May 21st, 2011 East Side Delicatessen

East Side Delicatessen

4626 Southeast Hawthorne Boulevard, Portland, OR

(503) 236-7313

http://pdxdeli.com/hawthorne/index.html

Everyday 11 AM – 11 PM

May 21^st, 2011

Ah lazy Sundays. I love them and hate them.  After the workweek I’m completely unmotivated to do anything at all so my days don’t actually start off until later in the afternoon.  Today was no different.  I ended finally putting some laundry in and calling some people to chat and such.  Eventually, I got in touch with my friend Will who was looking to play a little Cribbage and have a drink. This sounded just up my alley since he was starting to get hungry and was interested in doing of a leg of the sando tour with me.  We met up at his place and shared a drink as he showed off his new kitchen set-up, which I was very impressed with. After about two games of him whooping my ass in Cribbage I decided that now would be a good time to get something to eat to appease my hurt ego.  His girlfriend Sarah came out and joined us in our discussion on where we should go. After much debating we decided to embark towards East Side Delicatessen, which was only about a five-minute drive from their Hawthorne Apartment.

We arrive to a small building that had a very simple sign on the roof saying, “Deli”. Obviously we had found the right spot.  As we walked in we all took quick notice of how small it was but how open it felt. The kitchen was a simple set up with nothing fancy but a slicer, toaster, and some lowboy space to keep all their fresh goodies. In the display case directly in front they have all their Boar’s head Meats on show.  We sat down and looked at the laminated menus they have where you use a marker to check off what kind of sando you want. They do an excellent job of making it so you don’t need to talk to the staff behind the counter at all unless you need to stress to them a food allergy.  The thing I love is that you can build your own sando or choose a signature sub. What a great idea.

The three of us sat for a bit all discussing the different combinations we wanted to try or if we were going to get one of the specialty subs.  I went with building my own sando since its one thing I had yet to do on this tour.  I was so hungry and everything sounded really good at that point. I think we were all having that issue. So many choices can sometimes lead to over thinking your sando. But, as they say, sometimes that’s a good problem to have. 

We all finally put in our orders and looked around the shop a bit more just taking in the atmosphere of the place.  It’s really directed at the younger Portland crowd.  I can see it being a hot spot in the summer time with the outside seating right there on Hawthorne though it is further south on the street.  After we received our sando we made our way back to their apartment where we sat down and looked over what we’d got, eager to enjoy.  We all were very pleased with what we ordered, with the exception of a few things I can say it was a good find for all of us.  With a satisfied stomach the taste of defeat was completely washed away from the previous games of Cribbage.  I’ll get you one of these days Will. One of these days….

Rating:

Bread: 

They have good hearty sub rolls that are pretty tasty. My only hang up was the amount of bread you were getting. If the bread amount were decreased slightly it would be absolutely perfect.

4/5

Filling:

I built my own sando with Roast Beef, Swiss, Lettuce, Onion, and Horseradish Mayo. It was quite delicious.  I wasn’t to found of the onions just because they put a little more than I expected and in addition to that they were shaved, which made them extremely potent.  I was also a bit bummed since they put cheese on one half of the sando and not the other.

4/5

Price:

I got the foot long sub at $10.25 so that I’d have something left over for later. What a great deal. I was totally satisfied with just the first half and that alone would have cost $5.50.  You can’t beat the quantity of food for the price.

5/5

Customer Service, Sides, Drink Selection:

The service is great. I’m impressed with their set up of not actually having to deal with the customer at all until they ring you up.  Very smart but can have its drawbacks at times. There are a lot of sides and drinks to be had.

4/5

Over all Rating: 17/20 points

Repeat Visit?

Yes.  They have two other locations downtown and in North Portland. I’d love to check out either one or just head back to the Hawthorne spot. Good cheap eats.