Deepak Saxena can still recall the events of a rainy Thursday afternoon in April 2015, when he slid open the counter window of his food cart, Desi PDX, for the first time.

“It was mostly a lot of my friends who were coming by to try the food,” he said.
 

Now, almost a decade later, customers are still lining up for Saxena’s take on Indian-American comfort foods, like the crispy chai cardamom chicken wings, which have been a staple since day one.

A self-described, self-taught culinary enthusiast, Saxena first dabbled with cooking in his 20s. 

But it would be nearly 17 years after working in the tech industry, when Saxena finally took a leap of faith and quit his day job, choosing instead to focus on nurturing his culinary hobby.

Now with two locations, Desi PDX brings a modern take on traditional Indian fare to Portland’s competitive culinary scene. Best-sellers include the tea brined, tea stained and deep fried cardamom chai tea chicken wings, and butter chicken katsu plate. Saxena is one of many talented chefs driving innovation in Portland’s culinary scene, as restaurants embrace high-end Southeast Asian cuisine and foodies welcome the opportunity to explore culture through taste buds.

“For me, cooking is really about using the flavours that I grew up eating; I consider myself a bit of a cultural mutt,” said Indian-born Saxena, noting that he grew up in Africa, lived in Mozambique and then Brazil, before moving to the U.S. as a child. “My food is really an exploration of that, to these ancestral connections. Food is very much about community and bringing people together.”

In 2022, Saxena expanded his footprint in Portland with his first brick and mortar restaurant, Masala Lab. Open for breakfast and brunch, the restaurant menu spotlights American breakfast favourites with an Indian twist—think pakora waffles served with homemade chutney and smoked yogurt, or a chaat hash with lime pickled greens, curried shrimp grits, and lentil fritters in a mushroom gravy (a genius take on biscuits and gravy). 

At both restaurants, Saxena’s food is a playful exploration of Indian cuisine. “It’s local fare with Indian flair,” he says. “There’s this idea that Indian food is eight dishes that you get at the buffet, and I’m looking to challenge that.”

Recently, Saxena partnered with a few other Portland chefs to launch a brand new concept called Bar Asha, which highlights small plates of South Asian fare and curated cocktails. This new endeavor is symbolic of the exciting and collaborative energy within Portland’s diverse culinary scene.