Yesterday, Dan, Sonya and I took advantage of one of those stellar Portland deals that's just unacceptable to pass up - $1 draft beers! The place of honor for this doozy of a deal was Lardo sandwich shop, which has three locations in Portland, and we went to the most convenient for us, which is on North Williams Street. Also, let me not forget to mention that they also brought back the Paadee/Langbaan Thai chicken sandwich, so that in itself was a big draw.
Atmosphere:
Set in the heart of North Portland, on North Williams street between Mason and Shaver streets, Lardo North is accessible and has that brand spankin' new feeling. The actual space is combined with Philippe's Bread/Frice Pastry, which is a gorgeous pastry shop that you can hit up after for dessert.
The space itself is long and narrow and seats about 50 people if I had to guesstimate. In addition to traditional tables, there's also lots of bar seating, which is a good option especially if you're eating solo. The no frills service suits well if you're in the mood for casual dining, as you order at the counter, grab one of the long wooden spoons you see above and wait for your sandwiches to be brought to you. You're supposed to bus your dishes after you're done too, which most folks adhere to, except for a few lazy customers who we encountered yesterday.
Food:
Even though their sandwich menu is plentiful and enticing, we knew what we came for and didn't mess around. All three of us ordered the special Chefwich inspired by Paadee/Langbaan and a side of herb fries and those beers I mentioned.
Paadee/Langbaan Thai Chicken Sandwich - There's nothing not to like about this Thai coconut fried curry chicken sandwich, topped with fresh veggies such as bright butter lettuce, pickled slaw, cilantro and basil. It's a sophisticated banh mi that's perfectly filling and a wonderful way to end the week. My favorite aspect was the chicken, which was thick cut, tender and juicy on the inside. While I couldn't get enough of it, the portion was just right, including the meat to fixins ratio.
Herb Fries - While simple, they were cooked perfectly to crunchy bite sized pieces and bejeweled with all sorts of fried herbs such as sage and rosemary among some others. I found myself reaching into the nearly empty container, scraping off those herby bits and devouring each bite.
Lardo Lager - In collaboration with Oakshire Brewing, Lardo launched its special lager just last week and in its honor was offering $1 pints. This deal is simply impossible to refuse so we took advantage. Dan loved the beer and said it was super light, as did Sonya who compared it to a tasty Stella.
Service and Cost:
Since this is an order at the counter kind of place, the service is very straightforward but even having said that, everything was on point. I mentioned that some sloppy customers left their dirty dishes on the table, but the gracious staff quickly helped us clean those up and all was well again.
Costs are expensive for the sandwiches at $11 a pop but super cheap for the beer at $1 and about average for the fries at $4. Overall, another dinner under $30 on a weekend eve isn't too shabby.
3 Mmmms
Lardo - 4090 North Williams, Portland OR 97227
503.841.5373
lardosandwiches.com
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