017: Snack Sunday, or Otherside Deli

This week, your gal pals ventured off peninsula in Portland, way out to Veranda Street off of outer Washington Ave, to check out Otherside Deli, and, holy hell. It was worth the trip. The best part? They also have a location on Vaughn St. in the West End, so for those of you who never leave the peninsula, you don’t have to.

Otherside makes as much of their own products as possible, and they’re so much more then just a deli. They have a case of incredible smoked and cured meats, and they make it all themselves. You can grab a meal to-go from their freezer, like a meat lasagna, and know that every aspect of that meal was made there, from the pasta to the sauce to the sausage in the dish. They also had stocks and pates in the cases, along with wines that you know pair well. These food fan girls just may be in love.

We were lucky enough to chat with Pete, their owner for a few minutes while we waited for our order to be ready. He shared with us that not only do they have the two locations on Veranda St. and Vaughn St., but they’re also opening a diner very soon on Washington Ave, about a half a mile up from the Veranda Street location. The diner will serve traditional diner food, with Greek influences, and we’re super excited to check it out. Pete also told us that they’re looking for help in the delis, so if you’re a cook in the Portland area, go say hi and tell Pete we sent you.

Now, onto the food. Pete offered to make us a lunch, and we happily accepted. He sent us home with two sides, their brussels sprouts, which we ate in the car with our fingers before we were even two miles down the road on our weedventure, and their fried pickles with garlic aioli. The pickles were made with what were obvious in-house sour pickles, lightly fried in a corn meal batter, and they were amazing.

When we got back to the bed to record, we settled into some sandwiches, and dear lord, we were both so happy. Riley’s warm Italian sandwich disappeared before Kelsea could even promo all our sponsors. Kelsea’s Bahn Mi was perfectly balanced on the exact right kind of French baguette, and the live pate was rich, as was the pork belly, but the spice of the jalepenos and the sour of the slaw made it easily devourable. In fact, so devourable that we realized we didn’t get pictures before they were gone. Oops.

We rounded our little picnic lunch out with a couple of cookies - we chose Snickerdoodle for Kelsea and oatmeal for Riley, which was an act of pure will, considering there was also a chocolate chip cookie option. The Snickerdoodle was chewy and buttery, and did that thing it’s supposed to do where it makes you suck in your cheeks a little with how good it is. The oatmeal cookie was lacey and chewy at the same time, which is a hard feat to achieve.

Portland locals, please make sure you take the time to check out Otherside Deli at any of their locations. You can be totally assured that your food will be prepared with love and care and attention to detail, and it tastes like it. If you’re not from here, but are planning a cannabis and culinary adventure, please put Otherside on your list. In addition to all of this amazingness, they also offer incredible breakfasts, including house smoked salmon bagels, and homemade doughnuts on the weekends.