Portland, OR – Beez Neez

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Thank god for the Food Carts of Portland people. Their site tells me what’s new, and their commentary does a little pre-screening for me. I can (mostly) skip the bad stuff.

The other day, they were talking about Beez Neez, a new cart on the 3rd Street pod. “Reindeer sausage”, said they. This I had to see (taste).

So I set out yday, and almost came up bupkis, because Beez Neez, new to the scene, is operating with a cardboard sign, and I swear I walked past it three times while on the hunt. At least a couple of times, I figured I had remembered the address wrong, but finally, I spotted it, and walked right up to the man and said “Reindeer sausage, please, mild.” (I knew they offered mild or spicy from the Food Cart review).

He asked if I wanted grlled onion, and I passed on that. The stand also offers a kosher foot long dog, a Louisiana hot link, and a polish. The hot link is in a casing, says he, but not the kosher dog, of course.

Beez Neez had a nice assortment of condiments out, including the requisite number of mustards from local Beaverton Foods. He had a chilled condiment tray with kraut, pickles, and a few other selections.

The guy’s technique is to split the sausage slightly before grillling, and this gives his product a nice char all around. He uses Kirkland oversized rolls. (Kirkland is a Costco house brand).

I did not inquire where he gets the reindeer sausage, I seem to recall reading that it comes from Alaska, and is mixed with beef sausage as to minimize the gamey taste often associated with venison sausage (Hah! Did you think venison only referrred to deer, like I did, until Mrs. BDB corrected me a couple weeks ago?)

Anyway, I moved to the nearest table (when I am not using the hood of the car for these tastes, I can often be found w/ food perched atop a newspaper vending machine or similar). (I have dined atop some of the finest trash cans and bus benches in the world!)

The reindeer, at $4.75, was superb. Amply sized, good snap, great taste, suprisingly mild, with a little bit of kick to it. Enough for me, I’m a pussy about heat from peppers, so I imagine I wouldn’t care for the spicy version.

There have been a plethora of new hot dog/sausage carts opening in Portland lately. Some good, some not so good. And some great, like Beez Neez.


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