CarteBlanche

Update #3 Opening day is set!

carteblanchefoodcart — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 04:28:25 +0000

Our Airstream bundle of joy just passed the official inspection today! Something along the lines of, “you’re good to go” was uttered from the mouth of the health inspector man (thank you, Gerald). What followed in our eyes were images of fireworks, confetti, streamers, balloons, rice thrown in the air, dancing, sunny days, beautiful music, friends and family, delicious food being passed around, our first customers, jubilant gestures, and laughter. After months and months of planning, hurdles aplenty, hard work, and tested patience, we are finally fast approaching THE day. Opening day!

No more suspense. We are opening on Wednesday, March 28th! Now here is where you come in. From Wednesday, March 28th to Sunday, April 1st, we are having a “soft opening.” What is that you ask? For Carte Blanche, it means that you should come to the food cart during service hours (noon to 7pm) during any of the aforementioned days, pay only $5, and taste any/some/all of our dishes! This will be the time when we are practicing firing dishes to order, working out the kinks, improving our speed, etc. Feel free to bring your friends and family.

Our official opening day will be Wednesday April 4th, so if you are unable to make it to our soft opening, we really hope to see you after we are officially open to the public!!

We cannot thank all of you enough for all the support and love we have received over these past several months. This is all for you.

With love,

Carte Blanche

Update #2: Wanna find out when we’re going to open?

carteblanchefoodcart — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 02:31:34 +0000

Sorry it’s been so long! Thank y’all for your patience and continued support. Cart news! Our tentative opening date is….. wait for it…… March 1st! Can you just picture it? Birds singing, flowers on the trees and Carte Blanche in full swing. Of course, this date may change, but it feels like everything is aligning. We’re sure you’re probably saying, “Why the wait — I’m hungry!” So why the delay you ask? Well, that’s just how these things go. You wouldn’t believe how hard Jessie has been working. Her to-do lists are plentiful!

But guess what!? The cart is on site! If you drive by 32nd and Hawthorne you will see her there awaiting a good buffing, some spectacular curtains, and other technical work (electrical — ya know the red and blue wire stuff). It’s really exciting to get to actually stand inside the kitchen and start to make it ours!

Lauren ,Chris, and Brittany have been working on the signs and they will be finished hopefully soon! The main sign ( see photo below) has a lightbox attached to the back so it will be lit, yeah! Lauren and Alli have also been working diligently on the curtains, which we’re really excited about — so excited in fact that we’re not going to unveil them on here. You’re left with only a sneak peek.

Please be patient a little longer! Trust us, we cannot wait either for the cart to finally be open! Until then, drool over the menu, gossip to friends on what will be on the menu next (empanadas? apple pie? avocado yogurt?), spread the word about our opening, and stay tuned for more updates!

Much love,

Lauren and Alli

Update #1: Cart in Progress! (January 4, 2012)

carteblanchefoodcart — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 08:10:34 +0000

Lauren and I visited Michael today (who is fixing up the Airstream), and the cart looks great! He has already painted the interior, installed the flooring, and look — the stove! 2 weeks he says until she’s ready wahoo! I know summer is still months away but just imagine it: a beautiful Portland sunny day, the smell of fresh rosemary, thyme, and basil, perhaps a little kid sitting on the back swing (yep, a swing! on the back of the cart!), licking apricot curry barbecue sauce from fingertips — it will be great.

We also worked on the sign today which meant searching through the sea of paint color options (decision fatigue anyone? “folkstone gray, peppercorn gray, mink gray, black fox gray” etc. etc.), followed by trial runs of the stencil, and then finally started to paint on the sign itself! It should be finished within the next couple of days. Apologies for the cell phone quality photos. – Alli

Opening soon!

carteblanchefoodcart — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 07:45:00 +0000

Hello everyone!

We are hoping to be open by the end of January/early February! We can’t wait to create delicious lip-smacking food for you all, so until then, what follows will be updates on our progress. Thanks so much for all your support