Friday, August 12, 2011

Big-Ass Sandwiches

(NOTE: Big-Ass Sandwiches has moved to SE 2nd and Oak)

(Third Review -- December 2012)
(Second Review -- March 2012)

Big-Ass Sandwiches, located on the corner of SW 3rd Ave. and Ash St., serves huge sandwiches, complete with fries IN the sandwich. They are arguably one of Portland's most popular food carts.

2011 photo when still located near SW 3rd and Ash (Old Town)

A few months ago, they were picked to represent Portland in San Francisco's Street Food Festival (taking place on August 20). They are open seven days a week for lunch (roughly 11 am to 5 pm on weekdays and 12 pm to 4 pm on weekends), and they are also open late at night on Fridays and Saturdays (11 pm to 3 am). (NOTE: Hours may have changed since)


Menu


I had been wanting to try Big-Ass Sandwiches for a long time, and I had a craving for cheesesteaks. I ordered their roast beef Big-Ass Sandwich, complete with grilled onions, grilled mushrooms, and grilled peppers (each grilled veggie is 50 cents extra), their homemade cheese sauce, fries, and Secret Aarkvark hot sauce on a ciabatta roll. I also got a side of their homemade cole slaw ($9.50 total).

Roast beef Big-Ass Sandwich w/grilled onions, mushrooms, and peppers...and Secret Aardvark hot sauce
A better shot of the cross-section
Big-Ass Sandwiches' cole slaw -- nope, it's not creamy
Oh man. The sandwich was absolute heaven, probably one of the best sandwiches I've ever eaten. The roast beef was perfectly slow-cooked, juicy, and ideally seasoned. The grilled vegetables still had crunch to them and were piping hot off  the flattop. The cheese sauce was gooey and amazing, enough said. I liked that the fries were narrow strips; they retained a little crispiness to them, but softened against the temperature-hot meats and vegetables. The fries actually became a rich, starchy condiment-like load of awesomeness. Adding the Aardvark hot sauce gave the sandwich that kick that I always crave in a meal.

The cole slaw is on the sweet side and not a traditional cole slaw (not creamy). Personally, I like this style of slaw and can see how it will be amazing with the Pork Hammer (another of Big-Ass Sandwiches' signature dishes...just think salty meats combining well with a sweet slaw). I saw caraway seeds in the slaw, and perhaps I could have used a little more of that in my serving. I also wouldn't mind seeing a bit more color (perhaps shredded carrots and/or shredded purple cabbage). But overall, this was a phenomenal meal.

The service was top-notch, and I love their punch card promo (basically buy 10 sandwiches and get the next one free). The food was so good, I ate half of the food in five minutes at the food cart, drove an hour to get home, and finished off the other half in another five minutes. And no, I'm not guilty about consuming these calories. This was not only a big-ass sandwich...it was a kickass sandwich.

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