Portland is a nirvana for food carts. I suspect they are more popular here than anywhere else in the country. Over the past couple of years cart pods have sprouted up all over town. Almost every cuisine is represented from Argentinian empanadas to Vietnamese pho, and just about everywhere in between. I get most of my exposure to the carts via my brother who works in downtown Portland and lunches at carts most days. One of his favorites is a place called Wet Hot Beef (sadly, now defunct) with the slogan “We can't wait to put our wet hot beef in you.” When he first told me about the cart I will admit I was a bit disgusted. The name and slogan are a tad off-putting, but his description of the sandwiches made me change my mind. The everyday menu contains 3 versions of the sandwich: The “Naked” containing beef and au jus on a French roll, the “Dressed” adding pickled vegetables and caramelized onions, and the “Indecent” which doubles the au jus and adds cheese sauce. There is also a weekly special with versions like bleu cheese, hazelnuts and arugula or caramelized onion, roasted red pepper, and lemon aioli or my brother's and my absolute favorite which is what I've tried to recreate here. Whichever version you order will be served wrapped in paper and inserted into a white paper cup - a genius move to prevent yourself from dripping jus down the front of yourself. It is truly perfect street food. - hardlikearmour

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