Rose's Restaurant & Bakery

Rose's Restaurant & Bakery has three locations throughout Oregon and Washington. Before heading home to Hawaii for a week, I stopped at their location inside the Portland International Airport. There's also one spot in Sherwood (OR) and another in Vancouver (WA).

Here's the one in the Portland International Airport

Rose Naftalin started her namesake restaurant in the mid-1950s on NW 23rd Ave., serving up New York-style deli fare. Sure, nothing will beat the real NYC experience. But at least now I don't have to travel to the other side of the country for a Reuben sandwich.

Each of Rose's Reuben sandwiches weigh close to a pound, with your choice of pastrami, corned beef, or turkey. Three slices of extra dark rye bread here. While Rose's has several Reuben incarnations, I went with the Original ($12.99): corned beef and turkey, extra Swiss cheese, extra sauerkraut, and extra 1000 Island dressing.

Rose's "Original" Reuben
(Rose's Restaurant & Bakery)

Cross-section!

Now this was one awesome sandwich. Real corned beef and turkey piled in this still-piping-hot sandwich. Nice crunch and tang to the sauerkraut. Melted Swiss cheese and 1000 Island bring it all together. One of the best Reubens I've had to date.

Sandwiches come with choice of fries, cole slaw, potato salad, or a bag of chips. I went with the cole slaw and enjoyed it. Great crunch, not heavy.

Closeup of the slaw

I also had a couple of Rose's large cookies: oatmeal raisin and chocolate chip. Not sure how long they had been in the jar for. Certainly wasn't the freshest, but still good. I mean, come on. I pity anyone who doesn't like cookies. The panda can easily transform into a cookie monster.

Chocolate Chip cookie

Oatmeal Raisin cookie

Other Reubens include the "Traditional" (corned beef); "Bronx" (pastrami); "Up Towner" (corned beef and pastrami); and "Rookie" (turkey). I'm intrigued by the "Rose City" sandwich, which can double as an awesome Thanksgiving option. Turkey, cream cheese, and a unique cranberry-mustard sauce between slices of sourdough bread.

I'll have to check the Fisher's Landing location in Vancouver in the future. I hear the breakfasts and desserts are pretty good as well. Big fan of Rose's! 8.75/10