Where to Find Portland’s Best Sandwiches
The tuna melt at Snappy’s is best enjoyed with some of the deli’s excellent curly fries.
Since chef Tommy Habetz left high-profile restaurant kitchens behind to open Bunk in 2008, Portland has been a nationally significant sandwich city. Sure, we don’t have a signature sandwich like Philadelphia’s cheesesteak or Chicago’s Italian beef, but we do have our own traditions—Korean barbecue on hoagie rolls, housemade charcuterie on ciabatta, vegan versions of classics. And, like our pizza scene, Portland’s sandwich culture often pays homage to other cities’, with our own local spin (see: Sebastiano’s muffuletta made with eggplant). Below, find a deli’s worth of destination sandwiches across the city.
Hot Sandwiches
Bunk: Meatball Parmigiano
buckman
Before his buzzy, family-friendly Pizza Jerk landed in Cully, Habetz was an early pioneer in the trend of fine dining vets turning to lowbrow restaurants. An East Coast transplant who worked with some of New York’s top Italian chefs, it makes sense that his meatball parmigiano would serve as an exemplar of the dish: A pillowy hoagie roll gets just the right amount of toast to act as a protective seal against the subtly sweet, lightly peppery tomato sauce. The meatballs, a blend of ground pork and beef, are always moist and tender, never dry or tough. And molten mozzarella, dotted with char marks from the broiler, stretches hedonistically with each bite, making it worth the risk of a seared palate. —Alex Frane
The immaculate carnitas torta is Güero at its best.
Güero No.1 Tortas: Carnitas
kerns
We love Güero’s whole menu, but we’re convinced the sandwich shop would be a hit even if the only item it sold were its stellar carnitas torta. It’s hard to make a pile of rich ingredients—including juicy Carlton Farms pork, a smear of chile mayo, and slices of creamy avocado—feel balanced, yet Güero accomplishes that with plenty of shredded cabbage, onions, lime, and cilantro atop a crusty, fluffy telera roll. Don’t forget to dab a bit of the house-made orange hot sauce onto each bite. —Katherine Chew Hamilton
Lardo: Korean Pork Shoulder
hosford-abernethy
There was a time that Portland was not so obsessed with eating pigs, when pork belly and shoulder didn’t grace the menu at every sandwich shop in town. That was before the 2010s, when Rick Gencarelli’s Lardo crashed the scene and blew meat-eaters away with its unrestrained, maximalist approach to sandwiches. The main perpetrator of this culinary sea change: the Korean pork shoulder, served on ciabatta with succulent chunks of meat brightened by tangy kimchi, spicy chile mayo, and fresh cilantro. There’s little subtlety, just unrepentant porcine decadence with enough sodium to require two beers (or iced teas). —AF
Even Philly natives swear by the cheesesteak at Moore Food & Co.
Moore Food & Co.: Cheesesteak
Richmond
Ask a Philadelphia transplant where to find the best cheesesteak in Portland, and there’s a damn good chance they’ll point you down an alleyway off SE Division where the Moore Food & Co. cart hides. Owner Tom Amick, a Pennsylvania native, gets fresh Amoroso’s rolls by the case from Philly: The bouncy, spongy buns are the ideal vessel for beef sliced so thin it practically dissolves when it hits the griddle. You’ve got a choice of cheese (American is the standard, apologies to the haters), and can add any combination of peppers, fried onions, and sautéed mushrooms. Though the simplicity of the meat, cheese, and bread is what makes a Philly so special. —AF
We may not be Chicago, but Sammich knows how to make an incredible Italian beef.
Sammich: Chicago Italian Beef
kerns
Long before The Bear brought the Chicago Italian beef to the forefront of the national sandwich conversation, Melissa “Mel” McMillan was providing Windy City realness in the Rose City: ribbons of beef sporting a pickle-briny sprinkling of giardiniera and blistered “sweets” (sweet peppers), all on a sturdy baguette. Pros know to order it dipped (or wet), because the real draw is Sammich’s ultra-flavorful jus; the crunchy contrast and welcome acidity of the giardiniera keep things from getting too soggy or beefy, respectively. Go even further and add some provolone for something between a French dip and an Italian beef. —Brooke Jackson-Glidden
The tuna melt at Snappy’s.
Snappy’s: Tuna Melt
buckman
A good tuna melt is surprisingly hard to find. Often, they come out too sparse of tuna, too soggy, or worse, as hot melted cheese over lukewarm tuna. Not so at Snappy’s, the bodega-themed counter shop itself sandwiched between Kinboshi Ramen and Nong’s Khao Mon Gai on SE Ankeny Street. Snappy’s tuna melt comes on sourdough bread that receives just the right amount of toasting so that the exterior is golden and glossy, securing the filling through each bite. Gooey white cheddar and line-caught Oregon albacore tuna get some textural variety thanks to the inspired addition of potato chips (though they do demand you dig in quickly to avoid the tragedy of soggy crisps). A restrained amount of raw onion, capers, and peppers add just enough bite without overwhelming the fish. It’s comfort food on toast, delicious in summer but even better when the rain comes. —AF
Cold Sandwiches
Fast, affordable, and delicious, the banh mi at Binh Minh are among the city’s best.
Binh Minh Sandwiches: #1 House Special
south tabor
House-baked baguette, cured meats, pickled daikon and carrot, mayo, and jalapeños all harmonize at this unassuming banh mi shop—especially if you double the meat and mayo, which ups the flavor to previously unimaginable heights. The barbecue pork is tender and umami-filled, the silky ham melts in your mouth, and the baguette crumbles into tiny flakes rather than shards, meaning you won’t scrape the delicate roof of your mouth and your banh mi crumbs will be (a little) less obvious post-lunch. —KCH
Laurelhurst Market: T.C.B.
Kerns
The in-house butchery of Laurelhurst Market makes it one of the city’s finest spots for a steak. It also makes it one hell of a sandwich shop—at least during the day. For lunch, the steakhouse layers its own butchered, cured, and smoked meats on bread for takeout orders or leisurely meals on the patio. While it’d be easy to go for flashier sandwiches like the Black Tie (smoked roast beef with truffle aioli), consider the beautiful simplicity of the restaurant’s turkey sandwich: Buttery smoked poultry snuggles up to nicely rendered slabs of bacon, with zucchini pickles, peppery arugula, and a properly sharp white cheddar. But Laurelhurst’s wisest move was sticking to an herbed mayo as the primary condiment to avoid overpowering the flavor of the bird. —BJG
The flank steak sandwich at Meet Cheese Bread is always moist and tender.
Meat Cheese Bread: The Park Kitchen
buckman
The steak sandwich occupies a weird lunchtime high-low purgatory—too tricky to make at home, yet oft-conflated with a greasy cheesesteak. The Park Kitchen at Meat Cheese Bread manages to sidestep that noise by adding its creative edge to a classic. The first thing you taste is a hit of pickled red onion and sherry vinaigrette, followed up by a creamy blue cheese funk with Cobb salad vibes. And all of that goodness surrounds a sandwich overflowing with beautifully seasoned, tender flank steak—not a tough bite to be found—served on house-baked chewy ciabatta with greens for your health. —Michael Novak
Olympia Provisions: Italian Grinder
buckman
If there’s one sandwich I’m picky about, it’s an Italian sub. I need at least two (really three) cured meats, the vegetal tang of some sort of pickle, and some real-deal vinaigrette. Often, the overly fussy sub will induce a serious eye roll, but Olympia Provisions evades the snark by stacking the sandwich with superlative salumi—capicola, salami, and mortadella, specifically—cured right there in Southeast Portland. Complemented by OP’s own pickled peppers and the salty-sharp bite of grana Padano, it’s the most Portland Italian grinder a person can eat within city limits. —BJG
Pasture PDX: The O.G.
King
At Kei Ohdera’s NE sandwich shop, Pasture, the O.G. reigns supreme as a kind of pastrami-ified banh mi. Ohdera and his team brine beef from retired dairy cows for nearly two weeks before giving it a brief smoke that retains its fresh, meaty quality. They slice the pastrami paper-thin and pile it on griddled, aioli-topped ciabatta, the stage for a deliciously messy pile of hazelnut chile-oil-soaked cabbage slaw. A suite of pickled vegetables and a bushel of cilantro brighten it all up, leading to a complex, flavor-packed sandwich. It even inspired us to break down just what makes it so good. —AF
Taste Tickler: The Famous Tickler
irvington
Those looking for an old-school sandwich with all of the flavor and none of the fuss need look no further than Taste Tickler, a Broadway institution since 1971 where generations of customer photos line the walls. Its namesake sandwich layers ham, salami, and pepperoni on a chewy Italian loaf, plus standard fixins’ including tomato, shredded iceberg, provolone, pepperoncini, and a sprinkling of Parmesan. “It’s the closest to a New York bodega sandwich I’ve found in this city,” a former East Coaster friend and trusted food lover claimed. High praise, indeed. —KCH
Vegan and Vegetarian Sandwiches
Sorbu Paninoteca: 5 e 5
cully
Get a taste of the Tuscan coast with this Italian regional street food sandwich (say “chin-kway eh chin-kway”), named because it traditionally consisted of 5 lire worth of bread and 5 lire worth of chickpea flatbread. This sandwich comes on a roll with slices of crisp-chewy chickpea pancake, roasted eggplant, and spicy pickled veggies on the side. Add mozzarella if you’d like, but it’s not a requirement—this panino is full of earthy, bright flavor on its own. —KCH
The muffuletta at Sebastiano’s is more Italy than New Orleans.
Sebastiano’s: Eggplant Muffuletta
sellwood-moreland
Avert your eyes, New Orleanians: This Italian deli makes both meat and vegetarian versions of the muffuletta, and we’d venture to say that the vegetarian version stacked with roasted eggplant and hand-pulled mozzarella is just as good as the meaty one (it’s more Italy than NOLA, anyway). The house-baked fennel seed loaf is chewy and tangy, the mozzarella creamy, and the Calabrian chile aioli offers a whisper of spice—with a smack of fresh greens to brighten everything up. Don’t forget the cannoli. —KCH
The #9 at Devil’s Dill proves you don’t need meat to make a hearty sando.
Devil’s Dill Sandwich Shop: #9
hawthorne
It’s grilled, it’s juicy, it’s cooked medium-rare. This isn’t a steak sandwich—it’s an asparagus sandwich! Devil’s Dill nails asparagus by choosing thicker spears that can hold up to some char while remaining delicate and vibrant green. Paired with sharp blue cheese, creamy-salty cheddar, and tangy tomato jam on airy ciabatta, it’s especially perfect for a sunny picnic. —KCH
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