While my friend Jen was in town I thought a trip to the newish Grand Stark Deli would be a great way to catch some breakfast before picking up my annual salmon share nearby—which, if you are unaware is a fantastic way to access high quality salmon in bulk (we’ve been doing it for 10 years). The deli is just off the lobby in the Hotel Grand Stark—the historic building was born as Hotel Chamberlain, converted to a local furniture manufacturer for 80 years and reopened as a hotel this past May. The deli serves up a west-coast interpretation of east coast deli food—including some of the best avocado toast I’ve ever eaten.
As an aside—in the past I’ve often condemned avocado toast as “twee” and “frivolous” but I have changed my tune, in part to eating a number of very well-executed avocado toast dishes in Portland. But this was one of the best—if not the best—I’ve ever had.
First, a few shots of the deli space itself.
One detail that I really liked was the water tap—both flat and sparkling, right at your fingertips!
Sparkling on the right.
The coffee they use is from Good Coffee and my iced latte was very nice.
One thing in their pasty case that I had never encountered before was a strawberry jam croissant. There’s strawberry jam in the croissant, and it also has a bit of glaze studded with bits of dehydrated strawberries. They make this and the other items in the case in-house. It’s very messy, but truly delicious.
Finally, the avocado toast was really pretty impressive. They start with a toasted everything english muffin and top it with smashed avocado, pickled chiles, sprouts and sunflower seeds.
The avocado was so silky and smooth, with that lovely fattiness you get with avocados. The mouthfeel was stupendous. I loved the sharpness of the pickled chiles—which also was a good match for the seed, alliums, and salt mix that is the everything bagel seasoning they use. The sunflower seeds added bits of crunch and the sprouts lightened things up a bit. I could not get over how delicious it was.
We really enjoyed the space, which was really light and airy. We got there around 8:30am; things really picked up in the 9 o’clock hour, with lots of people coming in and out. Staff was really helpful and friendly, too.
The Grand Stark Deli is a great addition to the central inside neighborhood. The hotel lobby was fun and comfortable, and felt very Portland (that’s a good thing).
So head on over to the Grand Stark Deli and enjoy some quality food in a nice atmosphere. They are open every day from 7am to 4pm. Note: they offer half-priced pastries and desserts from 3pm to 4pm, daily.
Grand Stark Deli
Located in the Hotel Grand Stark
509 SE Grand Avenue, Portland
grandstarkdeli.com | Instagram | Facebook
Meg Cotner
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