punky's

tried this place today for lunch.  punky's is a typical quick stop sandwich and drinks style place. plenty of parking, and a nice little area inside with booths for eating. the menu has some interesting choices - mostly hot or cold sandwiches/subs. the also offer burgers and fried sides. plenty of chips, snacks, and drinks. a surprise to me: they offer daily homemade "comfort" food. such as chicken alfredo, turkey and stuffing, chicken pot pie, tuna casserole, etc. you can get a generous portion in a take home container. the comfort food, imo, really makes this place different and worth a look.  (also spotted some pre-cut homemade desserts, though not much of it was left in the display cooler.....) i brought home a shaved steak sub, and a container of the homemade chicken and broccoli alfredo. both were delicious. prices - reasonable for portland, not too high but not cheap either.  negatives to be aware of: the inside of the store looks rather rundown. nothing fancy. and many shelves (primarily the snacks area) were empty. and while they do have a enormous selection of drinks in the wall cooler, the drinks i purchased were not very cold. one other thing: be aware the store hours are unusual on the weekends. they close at 4 on saturdays; closed entirely on sundays. these last few negatives bring down my overall rating for punky's...  but still a place worth trying.

the "breakfast roll up" with sausage, add salsa and sour cream. it is the greatest breakfast food in the city. i go out of my way to get it. i would never dishonor its name by ordering a breakfast burrito from any other restauran.

fast, cheap, hearty. everyone loves punky's. i eat there at least once a week. great sandwiches. it's easy to get stuck ordering one thing time and again, but it's so rewarding to explore. my favorites are their falaffel wrap and their chicken parm sub, which is much better than a chix parm sub anywhere in portland. if you're extremely ravenous, might i suggest the cheeseburger sub, which only comes in large, consisting of at least three burger patties strewn across a large sub roll amid seas of cheese and toppings of your choice. honorable mentions: thanksgiving sub, beef burrito.

i found the kind of portland fast food restaurant that i love: a few steam tables selling daily $5-a-scoop hot casseroles, like american chop suey, potatoes au gratin, and something called, “mexican casserole,” a few faded, red-formica tables in the back, and an enormous selection of locally-made whoopie pies, cookies, and fruit bars.

great falafel roll up! my friend had a thanksgiving burrito & enjoyed it too. really fast service too!

falafel: what a nice surprise!. inside this brick wall facade rimmed by fluorescent deli signs is an unexpectedly bright and friendly shop. loads of choice: sandwiches, subs, roll-ups, burritos, casseroles, chowders, pasta, pizza, salad, etc.

do yourself a favor and try the falafel pita. fresh veggies, tzatziki, hot and crunchy falafels, and is that...fried eggplant?! not sure if that's always in there, but even without it, yum. worth stepping inside.