Trying to add a payment method? You can do this on the 
QuickTake:
Food correspondent Taylor Goebel came to the Barger Food Carts pod for the arepas, stayed for the fried chicken biscuit sandwich and then returned for the smashburgers and channa bhatura. The Bethel pod recently welcomed an Indian food truck to the mix.
A good food cart pod makes you wish for a hippo-sized stomach. A great one forces you to accept the gut you were given and make a second trip — which is exactly what happened when I hit up the seven-cart lot on Barger Drive.
I heard about the food pod from my Lyft driver a few months after I moved to Eugene. He was from Colombia, so we practiced our Spanish and English on the drive past Autzen Stadium. I told him I was a food reporter (“Escribo sobre comida!”), and he said he loved the food of his home country.
Naturally, I had to ask if he knew of any Colombian eateries in the area.
“¿Tienes recomendaciones?” I asked, my pronunciation begging for a Spanish lesson. “¿Hay comida colombiana cerca de aqui?”
He told me about a food truck called El Sitio in west Eugene’s Bethel neighborhood. He has frequented it several times.
El Sitio co-owner and chef Adriana Monge also grew up in Colombia, where her mother and grandmother taught her how to cook. She and her family opened El Sitio in 2017, serving up empanadas, fried plantains and the star of the menu, arepas. These griddled cornmeal pockets can be stuffed with savory or sweet ingredients. The best ones contain both.
Take El Sitio’s Llanera-style arepa: Layers of shredded chicken, salty melty cheese, bright pico de gallo and avocado are balanced by ripe plantain slices, which sweeten as they fry.
I could have left happy with that arepa. But looking around, I realized I had stumbled upon a gastronomic playground: seven carts spanning at least five countries. Grateful for my stretch pants, I walked up to the next window.
From one arepa to an entire food pod
El Sitio’s arepas are neighbors with another handheld favorite of mine: biscuit sandwiches. Specifically, the biscuit sandwiches (and fried chicken, and gravy, and fresh-squeezed lemonade) at Hey Y’all.
The food cart is Tennessee-owned, if you couldn’t tell by the Tri-Star symbol or the logo’s orange color scheme, a nod to University of Tennessee. In the decades since owner Bill Nave moved to Oregon, he’d never had biscuits and gravy the “right” way. That is, the way his family made it.
“Well, if nobody does it right, then why don’t you do it?” he remembered his wife asking.
“That was kind of how it started,” he said of Hey Y’all.
Hey Y’all’s scratch-made biscuits are done simple and done well: Flaky, golden exterior, all-butter crust. Slap on some fried chicken and hot honey, and you’ve got a taste of the South.
Nave bakes batches throughout the day, so your biscuit won’t ever be more than a few hours old; he never sells day-olds. The weekend promises tempting brunch specials, too, from the biscuit strawberry shortcake to the pecan-crusted chicken with thick-cut French toast.
‘A humble gravel parking lot’
Wherever you are in the world, you’re bound to find flatbread. It’s the all-day dunkable vessel for hummus, cheese, curries, grilled meats, stews – you name it. And at Naan Stop, the Barger pod’s newest cart, there’s a bounty of Indian flatbreads to choose from: Pan-fried and cheese-stuffed paratha, garlic butter-brushed naan, roti.
I went for the bhatura. Similar to fry bread, this deep-fried, golden and puffy saucer is made to be ripped and dipped in Naan Stop’s accompanying chickpea curry. A side of bright mint chutney perks up the north Indian comfort dish. I’m still thinking about the channa: that thick gravy, savory with a touch of heat, perfectly cooked chickpeas, the intense and layered Indian spices I have yet to master in my own kitchen.
I washed down the channa bhatura with Naan Stop’s masala chai. It’s hot, cardamom-forward, milky and sweet.
Sorry stomach, we’re not done: I found my new favorite smashburger at B&B Burgerhouse, right next to Naan Stop. The patties are seasoned and smashed for those frizzled, deeply caramelized edges, with enough fat content to ensure a juicy center. The best of both burger worlds.
While B&B’s patties would be delicious slapped between a bun and nothing else, I ordered mine with house-made jalapeno bacon jam, pepper Jack and cream cheese. It sounds overwhelming, but the sweet-spicy-cheesy combo complements the beef well.
And in this economy, it’s worth pointing out B&B’s prices: For $10, you get a standout burger. For an extra $4, you can make it a meal with fries and a drink.
The Barger pod isn’t short of food options, nor is it short of cart owners singing praises for their neighbors.
Nave told me Eva’s Taquiera had “the best tortas in town.” So I returned to the pod a couple weeks later. Unfortunately, Eva’s had a big torta order that day and sold out — furthering my determination to try the Mexican sandwich — so I opted for a gordita, stuffed to the gills with meat, crumbly cheese, tomato and crisp lettuce. I was deciding between Eva’s steak and pork when they offered a sample of both. The marinated pork won this round. I added green and red salsas to every bite.
I came to Barger for a couple of food carts. What I experienced were nannas who measure from their heart, street markets and kitchens from around the world. I got to taste homestyle cooking straight from the childhoods of these small business owners.
I’ve been to the pod twice. I still need to go back for Eva’s torta and brisket rangoons at B&B. For the mangonada at Fruteria Lalito and Bobablastic’s bubble tea. For Hey Y’all’s gravy, the recipe Nave got from his grandmother, Lucy.
“I really am happy to be a member of this little lot,” Nave said. “I think this is truly a hot little area. For what we get done, with it just being a humble gravel parking lot, there’s some great food here.”
If you go: Barger Food Carts is located at 4190 Barger Drive in Eugene. The gravel lot has a solid number of parking spaces. Grab your food to go or sit at one of a dozen outdoor tables, many of which are under tents. Hours vary by food vendor.
