a nervous MELT down.

While venturing through Northwest Portland, my partner in crime and I decided to check out Melt Sandwiches on 21st. After spending plenty of time and money at other sandwich joints such as Bunk, Meat Cheese Bread, Kenny & Zukes and Foster & Dobbs, I was pretty excited to taste something new. However, right from the get-go I was slightly disappointed. First of all, MELT offers 10 sandwiches ($8-11) and only one of which truly is a "melt," which happens to be a tuna melt. That's right folks, no patty melt, no hot brown, just a plain old traditional tuna melt. Personally, when I go to a restaurant named MELT I want the cheese to stretch a mile from my mouth when biting into it. I've seen it. I've experienced it. I love it. As for the restaurant itself, I felt like I was in a hodgepodge of bunk and the tin shed along with strategically placed Urban Outfitters lamps and mismatched furniture.


We began with a pickle. The pickle was quite soft, had no crunch and frankly tasted like it could have fermented for a week or so longer. Did I mention it was served with two slices of pepper? Overall, I think the jar full of pickles should simply be for decoration until perfected. Please, avoid the pickles.

A quick observation I made was that none of the sandwiches describe the bread. Is is a roll? Ciabata? A Sub? Without knowing, it is hard to make the proper decision. The bread makes or breaks a sandwich. Delicious fillings can be easily ruined if not properly paired with the appropriate bread. We decided to try the Pulled Pork as well as the Grinder sandwiches. Side note: All sandwiches are served with your choice of soup, salad or fries—frozen, but local.

The Pulled Pork ($8.5) sandwich (pictured above) is served with roasted green chilies, caramelized onions, melted havarti and a cilantro aioli. Perhaps the best thing this sandwich has going for it is the aioli. The Pork lacks flavor, could be more tender and seems to be the scraps (myself submitting that the employees are snacking on the best shreds of belly). I didn't even notice the onions and a SHARP havarti, to me, is a necessary change. I know, the sandwich looks extremely tasty, nevertheless it simply wasn't. In all honesty, don't mess with a classic sandwich. Grab a roll, some sloppy pulled pork with a spicy or tangy sauce, some cheese and coleslaw—serve it with chips, done.




The Grinder($9) consisted of Italian cured meats, melted provolone, spicy peppers, tomatoes and a basil olive oil. The meat trio, which are practically glued together (possibly packaged?) is salami, mortadella and coppa. As mentioned previously, the cheese was not MELTed and the basil olive oil combo turned the bottom half of the sub into a wet sponge I could no longer pick up. Therefore, for a cured meats/peppers sandwich I'll go elsewhere.

MELT is a definite gut bomb. Do yourself a favor and walk around the blocks for an hour or so after eating. We will not be returning and neither of us recommend their sandwiches. Also, when checking out the menu online, the fries are served up in a tin pale. Mine were thrown onto the plate and served with half a portion of ketchup.

If you're willing to take a risk (because I have heard people actually enjoy these sandwiches) visit melt at 716 Northwest 21st Avenue Portland, OR 97209 or call 503.295.4944