Back Like We Never Left..

After a couple days off to regroup (our apologies if you came by the cart and we were closed), we are ready to forge through the winter months and serve our folks some delicious food!  We gotta give the people what they want!!

But first, we still need to get our name out there...

I did my best "tagging" the door.

I can't tell you how many people come to the cart and ask "what's a slider?"  (I know, right.)  It's okay... we'll let it slide (r) this time, but we also thought it'd be good to have some more signs telling people what we serve at our cart.  So, since the sun was out for a couple days, I took advantage.

More sandwich boards promoting our cart.

We've had a bunch of special guests stop by the cart as well.  One of them was Ian Winters, of Winters Farms in Troutdale, Oregon.  He supplies us with all of our russet potatoes.  He came to see what we've been up to and what we've been doing with his potatoes...

 HE WAS IMPRESSED!

He loved the burgers and gave the fries 2 thumbs up!

And our friend, Franklin, from the Rebuilding Center, came by and passed along the first dollar from his cart.  He loved the food and was thoroughly impressed with the cart itself.

AWESOME!

Please go to our facebook page and LIKE us here:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Grillery/190508621016996

And check out some of the great reviews here:

http://www.yelp.com/biz/the-grillery-portland-2

Ahhh, the LOVE

Brandon and Charles paid us a visit from VANYLA... & you gotta check out their blog...period.  Filled with amazing content and interesting articles, this site is a must read. The photography is amazing, and the blog post about The Grillery, well (blush) is pretty great too!

www.vanylapdx.com

Thanks for the love, y'all.

Settling In

One month down....HOLY SMOKES!  Sometimes Travis and I look at each other like "what the hell did we get ourselves into?"  Starting a new cart, in the fall, in Portland, as first timers is TOUGH.  But we're gettin' it...(and we're still having a blast!)

Our customers come in all shapes and sizes.  

 REPPIN' Portland to the fullest, so we had to take a pic.

(His heart is in NE, as you can see)

He obliged, obviously.

That's the thing about our cart business so far... we literally LOVE all the people who come through and try our food.  From our friends and family who stop by (thank you!), to our new friends at the hospital and Red Cross, to the "locals" who reside in NE...y'all are awesome!  We've really enjoyed chatting with our customers and getting to know them. 

We love our four legged friends too!

Charlotte

People have said that our food gets better every time they come, so that means we're doing something right.  Travis has concocted all sorts of new sauces.  Next time you come for lunch, don't be afraid to try the chipotle ketchup, garlic aioli, sweet BBQ, or our SECRET Grill Sauce...you won't be disappointed!

Our hours have changed a bit too.  We are currently open Monday-Friday 11-7 and Saturday 12-5.

Check out our reviews on YELP here:

http://www.yelp.com/biz/the-grillery-portland-2

Hope to see you soon!

New Grillery Shirts for sale.

($20 limited supply)

SLACKIN'!

So sorry about the MAJOR delay in postings...I've been eating (literally), sleeping (rarely) and LIVING food cart life for the last month, so I've been slacking... forgive me?

We did more pickling!

...because our first round was a HIT!

You know we gotta add some SPICE.

They look beautiful!

Third week down and we are still learning every day!  We have gotten some great advice and feedback from our friends, family, customers...annnnddd...our first FOOD CRITIC!  Check it out here...

http://www.foodreviews.aaronwakamatsu.com/2011/09/grillery.html

I think overall it's a great first review...Aaron was super nice and gave us honest feedback, which we appreciate.  We have been trying to perfect our fries (because we like 'em crispy too!), so hopefully next time he comes back, we'll get a higher rating!  Not too shabby for week 3 though.

Sometimes when it's slow, we get our color on...

Nana and John

And, Adam.

As always, we love the support from everyone and appreciate y'all stopping by the cart!  Be sure to LIKE us on facebook!!

https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Grillery/190508621016996

BUZZZZZZ

Week 2 down and we're rockin and rollin!  

Farmer's Market on NW 19th and Everett

Winters Farms Stand

(our potato vendor)

So now that we are OFFICIALLY moving into fall..(thanks for the 2 week summer, mother nature) we are lucky to have local markets to go to to get our produce.  Winters Farms is located in Troutdale, Oregon (about 10 miles outside Portland) and they come into town almost every day to sell at the local markets.  Because we are on a mission to do the LOCAL and FRESH thing, this works out nicely for us!

I think the funnest part for both Travis and I is meeting all of our customers.  We get to tell them our story, talk about the food and get to know a bit about them as well.  It has been awesome.  So far, I would say we have the BEST customers around!!

This was one of my favorite guests so far...

Beautiful Buca

Glad y'all are loving the food!  Remember to LIKE us on facebook and read our amazing reviews on YELP here...(I swear I didn't bribe anyone to write these...)  http://www.yelp.com/biz/the-grillery-portland-2

Week One...

We just wanted to give a big THANKS to everyone who has stopped by The Grillery to try our food, hang out and experience our opening week with us...it has really been GREAT!

Our fun menu by the AMAZiNG Abby Marten

Travis and I have been spending every waking moment at the cart...finishing up all the little details (do they ever stop??), cleaning, trying new recipes....you name it!  There is no end to the day.  It's been super fun (still!  can you believe it?!), and we are learning a TON!

 A homemade sign out of an old barn door...

Not bad, eh?

It is REAAALLLYYY hot in Portland right now, so business has been up and down.  The biggest hit on our menu thus far is our very own Fiesta Corn!

Fresh corn from Troutdale, Oregon

After adding "Grill Sauce," Cotija cheese and a lime wedge

The feedback on our food has been amazing!  Everyone LOVES the corn, we've gotten rave reviews on the fries and people say they can really taste the quality of our beef.

Come by and see for yourself!!

Getting Our Groove

So we did it...sorta.  We had a "soft" opening, and it went well.  We learned the ins and outs of working in a veeerrrry small space, in the heat, for the first time, with the spotlight ON.  I would give us a B-...maybe a B.

Gotta start somewhere, right?

First major setback...?  Almost chopping my finger off and spending the morning in the ER.  

Minor surgery on my pinky finger

And by "surgery" I mean stitches.

Still have all 10 digits (and hopefully a jumper.)

I hustled back from the hospital to get going on the rest of opening day duties.  Turns out, fingers get in the way of EVERYTHING and you will bump them on ANYTHING that might hurt.  OUCH.  We had our friends and family over to taste the food and allow Travis and I to get into The Grillery grooooove. 

We even had a few paying customers as well...

Of course I had to ask our first customer for a picture...

(Oh, and HE LOVED THE CAJUN FRIES!!)

There are so many last minute tasks to complete before we are fully operating.  It consumes us.  Once we finish one thing, it seems like there are 15 more on the TO DO LIST.  It's constant.  We are so anxious to get this baby open, and give the people what they want!

Tuesday is the day.  The grand GRAND opening.  Come by and try our tasty burgers, give us all the feedback you want, hang out and be part of the Grillery Family.  

N Fremont and Vancouver...

We can not WAIT to serve you!

Don't forget to LIKE us on facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Grillery/190508621016996