Step right up, new food cart serves breakfast (and lunch)
Published 12:00 am Thursday, March 5, 2026
Tackle Box Burrito dives into local gastronomic scene
On a rainy Friday at The Lot, Nicholas Moore stepped up to a food cart topped with an all-caps “BREAKFAST BURRITOS” sign and ordered the weekly special, an unnamed burrito with chocolate- and chiles-rubbed and stout-braised brisket, port wine reduction sauce, sharp cheddar cheese and gruyere.
“I love burritos and Mitty’s awesome,” Moore said. “It’s nice to have an option to order to go from a local spot. Supporting each other is more of what we need in this world.”
It took Mitty McVay, who co-owns the Tackle Box Burrito cart with his wife, Rachel Reese, a few minutes to whip up Moore’s breakfast.
Having fled Bend in 2024, the duo started out in Hammond, briefly serving the fishermen and women at the marina during the Buoy 10 fishery. The cart’s name originated in that experience, as do names of all the menu items.
Things really took off when they moved last year first to the Astoria Uppertown Farmers Market and then the Sunday Market.
“That was crazy bonkers busy,” McVay said. “Lines of people for hours!”
A customer mentioned the then-empty spot at the cart pod on the corner of Duane and 11th Streets. Tackle Box has been stationed in the previously long-standing void next to the We Got the Juice Cart, across from the City Hall, since August.
“Astoria is a really great town, I feel really fortunate,” McVay said. During this slower season, he gets to meet and know his patrons — like Moore.
McVay has been working in kitchens since his teens and later got formal training as a mechanic.
He and Reese had met at a kitchen job and previously co-owned an organic vegetable farm.
“We work well together,” said Reese, who manages the business side of Tackle Box and during the busy season also the counter. “For 13 years that I’ve known Mitty he’s always talked about a food cart.”
He adapted and upgraded the cart itself from the one the duo had bought from a friend in Bend (a sticker with the original name, Bob #3, is still affixed above the flat top grill).
Food prep takes place in the commercial kitchen of the nearby Astoria Senior Center, and McVay keeps the menu simple in order to achieve reliable consistency.
“Since I’m the only person in here I can keep it dialed in the whole time and not make myself go crazy,” he said.
The breakfast burritos are all sizable by design, to cover two meals to sustain the fishermen and women throughout their entire day.
McVay’s favorite is The Hammonds, filled with applewood smoked ham, seasoned potatoes, scrambled eggs, cheddar and jack cheeses, caramelized onions, and maple garlic aioli.
“It reminds me of the breakfast sandwich my mom used to make me as a kid, with Miracle Whip, American cheese, ham and egg,” McVay said. “It’s my culinary take on that.”
Among the customers’ favorites (and the priciest item on the menu) is the Wake and Steak, with toasted chilies and coffee rubbed- and Sangria-braised tri-tip steak, seasoned potatoes, scrambled eggs, cheddar and jack cheeses, caramelized onions, roasted poblano pepper chimichurri, and tater tots.
“The burritos taste delicious,” Moore said, walking away with his. “That’s also why I come back.”
If you go
“The Lot” is a food cart pod on 11th and Duane streets
Tackle Box Burrito is located at “The Lot,” a food cart pod at 11th and Duane in Astoria. tackleboxburrito.com
Open from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m., Wednesday through Saturday
For preorders or catering, call 541-415-0724
Specialty burritos include: “Bean Dinghy,” “Tide Burner,” “The Hammonds,” “Harbor Hog” and “Wake and Steak.” Beverages available plus charred tomato salsa, avocado tomatillo salsa and spicy Arbol chile salsa.
Burritos range from $14 to $18 each.
