Portland Grocery Store

The bahn mi sandwich. Take two.

Portland Grocery Store, at 164 Cumberland Avenue, isn't cream of the crop. But they have $2 sandwiches, cans of Coke and kim chi. What else do you need? A phone card. They've got those, too. Pretty much the cheapest calls to Asia - and the cheapest lunch in town.

It comes at a cost. Some of the cha lua's on the chewy side. The white roll gets toasted. Sometimes that means the entire sandwich goes in the toaster, shredded carrots, cilantro and all.

The store, which has undergone some changes in management, seems to have cleaned out some of the grain moths. It still has a sharp edge. Smoking is permitted out back, possibly encouraged.

Inside, there's a table and a television next a half-empty pallet of Heinekens. A little inexplicable but not a bad sign altogether. Ditto the Vietnamese sandwiches.