When I was pregnant, I remember telling my sister-in-law, with great regret, that I wasn’t even able to finish a whole sandwich from East Side Deli.
“You eat an entire sandwich from East Side Deli?!”
Yeah, okay, they’re pretty big sandwiches, but not more than I can handle without mitigating circumstances. I’ve probably had 20 sandwiches in my life, as a quick and happy go-to meal when they were new on Hawthorne, and also when I worked at PSU and they had a (now departed) Park Blocks location.
It’s just a good-ass sandwich, and they give you a ton of veggies. Ever order a veggie sandwich that ends up being about two slices of bread thick? That is NOT an issue here. I get a wheat roll, and it’s always full-to-bursting. (In fact, sometimes they go a little over the top with the jalapenos.) No fake meats are required to make a satisfying meal, but Field Roast is available should you want it.
Veggie sandwich from East Side Deli: photo by Dianne Yee via Flickr
Salads, should you choose them, are also huge. Check out the vegetarian specials, but you can usually pick up some bbq soy curl action.
Three Portland locations, all with a basic menu and their own specials. Make an order online or just head on in. The Hawthorne location has a rock-and-roll blue collar vibe, with all sorts of people cycling through to grab a sandwich and hang out or run. It’s a great one-two punch with the record shop next door, so leave yourself ten extra minutes to paw through the racks.