Tierra del Sol
The food cart at Portland Mercado, 2022
Restaurant information
Established2015 (2015)
Owner(s)Amalia Sierra
ChefAmalia Sierra
Food typeOaxacan
Street address
  • 7238 Southeast Foster Rd #1
  • 6935 Northeast Glisan Street
CityPortland
CountyMultnomah
StateOregon
CountryUnited States
Websitetierradelsolpdx.com

Tierra del Sol is a Oaxacan restaurant with two locations in Portland, Oregon.[1] Chef-owner Amalia Sierra began operating the business from a food cart at Portland Mercado in 2015. A second location opened in the Montavilla neighborhood in 2020.

Description

Tacos and a side of rice

Tierra del Sol serves Oaxacan cuisine from a food cart at Portland Mercado, located on Foster Road in the Mt. Scott-Arleta neighborhood. The menu has included enchiladas de amarillo, moles (including amarillo, coloradito, and pipián varieties),[2][3] picaditas,[4] tetelas, tacos, tlayudas,[5] handmade tortillas, rice,[6] and aguas frescas.[7][8]

The mole amarillo, described by Eater Portland's Brooke Jackson-Glidden as "mild but nuanced, thanks to the addition of hierba santa", has chayote, masa dumplings, and stewed chicken.[9] The mole pipián is green and has jalapeños, pumpkin seeds, and tomatillos. Tierra del Sol uses seeds supplied by the chef's sister in Oaxaca.[8]

The restaurant uses Portland-based Three Sisters Nixtamal for the blue corn tacos; meatless taco varieties include cactus, mushroom, and vegetable stew, with avocado, cilantro, onions, and pico de gallo as toppings.[10] The tlayuda has avocado slices, a black bean spread, cabbage, cilantro, onion, queso Oaxaca, and queso fresco. Suzette Smith of the Portland Mercury said the tlayuda is "massive and comes in a pizza box, along with a suggestion to split it between two".[11]

History

Tierra del Sol's chef is Amalia Sierra, a former social worker who opened her first cart at the Portland Mercado in 2015.[8] In 2020, a second location opened with a similar menu at Rocket Empire Machine, a food hall in the northeast Portland part of the Montavilla neighborhood.[4]

Reception

Menu display, 2022

In May 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Brooke Jackson-Glidden included Tierra del Sol in Eater Portland's list of "The 25 Essential Portland Restaurants Offering Takeout or Delivery Right Now".[2] The website's Waz Wu included the restaurant in a 2021 overview of "Where to Find Tasty Vegan Tacos in Portland".[10] In 2022, Brooke Jackson-Glidden included the mole amarillo in a list of "17 Sick Day Delivery Standbys to Order in Portland".[9] Additionally, she and Nick Woo also included Tierra del Sol in a "Guide to Portland's Most Outstanding Food Carts",[12] and Krista Garcia and Seiji Nanbu included the business in a list of "Portland's 17 Standout Mexican Restaurants and Food Carts". Garcia and Nanbu said the tlayuda made Tierra del Sol a "standout" over other food carts at Portland Mercado and wrote, "It might seem easy to skip the tetelas stuffed with creamy beans and rich Oaxacan moles, though it's not recommended".[13] Nanbu and Nathan Williams included the restaurant in Eater Portland's 2022 list of "22 Outstanding Taco Spots in Greater Portland".[3]

In 2018, Shannon Armour of Willamette Week called the tlayudas "excellent".[5] In 2020, Suzette Smith of the Portland Mercury said of the tlayuda: "It's a beauty to look at and, in practice, sort of like super fresh nachos if there were only one massive chip underneath all the fixins. I loved it, but I should note that it's probably more of a summer dish. Plus, without a meat or veggie stew on top, the tlayuda came off a little dry."[11]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Baez, Cristina (2019-04-17). "For This Oaxacan Food Cart Owner, Making Mole Is Nostalgic and Revolutionary". Eater Portland. Retrieved 2022-06-14.
  2. 1 2 Jackson-Glidden, Brooke (2020-04-22). "The 25 Essential Portland Restaurants Offering Takeout or Delivery Right Now". Eater Portland. Archived from the original on 2021-12-24. Retrieved 2022-06-14.
  3. 1 2 Nanbu, Seiji (2015-03-18). "22 Outstanding Taco Spots in Greater Portland". Eater Portland. Archived from the original on 2021-12-24. Retrieved 2022-06-14.
  4. 1 2 Jackson-Glidden, Brooke (2020-08-14). "What to Know About Rocket Empire Machine, The New Montavilla Food Hall". Eater Portland. Archived from the original on 2022-03-09. Retrieved 2022-06-14.
  5. 1 2 Armour, Shannon (2018-03-14). "Portland's Zoiglhaus Brews a Near-Perfect German Style Pilsner". Willamette Week. Archived from the original on 2020-10-20. Retrieved 2022-06-14.
  6. ↑ Hamilton, Katherine Chew; Patail, Marty; Seiler, Margaret; Granillo, Gabriel (2021-02-25). "12 Portland Food Cart Pods with Covered Outdoor Seating". Portland Monthly. Archived from the original on 2022-01-22. Retrieved 2022-06-14.
  7. ↑ "8 things to do in the Portland area this weekend: May 3-5". KGW. May 3, 2019. Archived from the original on 2019-05-04. Retrieved 2022-06-14.
  8. 1 2 3 Hamilton, Katerhine Chew (2021-03-07). "5 Portland Chefs on the Recipes They Learned to Cook from Their Moms and Grandmas". Portland Monthly. Archived from the original on 2021-11-29. Retrieved 2022-06-14.
  9. 1 2 Jackson-Glidden, Brooke (2022-01-05). "17 Sick Day Delivery Standbys to Order in Portland". Eater Portland. Archived from the original on 2022-03-05. Retrieved 2022-06-14.
  10. 1 2 Wu, Waz (2021-05-11). "Where to Find Tasty Vegan Tacos in Portland". Eater Portland. Archived from the original on 2021-11-28. Retrieved 2022-06-14.
  11. 1 2 Smith, Suzette (December 29, 2020). "Takeout Club: Montavilla's Rocket Empire Machine Is a Great Place to Distance-Hang". Portland Mercury. Archived from the original on 2021-08-15. Retrieved 2022-06-14.
  12. ↑ Woo, Nick (2015-06-10). "A Guide to Portland's Most Outstanding Food Carts". Eater Portland. Archived from the original on 2021-09-18. Retrieved 2022-06-14.
  13. ↑ Garcia, Krista (2016-08-26). "Portland's 17 Standout Mexican Restaurants and Food Carts". Eater Portland. Archived from the original on 2021-11-19. Retrieved 2022-06-14.
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