The Swamp Shack

Fish & chips was superlative… high-​quality fish, nice beer batter & lots of fries. Can’t believe it’s only $ 7 for all this food! The owner was really nice, too.

They have excellent shrimp and grits at the street food congress in Singapore.

Swamp shack is no more. A sausage stand called East Coast is now in its place.

Tried the po boys — shrimp and a spicy fried chicken one from the specials board. I liked both, but the shrimp po boy stood out to me as being pretty near perfect. Light flaky bread buttered and toasted, some kind of creamy sauce (guessing remoulade) and lots of plump sweet shrimp with crisp cornmeal crust. It came with a little side of the jambalaya, which was, I agree with the majority of reviews pretty mediocre.
Dont get me wrong, the fried chicken w hot sauce was also good, but it didn’t stick in my mind and tastebuds as much as the shrimp. I’m dying to go back to try the softshell crab and fried oyster po boys as well as the crawfish boudin balls — I’m not a huge fan of boudin (blood sausage) but it sounds interesting and was only $ 5 I think.
Agree with other reviews that service is pretty apathetic, but I’m looking for good food not a new bff. Apathy’s fine w me. Oh and he has a couple stools set up at the counter — food carts w seating are always appreciated by me.
[9 of 30]

Dang, I wanted this place to be good… The Jambalaya was the worst… just threw it away… The service was about as exciting as meeting a traffic cop… the guy was just not into it… If you are basing you visit on a food show… forget it… go to another one…

Thank you for coming to the SF Street Food Festival 2012. Had the Crawfish Boudin and it totally rocked. I loved how crispy and flavorful the exterior was, then right when you cut through the crust, it’s hot jambalaya rice with crawfish! Yum! Come back soon!

«Bland» is not really a word I expect to use to describe even the worst cajun food, but it’s the only way I can describe the Swamp Shack. I was excited to try the fried chicken – maybe it could top Flogene’s delicious, greasy, well-​seasoned greasebombs – but was rather disappointed when I was served white meat chicken tenders that tasted frozen with a completely flavorless seasoning and no sauce. It was seriously a struggle to eat even a bit of it, it was so lacking in flavor. Trying the oyster po’boy led to the same disappointment, so I’ve decided to cut my losses and avoid this place. I guess I’ll just wait until the next time I can get down to New Orleans and visit Domilise’s or Parkway Bakery to get a good cajun sandwich.

What can I say? I have no clue how this place evaded me all this time. I had it on my list of places, then a bazillion events occurred that distracted me. Finally, when I met a friend for lunch downtown one day, we agreed: eat at Swamp Shack.
It’s not a large menu, with jambalaya, etoufee, po’boys, and beignets being the main attractions. Shrimp and grits may show up as a special.
But holy Shack Bomb. No really, that’s the name of the dish: Shack Bomb. Trey’s jambalaya topped with crawfish etoufee! Dude! $ 10 to basically get two regular menu items on the same plate? Score!
We each got one of those, and my friend also ordered some beignets ($ 4 for eight small beignets).
The jambalaya has alligator sausage. That’d be another item I can check off the list of things to try. Trey knows how to cook some great food! Perfectly cooked jambalaya served as a bed for that etoufee. The crawfish came through, and with each bite, I yearned for more. That etoufee has some body to it, but is not extremely thick.
The portion may be fairly deceptive. It seems small at first glance, but ultimately fills you up. Mission accomplished!
My friend and I agreed that the beignets were just OK. I’m unsure if they were pulled fresh from the fryer, but this time, they were definitely more room-​temperature to the touch when we ate them (only a couple minutes after we got them). Only a large air pocket in the middle of some of these delicacies. I liked Trey’s use of a white paper bag in combining beignets with powdered sugar, then serving the bag.
The Shack Bomb was a big hit, while the beignets are easily fixable in execution. I envy my friend, because he works downtown and can come here for lunch whenever he wants. Check out Swamp Shack ASAP!

I had been curious about this place for a long time. Some food carts are just that. They are carts. This place seems to step it up a level. It is called the Swamp Shack after all. Not that I’ve frequented many swamp shacks, but this has the feeling of a swamp shack. Nice job.
The alligator sausage/​chicken jambalaya ($ 7) caught my eye. I am always weary about the prices on meals at some of these carts. Especially when I haven’t read any Unilocal reviews before going. My friend and I tried to go somewhere else for lunch on this day, but the place was crowded. After walking around aimlessly (as I do) for a while we decided to come over to this cart pod. I wanted something new and came this way. When the portion was handed over to me I thought it wasn’t exactly large and I was a bit disappointed. I needn’t be disappointed. When I took it back to work with me and took off the tin foil on top I realized it was a heaping portion. Heaping. Good word. Use it.
This jambalaya was really good. Had a nice lingering spice to it. Not too spicy, but I like spicy and therefore this might be too spicy for someone who doesn’t like spicy. The chicken was plentiful. The alligator sausage not so plentiful. There might have to 3 or 4 pieces of sausage throughout the dish. I tried to save some of them for the end. For $ 7 you are definitely getting bang for your buck.
Sometimes it is fun to just throw caution to the wind and take a chance. I took a chance on the Swamp Shack and I consider myself to be a better person for it.

Two words, my friend: FRIED CHICKEN! At $ 8, it’s not a steal or anything, but it’s worth every penny. It comes with some perfect corn and mashed potatoes on the side. It’s a ton of food that can last two meals if you want. This is the best fried chicken I’ve had in Portland.

The fried gator and hush puppies were so good. Gator was tender and good flavor. Bread pudding with Creole Creamcheese Ice Cream is a real treat.
Still best fried chicken. Want to get there at least one more time beofre the weather changes.
Trey is very friendly and takes good care of his customers.

I have been a semi-​regular of this food cart for several months now and have tried/​loved almost everything on the menu… Just enough spice to make you forget (for a moment) that it still hasn’t stopped raining.
A lot of folks talk about the jambalaya… meh. I’d rather throw my lunch money at The Shack Bomb, which is jambalaya dressed up with a healthy dose of crawfish étouffée. If you’re looking to change up a boring lunch routine, swing by this place and order the Crabcake Sandwich or the fried crawfish pie… you will not be disappointed!
oh oh, and did I mention the FRIED CHICKEN? All the flavor (and then some) but without the grease. I frequently have coworkers asking me to bring a few extra orders of this fried chicken back to the office.

Oh man! I had been craving this jambalaya for months, seriously. I’m not downtown for lunch very often anymore, and the few times I had stopped by recently it was either closed or had run out of food. Finally, finally, I caught it open last week, so I had the meat-​full jambalaya. Yay! or… not.
First of all, there was no cornbread this time, just a small slice of baguette. Secondly, while the spiciness were still there, I felt like the jambalaya was lacking something. Not as many veggies as before? Missing some key spices? Whatever it was, suddenly there was just way too much rice and nothing to sustain my interest. Pretty disappointing, especially since I had been such a fan of the cart before.

Sorry, haters, I LOVE Swamp Shack!
Due to food allergies, I have a limited menu when I go — which means fried chicken and potatoes without the crayfish gravy.
I could eat this fried chicken ALL FRIGGING DAY. It is one of my favorite lunch spots in the city — without question. This chicken ROCKS.
I cannot speak to the rest of the menu (except the beignets, which are simply ok), but the guy who runs the cart is FABULOUS. Super nice —
We hit Swamp Shack regularly for chicken. Not quite often enough though!

No way, negative reviews, this place has is solid good food.
I’ve had the (meat) jambalaya and the fried catfish and hush puppies and they were amazing. Spot on spice, tons of sausage and chieken bits, perfectly cooked rice, soft hushpuppies, tasty cornmeal breading on the catfish… brings back fond memories of my trips to New Orleans.
Cost isn’t $ 5 but it’s not super high either — I don’t know where people get off saying $ 7 is a ripoff .
Looking forward to trying the beignets and fried chicken.

I always wanted to try their beignets. I admit I was a little disappointed, maybe the thought of having donuts for lunch today raised my expectations too high today (and yes I know they are not really doughnuts and I wasn’t expecting a doughnut). They were very flat and a bit dry, a lot flatter than other beignets I’ve had. $ 3.5 for a bag of powdered sugar – but hell, I know I’ll be back there one day.
I’ve tasted their jambalaya before. It’s good, buy spicy (old age has made me unable to tolerate it, damn you indigestion and double damn to you time!). It’s $ 6.50 for a little paper boat, but size is in the eye of the beholder. I thought it was a little small, but my friend thought it was a large portion. Looking forward to sampling their rice and beans – as long as it isn’t spicy!

This place is a rip off. Being an ex-​pat I wanted to check what Jambalaya was, and asked if it has rice in it. The guy could barely disguise his smirk when replying «it’s a rice dish». Wow, thanks for making me feel welcome.
So I ordered the rice dish and was waiting for the pie to fry when I realised they have two versions of the Jambalaya. One meat and one vegan. The one I had in my hands was the chicken and sausage version. Guess which one I wanted, having been vegetarian for twenty years? Thanks for asking me which of your dishes I wanted.
The prices are also steep, at $ 6.50 for a small portion of rice and beets and carrots and $ 3.50 for one tiny crawfish pie. It tasted ok but his attitude stinks and so do the prices. Why would I choose to eat here and not one of the many much more generous and friendly carts surrounding it? I certainly can’t think of a reason.

It really does look like a wooden shack from the bayous. Come to think of it, if you get on the ride, Pirates of the Carribean at Disneyland. In the beginning of the ride, you’re going through the swamp area during the night time. The restaurant (The Blue Bayou) is on your rightside and on your left you see an old wooden shack. The Swamp Shack looks just like that!
$ 6.50 for an overflowing order of jamabalaya. It was more than I can ask for. Not bad if you’re on the go or have to scarf something down with quickness because all those carbs will definitely fill you up. You might get quite thirsty afterwards though.
A photo or two is soon to come.
The end.

Hmmm. I love cajun cooking. Creole’s got soul if you know what I mean. And as some one who has eaten gumbo, po-​boys and jambalaya in New Orleans I know what the good stuff when I taste it. This is not that good. It’s passable but it’s not true creole. The chicken and sausage jambalaya I had was that warm kind of spicy that leaves your lips tingly for a good 10 minutes after lunch, and that was fine by me. There was the trinity celery, onion and tomato but not in large enough amounts for my taste. Lots of red and green peppers though. I like my jambalaya richer, the rice didn’t thrill me, behind that warm punch of heat the flavor just wasn’t there. I just didn’t like it enough to bother to coming back.

Great décor (see photo) for the whole cajun/​creole menu and I can’t wait for the duck gumbo to arrive on the menu. I wanted the crawfish pies, but he ran out, so jambalaya it was!
For $ 6 I was pretty shocked at how small the serving was, just filling a small paper boat. It was some damn good jambalaya, but I should have been served more. This is the sole reason it’s not four stars, because the food was incredibly delicious.
It definitely adds some great diversity to the block and playing Bön Ivers in at the window added to the cool factor. I just want more food!
They also serve red beans and rice, vegan jambalaya, salad and cajun cream cheese ice cream.