Mextiza is a newish Mexican restaurant in Portland that has a popular older sibling, Autentica. Mextiza offers over 60 brands of tequila, and dishes that are indigenous to the many regions of chef Oswaldo Bibiano's native Mexico including Toluca, Sinaloa, and Hidalgo, among others. The sandwich highlight is the Torta Ahogado, slowly cooked sliced beef that's simmered in a red sauce and served with refried beans, onions and thinly sliced radish. More

This international market, with a specialty in Middle Eastern foods, is one of my favorite places to shop in Portland. The variety of foods, beer, and wine is great, plus the prices are reasonable. It's owned by Myrna and John Attar, who are the same people behind the terrific Lebanese restaurant Ya Hala, so you can also expect fresh prepared foods from the deli counter: hummus, baba ghanouj, tabouli, and roasted lamb on basmati rice, and freshly baked pita for this falafel. More

My absolute favorite sandwich at Mother's, and it's a tough call, is the turkey reuben with house roasted turkey on grilled country bread, melted Swiss, sauerkraut, and Thousand Island dressing. I wouldn't pass up their traditional version with tender, perfect corned beef, but the turkey Swiss combo always hits the spot. More

It's general consensus that Podnah's serves the best barbecue in Portland. Elsewhere I've frequently been let down by dry meat covered with a mediocre sauce, but not here. More

Sunshine Tavern's buttermilk fried chicken sandwich—one of the best things I've eaten in months—is my favorite sandwich on their menu, made with crispy, tender chicken breast and topped with blue cheese coleslaw and chili mayo. More

Viking Soul Food is in my favorite Portland pod (that's a cluster of food carts). It's the only Norwegian cart in the city, with a menu that focuses on lefse (pronounced lef-suh). The thin potato flatbread is baked on a griddle then drizzled with local honey or filled with savory options like cured salmon or Norse meatballs with Gjetost sauce. More

Ate-Oh-Ate is named after chef-owner Ben Dyer's Hawaiian area code. The Musubi roll is a simple combination of Spam, nori, rice, and a piece of thin omelet. It makes for an unusual but tasty seaweed enclosed sandwich (alright, we admit sandwich might be a stretch here), and might even convert Spam haters. More

A favorite in southern France, pan bagnat (pan ban-yah) means "bathed bread." The bread is meant to absorb some liquid from the filling, so it's fine to assemble it entirely ahead of time. The bread soaks up the vinaigrette, becoming soft yet still retaining some crunch. More

Though the roast beef with caramelized onions and cheddar is damn good, their turkey sandwich has to be my favorite. Roast turkey with avocado, bacon, mascarpone and housemade cranberry chutney is a winning combination of tart and sweet, crunchy and chewy. It comes on their housemade sourdough levain bread. It's one of those sandwiches that calls to you as soon as you walk in. More

Broder is, as far as I know, the only Swedish restaurant in Portland (not counting Ikea). The tiny place—very popular at breakfast, lunch and brunch—will start serving dinner soon too. The Broder Club is made with house-cured gravlax, bacon, avocado, and roasted tomato and slathered with horseradish cream. More

Meat Cheese Bread has been one of Portland's favorite sandwich spots since it opened in 2008. Owner John Stewart has been cooking since he was 14 in his hometown of Albuquerque, New Mexico. He makes just about everything from scratch at MCB, from the perfectly flaky croissants to the pickled veggies and meats. Each sandwich becomes a phenomenal sum of its parts, even one as simple as the egg salad. More

Olympic Provisions is a Portland hot spot for charcuterie. Salumist Elias Cairo is a master of all things cured and smoked, and many of the charcuterie plates in town use their products. (We took a behind-the-scenes tour of their meat department last year). The sandwiches are some of the best in Portland and although many are porky and strictly for carnivores, this particular one is actually targeted to the Montessori school down the street. More

Ken's Artisan in NW Portland is reputed as the go-to place for what many consider to be the best bread in Portland. The other Ken's, across the river, is a pizza restaurant and equally stellar. For the westsiders who want to stay in their neighborhood, Ken's Artisan Bakery does pizza every Monday night, and it rocks. Actually, you can't go wrong with anything they bake or make. Largely due to the bread, along with fresh, seasonal ingredients, any sandwich listed on the daily changing blackboard menu is going to be excellent. More