2023's Best Bites Were Portland Sandwiches

The most memorable bites I had this year were all sandwiches and their close cousins:

🍕 Folded Pizza at Grana

It’s astonishingly tasty for something so simple. Technically, called a “pizza a portafoglio,” this Neapolitan street food is a 10-inch wood-fired pizza neatly folded into quarters. Grana serves it fitted into a little cardboard container so you can grab and go (or stay).

My suggestion: Eat the crust first as if it were a breadstick appetizer; it comes sprinkled with parmesan and a light-green herby yogurt sauce. (Naysayers have told me they don’t like the mess or their pizza in floppy form. Bah humbug!)

🐟 Young Yellowtail Toast at Heavenly Creatures

I got a chance to be blown away this week by the seeming simplicity of fresh yellowtail on toast. True, this version comes with the catnip of pickled onions and mustard seeds, as well as a tonnato sauce, which is smokey and made from mussels. (Thank you to the Oregonian for that suggestion.)

🍅 Tomato Toast at Xiao Ye

This one is now out of season. But run, don’t walk when it’s back on the menu. In the meantime, I still recommend a meal there. And the critics agree: The Oregonian recommends the “bigger stuff” section of the menu in ranking Xiao Ye No. 3 of Portland’s best new restaurants of 2023. Eater Portland gave it a restaurant of the year accolade.

🥕 Veggie Sandwich at Cafe Olli

The current menu has roasted squash. But I’ve had a lot of different varieties of their veggie sandwich — and loved them all. (Bonus: I also love the fava puree (a humus-like spread) with bread, even though I’m usually no fan of those beans.)

What should we all eat in 2024? If you’re willing to share your recommendations, email me.