Meatball Sandwich

After being such an advocate of traditional food, and talking a lot of trash in the process, I have to take a minute to talk about the meatball sandwich. I am not even trying to say that it is Italian food, but it can be a tasty meal, and at any given sandwich shop it is usually the most interesting thing on the menu, being the only thing hand crafted in house. Pizza places are the same way, making little on site apart from the dough and maybe some bread sticks, so if they have their own meatball I say that it is worth a gamble.

I would recommend these places:

Brick House
6744 NE Sandy Blvd
Portland, OR 97213
This meat ball is made with sausage and that makes it proper, it has a nice balance of herbs, not over powered by any single one. Served on a baguette, it is a thicker more abrasive sandwich accompanied by a nice red sauce and a blend of cheeses rather than just one. They have a nice wood stove to crisp the sandwich just right. The sausages sandwich that I had was good too, it was the Italian sausage as they were out of their normal link. The family run environment is great and the lady who works there makes you feel right at home.

Muddy Rudder
8195 SE 7th Ave
Portland, OR 97202
This was the sandwich that first set me on this kick a few months ago. Listening to my friends father play music one night, he told me to try the meatball sandwich in between songs; he said it was the best. ( In the past he has also expressed that there is no Italian food in Portland, but still I should try this meatball) I am always one to take a food challenge and so I hollered at the waiter immediately (who is my friends friend, man what a small town!) and the sandwich came out right away. This meatball is of the fennel variety, do you know the one I am referring to? Many spices but with a spike of fennel. Mm mm. Served on baguette with provolone and well toasted, it seems they have a proper oven too.
Update: I was recently passing by and had to scratch the itch, but it was not the beautifull sandwich I remember. I hope it was a fluke and not a new direction.

Hop Works
2944 SE Powell Blvd
Portland, OR 97202
This is one of the decent breweries in the city. The beer is good and the burger better still. The last time I was there I noticed a meat ball sandwich on special. With my current momentum it seemed only right to roll with it, and man was it the right thing to do. Served on a hogie rather than baguette; the roasted red pepper sauce was sweet and delicious, it dissolved the bread nicely as I devoured it. The meat ball was well formed with a balance of herbs and topped with provolone. This sandwich was very nice but sadly it was only on special.

Update: Eugenios on SE Division has a good meat ball and sandwich, though I would prefer the bread to be either more toasetd or soggier alike. Quite nice regardless.

Others reviewed (inferior)
-East Side Subs
-Geraldi's (downtown)
-Mac's deli


Not so long ago, the meatball didn't interest me much at all. In the midst of playing around with some red sauce however I began to review a few cookbooks and some on line recipes of the (stereo)typical meatball Parmesan; this is more or less what any place will offer in town, The recipe is pretty straight forward, a simple matter of adding ingredients to your taste, and then cooking them twice. Frying, then baking/(and) or cooking in your favorite preprepared sauce. I like to fry them in a good amount of choice olive oil with a few strips of good bacon and a few sausages to be put in the sauce. The sauce of course needs a bit of carrot or something sweet, and I personally like a decent amount of fresh thyme. In the meat ball I like a lot of fresh rosemary (don't worry it will cook off) or perhaps a spike of oregano, and don't forge real reggiano. There are so many other kinds of meat balls also that I recommend you get a book like The Silver Spoon and try out others.

In preparing and serving food to friends here in town I realize that a certain amount of people are traumatized by meat loaf, to the point that in their mind, meatballs are similar enough not be desirable. If you spend some time on this recipe and sauce, you should be able to change such a persons mind. The limitation of the restaurant meatball is cost. It is easy to come up with a great home recipe but the high price of cheeses, meats, and fresh herbs are not practical for a business. So give it a go sometime, get all your favorite ingredients and add everything to your own taste, you might impress yourself.


[photos to come-camera is busted]