They get two stars for being one of 3 carts open downtown late nights other than Friday and Saturday, and the only one of the 3 serving something I can get in snack sized portions rather than a full meal. That’s it. It’s… oddly inconsistent. It’s like they can’t pick between street tacos/mexican food and gringo mexican food. $ 3 got me two chicken tacos that were street taco like in that they came with cilantro and onions and were tiny enough to make you feel like they should be more like $ 1 – 1.25, and were gringo like in that they came with the bagged finely shredded 4 cheese mexican blend preferred by housewives everywhere on Taco Tuesday. Also, no salsa just jugs of Valentina and Sriracha. Salsa is one of the best measures of a taco shop or cart. Even mediocre mexican food goes down just fine covered in some killer green sauce and a bit o’ habanero salsa. These guys don’t even try. They just hit Costco or something. And who puts Sriracha on mexican food? Honestly now. If either of the other two taco carts opened on Thursday, they would destroy these guys.
John C.
Rating des Ortes: 2 Portland, OR
Open late and the line is usually short. But that’s because it’s just not that great. Flavor is dull and they pad space with cheap lettuce. Good place to get a cheap(5 $) late-night burrito on the run between bars.
Don B.
Rating des Ortes: 2 Portland, OR
Wow. I didn’t think there was another cart phoning it in as hard as El Brasero, but I found it. And it’s Quesadillas El Gallo. Down in the 3rd and Washington cart pod, open late, this shack is serving up super mediocre quesadillas late night for $ 5. I stopped by late on an early-in-the-week night in hopes of some simple late night grub. What I got was a box with straight-from-the-can kidney beans(with a bit of cheese sprinkled on top), the most flavorless Mexican Rice I’ve ever had, and a crappy chicken quesadilla. For $ 5. It was a joke. It made me wish I was drunk. One of the two young men in the cart was super nice to me, there’s where both of these 2 stars go. But I’ve never had a more half-assed meal come from a cart ever.