BAR PILOT Blog

New Bar

First Impression: High Dive

Location, location, location

Posted by: John Chandler on Jan 27, 2012 at 12:00PM Speech Bubble 4 Comments

What: The High Dive

Where: 1406 SE 12th Ave. 503-384-2285

Why: It’s a 12-table rustic-modern hole in the wall with lots of knotty pine, located just north of Cartopia, the bustling food cart pod at SE 12th and Hawthorne. Co-owner and bartender Bob Jones is an affable fellow who pours a stiff (and affordable) drink. “We just a wanted a neighborhood bar to drink in,” he says, and that’s certainly the case here. The High Dive had a “friends and family” opening on New Year’s Eve, and since that time, Jones has developed a symbiotic relationship with the food carts next door, encouraging patrons to visit Cartopia, buy something, and then eat it at The High Dive, accompanied by one of his four tap beers (currently Rogue Yellow Snow IPA, Ninkasi IPA, Burnside Brewing’s Oatmeal Pale, and PBR) or a $5 glass of Jameson’s Whiskey.

Crowds are sporadic for the time being, but once the warm weather returns, and the outdoor seating is set up, late-night Cartopia revelers will finally have a place to clink their glasses. Jones’s short-term plans include getting a specialty cocktails menu and a TV up for Blazers games. As for me, I look forward to slipping next door for a fennel sausage pie from Pyro Pizza or an order of poutine from Potato Champion, and taking it back to the friendly confines of the High Dive for another glass of Jameson’s.

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Tags: Southeast Portland, Food Carts, New Bar, High Dive

What's For Lunch?

Hammer Time

I chat with Food Network Canada about Big-Ass Sandwiches

Posted by: John Chandler on Oct 17, 2011 at 02:00PM Speech Bubble 5 Comments

Since there’s no way to look dignified while eating on camera, I decide to distend my jaw like a Burmese python and take a monster bite. And now, with my gob crammed full of pork products and french fries, they want me to talk about the sandwich. Ye gods!

My love of Big-Ass Sandwiches is well documented. Whether I’m salivating over an old favorite or bragging about having a sandwich named after me (really, the greatest honor a living person can get), my admiration for Brian and Lisa Wood’s colossal creations is boundless. Today I was asked to sing my praises to the public, specifically Food Network Canada, the second camera crew in a week to drop by the Big-Ass Sandwich cart (Travel Channel was here on Saturday).

With the camera rolling, my face littered with yummy detritus, I tried to explain what it was that made the Pork Hammer (bacon, sausage, ham, french fries, and coleslaw), my selection of the day, such a winner. “You know how in a restaurant when you’re ordering breakfast, and they ask if you want ham, bacon, or sausage? Well, the Pork Hammer eliminates the need to make painful decisions,” I tell the interviewer.

“What do you like about it? What are you tasting?” he asks.

“Pig, glorious, pig,” I reply through a mouthful of carbohydrates. “The crispiness of the bacon, the suggestion of spice, fennel maybe, from the sausage, with the ham as a sturdy foundation, it’s positively mind-bending. And then there’s the french fries—pork and potatoes. It’s like a massive breakfast between two fresh-baked buns.”

My beautiful co-star.

“This is not a sandwich, it’s a statement of defiance. A delicious middle finger to anyone who ever told you not to eat something because it’s bad for you. I think a Big-Ass Sandwich fan understands that they may well be cutting into their own mortality. So you lose some drool time at the end of your days. So be it. This is for those of us who have chosen not to live in fear.”

At least now I have some footage for my “reel.” Hope I don’t end up on the cutting-room floor. By the way, this week’s special at BAS is called the Devil’s Breath Mint. It’s slow-cooked goat in a garlic chili sauce, Poblano coleslaw, raw onions, fries, and a splash of Secret Aardvark Sauce. Go. Eat. Rest assured that even as we speak, our top scientists are working on a brilliant formula to purge our bodies back to pristine condition. I think I read that somewhere. Or saw it in a movie. Anyway, bon appetit!

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Tags: Food Carts, Big Ass Sandwiches, Food Network Canada

Cart Attack

What’s For Lunch?

The Bar Pilot Patty Melt!

Posted by: John Chandler on Aug 31, 2010 at 12:00PM Speech Bubble 13 Comments

I feel like I just ate a park bench. This will be my last lunch report from Big-Ass Sandwiches for a while, I promise. But since they did me the honor of naming this week’s special after me, I feel I should acknowledge the effort—especially since it’s friggin’ awesome.

The Bar Pilot Patty Melt is a leviathan of fresh ground Piedmontese beef (tender, juicy, lean) and grilled onions, splashed with caraway aioli, and loaded with a layer of french fries. You have three cheese choices; bleu cheese crumbles, Swiss, and the bechamel sauce. I recommend the latter, because it introduces a slightly smoky element into this highly munchable mess. The caraway aioli replicates the taste of rye bread, a traditional component of the patty melt, and the bechamel, onions, and fries become fused into a glorious, savory sidewalk of starch. I also recommend a change of clothes: the juice from the beef soaks the bread and the normally sturdy Fleur de Lis-baked bun turns into a spongy tortilla resulting in more falling debris than the Hindenburg. I’m ashamed to admit I couldn’t quite finish—don’t you judge me!

Zoinks!

Having a sandwich named after me is one of the coolest things that’s ever happened. How pathetic am I? “That sandwich is you,” said one of my office mates. “Beefy, wry (rye), and really cheesy.” If I’d actually consumed the whole sandwich in one sitting it would have been my epitaph.

Speaking of monster sandwiches, I ate at the Sonic Drive-in in Wilsonville the other day. Glory be! It’s a sinful shrine dedicated to calories, carbohydrates, and carhops, a totally Old School operation like A&W used to be. You order from your car and a waitress on roller skates wheels out a tray loaded with heart-stopping comestibles—a partial menu is shown below. The dreaded tofu wouldn’t dare show its pale face around these parts. I guess what I’m trying to say is, temptation is everywhere. Enjoy your life and I’ll see you in hell.

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Tags: Food Carts, Big Ass Sandwiches

Good Causes

Deschutes Street Fare

Yes, we know the difference between “fair” and “fare”

Posted by: John Chandler on Aug 17, 2010 at 01:00PM Speech Bubble 2 Comments

Photo: John Chandler

More than 1500 folks showed up to the Deschutes Street Fare held last Thursday at NW 11th and Davis.

View Slideshow »

When I first started working at Portland Monthly one of my duties was to attend local charity functions and report on how many people showed up, what went on, and how much money was raised. To be sure, the Portland nonprofit community is second to none in its dedication and generosity, but the events themselves tended to be a mixed bag. For every inspiring evening with bountiful auctions, exciting celebrities, dancing, and five-star cuisine, there was a corresponding night spent chained to a folding chair balancing a plate of rubber chicken while trying to distinguish between the monotones of all six guest speakers.

Well, Morrison Child and Family Services, the leading provider of children’s mental health services in Multnomah County, knows how to throw a proper shindig. A fortuitous team-up with Deschutes Brewing resulted in last week’s Deschutes Street Fare (spelled this way in reference to the all the different “fare” available), a street soiree that featured a whole squadron of food carts, a smart selection of bands, and plenty of Deschutes brews—good thing, ’cause the temperature crept into the low 90s and my thirst for hops hit critical mass.

In my opinion the presence of the food cart contingent was a stroke of genius because it gave a lot of Portlanders who weren’t familiar with these charming chuck wagons the chance to peck at some of the tastiest and most intriguing food around. And judging by the crowds around Whiffies Fried Pies and Garden State sandwiches, it was a very successful introduction. Some 1500 folks dropped by to sample the goodies, bob their heads to the likes of Loch Lomond and Sallie Ford, and $5000 was raised for Morrison’s coffers. Take a look at our web-exclusive slideshow for all the highlights.

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Tags: Food Carts, Craft Beers,

Good Eats

Big (Ass) Wednesday!

All I need is … this sandwich

Posted by: John Chandler on Aug 11, 2010 at 01:00PM Speech Bubble 9 Comments

Oh, the humanity!

This just in: After consulting with a team of physicians and cardiologists, it has been determined that I can safely eat one Big Ass Sandwich per month without appreciably shortening my lifespan. Or as one of the esteemed sawbones told me, “At this point, what difference does it make? Yeah, sure, eat up. Whatever.”

Business has been brisk at Brian and Lisa Wood’s supreme sandwich cart as of late. Big Ass Sandwiches was voted “Portland’s Best Food Cart” by the readers of Willamette Week, and it will be featured on a new Cooking Network show called Food Truck Revolution on August 22 and 29 (check local listings and then scream like a banshee at your cable provider).

My arrival today coincided with that of a well-dressed gentleman who performed a Tom Jones medley (with choreography!) in the hopes of winning a free sandwich from proprietess Lisa Wood. This guy was pretty damn good, so I would advise any potential sand-handler to work on their moves. Wood also informed me that anyone loyal (or foolhardy) enough to get a Big Ass Sandwich tattoo, that it’s worth $1 off any future sandwich purchase—for life! Or at least the life of the tattoo. But wait! Not so fast. The tattoo should include the official BAS logo as seen here.

This week’s special is named after a scene in the Steve Martin film The Jerk, in which Steve wanders dejectedly away from his mansion and wealthy former life saying, “All I need is … this chair.” The All I Need is This Sandwich features locally sourced roast beef (there’s also a turkey option), grilled onions, arugula, bleu cheese sauce, french fries, and an industrial strength horseradish that will incinerate every nose hair on your person. Once again, the true genius of this sandwich lies in the jazz-like interplay of the ingredients: the tangy bleu cheese, the spicy arugula, and the brawny grilled onions wreak havoc over the resilient french fries and tender roast beef—until running headlong into a conquering wave of horseradish warriors that will have you crying like you just sat through the last scene of Old Yeller.

And finally, once the battle has ceased raging, you’re left alone with the broken remnants strewn across the foil wrapper like Longstreet’s infantry at Gettysburg. Oh, and don’t forget to wash it down with one of BAS’s artisan soda pops from around the country, such as the High Mountain Huckleberry from Jackson Hole Soda Co, which provided some sweet relief after that merciless horseradish devastation.

And that, my friends, is how we do lunch … downtown. One more thing, drinking buddies. One day I would like to be honored at BAS with a Bar Pilot Special. Tell me, what ingredients would a sandwich named for yours truly have on it?

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Tags: Food Carts

Food News

What’s For Lunch?

We’re through playing chicken

Posted by: John Chandler on May 06, 2010 at 11:00AM Speech Bubble 4 Comments

What’s the deal with fried chicken in this town? How come with the exception of the broasted bird at the Reel ‘M’ Inn, and a few other outliers, there’s no joy in Chickenville?
Yes, we featured an international chicken roundup a few months back, but where is that finger-lickin’ fowl that I seem to remember from the furthest recesses of my childhood (or perhaps from a previous lifetime)? Is KFC my only option? If so, shoot me now.

The Swamp Shack, the nearly-impossible-to-resist Cajun cart on SW Fifth and Stark has temporarily pacified my cluck lust. For $7.50 the lucky luncher can walk away with two tree-trunk-sized chicken tenders fried to a delicate and peppery crunch. The meat is cooked through correctly: chewy (but not rubbery), with ghostly spices still lingering in the crust.

It also comes with a smattering of corn and mashed potatoes, but the coup de grace is delivered by the smoky, slow-burning crawfish gravy. When the chicken is deftly dragged through the spuds and spicy sauce, my taste buds ring, flash, and go “tilt” like a KISS pinball machine that’s been slapped silly by a liquored-up Gypsy Joker.

Be advised, these are boneless pieces. If part of your pleasure lies in the atavistic crunch of wing and drumstick being introduced to your choppers, well, I can’t help you. But it’s damn good chicken.

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Tags: Food Carts

Random Notes

Short Subjects

Barbecue, beer, and $5 well spent

Posted by: John Chandler on Apr 27, 2010 at 01:00PM Speech Bubble 7 Comments

Namu Killer Korean Barbecue at SE Hawthorne and 33rd Ave. (Below) A lip-smacking order of short ribs sizzles on the grill.

ITEM Sunday morning found me staggering down Southeast Hawthorne in search of a Hangover Helper breakfast, but the waiting lists were sapping my will to live. As luck would have it, I was soon ordering several tons of meat at a brand-new Korean Barbecue cart called Namu, situated at SE Hawthorne and 33rd, right in front of House Vintage. Owned and operated by a friendly Hawaiian headbanger named Gary Evans, along with his friend Clint Colbert, Namu only has a few entrees but they’re all worthy and my hangover was soon smothered in healing barbecue sauce. The pulled pork sandwich ($5) is a huge, drippy mess of tender Sweet Briar Farms pork served with cabbage and a breathtaking homemade honey horseradish on a toasted bun. It’s a sweet and smoky sensation, as good as any I’ve had in the area. The toothsome and tangy Korean beef ribs ($7) are marinated in ginger, green onions, garlic, brown sugar, and soy sauce, and come with a scoop of rice and peanut sauce. Do not overlook the kim chee, cucumber salad, and sesame spinach that garnish this massive meal. The greens are deftly prepared and really pack a peppery bite. And for my non-animal-eating readers, you can get all of these lovely shrubs in a $4 rice bowl spiked with peanut sauce. The cart has only been in operation for a few weeks, but it’s a wonderful and welcome change of pace from the taco wagon brigade. Namu is open daily from 11-7 and orders can be phoned in at 503-828-4260. Tell ’em the Bar Pilot sent ya!

UPDATE Stopped by Namu last night for the veggie bowl. It’s a spicy, satisfying safari of flavors. And proprietor Gary Evans wanted the world to know that the cunningly crafted Namu cart was built with the invaluable assistance of Alpine Design.

ITEM Congratulations, it’s a beer! Apex, a new beer bar that I first mentioned here is now open for business and awaiting discriminating swill seekers of all shapes and sizes. Located at 1216 Southeast Division Street, it’s another former industrial space with garage doors that roll up when the weather cooperates. More importantly, they’ve currently got 30 taps running (owner Jesse McCann is shooting for 50) mostly in the $3.75-$4 range, though some of the hard-to-find Belgian varieties teeter toward the $9 mark. Still feeling the pinch? Not to worry, they also have Hamms for the financially embarrassed.

ITEM Be sure and tune in for the latest installment of Happy Hour of the Week (coming soon), as intern Joseph Manuel spends all of the money he had saved to pay back his student loans at retro video game parlor Ground Kontrol. On the last Wednesday of each month you can play all the Street Fighter II, Galaga, NBA Jam, and Frogger you want for a dinky $5 cover. Constant button-pushing can build up a powerful thirst, so take advantage of $2 Pabst tall boys.

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Tags: Food Carts, Cheap Date, Craft Beers

Carbo Loading

What’s For Lunch?

Another Big-Ass Sandwich!

Posted by: John Chandler on Apr 12, 2010 at 11:00AM Speech Bubble 10 Comments

Photo: Garrett Milojevich

The Funemployment Radio Special from Big-Ass Sandwiches. Profound and troubling.

As I carefully unwrapped my prize, several co-workers gathered around to gawk at the grand unveiling. Once the foil was removed, a moment of stunned silence ensued.

“It looks like my entire childhood stuffed into one sandwich,” said web designer Garrett Milojevich.

“How so?” I asked.

“We were very poor,” he answered.

I swear on a stack of take-out menus that I am NOT pimping for Brian and Lisa Wood, the diabolical masterminds behind Big-Ass Sandwiches. I don’t owe them money, and they did not save my life back in ’Nam. But come on! How can I realistically keep a sandwich like this under my hat? The Big-Ass monstrosity of the week, the Funemployment Radio Special ($6), comes loaded with a couple scoops of macaroni and cheese, sliced hot dogs, house-made Béchamel cheese sauce, an alarming pile of french fries, and a few squirts of Secret Aardvark Hot Sauce impossibly folded into their signature grilled ciabatta roll.

And I’m not the only blogger with the hots for BAS. As I was perusing today’s menu, I ran into Aaron Duran, who has a bitchin’ pop culture website called Geek in the City, a spot where you can read the latest scuttlebutt about crap-tastic movies, sci-fi TV, and other topics that you’re ashamed to admit that you care about in a big way. Aaron was just polishing off the Funemployment Radio Special and recommended I do likewise. He dared me! What was I going to do? He draws a lot of water in this town!

Lest you think that Big-Ass Sandwiches is merely about sending me to an early grave, let it be known that Brian and Lisa Wood have also organized a monthly benefit day called Third Wednesday PDX in which they donate 100 percent of their profit and tips to a local charity, with a different beneficiary each month. Thus far they’ve raised several hundred dollars each for Mercy Corps, Basic Rights Oregon, and p:ear. For their April 21 event, they’ve recruited fellow cart merchants at Yarp, The Big Egg, Give Pizza a Chance, and Whiffies to join their effort. And that should make for a hefty donation to this month’s recipient, The Pixie Project, a local animal rescue organization. So go ahead and stuff your face. Do it for all the kitties and puppies.

Epilogue: There were individual moments from the Funemployment Radio Special that were among the finest tastes I’ve ever masticated. The mingling of hot sauce, cheese, fries, and hot dog, practically made my eyes roll back in my head. Yes, I’m well aware that this sandwich is bad for me. I’m not a complete moron—I’m more of a work in progress. But if Big-Ass Sandwiches is wrong, I don’t want to be right.

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Tags: Food Carts, Big Ass Sandwiches

Food News

Lunchin’ Large

Big-Ass Sandwiches cures lunchtime blues

Posted by: John Chandler on Mar 09, 2010 at 09:00AM Speech Bubble 11 Comments

Photo: Garrett Milojevich

I have it on good authority that the world is going to end in 2012. This came straight from the mumbling, Harvey Pekar-lookalike who sits in the back of the No. 14 bus, and thus far his data has proven to be at least as reliable as Wikipedia or Fox News. Since we’re all headed for the happy hunting grounds anyway, I can wholeheartedly recommend lunch at Big-Ass Sandwiches.

Under the proprietorship of Brian and Lisa Wood, this never-say-diet food cart at the corner of SW Third and Ash has been grilling up belt-loosening sandwiches since just before Christmas. Today I punished a Big-Ass Breakfast Sandwich (pictured), which sports a scrambled-egg foundation, covered with bacon (or sausage), and buried under a pig-pile of French fries. Somehow the soft and chewy ciabatta roll is able to swallow up this mess, though the consumer is more than welcome to shovel down a few handfuls of fries in conventional fashion before closing the sandwich, taking a beatific bite, and happily hastening their own demise. It’s an efficient little monster that ruthlessly combines side dish and entree on a dough pillow of fresh-baked bread.

Co-owner Lisa Wood tells me that this week BAS is proud to feature the Cort & Fatboy Special, a beef brisket slathered in homemade BBQ sauce and crushed beneath layers of bacon, coleslaw, and fries. Word around the carts is that this leviathan lunch special may soon spawn its own religion. And with Armageddon on the horizon, a little religion couldn’t hurt.

UPDATE: The actual title of this week’s special is “The Cort & Fatboy Happy Fun Time BBQ Southern Meat Surprise.” Thanks David Walker!

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Tags: Food Carts, Big Ass Sandwiches

Out and About

Leapin’ Lizards

Dinosaurs see the future?

Posted by: John Chandler on Oct 28, 2009 at 10:00AM Speech Bubble 5 Comments

Anne Adams (right) lets her dinos do the talking as she works with a customer at the Hawthorne food carts. She’s already read for some very prominent Portlanders but feels it would be in bad taste to divulge names.

I wandered down to the food-cart enclave at SE 12th and Hawthorne last week and found my friend and former bandmate Anne Adams, who plays music around town as Grey Anne, sitting at a table in front of Whiffies fried pies. She had a spy light strapped to her head and was busy organizing a herd of colorful plastic dinosaurs in an ornate box labeled “Dino Tarot.”

“It’s not really fortune telling,” she told me between customers. “It’s more like a fun form of divination.” For a modest fee, Anne will provide a reading about romance, career, or just general circumstances, using her cadre of rampaging reptiles to represent universal forces at work. “She’s uncanny,” said one patron. “The dinos know all,” added another.

Anne told me she’s at the Hawthorne carts most weekends, late, and that she does happy hour at Crush on Tuesdays, and Sundays at Three Friends Coffee and Pied Cow.

As mysterious as a crop circle she appears and draws a crowd. Sadly, I have an irrational fear of fortune tellers (I’m convinced that my future is as follows: “A piano will fall on you next week. Don’t make any complicated plans.”) so I didn’t stay for a reading, but I wish someone had advised me not to eat an entire peanut butter and chocolate chip pie at Whiffies. It was hideously delicious and I lapsed into a calorie coma on the spot. And I’d do it again.

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Tags: Food Carts

BAR PILOT

First Impression: High Dive

Hammer Time

What’s For Lunch?

Deschutes Street Fare

Big (Ass) Wednesday!

What’s For Lunch?

Short Subjects

What’s For Lunch?

Lunchin’ Large

Leapin’ Lizards

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