I’ve been following Cultured Caveman food cart for a long time, yet hadn’t eaten at any of their three food carts. I like the idea of paleo cuisine and some of their offerings sounded tasty. They launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds for their upcoming brick-and-mortar opening, and I enthusiastically promoted it to my social networks. I was overjoyed when they went over their goal with just hours left on Friday. I myself chipped in at the level where I’ll get a paleo cooking class with co-owner Heather Hunter.

I finally stopped in today to try the food. Heather was working the cart at Alberta and NE 15th. It was a foul-weather day with few people out at noon, unlike the nice-weather, record-setting days they’ve had recently.

Heather and co-owner Joe Ban were fun to promote — their video for Kickstarter was fun and it felt good to help out young entrepreneurs. They previously funded their carts via Kickstarter as well. Joe might be the model for the caveman painting on the cart. Both are good advertisements for a paleo diet and exercise.

Their paleo offerings have no dairy, soy or gluten. They are made only from ingredients that could be hunted or gathered. Heather sources her ingredients from organic and local suppliers.

I said hi to Heather and ordered the paleo chicken tenders and the warm collards with bacon. They made a nice lunch. The chicken tenders are made from Draper Valley chicken breast, coated in organic coconut flour and egg, with a little garlic powder and sea salt. They are fried in 100% grass-fed beef tallow and served with a southwestern aioli. This is what chicken nuggets SHOULD be. The collard greens packed a lot of nutrients. The sources and nutrition for each dish are included on their web site. I felt good after having that lunch.

Their restaurant will be a casual dining/counter service establishment in the Kenton neighborhood of Portland. My Kickstarter donation entitles me to attend their soft opening, so I’m looking forward to that this summer.