Truck Off: Vote for Your Favorite Portland Food Cart; Shame the Food Network

The Food Network is starting a new reality show on August 15 called The Great Food Truck Race, in which food carts battle it out for America's hearts, minds and stomachs and the chance to win $50,000.

Not a single Portland vendor is included in the line-up of competing trucks (Outrageous! Six out of the seven are from California!)

But the network is also running an online competition to find "America's Favorite Food Truck," in which any cart in the country can be nominated to win $10,000 and the chance to appear on the show's second season.

It all sounds like a fairly shameless cash-in on the latest foodie flavour-of-the-month, but at the same time: PORTLAND MUST WIN.

You can nominate your favorite Portland food truck here.

You can refresh your Portland food cart memory here. Or here. Or...here, here, here or here.

[Ed note from Kelly Clarke: FYI, on Monday, CNN's Travel section crowned Portland, Oregon as having the best street food scene IN THE WORLD. We beat out L.A. (#2), Rio de Janeiro (#6) and Bangkok (#12) For reals.]


Photo of Potato Champion's Mike McKinnon in the Potato Champ's mobile rig Spudnik at Eat Mobile 2010 by Roger Bong