Summer to me is fresh produce, especially heirloom tomatoes and fruit. Living in the Willamette Valley, we are so lucky to grow so much excellent produce. This summer really hit home for me how much I love heirloom tomatoes and how, moving forward, non-seasonal tomatoes just won’t do for me anymore! This year’s crop seemed extra divine. This post is all about BLTs and summer salads. Bonus when they are served together! To start with the featured image above is the Strawberry Fields salad from Farmer & the Beast (several locations). This is my favorite summer salad. Oregon Strawberries, Fromage Blanc, Pickled Fennel, Roasted Spring Vegetables, Cucumbers, Spring Greens, Almonds, with Strawberry Vinaigrette and Balsamic Drizzle. It is perfect. I don’t know where they source those strawberries from, but they are some of the best I’ve ever had.

Stone Fruit Panzanella (above) and Basil BLT (below) from new restaurant Gabby’s Next Door on NE 30th and Killingsworth. This is the casual sister lunch restaurant to Gabbiano’s that opened this summer. They are doing mostly sandwiches and some sides and salads. I went there for the first time this week and it was delightful! This panzanella was great, though like most salads like this, I wish chefs chopped everything smaller. The BLT had heirloom tomatoes and basil aioli. It was delicious! I love the flavor addition of basil to what is already a perfect sandwich. Apologies for the bad BLT photo.

The BLT from Laurelhurst Market. Braised House Cured Bacon, Thick Cut Heirloom Tomato, Arugula, & Basil Mayo on a Toasted Potato Bun. This bacon was cut super thick, more like pork belly kind of thickness. Laurelhurst knows their meat! This bacon was so flavorful. Again, love the basil mayo and arugula. Perfect BLT.

BLT & Stonefruit salad from HarBQ. This is from three weeks ago and is about the most perfect representation of summer on a plate. They were using bacon from a local purveyor Hang Belly Ranch and it was possibly the best bacon I’ve had in my life. The tomato was peak, and there was a nice pesto aioli. I’ve eaten more BLTs this summer than any other year and I’ve loved every single one! HarBQ has been stepping up their game in every way, but especially when it comes to sides. Their sides are incredible, creative, and highlight seasonal produce. This salad had various stonefruit, heirloom tomatoes, herbs, fried shallots, manchego, marionberry vinaigrette. Perfect lunch.

Spring Chinook Niçoise from Sugarpine. This was technically from Spring as it was mid-May when I ordered this, but close enough to summer for this post. Is this not the most beautiful salad you’ve ever seen? There are like 900 ingredients, so I won’t list them, but safe to say this is a very memorable salad that I’m still thinking about 3 months later. That salmon was top notch. Suparpine is an absolute gem and I make a point to stop there every time they drop a new menu. Also got a shrimp roll when I went this time (not pictured).

BLT from Walter French’s. OK this one doesn’t use heirloom tomatoes, and it is available all year, BUT, it is still a great BLT, one of the best in town. All the others I’ve shown were seasonal and artfully constructed, this one is massive (still artfully constructed!). Unlike the other smaller, more delicate ones, this one is truly a meal on its own. If you follow my IG or this blog, you know of my love of Walter French’s. Best sandwiches in town.

Lastly I want to give a shout out to Lulu, a food cart in Troutdale, OR serving up Hawaiian inspired street food. I had heard good things about this place and went to check it out this summer before a hike and exploring in the Gorge. I ordered “light” as I didn’t want any leftovers in my car and still received a massive amount of food. Got a spicy mustard fried chicken sandwich and this Cilantro Citrus Salad. This food is incredible! All this for $16 btw. They really heaped it on with the salad. Green cabbage, cucumber, red onion, cilantro citrus dressing, fried shallots & lemon. This was super delicious and executed well. Although none of the ingredients are seasonal-specific, the salad was light, crisp, refreshing and really felt like summer. I constantly count my blessings for living in Portland, OR and getting to explore both the incredible food scene and all the fantastic nature that I can explore and day trip in. Lulu is a perfect combination of both as you can combine great food and a gorge trip. Happy Eating!