Picone’s Quality Deli

This is a food cart at a pod off of Lombard. Parking was easy. The menu is limited but I’m cool with that because it was hands down the best Italian sub I’ve had on the west coast. The food is straight out of Northern New Jersey— delicious fresh bread, quality meats, and of course the provolone. Don’t even get me started about the hot peppers—freaking delicious. If you miss good sandwiches like I do, you now can get your fix in Portland.

Man, I love Picones food. It is a great call to the east coast Bodega / Deli scene. Great Italians, great breakfast sandwich’s. At this point tho, I think opening a deli and being a people person is just too much for ownership. Having worked in a Deli myself for all 4 years of college, I understand it’s a grind. However, it’s NOT working in a Michelin Star restaurant, where creativity and chef preference is what dictates the menu. When you’re making SANDWICHES with common ingredients like MAYO and MUSTARD it comes down to customer preference, not what the owner’s ego wants to put on a sandwich. Cheers, glad business is going well, maybe take a vacation bud.

1st time here today with coworkers for lunch and all of our sandwiches were delicious. You know its good when there's regulars waiting in line and its by far the busiest food cart around. I will definitely be going back!

Amazing food cart. New Jersey-inspired deli sandwiches. They bake their own bread and source really high-quality meats and cheeses. Check out their specials, they're often coming up with new ideas. It's awesome having this cart in North Portland, but I'd drive across the city for it any day.

We've been wanting to try Picone's for a while. We grabbed a chicken parm and an Italian. Smelling that delicious chicken parm the whole car ride home was rough, but it sure was worth the wait. Absolutely killer. I have eaten untold amounts of Italian sammies in my day, and this is hands-down my new favorite. On top of the unbelievable sandwiches, Vin is a really friendly guy and we had a great chat. Can't wait to go back.

People you have to try this sandwich. Their signature Italian........It's amazing! Bread made in house, sauces made in house, tons of meat, perfect crispy lettuce, too it all off with some of the hot peppers! Believe me. It's a great sandwich, says the guy who eats wagyu because it's the best beef out there when done right!

This place is definitely going to be my new go-to sandwich spot! The Italian was a triumph of a sandwich. Tons of great quality cold cuts, fresh veg, and the bread… wow. The bread reminds of a really nice pizza dough; soft, airy crumb, but with a good crunch still. I’ll be back… frequently.

The Italian sandwich is definitely one of the freshest and tastiest I’ve had in a long time. The customer service was great, two huge sandwiches were made in just a few minutes, and the bread was perfectly crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. Lots of veggie and sauce add-ons to choose from. It was $29.50 not including tip, but for the size and substance of the sandwiches that is a great price. One could easily feed two people. I am definitely looking forward to coming back to try their other menu items!

Amazing sandwiches!! Bread is baked fresh in the cart. The Italian is my favorite so I rarely get anything else but the tuna salad is delicious too!! Fresh ingredients & toppings. Alwaysyfriendly service with a smile from Vic! My favorite Sandwich spot in Portland.

Great breakfast! I had the Taylor Ham/Egg sandwich with potatoes (embedded in sandwich). It's like an entire breakfast meal packed into one sandwich I could eat while driving. Great bread (made on-site), yummy ham, cheese, sauces, potatoes. He whips these up very quickly. I'll definitely be back!

Had the taylor ham, egg, and cheese breakfast sandwich for 7.50 which was really good. The sandwich stayed together with clean flavorful bites. Staff was nice and helpful if you don't know what a certain ingredient might be (i.e. the Taylor ham vs normal ham for me). Would give 5 stars but figuring out if they are going to be open or not seems near impossible for lunch or bfast. They don't maintain their IG and the chill n fill folks don't have their hours (and posted hours on sign aren't accurate). Was there last weekend hoping to get a sandwich as the chill n fill folks mentioned they should be opening around noon however couldnt say for sure so by one o'clock still closed. I ended going down the street to another sando place as did the table next to me. Was lucky today since chill n fill posted on their Instagram that Picones would be open this morning.

Got the chicken parm and it was unbelievable. Very fresh chicken and ingredients, served on a baguette. I believe he was closing up but still served me which was nice. Definitely coming back

It's baffling that people from Portland keep going east to learn about bagels, only to come back and make the worst examples of bagels imaginable. It's mind-boggling that every time Taylor Ham/pork roll--a product made of pork scrapings--ends up on a menu here--the starting price is about $16. It's ridiculous that every "Italian" sub here has to have mayonnaise on sponge bread because "it's Oregon and that's just how it is here," right? Right. Jersey, Vin sees you. He knows you're sitting there wondering if this was all in your imagination and maybe the sandwiches, meats and cheeses you grew up with weren't like this and were just some weird regional delicacy. This cart exist to tell you that isn't the case. Vin knows the ingredients are out there. He knows that you don't have to have rolls shipped in stale from somewhere east of the Delaware just to have decent bread on your sandwich. He knows that a full bagel apprenticeship at Ess-a-Bagel means jack shit if the bagels you make couldn't compete with the day-olds from a place in Nutley. He knows that this town's patent refusal to offer a decent bacon, egg and cheese-never mind the blessed THEC--for less than $10 regularly bites it and its chefs directly in the ass. So it brings me great joy to see that he's out of almost everything half the time I visit him. I no longer go through the whole Proustian Madeline routine every time I bite into a sub without mayo on it and remember the sandwiches I used to bring to St. Mary's elementary school field day from Centanni's deli around the corner... or the Taylor Ham egg and cheese I'd get at Henry's deli after waiting for Yogi Berra to buy his newspaper and coffee. I come here and--surrounded by a cart pod and bar, in a neighborhood I love--I'm in two homes at once. Vin, from this Jersey expat and the countless others who posted their love before me, thank you. If you ever get the Shop--Rite logo shirts in again, I'll take five.

I had a delicious mortadella sandwich, highly recommended. Customer service is great, and the wait time is usually pretty short.

Best sandwiches in town. The bread is made fresh by the establishment and all of the ingredients are quality. All of the breakfast sandwiches are amazing, the Taylor ham in particular. The coffee there is solid too when you need a morning jolt. A sandwich shop's Italian sandwich is always my test of how good the shop is and the one at Picones is the best I've had in a long time. Every hot sandwich special I've had has been amazing as well, chicken parm, braciole, egg plant parm and my favorite meatball. The service is great as well. The owner is a super friendly guy who clearly cares about his food and the satisfaction of his customers. He is always thinking of new and interesting items to put on the menu that are sure to impress. The food is so good that it won a steamy award from Simpsons writer, food enthusiast and Portland resident Bill Oakley. The location is nice too b/c you can eat at the bar there (chill n fill) and pair your sando w/ a brew. I can't recommend this place enough!

Uhm, yes. More please. The Taylor ham was all you had to say to get me to give this place a try, but it's so much more than that. They make their own bread and it is AMAZING- nice and crunchy crust with a soft center that just hugs the meat and cheese and egg and s&p ketchup just perfectly. Do not skip the ketchup!! We had the breakfast sandos, but I can't wait to go back for lunchtime. Taylor ham is one of those Jersey staples that if you know, you KNOW. It was a little taste of my childhood and an absolute oasis of sandwich perfection. I kinda want to keep this little food cart a secret, but I'm not that selfish. Try it and go back for more. The owner is super-nice and the service was fast. Don't skip this place- just go.

This exceptional sandwich cart bakes its own bread and the extra effort goes a very long way. Equal parts crispy and chewy, the bread adds the perfect amount of texture when combined with relatively straightforward ingredients (meat, lettuce, etc). Portland has plenty of creative sandwich shops, but this is the only one I've found that truly elevates the basics and thereby taps into the essence of what a sandwich should be. I hope it's here to stay for a very long time.

Excellent sandwiches: tuna, chicken parmasean and Italian are favorites . They also do bagels on the weekend which are delicious! Super friendly and a great neighborhood essential take out.

I feel truly (hashtag) blessed that Vin opened his food cart here in Portsmouth just a short walk away from my home. I'm a New Jerseyan who has lived in PDX for 18 years and now that Picone's is here, we finally a spot that serves up the kind of Italian deli food I've been missing from home--plus a solid Taylor Ham egg and cheese breakfast sandwich. If you aren't familiar with this variety of pork product, do yourself a favor and snag one. The bread is homemade and fresh. There can be a bit of a wait at times and the goods often sell out before the set daily hours. However, the food is worth the wait. Just prepare to get there on the earlier side. The food cart pod has a bunch of nice indoor and outdoor seating too courtesy of Chill n Fill.

The Italian sub was just what this south jersey ex-pat needed. Amazing bread, fresh ingredients and lots of meats and cheese.

We eat here at least once a week. Best breakfast sandwiches in North Portland, plus we love all the hot specials for lunch.

Stopped after being at University of Portland. Everything on the menu looked good but I settled on a turkey and cheese sandwich. The bread was perfectly baked-crispy on the outside, soft on the inside and there was plenty of meat, cheese and lettuce on the sandwich. I had planned to eat only half because the sandwich was huge, but I ended up finishing the whole thing because it was so delicious. Will definitely be back to try more sandwiches.

Easily the best Italian sando you can get in the area. This has been our office's go-to lunch spot for the last 4 months (and counting!). The owner clearly gives a rip about what he's doing and the quality he provides. He makes own bread and is a genuine guy. 6 Stars

Vin makes the best pork roll sandwhich in town! I live and work in St Johns and this has been my #1 lunch spot for a couple of months now.

one of my favorite food truck spots I've hit in Portland that prioritizes simplicity and flavor over gimmicks. the food truck scene has gotten so cookie cutter to me, taking away from what the traditional essence of what a food truck was, which to me is a community building restaurant that cuts out the middle man. with everyone and their dog wanting to dip their toe into the business of portland food carts, it feels that we have exchanged the original "KEEP PORTLAND WEIRD" concept for something that feels far more corporate. with the rapid expansion of VOODOO and SALT & STRAW, a non-locals perception of portland is funny desserts and riots. i know i am soap boxing - but my experience here with the fine gentleman who runs this establishment reminded me of what portland of yesteryear was like. not about flashy or a capitalistic aesthetic that feels like what AI generates when you give the prompt "weird." (soap boxing again) i believe this truck makes their bread fresh everyday, and the grilled cheese was the best of a lifetime. the special being ran was a FIVE DOLLAR grilled cheese... unheard of. if you're given any recommendation of how your sandwich can be spruced up, take him up on it!!!! you will NOT regret it... also, when they're serving coffee also take him up on it. lovely lovely lovely spot and the chill n fill is a excellent place to chill and/or fill TL;DR: classic portland, simple food, top notch quality.

He hand makes the bagels for the breakfast sandwiches. Do not skip! Such a great price as well. The quality of ingredients is amazing. I am from New York and this is one of the best East Coast sandwich styles in Portland.

Italian sandwich was filled very full for the price, especially appreciated the thick chunks of mozzarella. Fresh ingredients. Quick around lunchtime.

Best breakfast sandwich in Portland, their coffee is great too! The owner is kind and it's such an easy location- highly recommend!

Finally a great Italian in Portland! It's shocking how difficult it is to find a good one, especially in North Portland. This place will continue to grow in popularity, fresh bread, arugula, taylor ham, and table stakes "Jersey style" that we've been desperately hoping for.