Food: Ume Grill food cart in Eugene

            Ume Grill is a teriyaki food cart located on the corner of 19th Avenue and Agate Street in the Fairmont neighborhood, part of the Historic Hayward District. The cart is just that - a silver cart with a circular grill, a prep space, an umbrella, a neon sign in the front and black Asian stools for patrons to sit at the cart's counter. Ume has been setting up shop in the Sun Automotive parking lot right across the street from Prince Puckler's and Eugene City Bakery since 2010.

             I've become a regular in just two short weeks. I knew we've chosen the right food cart to frequent when the owners first greeted me, my husband Brandon and our dog Oscar by commenting on how they always see us walking by them on our way to the park, and they were glad that "the little wiener dog who hops along has decided to stop in." On our first visit when they told me that dogs get a free 'dog bowl' and asked whether Oscar would like a chicken or beef skewer to go with some rice, I marveled at how cool this place was for people and canines alike.

            On my previous visits, I've always ordered the Yaki Bowl which consists of two BBQ Painted Hills beef or Draper Valley chicken teriyaki skewers, two large scoops of white sticky rice, creamy wasabi coleslaw, tsukemono which is Japanese pickled cucumbers and seaweed, ginger and plum sauces, barley iced tea and freshly made coconut cream mochi - all for $7. It's the deal of the century.

            But tonight we have arrived too late, and the ravenous Ume fans have already cleaned them out of rice and beef skewers. It's unusual for them to sell out so early they tell me, but the night before an oven was out in their prep kitchen so they were unable to open as they usually do on Tuesdays, making the crowds come back tonight. We settle for the ciabatta sandwiches with chicken and wasabi coleslaw on bread from Eugene City Bakery across the street. For $7.50, the sandwich comes with the tsukemono pickled cucumber, sauces, barley iced tea and mochi.

I've got my notebook and my barley iced tea. Let's do this.

            I sipped on my roasted barley iced tea while we were waiting for our food, and couldn't help adding an order of roasted edemame to start with. Lightly sauced and finished on the grill, it was sweet and salty. Our food comes and Oscar enjoys his rice and chicken, while we try the ciabatta sandwiches. The bread is soft and chewy like a good ciabatta should be, and it tastes very fresh. I still love my Yaki Bowl, but the ciabatta is good for someone wanting a sandwich experience. I definitely felt more full from the bread than I usually do after visiting Ume, which is one of my favorite things about eating here - feeling satisfied but not weighed down.

The chicken ciabatta sandwich.

            Chatting with the owners Rayton and Helen is the other great thing about Ume besides the food. They are genuinely nice - no fake chit chat or falseness here. Just two people who love serving good, affordable, quality food and getting to know their customers. "Our food cart is a way to connect with people in the neighborhood. It's a labor of love," said Helen Nahoopii.

Ume Grill, 1905 Agate Street, Eugene, OR; (541) 884-2351

Open Tuesday-Saturday, from 5:30-9; Accepts cash, Visa and MasterCard.

www.umegrill.com