“La Jarochita’s” variety pleases taste buds

La Jorchita’s food cart’s food is anything but bland, with exciting and different choices that offers a whole new taste in food.

The big red menu boasts a lot of dishes. Each are displayed artfully on a plate. They have a variety of choices for meat, such as: chicken, steak, ground beef, vegetarian, shredded beef, pork and marinated pork. The varieties of drink choices are also very big. Not only do they have the common choices like juice and soda but they also have unusual choices such as guava, coconut and mango juice. I chose the mango, which was pleasantly strange and containing only a small amount of pulp.

The person taking orders spoke both English and Spanish with a strong Latin accent. She was friendly to everyone, but despite the friendly personality, the service was not very good. I recieved my food early, but when I looked around, I noticed a lot of people standing around, waiting for their food. Most of them were there before I had come. My friend ordered right after me, and it took a long time for her to receive her food.

If you’re on a low budget the price ranges from $1.25 to $6.99. The quantity of food they give to their customers is generous. Their burritos are packed full and the taco salad is really big.
The Taco Salad has fresh vegetables such as avocados, lettuce and tomatoes. There was a lot of cheese and sour cream. The taco shell around it seemed to be freshly cooked. The big variety of ingredients in the salad kept me from becoming bored. Even when I was full I didn’t want to stop eating it. I still had some left over for a snack to have later on.

I would rate this food cart a three and a half out of five stars because there were a lot of choices on the menu and the price range was good, but the service is not very fast.
If you like variety and authentic Mexican food then I do recommend you try it. They’ve got something for every person’s taste. La Jorchita is located on 5th Ave. right between Oak and Stark streets in downtown Portland.

-Mirra Hays

“La Jarochita” is a disappointment
Being a fan of Mexican food, La Jarochita succeeded in capturing my attention. It served a wide variety of food such as huevos rancheros, chorizo tacos, quesadillas, fish tacos, tofu burritos, enchiladas and chicken tamales.

The food cart was located amongst the center of a cluster of other food carts, making it easy to access and order food. The outside and inside of the cart had a clean and fresh look to it. The menu was bright and full of colorful options for my meal, having an affordable price range of $1 to $2 for drinks and $1.25 to $5.99 for food. There was also a catering menu available if take-out is desired. The lady at the register was pleasant and attentive, but I could tell that she was in a rush. As soon as I was done paying for the Jarocho Burrito, I noticed that many other costumers seemed to be waiting for their food. It took about 15 minutes for my food to be ready, which irritated me slightly.

When I opened up my warm package, I was introduced to a large, fat burrito wrapped up in a wheat flour tortilla. From the first bite, I was exposed to a flavorful taste of juicy tomatoes, crunchy lettuce, soft onions, melty cheese and chewy beef. I savored the dance of deliciousness in my mouth for a brief few minutes. The second bite was disappointing in comparison to the first one. I tasted several chunks of gross, rubbery fat. The flavors grew blander and blander as I continued to eat the burrito. I tired putting in some of the smooth, green hot sauce, which helped to enhance the taste, and tasted absolutely stupendous, but I eventually ran out of my small portion. When I tried the red hot sauce, the spiciness overwhelmed the flavor of the burrito.

Overall, I would rate La Jarochita a three out of five stars, due to its slow service and low quality of food. However, I would recommend this place for catering for parties, as they do provide a hefty quantity of food. La Jarochita is located on SW 5th Ave in Portland and is open during the day from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Call ahead of time for take-out at 503-421-9838.

-Anna Keil