The Local Dish: New Sandwich Cart brings flavor boom in fat sandwiches
Ernie at the brand new food cart called The Cedary is all smiles on Friday, Feb. 17 at 801 E. Second St. in the Dalles next to Smoke Wring BBQ. He was rolling out delicious sandwich orders accompanied by chips and some awesome cookies.
By Charles Childs/CCCNews Foodie
So much food so little time.
How can you taste it all?
Especially with a brand new food cart called The Cedary in The Dalles offering a multiple of thick and hot specialty sandwiches?
I am the earl of Sandwich, but alas I have but one mouth.
Then it occurred to me: Invite three friends and share.
It’s Friday. Why not?
We walked into the sunny food pod next to Smoke Wring BBQ at 801 E. Second St. to find a smiling Ernie inside The Cedary sided with, what else, cedar and corrugated steel.
The menu was small but deep, offering a host of different sandwiches, two soups, chips and cookies. Modestly priced between $8 and $10 a sandwich these bad boys delivered up some satisfaction without breaking the bank.
All four of us salivated over differing items, and we took off our gloves and knocked out a sandwich superfecta to make a New York deli person salivate.
We ordered the Portobello Muenster and Swiss chard, the Chicken Provolone, the Pastrami Pepperjack and a special of the day called the Salami Gouda.
All four came on a thick buttery white bread, grilled to perfection with hot meats and cheeses sans the vegetarian Portobello which sported a crazy creamy Muenster with a hint of nut.
Pastrami Pepperjack
Let’s start with that Pastrami. This beefy belly meat did not disappoint with strong tones of pepper and garlic. It sang a savory song as we got pepper jacked by the cheese. Some heat here but not overwhelming.
Salami Gouda- a special of the day.
Now onto that Gouda. Those thick cuts of salami slightly spicy and salty swam in the smoke of that cheese. Add the toasted bread it came across with a clean flavor, not overly greasy. MMM… MMMM.
Then there was the mushroom dream. The umami of the portobello had a great flavor fight with the slightly bitter swiss chard, while the Muenster was like a referee, breaking things up with a smooth buttery and slightly nutty flavor. It was quite a dance that finished slightly on the salty side.
Chicken Provolone
And to the last of our sandwich selection. The Chicken Provolone brought the perfect amount of Buffalo sauce that intertwined with the juicy chicken to deliver a warm acidic kick without too much heat. The provolone took a backseat to the copious amounts of chicken that bulked up this bread.
The overall experience at The Cedary was pretty delicious and was set in the cheerful confines of the food cart pod which features multiple tables and fun pathways. Rock and Roll ranging from Kiss to Talking Heads also amped things up under the February sun.
And to top it off, we got the cookie for $2.
Not what we expected.
To cookie or not to cookie? You better cookie.
It was homemade or if not somebody put a cookie company in their home kitchen. Because this gem had crunchy edges with a softer inner circle and bits of chips to make the world go round.
We’ll be back.
The Cedary is open Wed. - Mon. From 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., according to their Facebook site.
Call (541) 399-6660
The Cedary Menu
A great mural also adorns the food cart pod with an explanation of The Dalles Dip and Ferry Crossings.
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