Have you heard of plate lunches from Hawaii? A bit of a gut bomb, but incredibly popular in the Aloha Islands. 808 Grinds features Hawaiian cuisine – specifically plate lunches – found at their Downtown Food Cart at the corner of SW 9th and Washington (open mainly for lunch, Monday – Friday, 11AM to 3PM), their Gigantic Brewery Food cart at 5226 SE 26th Avenue (open Monday – Saturday, 11AM to 9PM) and also at their Cafe location at 10100 SW Park Way (Monday – Saturday, 10:30AM to 8:30PM).
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808 Grinds is a Hawaiian food truck located in Downtown Portland. Before we headed head for lunch, we did a little research about the must try food trucks in Portland. 808 Grinds was consistently mentioned.
When we arrived at 11:00AM, they were just opening. Despite this, there was always a couple of customers ahead of us. We quickly glanced at their menu on the side and chose the Da Combo (Shou Chicken and Kalua Pig with a side of rice and macaroni salad). The people working there were diligent and friendly. They also offered their own house made sauces. There were a variety of flavours and we tried 4 of them.
The Shoyu chicken. Oh my God. We have never had anything like this before. First, they provided HUGE portions. It was an entire chicken breast on our plate that was pull apart tender. There was distinct ginger taste along with a sweetness that just made the dish. It was, by far, the best chicken we've had at any food truck locations.
The Kalua pig was also very tender and had a different sauce/taste. We weren't entirely sure what it was but it tasted smoky and savoury. It was great and the portion was very generous as well.
The macaroni salad was equally as good. It really helped cleanse your palette after the meats as they were very savoury. The rice was also a welcomed addition that provided additional texture to each bite.
808 Grinds has really opened the door the Hawaiian cuisine for us. Before this, we never had an opportunity or desire to try Hawaiian cuisine but after this, we will be sure to give this cuisine a proper go. We highly recommend the Shoyu chicken and their unique house made sauces.
This was my first Portland food truck experience. The fries are probably the best I've ever had. The garlic ginger chicken is a bit saltier than I'd like, but still yummy. Not a fan of the Miriam whip drenched Mac salad. Suggestion: vinegar based slaw?
Best food cart on that block. We've been to Hawaii 3 times and the one thing that is not memorable is the food. it's mostly over-priced and pretty blah. but, 808 makes me wonder how I've missed the "good spots" in the islands when we've been there.
808 was food cart at Thorn game. We had the combo plate of kaluha pork and fried chicken. Pork was wonderful very moist with great flavor. Fried chicken had a very light batter that everyone loved. Chicken chunks were bite sized and not overcooked. Loved them. Will stop by this cart for lunch.
Better than any Hawaiian BBQ I've ever had!. I'm not a huge fan of this cuisine...because more often than not the food the establishment is serving proves to be insipid and tedious....
Enter 808 Grinds the Food Cart nestled unassumingly amongst the vast row of other Food Carts.
The guys here are doing Hawaiian Food the way it should be done... with love and flavor.
I ended up leaving here both sated and happy while wanting more.
They actually have one small table next to them to sit down and enjoy your food so you don't feel the need to scarf it down in your hands!
Seriously don't miss this cart as the guys are really nice and the food is really tasty.
Was the only good Hawaiian food in the carts... give them love at their other locations!
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