Cultured Caveman

I had a long meeting that dipped into the lunch period. I came upon Cultured Caveman looking for something relatively healthy for 1:30p late lunch. As I stood gazing the menu, the lady in the cart barely looked at me and did not even say hi, let alone offer any assistance with my selection. I ended up chose the medium meatballs over collard greens for $ 6.00. The meatballs were tough and the greens were overly salty, as if it were over-​reduced and not checked for hours. Pre-​made food, though fast and efficient, sacrifices quality unfortunately.
I really wanted to like this place as an option for a healthy lunch, but it looks as though I’ll have to look else where.
Oh, the lady was pretty friendly and greeted the man after me. Just something I noticed.

Bacon almond dates. Need I say more. Very very good. Stopped here on a food cart tour. Our guide said they are also known for their meatballs. I’ll have to come back and try them next time I’m in Portland.

Pretty good. They have some interesting things in the menu and there staff is very friendly. There’s even a little place for the little ones to play at. My only grips would be the atmosphere is a little lacking.
Will go back though.

The lack of friendly service was a shame because I loved the chili and rosemary sweet potatoes! For what you get the prices are great. I knocked a star off, however, because the girl working there today was very unfriendly! I hope this changes because I would love to make this a regular lunch spot but I’m not interested in being treated poorly for great food.

I was a little disappointed. I was told by a few people that the carnitas are great, but didn’t realize the food cart doesn’t serve them. I had the pulled chicken with sweet potato mash and a beet and walnut salad. The entrée was fine, but I feel like I have had far tastier paleo dishes. The salad did not taste fresh; everything was limp.

Cave people rejoice, there’s a food cart for you and your paleo diet! All food here is 100% paleo friendly and gluten free.
Diners have the option of going herbivore (all veggies, least expensive), carnivore (all meat, most expensive) or omnivore (half and half).
I went with the Brazilian pulled chicken and sweet mashed potatoes. The food was likable but nothing over the top, and I thought the chicken could’ve been seasoned more. The price for a large omnivore cup of food was $ 8, which seems fair as far as food carts go.
You can pay for your food with cash or card instead of rocks, which is a plus, unless you’ve actually been resurrected from the Stone Age like the Encino Man.

Paleo food. I had the brazilian chicken with Ethiopian cabbage. Ok tasting, nothing exciting.

Mini meatballs. Brazilian pulled chicken. Ethiopian cabbage. Rosemary sweet potatoes. Damn delicious. I will call it a potluck of flavors in a pot. The owner is really great and the different flavors though they might seem uncoordinated they actually go really well together. Be creative and adventurous. They have a restaurant too which I will need to try out now!

Absolutely love this food… I would drive to Portland on a regular basis just to eat these divine foods. Between us we are the chili, Ethiopian cabbage, pulled chicken, collard greens, bacon wrapped dates, mini meatballs, and the bone broth. Holy amazeballs!!! I really appreciate the ‘small, medium, or large’ options… Perfect for a little hungry or a lotta hungry! I cannot wait to come back to try more!

Very cool paleo-​oriented food cart near downtown PDX. Three options for bowl size: small (8 oz), medium (12 oz) and large (16 oz). The price varies by bowl size and bowl type: herbivore, omnivore or carnivore. Once you make your selection, you can choose as many veggies and/​or meats as you’d like. They also offer non-​bowl options too like paleo bars, broth and other options. Pretty cool. Pretty cheap. Pretty tasty.
Now they just need some sort of spicy sauce available to customers.
By the by, this food pod area has absolutely no seating area nearby. Be ready to get your walk on…
Accepts cash and card.
Looks pretty busy around these parts, not sure I would recommend driving. Lots of public transit stops, though.

We really enjoyed our meal here. We’ve been to their food carts and their brick and mortar location. It is nice to order off the menu and know that the ingredients are pure. We prefer to eat paleo a majority of the time and Cultured Caveman is a great place for that. Their meals are really satisfying. Everything has amazing flavors. If you don’t necessary follow the paleo or clean style — don’t rule this place out, give it a try you won’t be disappointed.

This is some of the worst food I’ve ever had in my 50+ years. The Brazilian Pulled Beef, the Sweet Potato Mash and the Broccoli Mash were all bland piles of institutional-​tasting mush.
Eating it brought to mind hospital food back in the 1960s or dishes prepared by a nursing home where residents are abused. It should have been served in a stainless-​steel cafeteria tray.
It’s hard to make anything with bacon taste bad, but the bacon wrapped dates were dried-​out, shriveled brown lumps and not appetizing.
Someone else paid for my food, so at least I didn’t have to pay for this. But I did have to politely finish eating it and silently endure it.
Yuk. Trendy nonsense. A plate of mashed yeast would have been more palatable.

This place rules on so many levels.
1. The dude working in this cart is super nice and very helpful and really quick.
2. The prices are great for what you get.
3. Never go to this cart and NOT order the bacon wrapped dates. For real.
4. The mini meatballs are great.
5. The Brazilian pulled chicken is amazing.
6. The broccoli/​brussels sprouts mash rules hard.
7. Sweet potatoes mash is de-​li-​cious.
8. Did I mention the bacon wrapped dates? FOR REAL.
9. The simplicity of the menu is really great. You can do all veggie, all meat or a mix of both without compromising the price range.
10. The collards with bacon is also pretty stellar.
It’s odd that there aren’t more paleo choices in the downtown area. Having this cart near my office is extremely convenient when I don’t have time to prep my own food. It’s quick, simple and easy healthy foods that doesn’t compromise your wallet or your gut.
Get out of that Voodoo donuts line and head over here.

I don’t have celiacs, I just really love eating paleo. I was so excited to try this out and I was not disappointed. I got the broccoli and brussel sprouts mash with the meatballs. The meatballs were some of the best I’ve ever had. No joke. They were almost gamey, in a good way, and not filled with breadcrumbs and cheese as filler. The mash was yummy, and super comforting.
I desperately wish they had a location in San Francisco, I’d go ALL the time.

Life’s cheap for an herbivore — it’ll run you $ 3, 5, or $ 6 for a heap of veggies for lunch. Hearty, healthy and wallet conscious are my perfect traits for a lunch-​stop food cart.
I sampled a brussel sprout/​broccoli mash-​up, which was yummy but still carried a trace of the distinctive carboniferous sulfur flavor (basically I like my broccoli roasted to nutty delight). Their sweet potatoes were very nicely flavored though. It’s definitely not the most visually appealing lunch, but it is delicious and it ultimately all goes down the same way.
The guy running the cart was also a very friendly dude, and told me if it’s too hard to decide, you can mix and match any/​all of the options to your heart’s content. Just pick veggie, meat or both and he’ll do the rest.

Strolling through the food trucks of Portland, it can feel impossible to make a decision. There are a zillion options and everything sounds delicious. But of all the trucks out there, Cultured Caveman was my favorite.
The food was great. Simple, uncomplicated ingredients that were well seasoned and a welcome relief from all the processed carbs we had been consuming during our travels. They layer it all in compostable to-​go ware, perfect for a meal on the go. I wish I could eat this food every day.

Very glad to have found this gem in a sea of food trucks. After a few days of visiting Portland (drinking a little too much, having one too many «cheat meals,» you know the drill) my body was craving something healthy. We stumbled across Cultured Caveman and I ordered the sweet potato mash topped with Ethiopian cabbage. I was really surprised how great the flavors were and was happy with the portion size. I was also really happy that they allow you to mix two items together.
If you follow the Paleo lifestyle (or even if you are just in the area), I definitely recommend swinging by this cart.

Wow, if I could make paleo food taste this good every time, I would actually consider going paleo! But I love my rice and grains too much…
Anyways, the bf was in town and we explored downtown a bit. Drove past a bunch of food trucks and decided to grab lunch there. I smelled something amazing from the Cultured Caveman, plus I saw them on KATU news a while back and decided to try it out. I had no idea what I was getting myself into and asked what was most popular. The guy said the brussel mash were a huge hit but he was all out of that and the chili wasn’t quite ready…
You can choose between vegetarian, omnivore, or carnivore options to determine your price. I chose omnivore: mashed sweet potatoes and Brazilian pulled chicken. It was delicious!!! The potatoes had almost a buttery taste (although paleo contains no dairy) and the chicken was perfectly seasoned with a mixture of spices and herbs, absolutely incredible! The two items melded well together and was full of flavor! Never thought I’d enjoy «healthy» food so much. The guy was super friendly, extremely patient with my indecisiveness, and helpful in explaining each item.
Next time I’m in the area, will definitely try other menu items! :D

I worked along side this food cart for a while and it was my life line.
— bacon almond dates are yummy and cheap, great for snacking and energy.
— chicken tenders, which are fried in beef tallow (they render themselves) are TO DIE FOR. Easily the best thing on the menu, try it. I bet you’ve never had beef tallow.
— ITs a paleo cart if you haven’t noticed.
— other tasty items I enjoy are the sweet mashed potatoes, meatloaf, and sprouts.
— service is always quick and friendly no matter which location you frequent.
— easy on the pocketbook!
–everything here is local and chemical free so you can eat at ease.
Highly recommended, don’t be afraid, paleo isn’t so bad.

Seriously? A food cart that offers the food I normally (when I am back in Kansas City) always have to make at home no matter what. I did a bit of a double take when I stumbled upon this one. I had just eaten. But I still needed to get food from this cart because well, I could HAVE it; ALL of it. Everything on the menu is gluten-​free/​dairy-​free/​soy-​free.
This time I went with some bacon almond dates, and some bone broth. THAT was the shocker for me. I have never been able to nourish my body with bone broth on trips unless I travel with a slow cooker. This was a great find.
I look forward to heading back, checking out the other locations, and trying more of the menu. The person working was pleasant and helpful. And I felt the food was high quality, and very much what I was needing. Glad to see something like this exists. If only I did not have to travel so far to eat this way.