summer sandwiches: hello again to meat cheese bread, goodybe again to portland

1406 Southeast Stark Street, Portland, OR 97214

http://www.meatcheesebread.com/

Two trips to Portland in as many months and I still feel like there's a ton of places there left to explore.  Els and I wrapped up our trip with a quick stop at Meat, Cheese & Bread for some sandwiches for the drive home.  I was going to pick a cold sandwich because I figured that would keep better during the drive, but the guy behind the counter recommended the pulled pork, which is also what my pal Rob rated highly.  How could I say no?  "Pulled Pork: Roasted pork shoulder, grilled broccolini, salsa verde and aioli on a rustic baguette".  The broccolini was a great touch, adding some texture and a somewhat sour contrast to the mushy savoryness of the pulled pork.  The thing is, though, that this sandwich was so wet and greasy that it was pretty soaked through by the time I got around to eating it.  Not that it was a big problem, just that the physical integrity of the sandwich would likely be preserved by eating it soon after it was prepared.  Still tasty later on, just sloppy.  All in all, I got to try some great sandwiches during this visit- maybe not as many as my first trip- but a good number nonetheless.  I didn't go to any food carts, and wish that I had.  But then, I did try a number of non-sandwich options, including some reaaaaally good pizza from Sizzle Pie ("Steve Caballero: vegan pepperoni, seitan italian sausage, green peppers, white onion and shredded daiya mozzarella 'cheese'")  and Hammy's ("Cheeseburger Pizza: ground beef, bacon, tomatoes and onions, topped with yellow mustard"), not to mention the required stop at Voodoo Donuts:

Portland, I'll be back again soon!  Don't eat all the sandwiches before I get back.

RUMBLE AT 24TH AND HAMPSHIRE, PT 4: THE WINNER

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This is the final sandwich in this epic competition, and it was far and away the best: Pal's "home cured and coffee smoked" pulled pork, served with buttermilk slaw, house made pickles and bbq sauce on a poppyseed kaiser roll. The thing that struck me most about this sandwich was how well balanced it was- for a bbq sandwich, none of the flavors were especially strong. I liked this fact- I could taste the tender and smoky flavor of the pork, which was complemented by the sweet flavors of the pickles and bbq sauce, and tangy crunch of the slaw. Even though I love pickles, I normally despise bread and butter pickles. But even though the house made pickles were very sweet like bread and butter pickles, I thought they were perfect in this sandwich. I don't often get pulled pork sandwiches, because they need to be done right- but when they are done right, like this instance, they are fantastic! My only complaint was that this sandwich was on the smaller side, and I would have been happy to eat more.
So now that all of the sandwiches have been accounted for, which shop reigns supreme at the intersection of 24th and Hampshire? Dagwood and Scoops has the advantage of better hours, and a much, much larger menu. Pal's may not necessarily be serving the sandwich you want on a given day, and might not even be open when you want it. Dagwood's does not have these drawbacks, but despite offering creative and appealing sandwiches, their actual product is underwhelming, especially given their prices. So although Pal's offerings are much more limited, I defintely would pick their sandwiches as the superior lunch. WINNER: PAL'S (VICTORY BY BBQ)