Posted on Jun 24, 2023
James Beard Award-winning All the Homies Network showcases Portland BIPOC food creators
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When food cart owner Richard Văn Lê first moved to Portland, there wasn’t much representation in terms of Vietnamese food.
He said most restaurants west of 82nd Avenue primarily sold mainstays like phở and bánh mì. But since then, he’s seen the city’s food scene diversify.
“Portland five years ago, when I first got here, was very different than the Portland I live in now,” he said. “My day-to-day interactions are mainly with people of color now.”
At his food cart, Lê serves a variety of Vietnamese American dishes inspired by the meals his mother, grandmother and aunt used to make.
Its name, Matta, is his mother’s saint name, which was included on her tombstone.
“Without the women in my life, I wouldn’t be in this position that I am now,” Lê said. “Those three women in my life were, essentially, the foundation for what Matta is now.”
Lê is also a part of the All the Homies Network, a collective that documents a handful of Portland’s BIPOC food business owners through a variety of video content.
He said most restaurants west of 82nd Avenue primarily sold mainstays like phở and bánh mì. But since then, he’s seen the city’s food scene diversify.
“Portland five years ago, when I first got here, was very different than the Portland I live in now,” he said. “My day-to-day interactions are mainly with people of color now.”
At his food cart, Lê serves a variety of Vietnamese American dishes inspired by the meals his mother, grandmother and aunt used to make.
Its name, Matta, is his mother’s saint name, which was included on her tombstone.
“Without the women in my life, I wouldn’t be in this position that I am now,” Lê said. “Those three women in my life were, essentially, the foundation for what Matta is now.”
Lê is also a part of the All the Homies Network, a collective that documents a handful of Portland’s BIPOC food business owners through a variety of video content.
James Beard Award-winning All the Homies Network showcases Portland BIPOC food creators
Posted from opb.org
Portland
Food/Chow
Restaurants
Awards
Posted 12 mo ago
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."“I still get kind of emotional thinking about it,” Lê said. “The fact that we won this award on the fact that we were just being authentic showed a lot.”
That authenticity, Lê said, is key to the network’s mission and appeal.
“We just have this really cool, eclectic group of people,” he said. “We’re all just BIPOC folks who feel that if we’re going to really change the optics and the perspective of Portland, then as a collective, we should be doing that together.”
The rest of the “homies” include Lê's business partner, Sophia Sanchez; Ian Williams of Deadstock Coffee; Lisa Nguyen of Heyday; Kim Dam of Portland Cà Phê; and Ethan and Geri Leung of Baon Kainan."
..."“I still get kind of emotional thinking about it,” Lê said. “The fact that we won this award on the fact that we were just being authentic showed a lot.”
That authenticity, Lê said, is key to the network’s mission and appeal.
“We just have this really cool, eclectic group of people,” he said. “We’re all just BIPOC folks who feel that if we’re going to really change the optics and the perspective of Portland, then as a collective, we should be doing that together.”
The rest of the “homies” include Lê's business partner, Sophia Sanchez; Ian Williams of Deadstock Coffee; Lisa Nguyen of Heyday; Kim Dam of Portland Cà Phê; and Ethan and Geri Leung of Baon Kainan."
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