Kenny & Zuke’s

Dope deli-​restaurant-​joint in DT Portland. Stopped by for a breakfast bite after grabbing a coffee next door (Stumptown) and ended up ordering a Bagel Dog, because why not. It was delicious. The dog itself had grill marks like it was grilled before getting wrapped up in legit bagel dough. Never seen that before! Squeeze a few squirts of mustard as you chow down, and it’s smooth sailing from there.
Staff was super nice. Oh and they have an awesome soda selection (cans and bottles). Pops is a big Root Beer fan so I grabbed a few different ones for him.

Only way that be more authentic would be to have some Jewish grandmother types as waitresses. Great sandwiches, drinks and sides. Looks great for breakfast with REAL bagels and bialies

Home made pastrami. Says it all. Plus great service. What a fabulous find. And in Portland?
Amazing. Can’t wait to eat here again.

Imagine a Jewish type deli in the wild NW, Portland where the bagels are baked on premises with great lox and gravalox, pastrami and corned beef, chopped liver most of
Which made on premises and delicious. the place is packed so the formula works. Top it off withmucho good looking tatoo’d ladies. Our trip was a lunch and breakfast on Sunday. This is a stop I’d make anytime I’m in Portland

This place was on my summer bucket list.
I had the tuna melt, though while it was great, it wasn’t 14 $ great. You pay extra for fries, which is where some of that comes in. My husband had the pastrami and Swiss, and he loved it. Said it was worth 14 bucks, if it included fries or chips. He loved the high quality toppings, the great beef and pastrami.
Coffee was decent, and the 2 kids we had with us ate all of their hot dogs; they too wish fries were included (in the only one who read the menu that stated it was purchased separately.
Our server didn’t refill our water even once, and we hardly saw him, despite the small and comfortable room.
I’ll come back and try something else, though!
I love their support of their community, local beef, and some great traditional foods!

Stopped in for a quick to-​go bagel. I ordered the lox w/​tomato, lettuce, and capers.
The bagel itself wasn’t anything spectacular but the lox were really good which saved the day. Also worth noting that the pickle that came with my boyfriends bagel-​dog was delicious.

If your idea of a good meal is a lousy sandwich that costs a lot more than Subway, you have found the right place to throw your money away… LOL! My friend and I went there, thinking this would be the best deli in PDX. If this is so, all I can say is avoid all the rest of the bunch in the Rose City.
My friend ordered pastrami on rye while I ordered turkey on rye. The meats were parched dry as if it had been left to sit in the Mojave Desert. As for the bread, it was meh with an overly hard crust. Mustard was a Dijon that had no real sparkle. I have enjoyed much better at other places and it can make a sandwich pop way up for flavor. For the dubious privilege of eating these sandwiches with a side plus two drinks, the bill was $ 34 and change. WTF?
Service was average at best with a delay to bring some lead-​tainted Portland water, which I avoided drinking. Draft root beer had run out by lunch hour since someone in management failed to anticipate demand due to the Rose Festival parade. The bottled root beer recommended was barely better than a cheap store brand. Potato salad was not up to Jewish deli standards for creaminess. The half sandwich with soup special was what I wanted but it was not sold on weekends although I saw no such mention of this «not so special» condition on the online menu or the one at this so-​called deli.
For a positive, the Hungarian mushroom soup was decent.
As I prepared to leave, a small to-​go container was brought out for the other half of the sandwich I could not stomach eating. It was given to a homeless person on the streets of downtown PDX. Now I feel sorry for the poor guy for inflicting this meal upon him.
If anyone wants to make an easy million in PDX, all they need to do is open up a REAL deli and they’ll run these guys right off the road.

The food here is amazing. Yes, the service is hella slow, BUT the food is so worth it.
This is definitely a different take on traditional food! It definitely made me feel like I was eating at someone’s grandma’s house!
I had the Latkes and the Rachel and they were NUMMY! And it was SO MUCH FOOD. I ate them for linner later :)

All the deli sandwiches are delicious. They have the best lox ever!

It was my first pit stop in Portland and I am not unhappy! They had a selection of (pretty good) local beers for $ 3 after 3pm, as well as a happy hour menu. I wasn’t too hungry so I went for a salad. Not much to say, it was pretty basic but hey, it did the job.
The place itself is big and bright, right next to Union Way and close to Powell’s bookstore as well.

Came in the other day for breakfast. They don’t have cheap $ 5 breakfast, but its not that expensive either. I think the most expensive breakfast dish is around $ 15. So I decided to go down the middle and order something ~ $ 10 since I wasn’t too starving.
I ordered the latkes. There were 5 of them and they were plump and pretty tasted for what are just deep fried potato pancakes. They make them in house so i wasn’t some hash brown like thing thrown in the fryer.
Also got a breakfast dog. I was really surprised that the eggs were quite fluffy and it wasn’t all greasy and oily. It was a good serving too.
Great place to stop in for breakfast. Although it could be a tourist trap because of the downtown location, I think they do a decent job with the food and they don’t just throw some crap to you on a plate. Hurray for Portland to have decent food standards. :)
Service was just okay.. .not overly friendly.

Came here on a Sat. Morning and was seated promptly. The waitress was super helpful and every very accommodating w my dairy/​gluten/​nut free life. Cute deli setting w great options for people watching. I ordered a slide of fresh veggies, pastrami & a side of fruit. The reason for 3 stars was simply bc the food simply did not taste very fresh or flavorful and the meat tasted somewhat dry. /​: It wasn’t terrible by any means, I just can’t say I was necessarily salivating after the first bite. Great central location, parking in the area can be tricky so make sure to leave time!

I popped in and had an awesome conversation with a fella behind the counter. Very funny and friendly and helped me pick a dessert to go. I got a macaroon which was a touch drier than ideal but aside from that was very delicious. The chocolate was very flavorful and the coconut flavor was perfect. I had it over coffee and it was wonderful.
The style of the place was bright and nice looking and I wouldn’t have minded dining in to enjoy the place a little longer.

Kenny and Zuke’s has been on my list to visit for more years than I care to admit. Shame on me. After visiting FINALLY yesterday, my head is now hanging very low, particularly since I’ve walked by too many times and have eaten at other restaurants nearby.
I had a laundry list of errands to run yesterday and had quite a nice long walk all over downtown. When my tummy alarm finally went off, I realized I was standing right at the front door of the restaurant. I walked right in the front door and was greeted with real warmth by my server. While it might have taken me awhile to get in the door, I knew exactly what I wanted: pastrami on rye and a side of cole slow.
The cole slaw was exceptional. The dressing was nice and vinegary with some sweet notes and horseradish. Perfect. The sandwich was quite large and piled high with some gorgeous pastrami that while beautifully spiced was on the dry side. The dryness was helped out some by an excellent mustard.
Kenny and Zuke’s really has the whole old-​fashioned deli experience pinned down perfectly. The whole restaurant reminds me of some Old Portland delis that no longer exist. It’s actually pretty plain in the décor department. but they let the food do the talking here. The windows let in amazing light, and the wood floors might be original to the building. It’s sparkling clean in there. They ask that you turn your phone off, and no music — I repeat no music — is played. There’s a nice selection of newspapers and books to peruse. I was enjoying a book about the history of delis so much that they sold it to me for a few dollars.
Sandwiches are on the more expensive side, but they use high-​quality ingredients and pile those ingredients high. Truly worth every penny. I think this is a great place to come and enjoy a sandwich or other deli item and relax. In the meantime, don’t forget Kenny and Zuke’s like I did and maybe even keep it on speed dial!

We ordered delivery via Grubhub tonight, and I could not be more disappointed.
We asked for no spicy relish, it was on there. (And almost $ 20 sandwich ruined for the person who ordered it because they can’t eat anything spicy.) We asked for toasted bread, it wasn’t toasted. Not the end of the world, but it all adds up…
We asked for no «Mama’s Lil Peppers» on another sandwich, they were on there. Again, the person who ordered this has an extreme aversion to peppers and the sandwich could not be eaten.
The pastrami fries were practically ice cold (everything else was warm, and we haven’t had that problem with Grubhub orders before.)
We paid over $ 70 for a meal and all we could eat were the regular fries, side salad and desserts because they couldn’t get the order right.
The only upside were the desserts: the pecan bar and double chocolate walnut brownie were amazing.
I would have given two stars based on the dessert, BUT add to all of this that last time we dined in, our potatoes *and* pastrami were burnt black, I definitely will not go back.

Kenny & Zuke’s is an incredible place — an experience! First of all, you’re greeted heartily by waitstaff in the front of the restaurant. This is a shiny, clean, bright and sunny restaurant!
Honestly, I felt like I was traveling back in time to an old school deli! The sandwiches are huge — I had the tuna melt which was divine! My partner had The Rachel (a turkey pastrami reuben). Both were hearty and delicious. I had to take my other half home with me, it was so big!
They serve breakfast all day (we will be back for that!), offer some traditional Jewish foods, such as blintzes and matzoh ball soup. And, they have traditional egg creams, milkshakes and a huge list of sodas, including root beers — a whole list of JUST root beers! Wow. My dream!
I had one made locally, Crater Lake, which was better than any root beer I’ve ever had! It was so creamy and bubbly! It reminded me of root beer from my childhood. It is the stuff of dreams. ;)
The service was so warm and friendly, attentive and knowledgeable that I felt right at home though it was my first time in!
Kenny & Zuke’s combines all the best of what you love in a restaurant: that feeling of being cared for — in a beautiful environment, with the true love of delicious, homestyle and old fashioned food. It brings the feeling that no matter what age, your kid self will feel right at home!

This place is crap!!! Wouldn’t survive a week in New York City. If you want a true authentic bagel with a great cup of coffee I would suggest Bowery Bagels.
Kenny and Zukes pros and cons; Pros none. Cons weak terrible coffee, even worse service, oh and breakfast deal all day till 11 am? Makes no sense how this place is still in business. Just tasting there scrambled eggs you can tell the eggs sit out in a room somewhere in the back. Hint* get them in the refrigerator. Wouldn’t recommend this place to my dog.

Stopped by for either a late lunch or early dinner. Well that was good and bad… They were out of a lot of things but still grabbed a smokey turkey (I know… I don’t eat corn beef which they were out of) sandwich with a little beer and home made German potato salad. Again not a potato salad person but theirs was good! Would definitely go back and if you eat meat I would try their corn beef. They do it the old school New York way! Bet their bagels are good too!
And this is not a white table cloth spot but a great local neighborhood sandwich/​lunch spot or take out! Nothing fancy but the quality speaks for itself! Yummy!

I’ve been here several times. The food is good, but pretty expensive for lunch ($ 20 range for a sandwich and side). Service can be slow, which is frustrating if you are getting lunch during a work day. Still though, have never had a bad meal and will be back again.

What happened? Been going since they opened and have watched it go downhill, today was probably my last time. Arrived at 10:55, I know because I asked if they were serving lunch and the server said it would only be five minutes, so my friend and I ordered matzo ball soup, classic reuben and a 2×2×2. Thirty minutes we asked about our order and was told that the matzo ball soup takes a «few minutes», I reminded the server that we ordered 30min ago, a few minutes later my reuben and soup came but we were told that they had to «remake the eggs» on the 2×2×2. After another five minutes it arrived. So disappointing!

Came in at 7pm last night, Friday, and was seated promptly. I was then ignored for 15 minutes. Only one waitress for the entire place. I never had a chance to try the food. I ended up leaving. Bummer.

I am surprised I had not reviewed this place before. We have had goods meals here in the past. Today we got a clunker.
We came for breakfast. Service was a bit slow and indifferent. The coffee mediocre.
Rebecca ordered corned beef hash. It was dry and the eggs over cooked. They were good compared to the lattkes I ordered. They were very dry. A great way to prevent over eating.
Kira ordered a bagel. It looked good. Perhaps that is what we should have ordered. I do have to admit the pastrami and Reuben sandwiches have always been good. I think I will stick to lunch and skip breakfast.

It was a decent meal — I got the breakfast sandwich and my boyfriend got the 2×2×2. His was definitely better than min. It’s not 5 stars because there was nothing special about it, but it got the job done.

This was a decent meal… I was satisfied and the staff was friendly, but it didn’t really hit the spot.
I got the breakfast sandwich and my boyfriend got the 2×2×2.
His was definitely better than mine. I thought that I could have made the breakfast sandwich at home myself because there was really nothing special about it. I ordered mine with avocado which really made a difference! It would have been pretty bland without.
It was a good quick bite that I got because no one was there (Monday morning), but I probably wouldn’t wait in line.

A great deli if you do not know deli. Otherwise, don’t bother. The pastrami is supposed to be generous, warm and tasty. The sandwich had none of these. Half sours? None. Slabs of pastrami? No, mean little slices. I was at the Thurman one. Those guys on Stark better start running a real deli on Thurman if they want to put out that sign. Otherwise it is a travesty.
In short: don’t bother.

This morning I was really excited to try the restaurant for the first time. Decided to get a bagel cheese and egg sandwich to go before heading off to work. It wasn’t very busy but the gentleman taking my order seemed a bit anxious. I was in no hurry and understood that he needed a minute to take an order, answer a different call and take that order, then confirm the order with the kitchen who was confused with the order he took. No problem. It was a good morning no rain no rush. The bagel was what I went for– spendy… but hey it’s Friday. I was asked what kind of cheese I would like. I said «cheddar». A quick 6 minutes later I was on my way to work and enjoy my breakfast bagel.
Opened my box of joy to find out it was Swiss instead. (Sigh) alright. Gave it a bite and was not impressed. The bagel was a dry and for $ 6.75 for a bagel I was hoping for what I asked for. Gave them a quick call to make sure I didn’t have someone else’s order and explained my disappointment– the person who I talked to didn’t really seem to care nor want to correct the mixup. Sigh. A fabulous morning with a Swiss and egg bagel that didn’t really taste like much.
The location is great— I can’t speak for the other food items on the menu just my breakfast experience. Next time I will reconsider my breakfast choice and explore other nearby locations.

Probably one of the best Reuben’s I’ve ever had. Corned beef was piled high, Swiss was nice and bold, sauerkraut was crunchy, and the sauce sealed the deal!

A must when you visit Portland. I got the egg salad sandwich w/​potato salad, my husband got the rueben with pastrami & corned beef. we also got the homemade applesauce for my little one. The assorted pickles & my favorite the LEMON BAR! Seriously the lemon bar was amazing. But the sandwiches were awesome and we were so happy we found this place while we were staying in Portland. Great customer service. The place was really nice looking in the inside too. We got the food to go but once we go again we’ll get it for there. They have an awesome assortment of soda pop too. All in all, totally 5 star worthy! If you’re in downtown Portland. Go to this place!!!

I just had the Rachel — turkey pastrami, coleslaw, Russian dressing, and switched the Swiss for cheddar. Omg!!! That turkey pastrami literally melted in my mouth. I don’t get all the negative reviews. Cool host, good waitress, and to die for turkey!!! Yum!!!

So this review is two stars instead of three largely because of the service. The three stars are based on the basics of my reviewing criteria because I screwed up and didn’t read the fine print on the menu. I cannot rate them on the food because I (a) don’t like smoked food and (b) never knew that what I thought mom made was pastrami was corned beef? Still can’t wrap my head around that because I’ve had both at your QFC-​type deli and corned beef at people’s homes and don’t see how they are the same thing minus smoking. Corned beef is bland and doesn’t have that peppery coating so it just doesn’t jive for me.
So.
If you liked smoked food, you will love this place BUT
1. They are so beyond overpriced as to be absurd. Who pays this much for a small –insert expletive– sandwich with a small side. Dude, it isn’t foie gras (or insert your own expensive item). The prices alone are a big hell no. I totally question the sanity of anyone paying that much money for so little. What little I did eat (putting aside the smoked thing) just could NOT rate the price. Heck, I’d rather drive to Redding or (now?) Medford to get a double-​double and have brilliant food and pay money in gas. That is money well spent. The mind boggles. OR! I’d buy my own smoker and make it myself!
2. The guy at the counter where they have to go stuff was super friendly. My waiter was super friendly when he was seating me and taking my order. He wasn’t exactly too up on the ingredients of the potato salad but I didn’t have any nasty surprises there so I was okay. He did become rather inattentive after that. Two bites of my sandwich and a few more of my potato salad (because I thought I’d be taking home leftovers) and my nearly completely full plate and I sat unattended for a good long while in a not busy restaurant. Why have table service if you’re not going to bother? They could do counter service and that would be cool; it is a deli after all.
2b? Had to wait to get noticed, nobody asked about my untouched plate or whether I was good or happy with my meal. I didn’t complain because I didn’t read the fine print. I own some responsibility for that but the service just wasn’t there. When I asked for a togo box, they brought me a tiny one that didn’t fit my food at all. I did try to make it fit because I wasn’t looking to make waves. It was like some guilt-​induced acquiescence for not realizing that pastrami is smoked. I finally got their attention and got a bigger box. The dumped the check, didn’t ask if I wanted anything else.
Seriously, up your game on service or just be a deli.
It seemed clean but after the few bites of the food, I just wanted to escape. Luckily, on the way back to work there were some hungry street kids willing to take my leftovers so I feel okay with the wasted money.
So not going back. Seriously, best deli? Again, overlooking the smoked thing, WHY?! I see nothing special about this place. They get a couple points for having egg cream sodas because those are pretty rare. I don’t like ‘em personally but that’s just me.
I’d welcome any messages with any explanation about the whole pastrami vs corned beef situation as well as recs on delis downtown. And you can totally hate on me for not liking smoked food ;)

Kim is awesome! We came here after picking up some coffee nextdoor ar stumpton. Friends wanted some cheesecake and we saw some by the window.
We ordered one slice to share amongst the three of us, but Kim said since two of the cheesecake slices were broken, those will be on the house! We are visiting from LA so it was a nice welcome from the portlandians :)
Will definitely come back to try their other food.
Sweet deal!

This was a super bummer experience for us. First off, after waiting a while for a couple of tables for our large group, they sat us at two opposite ends of the restaurant. Which was fine since they were pretty busy, except that there were two tables right next to each other that would fit us all… we had to ask to be moved… it was sort of a common sense thing that had us shaking our heads from the start.
The server we had was really odd. She was snarky and irritated with our questions, whatever, we weren’t going to let her ruin our experience.
Then came the soup. The Hungarian mushroom soup was pretty good, maybe a tad too much smoked paprika, but we enjoyed it. One of my children ordered the chicken noodle soup… what the heck!!! It literally tasted like they boiled the chicken in the water, dumped that into a cup and threw in some noodles. No seasonings, no flavor, straight up boiled chicken water. It was horrid. Honestly it was one of the worst things I’ve ever eaten. We told the waitress about it, she didn’t really seem to care.
Time for the main courses… I ordered the potatoes latkes, they were pretty good, nothing spectacular, but I enjoyed them. One of my nieces ordered a hot dog off the kids menu, and that’s all she got, a hot dog. No sides, no fries, one measly hot dog. Then when we asked the server about it she replied in the rudest tone that «Nope, if you want fries you have to order them. They are an extra $ 3.» None of the sandwiches came with fries. $ 12 for a sandwich with no sides… what the??? I get the whole a la carte thing, but it didn’t say this anywhere on the menu. We ended up ordering some fries for the hungry kids and they were cold and hard… lovely.
Hardly anyone in our group of 15 enjoyed their meal. There was burnt bread, dry pastrami, and super hungry kids when we’re were done. We ended up having to get them something more to eat elsewhere. The server was so rude about the whole thing, too, it just made for a terrible experience all around.

Had the Latkes and jelly stuffed donuts… but it was take out. The donuts were great! I’m not a huge fan of the sweet stuff, so I was hesitant to try them, but I’m glad I did. They tasted freshly baked and had just the right amount of sugar level into them that I could probably even go for a second one haha. Raspberry filling I believe? Yum.
Then the Latkes were salted perfectly, crunchy and good– just like I like em! In the to go box they added in a huge scoop of sour cream and right next to it a huge scoop of applesauce. I would have liked if they put them in actual to go containers and not just in the box, but it wasn’t that big of a deal.
These two items off the menu have got me curious enough to want to go in sometime soon!

While staying across the street in the Mark Spencer Hotel I decided I needed something for lunch. I went in this place and sat at the counter watching two guys make some of the best looking Rubens in had ever seen.
I ordered a Ruben and then my inner glutton kicked in so I tacked on a bowl of mac n cheese. I watched as these guys made my food and the wait staff made sure I knew my food was on the way.
Once I got my food it was delicious I regretted nothing, though I did need a to go box for half of the creamy flavor full, mac n cheese and a quarter of the delicious ruben. I will definitely be back during my next visit to Portland!

I am craving pastrami. There’s no need to do a search on Unilocal.I know where I am heading, where the pastrami is consistently mouth watering. I’m after a man-​size pastrami sandwich. I like it on grilled white bread, not rye. Loaded with pastrami inches thick. And then I stack some coleslaw on top of the pastrami to take it up a notch. That satisfies the bulbous nerve endings on my tongue and mouth lining. Tastes great, even though the waiter brought the pastrami on rye instead of white. I am eating and enjoying this mistake. Truly it is all good.

Well that was one of the worst lunches I’ve had.
We ordered through Postmates two of us got the «Famous Pastrami Sandwich.» I sure hope this is not a famous sandwich because it was pretty bad. It was two pieces of dry bread with some pastrami in the middle. They left off the mustard and slaw that was advertised, it was difficult to choke down since it was so dry.
Another in our party got the «All Day Breakfast», he ordered Pastrami and Corned Beef Hash with a poached egg. When we received our order they wrote on the box that they don’t do poached eggs after 11am, so they sent us scrambled eggs. Scrambled eggs is the opposite of poached, a sunny side up egg would have been much better. We don’t understand why they can’t poach an egg after 11am when they advertise an all day breakfast? Does water no longer boil there in the afternoon?
We ordered three items and not one of them was correct. Do yourself a favor and avoid this place.

Kenny and Zuke’s, as much as I want to rate it a 2 star, it also deserves a 4 star. I love pastrami and this place is always a hit-​or-​miss (ymmv).
I normally have the classic beef pastrami on toasted rye with Russian dressing on the side. I had occasions when the pastrami consisted of 80% fat. It literally melts in your mouth (not in a pleasant way). On good days, the meat-​fat ratio was perfect: not too dry, not too wet/​fatty. When this is the case, you can tell they did a nice job on curing the meat with a refreshing spice rub (rosy pink all the way through).
Tip: If you’re with a bigger group skip the sides if fries and order the pastrami fries. A very nice portion to share.
Kenny & Zuke’s: Get your pastrami quality consistent or let us choose our own cut.

Pretty bad experience here… had to wait more than an hour for their turkey pastrami sandwich. server never bothered to come over and ask for refills for our drinks or why our order was taking so long. Wasn’t that busy either… I’ve heard good things about their pastries but won’t be coming back from them after such a bad customer experience.

Kenny and Zukes was conveniently located a block or two from the West End apartment I stayed at for a month during July. For one reason or another, I passed by several times before going there for breakfast on our last morning in Portland. Boy was it a disappointing end to an otherwise amazing month of eating.
Ordered two breakfasts, the Veg 222, and the three egg omelette with zucchini, tomato and Swiss. I wanted to like this place. It has a nice look and feel, but it was a major disappointment. Bland and burnt potatoes that should have been an embarrassment to serve. Latkes and rye bread that came with the Veg 222 were good but the veggies were overcooked and flavorless, and the eggs tasted as if they’d been poured from an egg beaters carton.
Service was weak: when I asked for an outside table upon arrival the server just told me to order at the «to go» counter and said «you can take it outside and eat» before she turned her back and walked away. Gee, thanks. I stood at the to go counter for a few minutes before anyone showed up, and when they did it was a new employee who was unfamiliar with the menu, needed me to get a printed menu to point to what I wanted, and then didn’t know how to ring up the order.
I love food and the restaurant scene in Portland is as good as any I’ve experienced. I do not consider myself a food or service snob, as my goal in going to a restaurant is to simply enjoy my food. These aren’t impossibly high standards, so when a place fails to meet them, it’s notable for me.
With neighborhood competition from the excellent Cheryl’s and Tasty n Alder, you gotta be on your game – and Kenny and Zukes was a massive fail. I would not come back except to steal a table to enjoy a glorious Stumptown Coffee (located immediately next door).

It had been quite a while since my last visit, and I was salivating for a genuine Jewish deli hot, juicy, tender pastrami on soft fresh rye.
Got there during happy hour, and I was stoked to see that the prices were greatly reduced. ($ 7.95 compared to $ 12.95 for the sandwich, $ 4.00 for a huge Caesar salad instead of $ 9.95, $ 3.00 pints instead of $ 5.00). But then I found out why.
The pastrami was cool and dry, not juicy or as tasty as usual, and smaller portioned. And the rye was dry and at least a couple of days old. Now to me, happy hour is to give the customer value for showing up between busy lunch and dinner hours. not for cutting back and/​or serving cold leftovers.
I can not say anything bad about the Caesar except that it would have been better if they had torn or cut the huge leafs into edible sized pieces. Very good garlicy, yolky, anchovy dressing and generous portions of grated cheese and croutons.
But alas K&Z, I had to lower my star rating for this disappointing experience. No longer my go to. I’m branching out.

We dropped by here on our last day in Portland, since it was just across the street from our hotel, and we were tight on time. 10 am on a Sunday, this place was PACKED, but we were lucky to score one of the two empty tables at the time.
SERVICE.
Fairly fast. Our server was a nice guy, although definitely in a rush.
THE BAGELS.
Pretty good, although different from what I’m used to — maybe they used a sourdough starter? I’m not really sure, it definitely wasn’t bad, just didn’t fulfill my dream of the perfect bagel and lox.
It wasn’t bad at all, but as a non-​local and with limited meals in Portland, I probably wouldn’t use another one up there.

The short: delicious, hearty pastrami sandwich
My friend and I were walking around downtown for much of the day, and were glad to find this open spot at 3 pm. We couldn’t decide what to order, so we asked the ladies sitting next to us what they were eating. They were eating the Pastrami on Rye, so we decided to split. The sandwich was very delicious, with good amounts of fat and smoky flavor. The rye bread was crunchy, letting the whole sandwich melt deliciously in my mouth. My friend stated that she has had better, though I can’t say much to that because I don’t order pastrami sandwiches often.
For a $ 13 dish that we split, it was more than plenty, and we couldn’t fathom the idea of having one person eat so much in one sitting.
The environment was very open and spacious with a lot of natural light, and I thought it was so convenient that there is a little deli off to the side to buy various meats.

A friendly employee at Powell’s recommended I grab my lunch from this deli during my solo travel day in Portland last week. Such a good call.
I had been craving chicken salad all weekend and had somehow yet to come across it. Upon walking in, I scanned the menu/​asked if they had chicken salad at the same time. Indeed, they did! I then discussed chicken salad with the guy working, which was exciting because I have a weird (lifelong) fixation with chicken salad going on.
I ordered a half sandwich and half salad to-​go. The wait for my order wasn’t very long and the guy offered to help me stow the box in my bag of travel mementos, which was really nice. Upon opening the bag, he asked if I was visiting. Turns out my Portland map gave it away that I was from out-​of-​town! Ha!
A short walk brought me to a park and I ate my salads in the warm, sunny weather. As someone who has braved the Philly winter these past few months, this made me so happy.

Une épicerie juive qui était bondée. Ça me dit alors que le restaurant est formidable et c’était bien le cas ! Essayez Kenny’s special !