Portland’s sandwich offerings are a microcosm of the abundance of options that diners face. You can find sandwiches at food carts throughout town, as well as at upscale restaurants. Within these choices, there are sandwiches from nearly every corner of the globe. Here are a few places to get your fix:
BrunchBox: One of downtown’s most celebrated food carts (see any New York Times article on Portland food), BrunchBox’s offerings are outside the box. Their lunch menu reads like something a 9-year-old with munchies would have thought up. It contains burgers such as the YouCanHazCheeseburger, an angus patty slapped between two white-bread grilled cheese sandwiches, and the Redonkadonk, a burger with egg, ham, Spam, bacon and American cheese between the aforementioned grilled-cheese buns. For the more refined palate, there are burgers with pineapple, teriyaki glaze and Swiss cheese (the 5-Oh! Burger) and the Reuben Burger (sauerkraut, Spam, Thousand Island dressing). Moving on from burgers, BrunchBox lets you assemble your own breakfast sandwiches all day.
Southwest Fifth Avenue and Stark Street
Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Saturday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Bunk Sandwiches: Southeast Morrison Street can get pretty barren as you approach the bridge. Besides the bus stops, there really isn’t a lot of pedestrian traffic, except for the persistent line outside Bunk Sandwiches. Bunk is seriously low-key. Food is served on butcher paper on cafeteria trays, customers sit elbow-to-elbow at the vintage counter and there’s never anywhere to sit—the few no-frills tables inside are always packed. Sandwich offerings range from standard subs (a meatball parmigiano hero and a roast beef sandwich with onions and horseradish) to comfort food combinations (beans and cornbread) and catering to the downright foodie (salt cod, mortadella, rabbit gravy, oxtail confit and snails).
621 SE Morrison St.
Monday through Saturday, 8 a.m.¬ to 3 p.m.
Otto’s Sausage Kitchen and Meat Market: Best known for their homemade sausages, fresh hot dogs and old-school butcher feel, Otto’s also has an excellent selection of single beers and one of the most down-to-earth deli counters in town. At $5.75 for their most expensive whole sandwiches, and $3.15 for a half, Otto’s sandwiches are among Portland’s cheapest, and the meat (made in-house) is among the best. There are the usual suspects, such as the BLT and the Reuben, but Otto’s signature sandwich is the Thanksgiving: store-made stuffing, cranberries, mayonnaise, cream cheese, lettuce and melted Swiss cheese with hot turkey. The Orchard ($4.95) is also great, and features hunter’s sausage, Granny Smith apples, Havarti, cream cheese and honey mustard. Most veggie sandwiches feature cheese and mayo, but picky eaters or vegans can make their own. The same family has run Otto’s since the 1920s (they built their current building in 1936), which lends it a distinct charm and old-fashioned Portland vibe.
4138 SE Woodstock Blvd.
Monday through Saturday, 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Meat Cheese Bread: A quieter alternative to Bunk, Meat Cheese Bread toes the line between sandwich shop and restaurant, accurately reflecting trends on menus in Portland’s better-known restaurants. Breakfast offerings are a little more varied than Bunk’s, and include a breakfast burrito, a beautiful steak and egg, bread pudding and a rotating assortment of seasonal jellies. The cold sandwich list invokes other local restaurants with similar flavors. The flank steak sandwich, with blue cheese mayo, pickled onions and vinaigrette, is dubbed the “Park Kitchen,” and northeast barbeque joint Podnah’s is featured in the smoked trout sandwich. The B.L.B. is a case-in-point example of what Meat Cheese Bread is doing. Substituting beets for tomatoes now that tomato season has ended, their seasonal take on the BLT (served with aioli on sourdough) is pretty close to a culinary revelation.
1406 SE Stark St.
Monday through Saturday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Kenny & Zuke’s: Home of Portland’s most revered pastrami, Kenny & Zuke’s, like BrunchBox, has some epic burger offerings. The pastrami burger comes paired with Swiss cheese and, at happy hour, is only $7.50. Their Reuben is among the best in town, and the sliders at happy hour are huge. Kenny & Zuke’s has a full range of sandwiches, soups and homemade bagels. Continuing in the Jewish deli tradition, their blintzes and latkes are also great. Outside of happy hour (weekdays, 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.), sandwiches can be on the pricey side.
1038 SW Stark St.
Monday through Thursday, 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Friday, 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Saturday, 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Sunday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.