MEAT PIE: Caramelized orange pork shoulder. - IMAGE: Steel Brooks
As the weather turns chilly, there are few things more
comforting than gobbling down fistfuls of carbs, fat and salt. Well,
except maybe chasing it with a pint. That’s one reason chef Bradley
Jones moved his five-month-old pie-centric food cart, Crust and Common,
from Sellwood to a NW bar’s parking lot. From inside his little blue
box, Jones serves up comfort food in portable pastry shells. There are
classic sweet slices ($4.50) like pecan, chocolate cream and pies filled
with seasonal fruit, but the real gems are the savory options
($6.50-$7). The squat little morsels were inspired by a year Jones spent
in London, coming in unashamedly thick, buttery and salty, crusts
wrapped around braised beef short ribs or potatoes and cheddar. Some
days he also bakes a tart; a recent caramelized garlic and goat cheese
number was like sinking your teeth into a slice of savory fudge and
elicited several pornographic moans. Pair it with a side salad and it’s a
little taste of sunshine.
EAT: Q-19 cart pod, 1502 NW 19th Ave., 593-4936, crustandcommon.com. 11 am-3 pm Tuesday-Wednesday, 11 am-8 pm Wednesday-Friday.
