La Camel

I had the Kefta Tagine. It was absolutely fantastic! A++ on the main dish.
The bread was just a standard sandwich roll. Not sure what authentic Moroccan bread would be — but I’m sure they could improve in this area. The mint tea was just OK as well, and not much like what I had in Morocco.
I was a tourist in Portland and this was my one shot at a good food truck lunch. I’m so glad I picked it rather one of the ubiquitous gyro/​chinese/​thai places. I like those foods, but wanted something more unusual.

La Camel was one of the best food trucks I have ever been to. I wasn’t very familiar with Moroccan food, but I think now I’m hooked! The food was very flavorful and he offered generous sized portions. He was also very friendly and accommodating. I highly reccomend La Camel to anyone looking for great food at a great price!!!

Synopsis:
La Camel serves Moroccan food with a pan-​Mediterranean twist. Many times, I’ve been to a Moroccan restaurant just to have filo dough, powdered sugar, and ground chicken in multiple permutations. La Camel is different. They sport Moroccan-​meat-​filled sandwiches ($ 7.75−8.75), tanjine dishes ($ 8.75−9.75), a variety of sides (tea, coffee, green salad ($ 2.50 – $ 3.75)), a beautiful-​looking lamb shank (for a budget-​busting $ 12) – and paella ($ 8.50−9), the Spanish classic of consisting of rice, broth, saffron, and seafood or chicken.
We opted for the lamb sandwich and the seafood paella. We were glad we did. The paella was high quality, and had shrimp, scallop, clams, mussels and squid in it. They skimped nowhere and it was a deal at $ 9, as most restaurants will charge you at least twice this amount for the same portion. The lamb in the sandwich was delicious, but the bread was a bit plain and the lettuce was iceberg. The olives were a nice addition, though, adding a hint of the vegetal bitterness to an otherwise boring meat/​bread/​lettuce sandwich.
Scores:
Time: It took us approximately 8 minutes to get our meal. We finished the meal within 25 minutes of ordering.
Value-​3: This isn’t the cheapest cart you find, but for the quality of the food and the preparations we got, we felt we got a solid value.
Gut check at 3pm: We weren’t super stuffed upon finishing our meal, and felt that a snack may be in order. In reality, I was actually good until dinner, which surprised me.
Sustainability-​2: They get a point for using Go Box, but I didn’t see any other indicators that the meat or produces considered sustainability. They served plenty of beef (kefta) which is terrible for the planet, as well as lamb, chicken, and the local fish option of salmon (a meat-​eating fish, so you can’t even win there).
Fear Factor-​4: To be frank, most people are unfamiliar with Moroccan food. Weird words like ‘tanjine’ may freak out the normal eater (it’s a little clay pot that is put in the oven; it keeps things moist. Try it!). But other than that, the cart is cute, decorated nicely, and looks very clean from the outside. You can tell the proprietor takes pride in his work and cart.
Staying Power-​2: The Moroccan experience is usually punctuated with the whole experience of sitting on the floor and having ritualistic hand-​washing and belly dancers. This cart, obviously, lacks this experience (and the requisite premium in food price). If we had it our way, this place would thrive and kick major ass.
But there’s a problem here that is no fault of the cart itself: it’s his neighbors. There are at least eight Middle Eastern food carts around this pod, and three of them are on this street. Our worry about staying power has nothing to do with the quality and offerings of the cart. Our worry has to do with dilution of the brand and the difficulty in distinguishing one’s self from the dime-​a-​dozen, gyro-​slinging, phone-​it-​in carts around La Camel. Moroccan food is North African, not Middle Eastern. But our culturally– and geographically challenged populace probably doesn’t care about that.
But they should. Because Florida and Arizona offer very different cuisines; the same goes for Egypt and Morocco.
Creativity-​4: Adding really good paella to the menu and switching up the sandwich idea affords La Camel some props in the creativity department. Good work on the olives in that sandwich: seriously.

Hands down one of the best food carts in Portland. Delicious, nuanced dishes prepared impeccably every time.

I’ve been here twice now, and it’s been stand-​out both times. The red pepper and chèvre sandwich is a treat for veggies and carnies alike. And the salmon tagine is great. I don’t know why this cart isn’t more crowded; it’s one of the best in the very crowded pod. Don’t miss it!

Glad everyone else loved it, you may too, but I was somewhat disappointed. Like many of the other reviewers I ordered the seafood paella — I miss Spain! — i found it to have more the consistency of risotto, I couldn’t taste the saffron or the white wine touted in the menu description — seemed drowned out by tomato flavour. So more of a tomato risotto with seafood; which isn’t inherently a bad thing — just didn’t quite meet my expectation
I also got the wild salmon tagine which others have reviewed well here, and I was also disappointed. I enjoyed just having a piece of salmon with lemon, but I didn’t taste any interesting Moroccan flavours in the bed of rice & veggies it was on, and the vegetables were dominated by potatoes and cauliflower, which struck me is little bit more Northern European.
However there was nothing really wrong with the food, certainly big enough servings and all that wholesome rice (I think it was brown rice) makes for good comfort food, and filling. But I wish I’d spent my Portland food cart budget on Thai or Indian instead.

Randomly decided to try the Moroccan food truck instead of getting Thai again for the 3^rd time this week. I ordered the lamb sandwich, which was awesome. Totally filling and the yogurt sauce was great too. Make sure to try the mint tea as well!

I had the Lamb Sandwich 3 times now. Wow, no one in Portland can cook that way. It was amazing. Roasted peppers, olives and God knows what else he puts on it. Got to try all the menu, that’s my plan.

Stopped by having no idea what to suspect. This is a fairly new cart to the area, but the descriptions of the dishes sounded delicious, so I gave it a try.
I had the salmon bowl (I forget what the Moroccan word for it is) which was on special. Total with a Pepsi came to $ 11.25; not the cheapest meal I’ve had from the carts, but not the worst either. I took it up to Directors Park and dug in.
This dish is awesome!!! The complex flavors and ingredients work perfectly together to create a unique and delicious taste. The strip of what tasted like fresh salmon was cooked perfectly; flaky, but still juicy. Combined with the lemon rice, garbanzo beans, potatoes, zucchini, and god knows what other delicious ingredients it rocked. So in other words — try the fish.
I can’t wait to come back to La Camel and try another dish!

One of the best Salmon dish I have ever had! This place has got some amazing variety of food and the taste is amazing. One of my go-​to places now.

Truly some of the best cart food I’ve had in Portland! I work downtown and I’ve grown pretty tired of the lunch options. I was so excited to discover this because I haven’t had much experience with Moroccan food. But I still half assumed the vegan option would be sad lentils — not even close! I ordered the vegan/​vegetarian paella and it was fresh, flavorful, complex and comforting while still being healthy! They have several vegan (and meat) options. I can’t wait to try their veg tagine. And their mint tea is the jam! Highly recommended!

What an awesome, affordable food cart addition to the pod on Washington/​Alder!
I’ve been here twice now and have had the chicken wrap and the chicken tajine. Both are delicious, but if I’m going to pick my fave — it’s the wrap. Tajine always tastes a little soggy to me, so not sure why I got it anyway, but it looked so good! i want to come back and try the lamb shank. The paella looks delicious as well. Plus it’s a lot of food — both were under $ 10 and I couldn’t finish either of them. I’ll be back for sure!
My only ‘eh’ is that the Moroccan coffee just tasted like regular coffee. But, it was still tasty (I do like coffee)

I got the Berber Veggie Tajine, the flavors were great however it should have been called the carb tajine since it seems to be all potatoes and rice. Not much in the way of actual vegetables. There were some chopped baby carrots in there but… i was expecting more veggies. Service was friendly, wait was a little longer than expected since I went after the lunch rush but wasn’t too bad.

Moroccon food in PDX. sure lets give that a shot. Now, to be fair I’ve been to Morocco so was curious to see how well it would stand up to the real deal. I got the Kefta meatballs tagine. Quantity was it was a bit less for the price but good enough for lunch. Dish was well made not as good as you would get in Morocco but pretty good all the same. It came with some very fresh bread which is very different from the moroccon flatbread which usually accompanies Tagine but the bread actually worked with the tomato like gravy of the kefta. I was secretly hoping they will serve it in a Tagine pot but obviously thats not possible in a food cart! Will go back to try the couscous sometime.

After my third visit to La Camel food truck, it’s only right that I let people know about the amazingly tasty, freshly cooked while you wait, Moroccan food. The Wild Salmon Tajine, which I ordered for my first visit, comes with saffron rice, olives, root veggies, chick peas, all in a light tomato sauce that is so, so good. It is so tasty that I’ve stuck with it but I will definitely try other dishes. The food, which is served by the friendly owner Karim, is cooked fresh to order — which makes a world of difference! I couldn’t imagine enjoying the superbly cooked salmon as much if it weren’t. The dish is so affordable and having recently moved from NYC, the price is a steal — definitely would be priced three to four times as much there. It’s simply wonderful!

Last Saturday, I wanted to try a cart called «La Camel» on 9^th and Washington which serves Morrocan cuisine. I’ve never had Morrocan cuisine before and the «Kefta Tagine» I had was a pretty good introduction. The tagine was three fried eggs served on top of a stew of tomatoes, onions, herbs and beef meatballs («kefta») with a soft cheese and green olives on top. You also get a whole loaf of sliced bread which you use to sop it all up with! Really amazing!

I’ve tried both the paella and the tajine. The paella is extremely delicious; he’ll give you citrus and a dollop of chili sauce to distribute as you like. It’s difficult to argue with chili and citrus.
The tajine was alright, subtler in flavor.

La Camel was very good even by general restaurant standards, and excellent considering it’s a foodcart. There was an amazing depth and variety of flavor, with large portion sizes at reasonable prices.
The tea was tasty, the owner was friendly, and the service was fast (even though you could tell he put care into cooking it fresh).
I’ll definitely be back!

Amazing flavors in food made fresh and everything made from scratch. Flavorful lamb marinated in the chef’s own blend of spices is to die for! Paellas, tagine, and couscous dishes along with changing specials make this unique in the world of Portland’s food cart scene. The owner/​chef, Karim, is friendly, passionate about good food, and genuinely wants you to enjoy your meal.
I’m happy I work close so I can be a regular customer!

I love working near the carts — There are so many great food options! Welcome to the pod, La Camel. I’m very happy you’re here serving up delicious, comforting, looks relatively healthy Moroccan dishes!
I started to feel a cold coming on today and I was in need of some comforting food. I was on my way to do some damage at 808 Grinds when I stopped to check out the options at La Camel. I went with the Chicken and Couscous ($ 8.75)… Delicious! I really did think about licking my foil container after. The chicken was baked and the couscous accompanied it perfectly. The little bits of cranberry gave me little bits of surprised sweetness. The broth was light and flavorful and honestly tasted like a home cooked meal. It was perfect!
I will definitely be returning to work my way through this menu. The forbidden rice dish and paella caught my eye while I was waiting for my food and about gave me buyers remorse. Until next time!