Touchdown’s

We contacted Touchdown’s super last minute for a party of 125 or so people and she rocked it! The food was great, her daughter came to help and was the sweetest girl with a beautiful smile! We couldn’t be happier. I’m kicking myself for not ordering a meal to go. Pulled pork, macaroni salad (bomb), baked beans… Just down home delicious!

Go there if just for the candied yams. It’s like a steaming bowl of Autumn… incredible.
Wonderful, friendly service and good hearty, real food.

Visited their mobile food cart at NE 6^th & Hassalo today. The pulled pork with spicy sauce was delicious – perfect portion on a toasted bun to give it a nice contrast in texture. Good bark on the pork and perfectly tender. Pretty good slaw to balance the spiciness of the sauce. I’ll go again!

Mediocre over cooked pulled pork… bland over cooked mac n cheese… sides were tiny… kind of pricy …3 stars for the friendly people …

Personality is the lure.
the cart owner is lively and my reasons for trying the food.
I had the BBQ Chicken, side of mac and greens, The chicken and was juicy and the scratch made sauce was on point, mac and cheese needed more salt and the greens were excellent. Cornbread should have been served on the side, the portions are small relative to the price and sides don’t don’t need the extra packaging its wasteful. the food is ok, i can definitely say I’ve had better.

Touchdown’s, I love you.
I stop by a few times a month for an unforgettable lunch package. The two ladies that run the stand are really friendly, and the whole cart is decorated in Duck style. The pulled pork is sweet, juicy, and plentiful… the cornbread is soft, warm and delicious. The mac & cheese is out of this world. If you’re at that food cart pod you must stop by!
My only word of warning is make sure you have nothing taxing to do in the afternoon — you’ll be in a blissful food coma.

Big prices small portions is how I would sum up this place. Nice people but that did not help the ripped off and hungry feeling I felt after being dumb enough to order the fried chicken wings special. 6 drumettes, one small side of greens and a boring piece of bread was not worth 9 dollars. I am not sure if I am more mad at them or mad at myself for not putting a stop to the insanity when I saw it. A small voice inside me said «walk away» but I was taken in by the charms of the people behind the counter.
This place is located in a city block full of food carts, if you crave fried chicken, pulled pork or other southern fare it would be best to walk around the block and see the many other offerings for a much better deal.

It’s OK…
Think BBQ is a little harder for a lunch cart because they do need to charge more for their specialty meat. I had the meat special, pulled pork, chicken, ribs, potatoe salad, and got collard greens extra.
The pulled pork was the best, nice flavor and sauce.
The chicken was over cooked and very dry.
The ribs were OK but heavy on the sauce.
Pototoe salad was good not heavy on the mayo
The collard greens was the best part of the lunch!
For 10.95? I’ll pass on want to Bento 1 and get their meet for 7.00.

Touchdown’s has a lot of potential, but lacks the consistency for it to be a great bbq cart. Yes, the owner does have incredible charisma, charm and can be one hell of a saleswoman, but great personality and customer service alone do not make a great food stand.
The smoked turkey leg is very good and this is coming from a guy who isn’t a big turkey fan. The meat was juicy, smokey and very tender, and was by far my favorite thing I have had there. The pulled pork was good. Not mind blowing, but it was solid. Now I don’t have a problem with just a plain old hamburger bun, but there is something to be said for using something from one of the many killer bakeries we have in town, as good bread can make a good sandwich great.
My only real complaint is the sides and the cost of some of the menu items. The mac and cheese was nothing different than what you would get from a hot case at a grocery store and the same goes for the potato salad. If I’m going to pay $ 3 for a small side of mac and cheese, it better be the real deal and the same goes for potato salad etc. Commitment to make everything on the menu, even sides, quality and home style makes a big difference and could help take Touchdowns from being decent, to being awesome. There is enough competition from other bbq/​southern style carts and restaurants in town that you need to go big, or go home.

Sandra just doin her thang. Come get some real southern flavor. You are not in Arkansas anymore!!! Awesome beans and the best cole slaw eva.

I tried the meat sampler which included BBQ ribs, chicken, sausage, piece of bread and a side of mac and cheese. The sauce was pretty good. It had a nice kick to it. Ribs could have been a bit more tender. Mac and cheese was forgettable. Probably 3.5 stars for the food but round off to a 4 because the proprietor was such a sweet and friendly woman.

I ordered a pulled pork sandwich with cole slaw and baked beans ($ 7.95 on special). Sandra had it ready for me in a few minutes, placing my (geez…third) lunch in a paper bag.
The pork was juicy, flavorful, and wanted to melt on my tongue. It’s not drowned in a BBQ glaze sauce, allowing the customer to further appreciate the meat. Touchdown’s toasts the buns for a nice crunch and gorgeous char on the inside of the bun. The cole slaw was fresh and crunchy, with sweet connotations. I felt like maybe some pepper or purple cabbage was in order to liven the whitish slaw up, but hey, let’s face it, it’s cole slaw. As in a classic pairing with pulled pork. The warm baked beans had a nice consistency, a comforting second side dish.
One note… I saw a microwave in there. I don’t know why, but I frown on the use of microwaves. I barely (if ever) use my own. Yes, I’ll eat virtually any leftover meal cold because I can be a lazy dude who prefers to eat food and write reviews. I guess I prefer the beans heated in a pot on the stove.
I also got a sampling of the mac and cheese. I loved the creaminess, but the pasta felt a bit overdone for me. Touchdown’s has several other side dishes to check out, including cornbread and potato salad.

A few poorly-​organized jottings about Touchdown’s…
1.) This is a place that should have no trouble selling many folks from the get-​go. The lady has mad charisma, and doesn’t mind lettin’ the gents know she’s 58 years young (probably b/​c she knows she’s still looking good, certainly no more than about 35). She’s had this cart here 9 months, and loves being in business there.
2.) Though blessed w/​sundry charms (see above), olé girl was a little scatter-​brained. Granted, it was close to the end of the day for her. I asked for a combo plate to try as many of the meats as possible, and as spicy as she could make it. She then pointed me to the ATM across the street. After returning from Peterson’s a few blocks away, and telling her the closer ATM was all locked up, she said of the ATM, ie, the one she had just directed me to, «Oh, I know— they’re always shut down there, I don’t know why»… ???
3) Related to item #2, when I checked out my boxed up order, I saw that she had made just the ribs. Hey, mis-​communications happen, and if this was the worst thing that happened all day, I knew it was gonna be a friggin’ f-​a-​n-​t-​a-​s-​t-​i-​c day! So I proceeded to (re) order the other meats: the pulled pork and hot link and by all means, pretty-​please «make it hurt, don’t go easy on me» w/​the spice…
4) When I finally got to sample her cooking later on, there was no heat detectable in any of the meat. No sir. This was KC, how sweet it is to be loved by you style. Lots of people love their BBQ this way. My teeth hurt just thinking about it.
5) The sides were, on the whole, the best part of the experience. The mac n cheese was insanely, gooey cheesy; almost soupy it was so generous w/​the queso. The greens were ok; she said she used smoked turkey instead of swine, which is fine by me, though I detected little if any turkey or smoke factor. The yams, which came highly acclaimed, lived up to the love. FINALLY, someone understands the proper ratio of nutmeg and vanilla, etc! Along with Campbell’s, these are the best yams I’ve had in Portland — - and possibly even the best. I have a very limited capacity to enjoy sweets, and this hit the spot perfectly. What can I say, to my way of thinking, yams can be sweet (though I also like em just buttered or w/​a little seasoning sometimes, too), but meat should rarely if ever be…
6) In keeping w/​the Grid-​Iron themed-​nomenclature, I asked the lady if she actually liked football, to which she gave a quizzical expression as though to say, «Boy, from what planet do you come, bringing forth such questions?» she then gave what I thought seemed like a highly impressionistic, stream of consciousness answer about devoting her Sundays entirely (and more than a little grudgingly, if I gauged her response correctly) cooking for the men in the family, who were in charge of the football watchin’ and lovin’…

Most BBQ in Portland sucks, but this is a great cart! I was scared off by the price at first, but like many people, I was drawn in by the pulled pork sample and friendly demeanor of staff.
The pulled pork here is just perfect. It’s the best BBQ I’ve had outside of my hometown of Kansas City! The sides are good too, though they’re a little skimpy on the portions. If the price was a little better, this would be one of my favorite carts! I wish them the best.

This was the best pulled pork I’ve ever had. Girlfriend ate the weird gross sides like beans and yams. I ate the Mac and cheese. Tasted good not great. But the price was a little high. Would definitely eat the pulled pork sandwich on a daily basis.
Based on the reviews, it seems like it’s probably a lot better to get there early when the stuff is fresh. But you don’t see complaints like that about Flogene’s, whose chicken is totally lackluster if it’s not fresh. It’s all about timing. Except for how nice the owner is. She’s awesome!

Finally a BBQ cart I like! I like my sauces with a smokey, sweet flavor and NOT spicy and this fit the bill perfectly.
This is an assuming little cart, in fact, I didn’t even notice it until I was standing in line for a cart next door, when the friendly greetings of the owners to people passing by offering samples, and the appetizing pics of their food drew me in.
Perusing their offerings, my mind was made up when I saw greens offered as a side, so I decided to try the BBQ ribs combo with green and mac. As others have mentioned, the owners are extremely pleasant. I noticed fresh homemade corn biscuits sitting on the counter, and my ribs were actually pulled straight from the oven.
The ribs were moist and tender with just the perfect amount of sauce and came right off the bones. The greens were awesome with a little smoked turkey in the mix. The mac n cheese was okay, but then again I’m not a huge mac-​n-​cheese kinda gal. Next time I’ll opt for the baked beans. The ribs were a decent sized portion and while the sides looked small, if you empty them onto your plate like I did when I was back at work, you will notice its the same as any of other carts plated sides. I think the fact they dont come in huge tubs or a divided container make them seem smaller…
I will mentioned the prices are a couple dollars more than you are used to paying at a cart, but for me, it was worth it, since I just cook for myself, and this is rarely the type of meal I’d cook due to time/​effort/​mess. I hope they stick around through the winter as this is the perfect comfort food type of place on a cold day.

Don’t be fooled. I stopped by after class to grab some food to eat and I was hankering for some good barbecue. Looking at all the offerings around the areas, I was reeled in by the pictures of the mac and cheese, ribs, brisket, and the other sides they had on display. They had a special going for $ 8.95 that day that consisted of a pulled pork sandwich with two sides. Before I had a chance to decide what I wanted, the owner came to the window and greeted me very nicely, offering me a sample of the pulled pork that was in the sandwich that was in the special.
As I took a bite of the pork, I noticed that they had no equipment in their cart to even make a decent rack of ribs, let alone pulled pork.
I didn’t have the heart to say that the pork was mediocre at best, but I decided to go for the special anyway because of the pictures of the macaroni and candied yams that pulled me in in the first place. As I waiting, I saw that they had just pulled out containers that contained the food I ordered, heated it up, packed the sides into tiny, i mean TINY plastic containers, and plopped the pulled pork on the bun that was sitting on a griddle in a poor attempt to make them hot.
Needless to say, I was disappointed. The macaroni and cheese tasted like congealed macaroni and cheese you buy in the store, only worse. The coleslaw had an strong almost wasabi like taste to it and I couldn’t take more than one bite of it before tossing it away. The sandwich itself was mediocre. It reminded me of the sloppy joe’s i used to eat as a kid.
Did I mention it cost $ 8.95 for a container full of disappointment? Even if the food was amazing, the amount of food you get is just way too small. I could get a more satisfying meal at the nearby subway than here.

I’ll add to all of the comments about the owners being friendly. They are totally friendly. It was the friendliness that got my boy and I to stop here. They lured us in with samples of their pulled pork. How could we say no? The pork was tasty. Shredded, smokey, and juicy. It won my boy over. I was more in the mood for noodles. But we always share so I knew I would get some.
He settled for the ribs. While they tasted good, they 1.) were microwaved and 2.) were the smallest portion of BBQ ever. It was 3 tiny ribs (think half to ¾ the size of a normal rib) and a small cup (maybe 4 – 6 oz.) of mac and cheese. I felt terrible for the boy because I knew he would go hungry on this amount of food. After eating the BBQ in about 3 minutes, he ended up going to another cart in this pod to get more food. This isn’t a guy with a big boy appetite, he has never even been able to eat a whole BAS. I felt bad stealing the bite of food that I did because I wanted to try it.
It could be that ribs were just the wrong way to go with this cart. It seems like the reviews of the sandwiches are much better. Overall I just was not impressed. $ 10 at a cart should be enough food for a meal.

First off, the owner’s here are very very nice folks. They offer up friendly service with a genuine smile. I’ve walked past this cart a couple of times not really seen it somehow. I went today, before the lunch rush, and happened upon this little gem.
I grabbed the pulled chicken sandwich that was on special and got 2 sides, cole slaw and mac and cheese. The chicken was moist, perfectly cooked, and covered in a really tasty sauce that, while was branded as the ‘hot’, seemed like it needed a bit more fire to it. However, the flavor was awesome so I could get beyond my need for more burn pretty easily.
The coleslaw was tangy and good. I found it even better to throw it on the sandwich itself to add a bit of tang to the spicy flavored chicken.
The real winner for me was the homemade mac and cheese. I LOVE mac and cheese and this stuff was the real deal. Great cheesy flavor, a few little browned pieces (I like that crunchiness you sometimes get when it’s been baked). It really rounded out the meal and finished it off for me. Heck, I’d go pick up a couple of sides just to eat the mac again. I will certainly be back to sample more stuff from this cart, I haven’t had their collards and corn bread yet. mmmmm

I think there is something to be said about unassuming carts that require you to duck under the awning to order, especially ones with a hokey name. And that is, «damn good.» I’ll try to refrain from puns about scoring 6 points, etc.
BBQ carts downtown have been mostly miss (in fact, pretty much all of them), but this one seemed different. The owner was very friendly, greeting people and asking them sample some of her pulled pork.
I tried to ignore the cart and breeze past, due to the many poor experiences of downtown BBQ, but something drew me in. No smoke, no flame. No incredibly enveloping aroma that (should) come with good BBQ carts, but dammit, I couldn’t resist.
My attempt was almost thwarted by some reveler’s trying to sample the goods, but when I looked up to leave, the owner and I exchanged glances. I knew then I couldn’t go. I didn’t even give it a second thought when she asked me what I wanted: Pulled BBQ pork sandwich combo.
To my surprise, you get THREE sides!!! Coleslaw comes with every meal, and combos get the extra 2. Collard Greens and Mac & Cheese were going to be the barometers of me returning to this cart.
The wait was short and my meal was neatly packaged, which had me worried. But all for naught, it was bomb. Pulled pork sandwich was savory and had the right amount of BBQ sauce. Juicy, tender and moist (that’s what she said); all superb adjectives to describe her work.
The sides themselves were on-​par with the protein, if not better. The mac and cheese and coleslaw sent me in a time warp. They tasted like my first memory of mac & cheese and coleslaw. In a word, they were: proper. The greens were also a standout. They had a deep simmered green flavor, with a hint of pork. Bomb.
I’m already imagining my second outing. I’ll be back to try the ribs and hot links!