Tierra del Sol is a Oaxacan restaurant with two locations in Portland, Oregon.[1] Chef-owner Amalia Sierra began operating the business from a food cart at Portland Mercado in 2015. A second location opened in the Montavilla neighborhood in 2020.
The mole amarillo, described by Eater Portland's Brooke Jackson-Glidden as "mild but nuanced, thanks to the addition of hierba santa", has chayote, masa dumplings, and stewed chicken.[9] The mole pipián is green and has jalapeños, pumpkin seeds, and tomatillos. Tierra del Sol uses seeds supplied by the chef's sister in Oaxaca.[8]
The restaurant uses Portland-based Three Sisters Nixtamal for the blue corn tacos; meatless taco varieties include cactus, mushroom, and vegetable stew, with avocado, cilantro, onions, and pico de gallo as toppings.[10] The tlayuda has avocado slices, a black bean spread, cabbage, cilantro, onion, queso Oaxaca, and queso fresco. Suzette Smith of the Portland Mercury said the tlayuda is "massive and comes in a pizza box, along with a suggestion to split it between two".[11]
History
Tierra del Sol's chef is Amalia Sierra, a former social worker who opened her first cart at the Portland Mercado in 2015.[8] In 2020, a second location opened with a similar menu at Rocket Empire Machine, a food hall in the northeast Portland part of the Montavilla neighborhood.[4]
Reception
Menu display, 2022
In May 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Brooke Jackson-Glidden included Tierra del Sol in Eater Portland's list of "The 25 Essential Portland Restaurants Offering Takeout or Delivery Right Now".[2] The website's Waz Wu included the restaurant in a 2021 overview of "Where to Find Tasty Vegan Tacos in Portland".[10] In 2022, Brooke Jackson-Glidden included the mole amarillo in a list of "17 Sick Day Delivery Standbys to Order in Portland".[9] Additionally, she and Nick Woo also included Tierra del Sol in a "Guide to Portland's Most Outstanding Food Carts",[12] and Krista Garcia and Seiji Nanbu included the business in a list of "Portland's 17 Standout Mexican Restaurants and Food Carts". Garcia and Nanbu said the tlayuda made Tierra del Sol a "standout" over other food carts at Portland Mercado and wrote, "It might seem easy to skip the tetelas stuffed with creamy beans and rich Oaxacan moles, though it's not recommended".[13] Nanbu and Nathan Williams included the restaurant in Eater Portland's 2022 list of "22 Outstanding Taco Spots in Greater Portland".[3]
In 2018, Shannon Armour of Willamette Week called the tlayudas "excellent".[5] In 2020, Suzette Smith of the Portland Mercury said of the tlayuda: "It's a beauty to look at and, in practice, sort of like super fresh nachos if there were only one massive chip underneath all the fixins. I loved it, but I should note that it's probably more of a summer dish. Plus, without a meat or veggie stew on top, the tlayuda came off a little dry."[11]
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