You Say Sandwich, We Say Yeah!

I need to start taking better notes (or start taking some form of notes) to accompany these sandwiches as I am having a hard time remembering what was what and where. Definitely a sandwich had at the office, I have been staring at this sandwich photo for five minutes, examining the quality of the bread to the melange of fillings to wonder what it is and where I got it from. The bread seems of a higher quality than the usual suspects around my office, but the excess of what appears to be slaw and chicken make me wonder if this was something I had ordered for myself. The mystery isn't so much a mystery as it was a mistake. One rainy day I popped into Piknik, a place I keep walking by endless times, but never trying. I was told they had good things, but I should have trusted my chalkboard instincts. I feel like a lot can be discerned from an establishment's sidewalk chalkboard menu, and their daily specials never ever spoke to me. But alas, the soup drew me in, and to go...

Nothing signals gentrification quite like a new cheese shop. Just off of Oakland's popular Telegraph Street on Shattuck Avenue is what appears to be the neighbourhood's first: the Sacred Wheel, established in 2011. Boasting many extremely pricey, locally sourced, and esoteric cheesy treats, the shop also carries all the things you'd want to see on a serious cheese tasting board, little pickles, chutneys, those little wheels of fig pate, olives, and such. I took note of the soft-ripened Bellwether Farms Crescenza, an almond, apricot and fig fruity thing, and a free sample. Just in case a 12-15 dollar hunk of fancy dairy goodness seems steep, thankfully they also have lunch, which is not too pricey at all. For 6 bucks I tried the 1/2 Grilled Cheese Trinity with Tomato and Pabst Blue Ribbon soup. The thinly sliced sourdough and three-cheese sandwich was pretty straight up, but the soup was a heavenly creation indeed. Tangy, lip stinging tomato goodness that balances the grea...

Sandwiches at BUNK are announced by a long, hand-scrawled chalkboard menu, and an even longer lineup outside the door. During lunch-hour, it stretches down the block. The place is loud, crowded, air almost thick with the grease of frying meat, and the sandwiches are messy. Good thing they come on trays lined with butcher paper to catch all the fillings dripping, falling and squishing out the sides of the overstuffed snacks. 621 SE Morrison St, Portland, OR At BUNK I give the thumbs up while Mack MacFarland of PNCA tries to get out of the shot, the Italian cured meats sandwich, the roast poblano chile and pinto bean sandwich and mini Mexico flag with a side of apple coleslaw that did me in at BUNK. -Young Elvis

The best sandwich shops in Portland seem to be under the loving and enthusiastic jurisdiction of the city’s old punk rockers. Of the three sandwich holes I visited, the ethic of each was DIY, unpretentious, and like all Portland food destinations, adored and raved about by all. They each serve up our favourite snack in a different way, with an intensity and a specificity that inspires Portlanders to trek across town for. Meat Cheese Bread offers the most up-turkey sandwiches of all the spots we surveyed, with special additions to the menu like a fine selection of sodas and microbrews, handcrafted chocolates and desert! For lunch! The bright, sunny windows are filled with kids, hipsters and sandwich-seekers of all sorts. 1406 SE Stark St, Portland, OR - - Meat Cheese Bread enthusiasts Namita Wiggers, Curator at the Museum of Contemporary Craft, and daughter Leila, BLB (bacon, lettuce n' beet), Leila and Calder biting the roasted turkey, havarti and bacon. -Young Elvis