Sandwiches Travel SEA to PDX for Feast Portland

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Welcome to Feast Portland's Sandwich Invitational!

Branden Karow and Ethan Stowell pre-sandwich service

Ethan Stowell showing off his pork belly porchetta sandwich with Bosc pear and onion mostarda (big portion and big flavor)

Molly Moon's cute coffee ice cream sandwich with chocolate cookies (one of the best things I've had from Molly Moon's)

Franklin Barbecue and Podnah Pit's cheesesteak sandwich

The champion: Beast's maple-glazed pork belly with pickled watermelon slaw on a housemade semolina roll

The view of the Sandwich Invitational from my room at the Paramount Hotel

A look inside the room at the Paramount Hotel

Thanks to the Paramount Hotel for hosting me at their fabulous property, perfectly located in the heart of Portland!

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Ready for another reason to be jealous of Portland? (For the record, I still love Seattle.) The lovely little city to the south is currently the site for Feast Portland, a four-day celebration of Oregon bounty that is drawing chefs, farmers, winemakers, distillers, artisans, and attendees from the city and beyond–include some international guests. The long weekend is full of seminars, cooking demos, Grand Tastings, and fabulous winemaker dinners.

The Sandwich Invitational was the opening event, a competition featuring a wide range of sandwich-makers. Among the Portland restaurant representatives, Bunk and Kenny & Zuke’s both showed off their sandwich expertise. From further afield, Aaron Franklin from Franklin Barbecue in Austin and Ace of Cakes personality Duff Goldman from Charm City Cakes in Los Angeles brought their A-games. And two entrants came from Seattle: Ethan Stowell and Branden Karow from Staple & Fancy, and Molly Moon Neitzel from ice cream empire Molly Moon’s, demonstrating that sandwiches can range from savory to sweet.

My biggest challenge, in which I often failed, was trying to take just one bite from each sandwich from the 15 different competitors, as I had a huge dinner immediately after the event. (Stay tuned for that story.) I confess: I kept eating the prime rib that Franklin Barbecue (in collaboration with Podnah’s Pit) used in their addictive cheesesteak sandwich. I wasn’t the only one. That was the best meat at the event. But the best overall sandwich, in my opinion and per the crowd, was Beast’s maple-glazed pork belly with pickled watermelon slaw on a housemade semolina roll, making Naomi Pomeroy the winner of the competition.

Check the slideshow above for a look at the scene, the winning sandwich, the Seattle entries, and more.