The Peoples’ Sandwich of Portland

I’m still so in shock they closed… Please please reopen somewhere!!! I miss you so much!!!

This is by far my favorite place to eat in Portland! I’m heartbroken to hear it’s closing. RIP people’s, I’ll miss you forever.

People’s Sandwich had a pretty great location that was located next to the Saturday Market, Red/​Blue line and other local Old Town haunts, so it was a bit of a bummer to see them disappear. While the prices were a little high for a lunch venue, the Philly was made fresh on the spot (and consistently good I might add), with the staff frequently offering me extra goodies (homemade chips, cookies, etc.) and/​or drinks on the side. I’ll be praying to sweet zombie jesus that they’ll be able to make a return sometime in the near future.

So Bummed! I was looking forward to eatting here when I visit Portland in October. Saaaaaaaaaaaad…

People’s Sandwich makes one hell of a good sandwich and thats probably why local startups and foodies make the spot a regular place to lunch. I’m a big fan of their «Hammer & Pickle» sandwich and their Dic’tater Chips and secret sauce is also tasty,
You really cannot go wrong with a people’s sandwich and san pellegrino orange!

Unfortunately, I have just received some news that this place may be closing down.
I’ve been there many times over the past two years (our office is local), and I’ve always loved the food and their staff.
Not only was everything affordable, it was also lovingly prepared by a staff that appeared to be heavily invested (personally) in the success of the shop.
My fav was the Argento Arrabiata and their Tomato Basil Soup was awesome. The Navin R Johnson (Jerk Chicken) was a very close runner-​up in my book.
If you are gone, das vedanya, comrades.

I freely admit that writing a second update to this review is ridiculous, but after visiting this place yesterday for the first time in ages I realized that my previous point deduction was unfair. I think I had been eating there too frequently, and coming back after a long gap brought me to this judgment: these are pretty decent sandwiches made with unexpectedly high quality ingredients for slightly too much money. The curly fries make it worth it.

$ 8.50 is way too much for a half of chicken cheesesteak! Although tasty, the experience is overpriced.
The homemade chips are pretty good, but they were so gummy I couldn’t tell if they were made that morning or a morning a week ago?!
No matter the case; be sure to ask for Wu-​Tang sauce! (It’s not on the counter nor the menu but adds a nice flavor twist)

I really liked this place. It had fast services and everything seemed to be hand/​homemade.
The an order of fries will is enough for 2 people and they are homemade. Not overly oily or soft like some homemade fries.
I ordered an ordered a portland cheesesteak. It come out hot and cooked just right.
Steak was tender the onions grilled up just right and the combination of white american and provolone was perfect. I am not a cheesesteak expert, but this is a GOOD sandwich.
Every order seems to come with a bag of homemade chips. They are thick and crunchy and have a terrific seasoning.

I came here for lunch and tried their hot Italian sandwich. It’s not BAD — but for $ 8.50, my money is better spent on the Italian at Bunk. Sorry People’s Sandwich of Portland! I’d pay maybe like $ 6 for this sandwich… except, no, I’d still rather go to Bunk.
Their potato chips, however, are homemade and top the ones at Bunk (when did this become a comparison review?) — but for the main course of the sandwich, I’ll probably head elsewhere.
Again — it’s not BAD, it gets the job done for sure, I just think for the price and variety Bunk wins out no contest.
Service was friendly but still took a while to get my sandwich. Lots of open seating (very different from Bunk in that regard) so if you want to go have a sit down sandwich this would be a better place to go.

We’d just gotten off the train in Portland and wanted to grab something to eat before going home. We decided on The Peoples Sandwich of Portland, mostly out of convenience. What a mistake that was. Totally urban, hipster Mecca. I’d rather have gone to Wilf’s.
I was excited that they offered a gluten free version of their sandwiches and decided on the Peoples Sandwich: Soylent Green (pan friend ota tofu covered in pesto), sweet and spicy peppadew peppers and filberts on a French roll. Billed as vegan. My version was wrapped in a gluten-​free wrap. Yuk. I could barely taste anything but the peppers and the tofu was a greasy mess. Way overpriced at 8.50.
Sorry, this one just didn’t do it for me, although I did like the bag of chips.

Kind of a limited menu but what they do offer, they do really well. I opted for the hammer and pickle, which is more than «just a Cuban» because everything down to the pickles seemed house made. Like everywhere else in Portland, they seem to strive more for quality than speed, but I’m not complaining.
Crusty bread, juicy pork loin, ham and gooey cheese was made even better with the house made hot sauce the cook brought over with my sandwich. The Tootsie roll… yeah I didn’t really get it… but the little brown bag of fresh chips that comes with every sandwich was a great bonus.
I’m really happy that nothing at the Saturday market was appealing, or I never would’ve happened upon this place while trying to remember where I parked. The area seemed a little sketchy and I probably wouldn’t go there at night, but I’m sheltered so maybe its just me.

I got the People Sandwich (pan fried tofu covered in pesto, sweet and spicy peppadew peppers and filberts on a french roll). So good! They make their own homemade chips and ketchup as well.
The person that took my order was friendly, and was able to tell me where there was a store so I could pick up a 6 pack to have while I ate this amazing sandwich.
This place is pretty much evenly priced along the same lines as Subway and Quizno’s, but why go to those places when you can have something delicious, fresh and local?
This place is definitely a place I wil go to again and again. They are even open until 3 am on Fri and Sat!

DIG the tofu sandwich «people sandwich» — not often does tofu work between two pieces of bread
fish, vegs, meat, housemade chips AND condiments, soups, salads etc.
open until 3am Fri/​Sat !

Nestled in a corner of Old Town Portland, People’s Sandwich is dishing out some of the tastiest noshes you will find between buns. With all proteins sourced from the region, house-​made chips and condiments, People’s satisfies my sammich jonesin’ frequently (3x this week).
There’s a nice variety on offer, from breakfast types (fried egg and cheese, with ham, bacon, or veggie patty), to the spicy hot sub (salami, ham, provolone on a French roll).
I gotta tell ya, I’m not a mayo kind of guy, and their mayo is to die for.
This week I had both the hot Italian, and their Cuban (traditional recipe w/​ham and pork loin), and I couldn’t say which one I liked better. In fact one day, I ordered both, and alternated bites. (Hey, I’m not joking about this place).
Open from 10A weekdays, and noon on weekends, People’s dish it out til 6pm Mon-​Thurs, 4P Sundays, and for the late night crowd, til 3AM Friday and Saturday nites.
Catering available.

Why oh why Portland (or west coast for that matter) do you insist on putting mayo on everything? Not everyone likes mayo. It is an evil evil condiment. Sorry. I’m ranting.
I came here for lunch from my office because I’m on crutches and I didn’t want to go far for my meal. Had been meaning to try this place, so today was the day.
Looking over the menu I decided on the Hammer and Pickle (hold the mayo). This is a traditional Cuban sandwich with ham, pork loin, pickle, Swiss and mustard on a french roll pressed on a grill. This is served with their dicTater chips. Get it?
The sandwich was very tasty, but again a bit too small for the price. $ 8? Really? Is this the common price for small sandwiches in Portland now? I’m not knocking the sandwich at all. Seems to be made with care and quality ingredients, but you can’t tell me it should cost $ 8. $ 6 maybe, but certainly not $ 8.
The service was friendly. Cute tattooed girl behind the counter. Free water. Blah blah blah.
I am not a commie nor have I ever associated with commies.

I am always on the hunt for a good sandwich place and I had very high hopes. Unfortunately this did not meet those expectations. Nothing was wrong, nothing bad the food was just ok but not something that I would make a special trip for. The fresh cut curly fries were pretty rocking however. Those I give a big thumbs up to.
Also seemed a bit more expensive for what you got then I would have expected.

I’ve had their Cuban (pork sandwich with pickle) and their turkey (super peppery, awesome) and I’m a believer. The chips are pretty good handmade examples, they’re not going to cure cancer. The fries are really great and hand, uh, spun or whatever. You gotta see the gizmo they use to cut them, I can’t really describe it.
The turkey comes on some kind of twigs and berries laden roll I didn’t dig, tho. The Cuban (all these have special names I can’t be arsed to recall) had a normal roll. Maybe they’ll sub, they’re friendly and pretty quick, especially for a stand in line, bus your own table place. And it took over the space a shitty nightclub used to occupy. Win win.

Filberts?! On a sandwich?! Yes, please!
What a great shop — TPSP has selected a healthy handful of sandwiches to choose from and they sure do them right. It’s not the kind of sandwich shop where you build a sandwich from 8 million ingredients… they’ve focused on a few gems that are clearly wildly popular. Almost everyone walking in, or in line near me, were decided on the cheesesteak before even setting foot in the door.
I had The People’s… thick slabs of pesto-​smeared Ota tofu (they call this concoction the Soylent Green), sauteed peppadews (heck yeah), and crushed Filberts. Holy Hell it was delicious. It came stuffed into a white roll, but I had to retreat to the counter for a fork lest I make a giant mess of everything at our table.
Eight bucks for a sandwich may seem a lot, but considering that you would spend $ 6 – 7 at crappy Subway on a sandwich made of crap ingredients.,. the $ 8 at People’s is a freakin’ bargain. Nothing but the best ingredients here, I am confident of that. They even make their own catsup (ketchup?) for the curly fries, for Mao’s sake! Do not miss the fresh dicTaterchips… and cross your fingers you get a couple in the bag still a little on the soft side– those are the best.
It’s a great shop, I will be back.

It just keeps getting better every time I go. I’ve now sampled:
– The hot tuna melt — tuna salad on a french roll with melted cheese — YUM! Lots of tuna. Very tasty.
– Portland Über Alles — Seasoned veg on a Dave’s Killer roll — very tasty, lots of fresh veggies that are not overcooked with a yummy season salt and cheese. Delicious
– Breakfast — Egg, cheese, and Morningstar sausage on a Dave’s Killer roll. Simple but solidly tasty.
– Soylent Green — baked marinated tofu with spicy peppers (roasted), pesto, filberts, and some form of tasty sauce (balsamic?). Not a flavor combo that I would usually choose, but a very tasty sandwich nonetheless (served on a french roll).
– Caprese-​ish — as you would guess and described in my first review — tasty.
Overall, you can tell that a lot of love and care goes into these bad boys, along with quality ingredients and creative flavor pairings. The most important aspect to me — I will not be making most of these at home.
Portland used to lack awesome sandwich places, and now with high caliber options like People’s, J Café, Bunk, MCB, and Melt, we almost have too many choices! This one’s easy, though. Add in the fresh cooked chips, and if I’m in the area, I’m sold.