The stuff your East Coast deli dreams are made of.
The stuff your East Coast deli dreams are made of. Portland Mercury
Demarco’s Sandwiches, a new food cart serving note-perfect Italian American sandwiches, has been testing the waters this week on Southeast Division, right next to Kim Jong Grillin’ (4606 SE Division). Reuben Demarco (the cart’s namesake) and Kim Jong Grillin’s Han Hwang are trying out the sandwiches on a limited schedule, which included yesterday and today. They hope to be fully open for business sometime in mid-July, but right now they’re waiting on the city to approve all the permitting for the cart. So they’ve been biding their time—and honing their craft—by testing their fare on the public, for limited hours and for free (you should definitely leave a tip or donation).

Demarco’s will reopen for another no-sales-transactions test run next week, so be sure to follow Kim Jong Grillin’ on Facebook and Instagram to find out when you can score yourself some.

The menu options for this test run are the stuff your East Coast deli dreams are made of, including an Italian deli-meat sub, chicken parm, chicken cutlet, and meatball sub. The sandwiches come on hoagie rolls that are advertised as eight inches long, but my Italian was closer to a full foot. It came with a weighty load of meats, including ham, soppressata, and pepperoni, with provolone cheese, lettuce, tomato, finely sliced red onion, pepper relish, and plenty of oil and vinegar. It was absurdly delicious.

Hopefully Demarco’s will be fully licensed and able to make money off their creations before much longer. For now, check in on social media, and be ready to head over hungry.

Demarco's Sandwiches, 4606 SE Division