate at Trap Kitchen. Like any street-savvy businessman, Malachi "Spankihana" Jenkins doesn't much like competition. So when Jenkins, the chef everyone calls "Spank," was looking to open a Portland spin-off of his world-famous pop-up, Trap Kitchen, he ended up parking in a weird place. Specifically, on a forgotten stretch of Southeast Stark Street between the 205 and 82nd Avenue. "I like to be out on my own," he says from the wet parking lot outside the cart, where he'd invited us through a local emissary, the rapper Cool Nutz. For a cart that serves recipes heavily influenced by soul food—the signature dish is Spank's pineapple bowl, the halved fruit stuffed with rice, steak, shrimp and a little hot sauce—the location has the added advantage of being central for the city's scattered black population. "A lot of people have been displaced to Southeast," said Cool Nutz. "Nowadays, that places you down in the middle of everybody, even being out on 85th—which is crazy… it's considered central, because there's so many people coming from, as you say, the Numbers." Spank, who has family in Portland, has been eating all over town—his favorite spot is Acropolis, the strip club-slash-steakhouse where you can get t-bones on a budget. At other pods, he sees people window-shopping the menus. He doesn't like that. ... http://www.wweek.com/restaurants/re...famous-soul-food-cart-straight-outta-compton/
nah, used to live with my grandparents behind the Albertson's on 82nd/Div, had cousins at 90/Stark, and some at 91st/Glisan. walked/ran/biked all around between them. Then (years later) my first job was at the Elmer's at 205. I've never fought at Mt. Tabor, but I've known for years the reservoir water wasn't as pure as you'd think.
Sly, you finally linked something I can use! I hit a Goodwill near there pretty regularly. (Mmmmmmm.... ribs)
