Break Bread — Restaurant in Portland

I know things about myself, like I’m a picky eater. I don’t like leftovers. Also, I love a good sammie. On that particular note, I’d rather spend $10-12 on a sandwich at a shop versus buying the supplies to make a week’s worth at home and wasting 80% of those ingredients because mentally - to me - they are leftovers. Alas. So I was excited to see a new sandwich shop a few blocks from my home, which allowed me a little non-Subway variety in my ‘hood. There’s something about living exactly between Charlie’s Deli and the seemingly equally always busy Break Bread. It seems everyone in the neighborhood was equally excited, since it truly does always seem to have a line outside when I go by - pandemic or no. Sadly, I haven’t been able to dodge the work week lunch crowd by sneaking in on a weekend, because I can’t catch them open on a weekend...without fact checking on their site, it just seems like they are closed on weekends, or I go by too late to catch them. Or it’s a long weekend and they are closed for it. One of the three, I’m sure. Imagine how happy I was when I toddled by on a short work week following Labor Day and there was only one person in line waiting for their order! Victory! They have a lot more sandwiches on their poster menu than the two I found on their online menu, which is good. Picky eater, remember? There were even several I felt comfortable ordering without making special requests to omit certain ingredients. But, I was feeling like I missed out on the Labor Day grilling and ordered the BBQ chicken sammie - without asking to leave off the slaw as I usually would because theirs sounded like a pretty simple slaw versus - well, never mind. But as I get older, I have started to enjoy the accent slaw adds to the tanginess of a BBQ sauce. For me, this sando was a bit disappointing. I think I’d expected a pulled chicken versus chunks of white meat, which is on me for assuming, but the BBQ sauce seemed to be more of a condiment than a part of the actual chicken prep. Not that I would have minded, the chicken was good! It’s just with the amount of slaw added, it seemed more like a slaw sandwich with a little chicken added than the other way around. And the slaw overwhelmed everything; the BBQ sauce, the chicken and I didn’t even remember there was cheese on it until the last bite when I found a cheese crumb in the wrap. Even being a picky eater, I ate everything but the heel on both halves - it was just too drenched in slaw juice for my taste. I guess when I see the word “BBQ” in a sandwich’s name, I want BBQ sauce dripping onto my plate, not slaw juice. In my book, the only ingredient you can have more of in a sammie than the star ingredient is the bread - oh, and they have some yummy bread options! - so the slaw here was just too much for me. Now I know how to order this sandwich next time, though...not that there aren’t a few other options to try before I settle on a regular order. And I will be going back. The two-person team was nice and friendly. They seemed to work well together, even in my limited pandemic-vision ability to observe them, and that’s a big deal. I want to eat happy food, not pre-processed food made by an assembly line of drones. This unassuming little shop definitely fits into my happy...

I got my first sandwich at the former location even though there was a line outside, which I was actually happy to see because it just shows how much people like the food, I didn’t have to wait long. The service was really efficient and friendly. I took a walk around the block, stopped at a shop, and by the time I came back, my sandwich was ready. The bread was delicious, which is no surprise, since that is featured in the name of the store, and it is baked fresh daily, which so many sandwich shops do not do. As a vegetarian, often I’m not able to find something at a sandwich shop, but they had so many options that I had a hard time deciding. Now I typically get either the Credible Hulk or the VLT. I just found out that they are one of only a few small businesses that offer full healthcare to their full-time employees. I just typically don’t see that, and that is part of my value set as well. I really love supporting companies that do the right thing. I highly recommend you make this part of your weekly treat to...

I walked by this place earlier on my way to the post office and decided I'd pick up lunch here after dropping off a package.

There was something familiar about the name "Break Bread," but I couldn't put my finger on it. After looking them up later, it dawned on me; I had applied for a job here about five years ago when they were located in the Pearl District.

I applied through Craigslist, and via email, I was asked by Pierce to come in for a "work interview" on 4/20/2019 from 1pm - 2pm, time for which I was never paid. Not only is it unethical to take advantage of people in this way, but it is also illegal under Oregon law, something I wish I'd known at the time (I was not hired, never heard anything back from them).

By the way, the sandwich I ordered, the "Strami," was nothing special and not worth the inflated price I paid. Given my experience, had I immediately recognized this place (I was thrown off by the new location), I never would have stepped...