In our third year surveying new food carts in Portland, what surprised us most was the diversity of the carts that opened in the past 12 months.

You could pull together a little nonsense poem just from the dishes we sampled in choosing 2013's best new carts: khinkali, palmeni, falafel, momos, kolaches, pupusas, panzanella, chicharrones,

(OK, not the last one). Over two weeks of intensive eating, we encountered flavors from Mauritius,

, Georgia (the country), Belize, Morocco, Russia and the Philippines.

Another year brought changes small and large to the cart scene. More carts set up shop alongside brewpubs or beer shops. Others

of their own. We found some excellent new carts downtown, an area that seemed too full of established carts to welcome new blood

.

Perhaps the most dramatic difference, though, was the uptick in carts using mobile payment devices. For the first time this year, the majority of the carts we visited, more than 40 in all, accepted credit and debit cards, meaning fewer last-minute trips to the ATM.

Megan Sanchez, co-owner of the 3-month-old Guero taco and torta food cart, hands a customer his order.

Some spots on this year's list will likely open full restaurants, just like

) and

) have done. Others might close up shop, like 2011's sorely missed

(2011).

But one thing stays the same: With perhaps 50 carts trying something new each year, narrowing this list to a Top 10 will always be difficult.

The following are our picks for the best new carts of the year, not necessarily in ranked order. And take note: Carts tend to operate with less regular hours than their brick-and-mortar counterparts. Make sure to call before heading out the door

KARGI GOGO



Kargi Gogo's Khachapuri, or Georgian cheese bread, combines sulguni and feta cheese in an attempt "to replicate the salty tang of Georgian village cheese," co-owner Sean Fredericks says.

Sean Fredericks and McKinze Cook have spent the past few months convincing friends and strangers to stuff their suitcases full of spices from Georgia (the country north of Turkey, not the Southern U.S. state), hoping to replicate the dishes they fell in love with while on volunteer assignment with the Peace Corps there from 2010 to 2012.

"Georgian food is both different and familiar, unique but easily accessible," Fredericks says. "It has the heartiness found in many Eastern European cuisines, but also the freshness and flavors you might find in Middle Eastern or Mediterranean cooking."

Start with the khinkali, a tray of plump soupy dumplings stuffed with ground beef, pork, onions and some of those hard-earned spices. You're meant to hold the dumpling by its top, a little nub of hand-twisted dough, then gently nip through the noodle-like wrapping and drink out the soup before chomping through the rest.

Khachapuri, or Georgian cheesy bread, is akin to an Eastern European quesadilla, with a farmhouse-style cheese (a mix of sulguni and feta) rolled in dough and seared until the edges are golden and the fluffy cheese is gooey in the middle. You can round out your order with lobiani, a version of the cheesy bread with savory red beans; the badrijani, garlicky eggplant rolls with hearty pureed walnuts; a simple salad and Borjomi, a downright salty Georgian mineral water.

On Southwest Washington Street between Ninth and Tenth Avenues, 503-489-8432, kargigogo.com





LA SANGUCHERIA



Not long after Big Ass Sandwiches left this spot within shouting distance of Voodoo Doughnut, another cart serving French-fry-topped sandwiches took its place, but this one has a Peruvian flair. Today, La Sangucheria has established a following of its own.

Sanguche, or Peruvian sandwiches, aren't completely novel around these parts --

restaurant on North Williams Avenue has them on the menu and is also worth a stop -- but cart owner Maribel Castaman gets extra marks for her cart's flavorful meats and lively presentations.

The Chicharrón -- not the expected fried pig skin but rather Peruvian-style slices of dry pork loin -- is surrounded by sweet potato chips, red onions, herbal huacatay salsa and cilantro on a soft, crusty banh mi roll. The joys of the saltado sandwich, with its soy-marinated beef, and the grilled chicken version, with its crisp French fries, lie in the soggy mess created when juicy meat and mayo soak into those same rolls.

Corner of Southwest Third Avenue and Ash Street, 503-957-2410, facebook.com/peruvianstylesandwiches





TIFFIN ASHA



The "Studly Spud" dosa from the south Indian-inspired Tiffin Asha, with cinnamon-spiced baby potatoes, tomato chutney and arugula.

Elizabeth Golay was first introduced to the light, bright flavors of southern Indian cuisine by her spouse, whose family hails from the southeastern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.

But Golay, a culinary school grad with stints at top Boston and Seattle restaurants on her résumé, adds a chef's touch to the lovely dosas and colorful chutneys at her three-month-old cart, Tiffin Asha.

Located both geographically and temperamentally close to a Northeast Alberta Street yoga studio, Tiffin Asha is built around the dosa. These subtly sour, fermented rice and dal crepes, their edges like crisp lace, can be ordered plain, stuffed with cinnamon-rich potatoes, or -- my favorite -- with pakora-fried chicken. These spicy shards of white meat are drizzled with cardamom honey, then nestled inside the dosa.

The menu is small and well designed, with the dosas, idli (soft rice cakes) meant for drenching in tamarind-rich sambar, and a series of gratis "gun powders" -- the cart's name for the ground spice mixes meant to be poured into sesame oil.

Where Golay really shows off is at the condiment bar. At the side of the cart, you'll find an array of stunning chutneys, including a traditional coconut, a green mango, a bright green cilantro and "Chandra's peanut," a peanut chutney recipe from Golay's mother-in-law.

1313 N.E. Alberta St., 503-936-7663, tiffinasha.com

GÜERO



The Toda Madre torta from Guero, one of our best new carts for 2013.

When it comes to Mexican sandwiches, my torta touchstone is a bright, open-air sandwich shop and fresh-squeezed juice stand just off Mexico City's massive central Zócalo, or town square. The tortas there were small, no bigger than a slider, and came out super fast, dripping with melted cheese, sliced avocados and spicy marinated pork.

The tortas from Güero, a new cart from the crew behind the Taco the Town bike taco delivery service, are neither small nor particularly fast. But they are delicious.

That starts with the bread. Unlike some Portland tortas, which can be stifled by stale, leaden rolls, Güero's sandwiches are made with fluffy teleras -- flour rolls -- delivered fresh daily from Southeast Portland's Veracruz Bakery.

Owners Megan Sanchez, "a Middle Eastern Latina who learned to cook in France," and Alec Morrison, "a white professional tortilla-maker from New York," toast this bread to a golden crispness and then load it up with either juicy carnitas or a vegan jalapeño huarache topped with avocado, cotija cheese, charred tomatillo aioli, pickled onions, onion, cilantro and lime.

You can also order tacos made with the cart's hand-pressed tortillas, though I haven't been able to make it past the tasty tortas.

Southeast 28th Avenue between Ankeny and Ash streets, 503-593-8846, facebook.com/gueropdx

OKINOSHIMA



Wander the back alleys of any busy Tokyo neighborhood and you might encounter a favorite Japanese street snack, takoyaki -- golden batter formed into balls and

, each hiding a small piece of octopus.

Its not uncommon to see takoyaki at Portland Japanese restaurants, though it's often served as a fleeting special. That's why it's nice to see this dish in its proper home, a nondescript food cart called Okinoshima.

Here, owner Harumi Kawai also serves a bang-up okonomiyaki, or seafood pancake; yakisoba, pan-fried noodles; and recently debuted a summer dish of hiyashi chuka, cold summer noodles garnished with omelet strips, ham, cucumber, tomato and seaweed.

But don't miss the takoyaki, which Kawai garnishes with a Worcestershire-like brown sauce and mayonnaise, then sprinkles on a handful of bonito, the pencil-shaving-like dried tuna flakes. When you lift up the lid, the bonito waves in the wind.

Okinoshima has no sign, phone or website: look for the red Izakaya lantern on Southwest Third Avenue between Stark and Washington streets. (Update: commenter keviniswonderful spots Okinoshima's Facebook page and phone number, 617-504-7081)





LOVE BELIZEAN



Tiffany Love stands in front of her food cart, Love Belizean.

Sure, this is "just" a chicken-and-rice cart. But that didn't stop Nong's Khao Man Gai from taking Portland by storm a few years ago (and earning a

).

If there's a new challenger as queen of Portland chicken carts, it's Tiffany Love, the enthusiastic owner (and

) at Love Belizean. Love takes bone-in chicken, braises it in a mix of spices including garlic and achiote, then roasts the meat until its skin develops a sticky savoriness. Each piece comes in a box with dirty rice, an onion-rich Caribbean salsa, arugula salad, fresh lime and your pick from the rainbow of

Belizean hot sauces.

Love, who developed a passion for this dish while on her honeymoon in Belize, doesn't get too specific about how you garnish your chicken. I prefer to use the citrusy hot sauce as a dressing for the salad and rice, then use the salsa for the chicken, but you can mix and match however you like.

And if you arrive in time, there's often tri tip with roasted red pepper -- it's often sold out by midday -- and you can finish off your meal with a rich pineapple upside-down cake.

Corner of Southwest Sixth Avenue and Columbia Street, 503-752-7333, facebook.com/LoveBelizean

CHEZ DODO



Head east off the southeastern coast of Africa, keep going after you hit Madagascar, and you might run into Mauritius, a tiny island nation best known as the one-time home of the dodo bird.

North Portland's Chez Dodo is, as far as we know, the only restaurant or cart specializing in Mauritian food, a mishmash of cuisines influenced by travelers who made the island a port of call.

Owner Shyam Dausoa opened Chez Dodo last year as an extension of his pre-packaged Mauritian food business. From his breezy cart, Dausoa pan-fries noodles with turmeric, stirs spicy lamb curry and tops elephantine samosas with mint-cilantro chutney and sweet chili sauce for a dish that he promises will "fill a vegan customer's life with excitement and happiness."

There are hints of Africa in Chez Dodo's spices; big helpings of India in the samosas and curries; and hints of China in the noodles and taro fritters, which look strikingly similar to the ones you might pull of a dim sum cart, only fresher.

Corner of North Vancouver Avenue and Fremont Street,

503-284-4575

, facebook.com/chezdodo

THE SUGAR SHOP



Dustin Micheletti and his sons, Jasper and Aram, play outside the Sugar Shop, a Northeast Portland dessert cart.

The name says it all. The Sugar Shop, a dark red cart filled with fresh-baked cookies, cakes and brownies, isn't about subtlety. It's about satisfying your sweet tooth with decadent desserts.

So the signature item here just might be the cookie made from dark chocolate and -- gasp -- bacon. Owners Autumn Burns and Shannon Scully say they put the cookie on the menu as something of a joke, but it has proved too popular to remove. And it's actually good, not as in-your-face as it sounds, with a taste more like a smoky chocolate chip cookie.

You can always ask Burns and Scully what's set to come out of their petite oven. Recently, this gambit paid off with gooey snickerdoodles and salted caramel brownies that cooled in our hands. And though it sounds more like a winter treat, it would be a shame to wait until December to try the cart's chocolatey ice cream made with

S'more Stout beer.

Sandwiched between two other great new carts --

, with its hand-rolled, boiled bagels, and

, a cart that lets you blend your own smoothie using a modified stationary bike -- the Sugar Shop helps place the newish

among the city's destination cart pods.

5221 N.E. Sandy Blvd., 503-998-3518, thesugarshoppdx.com

CHICKPEADX



Ask him why he opened a falafel cart and Yair Maidan might tell you it's because he wanted to "highlight that chickpeas are an important regional crop."

If that sounds about as exciting as sitting through an agriculture department board meeting, just know that Maidan's falafel, made with chickpeas grown in Washington state, is worth staying up for.

Chickpeadx, Maidan's forest-green cart, sports a

and is typically found parked in front of North Portland's recently relocated Homebrew Exchange. The menu is short and simple. Maidan's scratch-made, fried-to-order falafel balls, crunchy and brown on the outside, parsley-green within, are served either on pita, a banh mi roll or in a salad dressed with basil-mint tahini. If you choose the pita or the sandwich, it will come with fried eggplant, thin ribbons of carrot, a tomato-cucumber salad and fantastic tahini. No matter what you order, ask for some of the cart-made amba, or spicy pickled mango sauce. It's wildly addictive.

Chickpeadx is only a month old, but the falafel is already among the best in town, no matter where the chickpeas come from.

6550 N. Interstate Ave., chickpeadx.com

DALO'S



Crisp yet chewy lentil sambusas with green chile-lime sauce from Dalo's, a new cart from the owners of North Portland's Dalo's Ethiopian Kitchen.

Dalo's Ethiopian Kitchen isn't the first restaurant to branch out with a food cart -- Shigezo, the Japanese restaurant, opened the excellent ramen cart,

, for example -- but the North Portland restaurant gets points for nailing their simple, inexpensive cart concept right out of the gate.

There might not be a more satisfying $5 meal in Portland right now than the mixed vegan platter, with its red lentil and split pea stews, called wat, alongside gently sautéed spinach and rolls of injera flatbread as mildly sour as the dosas at Tiffin Asha.

It's only a few months old, but fans have already discovered Dalo's cart. On a recent sunny afternoon, the picnic tables at the brand-new Central Eastside cart pod were full of people eating wat and sambusas, the crisp, chewy Ethiopian-style samosas stuffed with lentils and onions, from Dalo's white boxes.

Corner of Southeast Martin Luther King Boulevard and Washington Street, dalos-kitchen.com



-- Michael Russell