Savvy J’s

A little confusing, other Yeeps mention both N. Greeley and in St. John’s, and I know perfectly well this cart is not currently in either locale. Furthermore, the listed address on Unilocal for this place is 82^nd, but the Savvy J’s I have tried out twice now, is at the Q-​19 food cart…
I keep waiting for the promised Jambalaya and frog legs! I do! It says right on the posted menu, «coming soon». We waitin’ fo’ ya, Savvy J! Pretty please w/​hot sauce on it, make it worth the wait!!!
I absolutely love southern food and cajun in particular, so this place is not a hard sell for a guy like me. The menu is very basic and that is perfectly ok — so long as they continue to deliver a product that I love. I have gotten their catfish on both trips, and both times the fillets were HUGE, worth every penny of the listed price and then some— but they rushed it! the fish wasn’t cooked all the way through! The batter was still perceptibly soggy/​watery. I have personally never experienced that cooking error, before! I think they were simply in a rush to get the product delivered (both times, a new guy was being trained).
Aside from the undercooked catfish/​breading, everything I have tried @ Savvy’s is freakin’ fantastic. I can’t wait to try out their expanded menu, and wish them ongoing success. Despite being a great locale in many respects, Q-​19 seems to be an awfully tough place for a lot of carts to call home (we’ve already said goodbye to the Chilis place, as well as the Philly’s fat omelet and hot dog wagon). We’ll be back soon, to try you on for size again, and wil definitely amend our current rating if its warranted. Salut!

I dropped into Savvy J’s one day when I was seeking out Chili Inside Chili Outside, which was closed. The idea was to grab take out and go home to eat it, but I never even left my parking spot before I dove into my to-​go box.
I opted for the Cajun fish sandwich, which was some sort of wonderful albeit humongous. I could easily be shared between two people. I’m never one to go stir crazy over french fries, but these were some of the best fries I have ever had. Perfectly crunchy and obviously fried in the same oil that all of the rest of the spectacular Cajun food is.
Guilt ridden but fantastic. I hope this cart sticks around.

What can I say, The food is great, the po’boy sandwiches are better then Popeye! If you want some true southern style food, this is the place to be at!

I was looking forward to my first visit to Cartlandia after my daughter had been here previously and had a great experience. There are many carts to choose from and I spent a few minutes before I settled on this one. I ordered the Shrimp po-​boy even though they were charging $ 8.00 for it and hoped for the best.
It felt like I was waiting for quite a while when there was almost no one there. The guy inside the cart was somewhat lacking in the customer skills/​communication department for my tastes.
I grew up on the Texas Gulf Coast and so I have had quite a few «authentic southern shrimp po-​boy sandwiches» in my day. Imagine my chagrin when the sandwich that was eventually brought out to me had grilled (? I think) shrimp. All the ones I’ve had were battered, fried shrimp. To add insult to injury, the sandwich wasn’t nearly as substantial as I was hoping for. Wikipedia agrees with my definition:
A po’ boy (also po-​boy, po boy, or poor boy) is a traditional submarine sandwich from Louisiana. It almost always consists of meat, usually roast, or seafood, usually fried, served on baguette-​like New Orleans French bread, known for its crisp crust yet fluffy center.[1]: Po’ boy — Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia :
For something other than an «authentic southern cooking» kind of sandwich, I don’t think it was all that bad. Sadly it wasn’t anything special or all that much. (It would have been half a sandwich anywhere I frequented in Galveston.) But to tell me this is authentic, southern cooking after charging me what you charged and making me wait as long as I had to wait put this place on the «never again» list. Oh, and by the way, this ain’t no southern hospitality either– the attitude wouldn’t stand out in Manhattan as the worst but it wouldn’t be too far from the bottom. I felt like doing my best imitation of Lloyd Bentsen and help the operator know that southern cooking was a friend of mine and this was no southern cooking but I don’t think he was really looking for any input.

Bread and mac salad straight out of the grocery store. Really beat-​up, sloppy presentation (sauce in a small plastic cup with no lid on it splashing around inside a paper to-​go bag) and just a generally strange experience. Pretty bad. Beware.

This place is good soul food at it’s best. Simple, hearty, cheap, yummy, zesty. Exactly how it should be.
Reminds me of NoLa.
Catfish Po Boys are super good. I need to try them a few more times to decide if they stand up to the real thing. But they are definitely better, cheaper, and more authentic than places like EaT or other trendy places trying to pass for real New Orleans cuisine.
The guys working are awesome.
Cons: I wish they had Gumbo. However, the jolly guy working said he was working on expanding the menu and had family recipes for Gumbo & Jambalaya… maybe my craving for real New Orleans Gumbo could be fulfilled?

I love pulled pork sandwichs. And I love food carts. This was a pretty good experience.
Two of us had the pulled pork wiith chips on the side. The sauce was really tasty (though there was mayo on it so beware) and there was very little to no fat in the meat. It was near perfect. The third hungry stomach had a po’ boy chicken sandwich with tender white meat. But I have to say the standout item from this trip was the fried okra. For $ 3 we got a huge helping of some of the best fried okra I have had since I last visited N.C. We for sure will be going back.

I tried hard to like Savvy J’s and I gave it several chances.
First and foremost the guy is rude. Not a good choice if your food is bad too. The menu has never matched what they actually offer. Every time I ordered there was something listed on the menu that wasn’t actually available. How hard is it to print a temporary menu when the menu is on a plain 8×11 piece of paper? Change it, print it, post it. This is typically when the rudeness surfaces. It’s not my fault you don’t have it together.
The first time I tried their po-​boy and it was alright. Kind of like a lloyds bbq pork tub you get at the supermarket slopped on a bun. Nothing special but edible. In subsequent attempts at patronizing Savvy J’s I tried their wings. Disgusting. The wing parts aren’t separated so even get the tip of the wing typically discarded. I thought hey I guess that’s how they do it down south. But they were some of the worst tasting wings ever. I tired to power through but they went in the trash. The other couple of menu items I tried were also failures. Big time.
Currently there are several food carts there in St. Johns along with Savvy J’s. Every single one of them are head and shoulders above Savvy J’s. Do yourself a favor and hit up a different cart.

I went in with high hopes. Two friends had recently raved about Savvy J’s and I was excited.
The first time I went, I panicked & ordered a tuna melt off the kids menu. It was… a tuna melt. Just like the ones I used to eat as a kid. But less warm & melty.
The second time, I went in prepared. I ordered the chicken po-​boy. It was practically inedible. The bread was terrible. Super stale. The chicken (if, indeed, that’s what it was), was deep-​fried to within an inch of its life, and bore no real resemblance (either to my eyes or my tongue) to any meat product that I’m familiar with.
The potato salad side tasted like it had come out of the Safeway deli case — yesterday.
The only bright spot was the sauce. The sauce was really, really good.
A new menu with daily specials will be rolled out sometime this week (I think ⁹⁄₁₅ is the day), and I might stop back in to try a non-​sandwich offering. But only if the other carts in the St. Johns pod are closed.

Stepping up the cart we wondered? Why all the hype? The cart is covered with articles about the greatness contained within. The cook/​owner seemed a little short on customer service as he kinda glared at us when he asked us what we wanted. This gave me the feeling that there must be something to it. After all, it’s just a man and cart. There is no PR campaign or ads with bikini models to sucker you in.
Then…BOOM!
.The.best.po.boy.i.have.ever.had! The $ 7 monster of a shrimp po-​boy is fan-​freaking-​tastic! The chicken po-​boy? Scrumpdiddlyupmtious! The fries? Potato Champion who? Awesomeness!
Why can’t he just follow me around so that I can order anytime I want?

Damn you… Damn you Savvy J’s for moving 2 freakin blocks from my apt. My diet says damn you too. (They just made the move from N. Greely karts to St Johns.
This guy can make some food… and make that food taste amazing!
I ordered the wings basket. like 7 bucks for wings and fries. But they don’t mention anywhere on the menu that they are wings from a unicorn (gigantic, magical, and taste amazing)! 3 rather large chicken wings, fried with a bit of cornmeal in the flour! The fries are small hand-​cut fries that were heaping and tasty.
It took a bit for the food, but it’s cool because it was hot as hell, they hadn’t been busy and it would give me a chance to check out the other cart offerings in the new pod in St Johns.

Had their tasty and authentic jambalaya, meaning real andouille sausage, crawdads, juicy chicken and the right amount of kick. Served only on Fridays. Please go support these dudes before they take the jambalaya — which is expensive to make and needs to be worth their money and time — off the menu. One of the owners said they weren’t selling it enough.
Oh and the catfish is solid too.

I tried the catfish Po’Boy. Plenty of nicely breaded fish, not too heavy or greasy. Good garnish and a soft and chewy roll. it was very good, but I would have liked some hot sauce to add some kick. Based on my first experience there I will be back to try other items.

Wow, N Killingsworth & N Greeley cart pod is hopping with new carts. So many selections, too bad I only have one belly. I came here on Sunday afternoon and window «carts» shopping. I was not too hungry and very indecisive.
I circled around the pod and my eyes landed on these fine words on Savvy J’s menu «Cajun Chicken Wings with Fries $ 6». Before I knew it, I handed my money to the nice guy inside the cart. He said it would take 10 minutes. I said no problem, it was nice out so I just waited (impatiently).
When I got my chicken wings, I got giddy. When I opened the container box, I was in heaven. Three big pieces of chicken wings with bed of fries. I took a bite and it was delicious. It’s definitely has a kick. It was perfectly seasoned. It was hot, both in temperature and spiciness (think Cajun hot, not Habanero hot).
I shared my meal with my sister and her boyfriend. It filled us up. It’s perfect for snacks for three people or a big meal for one person. I hope Savvy J’s will stick around for a while. I would love to try their other food offerings such as Po’ Boy and Pulled Pork sandwiches. Yummm…