Chowdah

Get the cheesesteak and you’ll give it 5 stars also. While your at it, sit down and have a beer on the porch! Worth the stop.

The cheesesteak is great, right by a beer garden that shows movies Monday’s and Tuesday’s. Always a good convo with Nic while the food is being prepared. If you like food carts, I recommend it.

1 star because of the customer service. When I asked if Swiss cheese was available, his response was «is it listed on the menu?» A simple yes would have sufficed! I walked by 20 minutes after I ordered and didn’t see anything on the grill so I asked if my meal was ready. His response: «I’ll yell the name when it’s ready» or something short along those lines. Take a look at his responses to the other one star reviews, he could just respond with a simple apology for their bad experience but he chooses sarcastic and rude comments. This guy needs a lesson in Chowdah treat people!

The cheesesteak is the best cheesesteak I’ve ever had. The owner is nice. Also, this truck is located in the best food truck pod in the city.

Best cheese steak ever. Haven’t tried anything else because I just can’t skip getting the cheese steak. I try to be good and only go once a month. The key word try.

I have not eaten at his cart since he left his first location. Chris decided to become slanderous because he apparently didn’t like a response I gave him about social media. That said, I would not recommend his cart because of him. Why he felt we never supported him is beyond me…

With a name like Chowdah you would think soup would be their specialty but honestly I haven’t had a soup there that I like very much. What Ido love from this cart is the Philly cheese steak! Gooey melty cheese, steak, peppers, onions and mushrooms and the salami is a nice addition. I would have never though I would fine such a delicious cheese steak at a soup cart.

My life is still the same, but it’s good chowder.
This was a new take on chowder than I’m used to. The broth was a little thinner with large chunks of clams, bacon and potatoes. I think I prefer a slightly thicker broth, but everyone does their thing. I also enjoyed the cracked pepper. Nice memories of the meal stuck in my teeth.
They had a special sandwich on the menu, but it wasn’t my thing. For some reason I didn’t like the build your own grilled cheese options. Probably just me being persnickety, but I opted out of the grilled cheese this time.
I’d be back if I had a hankering for a good cup of chowder and I was in the area. Great value too.

Best grilled cheese ever. I got today’s special – cheddar and swiss with apple, bacon and tomato on parmesan-​crusted bread – and it was so good I had to head back and tell the sweet guys working there that they rocked my world.

I found the food cart on a list of the best cheesesteaks in Portland and I have to say it didn’t disappoint. I’m a little skeptical about salami and cheese steak but it was seriously one of the best iPad not to mention Clam chowder was fantastic I will definitely be back

We stopped by the food cart pod in St Johns for lunch this afternoon to enjoy a sunny January day. There are several food carts in the pod so we checked the menus and decided on Chowdah. They had two specials and I ordered one, two beef hot dogs with homemade baked beans. The buns on the hot dog were were really good — almost a pretzel consistency and a bit crisp from the grill. The serving of beans was generous and well seasoned. My partner ordered the 7 inch cheesesteak w/​o mushrooms. It was more like 9 inches and it was killer. The meat was tender and moist and the melted cheese was ooey-​gooey. Prices were reasonable for the amount of food we got and it only took about 20 minutes for all this goodness.
We elected to take our food to go but there’s a nice covered and an open-​air seating area. Lots of families, some dogs.
We’ll definitely go back to Chowdah to try more of their menu.

Chris really knows his stuff! I’ve been going here for years for a good hearty cup o chowdah (yeah I am from Massachusetts so we pronounce it like that). Hes form the homeland as well and makes some dank goodness all damn day!
$ 3 for a grilled cheese
$ 5 with soup!
and super seven dollar sandy specials… can’t go wrong here!

Amazing chowder and split pea soup. tasty grilled cheese. Good prices! And an awesome dude that runs it :)

I love this cart!
The Chicken Carbanara sandwich a ($ 7) is so tasty and huge! Lot’s of chicken and bacon, and wonderful bread. I couldn’t say enough! I also ordered a cup of broccoli cheddar soup, and it was hands down, the best I have ever had!
I will try this cart again. Chowder is not my thing, but they have many other options, so check it out!

Worst soup and worst customer service I’ve ever had. Whoever was working there when I came and ordered food with my boyfriend was a total jerk. I believe it was the owner? An older guy with a pony tail. He took my order, and after me took 3 other customers orders who were in line behind me. Every single one of them got their food before me, and the guy handed all of them their food as they came up to grab it. 20 minutes after ordering a grilled cheese and a cup of soup, my name was called and I stood up and walked over. My food was sitting on the counter inside of the food cart next to whoever this guy was working, with his back turned to me hovering over the stove cooking. Not one look back. I think i stood there for a good 30 seconds just staring at him but he was so busy over the stove that he couldnt be bothered with simply handing me my basket of food. I thought he was going to hand me my basket like he did all of the other customers before me, but I had to lean half way into his cart to grab the food.
The grilled cheese was okay. The soup was nasty as hell. I’ve never, ever had such salty and thin broccoli cheddar soup in my life. I mean, I took two bites of the soup and literally could not eat anymore it was so salty.
I’m never coming back here again, because of the incredibly disrespectful man who was working there and the nasty food.

The chowder was perfect. They use red potatoes and not a lot of them. I’m not a fan of clam chowder worth little clam and all potato. It had good chunks of clams, lots of pepper. It was fabulous!
My husband had the philly, and though it wasn’t very big, the ratio of everything was perfect. It’s hard to find a good philly and this one was pretty good.
We’ll be back.

Just to be fair I only had the chowdah, I did not try any of the sandwiches, which I have read are amazing. I really liked the chowder, even though we tried it on a hot day. It was very creamy and had lots of chunks of goodness in it. It almost was too salty, and that could have been from the added bacon. All in all, it was a good chowder and I intend to try a sandwich next time we are in the area.

Moved up to Lombard.

I hate to give a poor review, but if you’re going to be a Chowder cart, please have decent chowder. Really thin, and really salty… and salty is about as nice as I can say about the owner’s attitude. When I decided I wanted to get a drink, I went over to another, friendlier cart.
And yep, I know my chowder. If I can have 10x better chowder from a bar menu (albeit in Pacific City) or a can, I have a tough time not saying something.
Having said that, some of their specialty sandwiches have me willing to go back for a second chance.

First things first: a cup of soup and a grilled cheese with tomato for $ 5? That’s incredible.
But of course, you can’t judge a bargain on price alone. If food tastes cheap, nothing, not even a small price, can justify it. This wasn’t the case here. The mulligatawny soup was really incredible– rice, lentils, coconut milk broth, carrots, onions and granny smith apples combined with spices to create a complex, rich flavor that left me in awe. While the grilled cheese wasn’t the most spectacular grilled cheese I’ve ever tasted, it was still pretty good. The sourdough bread, especially, impressed me.
They always have vegetarian soup and sandwich options– big thumbs up for that.
This food cart is certainly perfect for days when you’re looking for something comfortable, warm, and delicious. I whole heartedly approve.