Tucked away on an unassuming corner on the south end of Mississippi Ave in Portland, OR is the food cart J’s Cuts & Wraps. Serving soul food out of an old black truck that has seen better days, J’s Cuts has become one of my favorite new carts (they opened up less than 2 years ago). Serving up fried catfish and shrimp, Philly cheesesteaks, Po Boys, smash burgers and more. Also on Sundays they add sides to the menu: Mac & cheese, collard greens and candied yams. Their sides are some of the best in town and everything I’ve had on their menu has been delicious and on point.

From my first visit there last year, I got the catfish and fries. I had heard that this was the thing to get, so I got it and was glad I did! Fried to perfection, seasoned well, you get two huge filets, certainly a good amount of food. Make sure to ask for J’s sauce too! For a white PNW boy, I’ve always loved soul food and catfish in particular. There used to be a Southern food cart at Prost years ago that made killer Po Boys. Also my favorite dish at Bridges cafe (RIP) near my house made the best catfish hash. This was some of the best fried fish I’ve had.

From my visit last Sunday I wanted to try their sides. They make a shrimp BLT that sounded interesting. So I ordered the Shrimp BLT, Mac & Cheese and Collard Greens. First of all, you can tell just by the photo how delicious the Mac & Cheese is. Gooey, delicious, coat-your-stomach type mac here. Legit some of the best I’ve had. It’s a simple dish, and I always judge a restaurant/BBQ joint/food cart on the quality of their Mac. The Collard greens were incredible too! Collards are one of my favorite side dishes. They used smoked turkey in theirs instead of the more traditional pork. The turkey was super smokey and delicious, they had nice big chunks of it in there. There was a nice vinegary tang to the broth. I always drink the broth out of the cup! Will definitely be going back for these dishes more. The shrimp BLT was super yummy. Nice big shrimp patty. Weirdly the flavor of the bacon wasn’t very prominent, maybe uncured bacon would stand up better flavor wise. Still a really great sandwich though. Here’s another photo so you can see the sandwich better

From yesterday. I wanted to try the other side they offer, candied yams. Also I wanted to try their Philly Cheesesteak (Uncle Phil). They give names to all their dishes (Uncle Phil, Big Pun, etc.). Their menu is split into A side and B side so as a musician and vinyl collector I appreciate it. This was kind of a random combo of food, but like I said I wanted to try these two things. The candied yams were good, some of the best I’ve had. Sweet but not cloying like some can be. In general I favor savory over sweet, so I will generally choose collards and mac over candied yams but I’m glad I tried them. The Philly cheesesteak was on point. Real classic, nicely executed. Thinly sliced steak, onions, mushrooms, bell peppers & provolone cheese. Not trying to reinvent the wheel here, just serving up the classic Philly that you want. Highly recommend J’s Cut & Wraps, especially on a Sunday! Open from Wednesday-Sunday 12-6. Happy eating!