Havana Station

Checked out the Brooklyn Carretas cart pod for the first time for lunch. The proprietor of the Havana Station was very engaging--obviously trying to entice you to order from his cart but not in an annoying way. He sincerely welcomed us back after we had explored the other options and decided we wanted to order Cuban food. I ordered the vegan plate (I'm not vegetarian or vegan but it just sounded good for lunch--black beans and rice, fried ripe plantains, a shredded cabbage salad, etc.) and my companions had the sandwich plantanos (gluten free) with shredded pork. Both were amazingly delicious! I haven't been impressed with a food cart meal in a really long time but this was exceptional!

Convenient location, nice people, but I had trouble asking them a question about the menu. I ordered the picadillo. The person at the counter seemed unaware of what two menu items were. The menu said everything except the sandwiches were gluten free. I left to eat my meal from there somewhere else. When I started eating the picadillo, it was too salty and very greasy. There were no green olives. There were some unknown crunchy fried things in the rice that seemed breaded. They may have been little pieces of fried fish, I’m not sure. The menu said it was gluten free and I’m hoping that it really was or I will pay for it. This would be 3 stars but they get an extra point for bringing latin food to Portland. Mexican is good, but I prefer latin. The maduros were perfect. Loved the music.