Lardo, the venerable and iconic Portland sandwich restaurant helmed by Rick Gencarelli has a monthly special, the “chefwich” where he invites a local chef to craft a special sandwich that sells for the month and part of the proceeds go to a charity of the chef’s choosing. I’m not sure when exactly this started, but I’ve been clued into it for the last few years. I make a point to stop by each month to try the new offering. The sandwiches tend to be unique, inventive, creative. No “ham and cheese” type sandwiches. These are serious sandwiches by chefs, hence “chefwich”. This post is a roundup of my favorites. I winnowed it down to six (out of a possible twelve). They are not in order of favoritism, but in calendar order.

From January, David from HAB Sauce dropped the “Gravy Train” on us. Chicken fried steak, bacon, fried egg, dill pickles, HAB sauce on Texas toast with a side of sausage gravy. This was really delicious and exactly how it sounded. The sausage gravy was key to dip it in and really tied the whole experience together.

From March, this is a Gochujang Pulled Pork from chef Heather Kintler of Normandie. Gochujang pulled pork, coconut, braised collard greens, peanut sauce, 7up pickled cucumbers and cilantro. This thing went BONKERS!!! So tasty, love the collard greens on there. The pork was delicious and all the flavors went perfect together. Very crave-able, nine months later I want another one! But that’s the beauty of the chefwich, one month only and never again. Side of potato salad for a nice lunch.

From April, the Big Island Blue Plate was crafted by chefs Emily and Ryan of Sugarpine Drive-In in Troutdale, OR. Sugarpine is one of my favorite restaurants. They serve really creative, delicious food. I stop by often after hikes. Emily was a schoolmate and neighbor of mine growing up. This sandwich was delicious! Mochiko chicken fried steak, loco moco gravy, furikake fried egg, sugar snap chrysanthemum salad, red ginger-sancho aioli on a Oyatsupan Bakers sesame milk bun. So creative. All the ingredients really meshed well and the surprising star of the show was the chrysanthemum salad.

From May, this is the Roman Style Braised Beef sandwich from Michelle Vernier of Bella’s Italian Bakery. Braised beef, provolone piccante, salsa verde mayo, house giardiniera, parm on a Dos Hermanos seeded baguette. Wow, just wow! 3 months in a row of really exceptional sandwiches. This thing was so good. The braised beef was super tasty, the flavor profile was similar to a meatball. Then the salsa verde came through with a nice light, acidic balance to the rich beef. Mangia!

The Sloppy Sasto from Joe Sasto. This one was a real treat, since normally the chef is local, but this is from San Fransisco based legend Joe Sasto, the prince of pasta, the regent of ravioli, the ‘stashe himself! If you watch cooking competition shows, you are no doubt familiar with him. Top Chef, Chopped, Tournament of Champions, you name it. He has a brand of puffed pasta chips called Tantos. Braised beef, sharp provolone & American cheese, garlic braised Swiss chard, house giardinara, crumbled Tantos, dijonaisse and black pepper gravy. Wooo! This sandwich went hard. Super delicious and the black pepper gravy was insane. All the ingredients shone and worked perfectly. Now I can say I’ve had a dish from a famous chef!

Last up is the August chefwich from Taelyn Lang, the chef behind Tortuga Gordo hot sauces. That’s two chefwiches from hot sauce guys! The “Jerk Store” Marinated and smoked chicken thigh, pineapple caramel, jicama slaw, crispy chicken skin, and “Rotten Jerk” (custom hot sauce) mayo on a brioche. A play on Jamaican jerk chicken, it was executed really well. The sauces really shined through, the chicken was perfect and the accoutrement of caramel, jicama slaw and crispy chicken skin really elevated it.

So many good sandwiches! And these are just the chefwiches, I need to do another post on the Lardo menu. I jokingly refer to myself as the “Portland Sandwich King” but if there were a real PSK it would be Rick of Lardo. Give them a visit, and try the chefwich! I look forward to 2026 and another year of delicious, inventive sandwiches from the best chefs around.