Portland is known around the country for its role in elevating the food cart from a humble chuckwagon to a destination, where chefs trained at top-end kitchens could experiment with passion projects.

This year, perhaps due to the pandemic, or the rising cost of dining out, many new food carts embraced comfort food, offering pizza, hot dogs, fried chicken wings or some of the best taquitos in America. And they did so at a fair price. Many of our favorite dishes from our recent guide to Portland’s best new food carts — and two of the best things we’ve eaten this year, period — were priced at an impressively low $8.

Below, we’ve gathered the best things you can eat for $10 or less at each of our 10 favorite new food carts of 2022.

Happy hour burrito, Smart Donkey

It might not be quite as hulking as the regular burrito at Autentica chef Oswaldo Bibiano’s new burrito-centric cart, but the happy hour version ($7 from 3-5 p.m. daily) still packs a punch, with good barbacoa in the style of Bibiano’s home state of Guerrero, big pieces of pork in a piquant chile rojo sauce, Baja-style fried fish and more. Pair it with a $5 margarita and some $3 chips and salsa for a proper meal. 3420 S.E. 50th Ave.

Cluck basket, LoRell’s Chicken Shack

LoRell’s menu is short: Chicken, either wings or tenders, breaded and fried with lemon pepper in the Chicago style. If you’re dining on a budget, the cluck basket ($8) offers two wings and a side of hand-cut fries with one of Darell Preston’s two house sauces, the “Lo” (hot honey) or the “G” (a mild, tangy barbeque, also called “mild sauce). 5205 S.E. Foster Road

Papaya salad, Chick & Pig

If it’s your first time at Chick & Pig, you should probably splurge on the wok-fried pork belly and holy basil, or the fried chicken smothered in fiery curry. But there are a few dishes that clock in at or around $10, including the papaya salad ($10, but available deep-fried for $1 more). Also keep an eye out for Thai soups and other specials hard to find anywhere else in Portland. 4228 S.E. Woodstock Blvd.

The Lao dog at Khao Niew, a food cart behind the Portland State University library, weighs in at just $6.Michael Russell | The Oregonian

I’m a fan of just about everything at this Lao cart behind the Portland State University library, especially the crispy rice salad ($12) and khao piek sen ($10). But there are a pair of student-friendly dishes that clock in at just $6: The sticky, funky chicken wings, and this mini sausage sandwich, made on a small bun stuffed with cucumber, cilantro, banh mi-style pickled carrot and daikon and one of the juicier Lao-style sausages I’ve had in Portland. 979 S.W. Harrison St.

Sachetti, a pasta dish served up at Meliora Pasta, a food cart at the Bantu Island pod Northeast Alberta Street in Portland. Sachetti features sweet corn, polenta, coriander, vanilla and pink peppercorn. September 1, 2022 Beth Nakamura/The OregonianThe Oregonian

Jim Millar and Breckin VanRaalte’s “don’t call it Italian food” pasta cart typically offers a half-sized portion of its fresh-made pastas for around $8. On a recent visit, that meant a small bowl of tender mandilli di seta, the evocatively named “silk handkerchiefs” of pasta, draped across blistered cherry tomatoes with olive oil tiny basil leaves. 1525 N.E. Alberta St.

Even in a town that’s no stranger to Belgian-style Liege waffles, Honeycuspe stood out this year for the quality of its light, airy dough and sweet and savory toppings. Several of the sweet-side options can be had for under $10, including this delicious dollop of house strawberry-lemon compote and fresh whipped cream. Still hungry? Don’t miss the side of impressively baked-and-fried pave potatoes for just $6. 1401 S.E. Division St.

A carne asada "gringa" taco, built on a flour tortilla, with steak wrapped up in cheese melted directly on the flat-top grill at Southeast Portland's Chayo.Michael Russell | The Oregonian

David Lizaola’s greatest dish just might be the gringa ($10), a large taco with shredded cheese melted directly on the flat-top grill until it forms an orange-colored rind, which then gets rolled around seared steak, topped with pico de gallo slaw and avocado sauce and placed inside a toasted flour tortilla. It’s a symphony of crunch, tasty enough to make even a seasoned taco fan tip their cap. 3601 S.E. Division St.

Chicken mole tacos, Mole Mole

The pro move at this new Northeast Alberta Street food cart is to get a mole plate, either a chicken leg drenched in deep brown Pueblan mole, or the enchiladas colored with a trio of brown, pink and green. But though those dishes won’t set you back much more than $12, you can get a taste for less with these tacos, which ring up at $3 each. 2231 N.E. Alberta St.

Unique to this wood-fired Northeast Sandy Boulevard food cart, the pizzaleada ($8) is Roberto Hernandez Guerrero’s pizzified version of the baleada, a large Honduran taco topped with refried beans, cheese and sour cream. Go for breakfast, when the pizzaleada starts at $8 (though add-ons including avocado and chorizo are recommended) and gets folded in the “wallet” style popular on the cobblestoned streets of Naples. 7727 N.E. Sandy Blvd.

Tito's Taquitos serves hand-rolled potato taquitos with various toppings next to a Beaverton-Hillsdale Highway gas station.Michael Russell | The Oregonian

As with Reeva, the base version of chef Anthony La Pietra’s signature dish can rise in price with various add-ons, including birria-style beef, grilled shrimp and citrus-marinated pork. But if it’s your first time, try the basic version ($8), hand-rolled each day using tortillas from Three Sisters Nixtamal, stuffed with vegan-friendly mashed potatoes, deep-fried to order and place on a bed of shredded cabbage with avocado-tomatillo sauce and micro cilantro. One taste might ruin you for all other Portland taquitos. 3975 S.W. Beaverton-Hillsdale Hwy.

Read more: Portland’s best new food carts of 2022

— Michael Russell and Lizzy Acker

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