Pambiche is participating in the 2024 Mercury Sandwich Week!

https://everout.com/portland/events/pan-con-lechon/e168677/

When: Sandwich Week runs February 19-25 and Pambiche will be open Wednesday 2/21 - Sunday 2/25 that week 11 am - 10 pm 

What It's Called: Pan con Lechón

What's On It: The Pan con Lechón consists of Cuban roast pork hand-pulled and braised in creole gravy with red onions, then served on a toasted Cuban roll. 

What They Say About It: The original Cuban sandwich! Ironically, this sandwich has more in common with a Louisiana-style pulled pork po' boy or a hot roast beef and gravy sandwich than the Floridian sandwich Cubano. It's all about that Cuban pork roast! We take Boston butt pork shoulder and hand rub it with our Cuban adobo, a blend of garlic, cumin, oregano, pepper, olive oil, and fresh citrus, then let time do its thing. The pork is slow-roasted until it's falling off the bone. Then, the meat is hand-pulled and tossed in salsa criolla, a Cuban creole pork gravy, sprinkled with a little freshly minced red onion, braised until fork tender, and served on a toasted Cuban roll. Classic Cuban street food, a staple at festivals and street fairs across the island, and we're featuring the Pan con Lechón during Portland's Sandwich Week!

Where and When To Get It: 2811 NE Glisan St / Wednesday–Sunday 11 am–10 pm

The Fine Print!

Allow Minors? Yes
Allow Takeout? Yes
Allow Delivery? Maybe
Daily Limit? No
Purchase Limit? No
Meat or Vegetarian? Meat
Available Vegetarian? No
Available Vegan? No

PAMBICHE 2.0

One year ago, the COVID19 Pandemic took over our world. We closed Pambiche March 16th, 2020 with no certainty that we would ever reopen.  We had just celebrated our 20th Anniversary on February 14th, 2020. We never imagined Cuban food lasting 20 years in Portland, Oregon, never expected to get restaurant of the year and we certainly never expected Pambiche would be a top 20 fan favorite restaurant for 20+ years. We went way beyond our meager expectations. So, was it time to pack it in? What the hell was going to happen? I mean when COVID hit is seemed more like science fiction than real life, but it was happening. People were sick. People were dying. The virus was spreading and with it, fear. We were all learning new vocabulary like “shelter in place” “stay-at-home order” “social distancing” “baseline phase” and my favorite, “take-out only”.  Take-out only?! Seriously? Should we change our name to McBiche’s? We didn’t know WTF to do, so we shut down along with everybody else except fast food restaurants and a handful of culinary badasses (shout out to La Sirenita, La Bonita, Güero and all you other food ninjas that never faltered).  

The two months we were closed we contemplated the future. We wondered. We worried. We waited. Then the federal government came up with something they called the PPP: An SBA-backed loan designed to help businesses keep their workforce employed during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis. Kicker….. Borrowers may be eligible for PPP loan forgiveness. That could mean free money. After 2 months of No dough we figured why not try? We talked with our peeps and assembled a core crew of VIP’s, just enough to give this “take-out only” McBiche’s thing a shot.

It was rough. I mean we never set out to be a take-out only, counter service establishment. Much of our food is not good for take-out. Tostones for example, by the time they get back to your place they are discs of banana cardboard and certainly not awesome! Which is why we never offered them for catering. Fried empanadas go from hot pockets to greasy limp pockets due to being enclosed inside of a to-go box on their journey to your destiny and the steam causes the crispy coating to become soggy and gross. Which is why we’ve always offered them baked for catering. Pambiche to-go? Cuban takeaway? Would that ever become a thing?

We are a small family run hole-in-the-wall Cuban joint, old school table service with genuine Cuban hospitality. A place that you go to not only to eat but also to soak up the vibe, listen to great Cuban music while you devour that Cuban Sammy, gaze at the artwork and get your café Cubano on! It’s about being there imbibing that mojito and reminiscing about your last trip to Havana while strategizing for your next trip. Yes, your meal is at the center of this cultural experience but there’s ambiance and atmosphere that you can only get at Pambiche. That’s the point of the joint. In the midst of a global pandemic, the Pambiche experience was not going to be available. So of course we made lemonade.

Counter service was odd, uncomfortable. Not my scene, never has been, never will be. We sucked at it! I mean we really sucked at it. As soon as they opened up dine-in service we leaped at the chance to go back to table service! Slowly we began to recover and slowly our beloved patrons began returning in growing numbers. We are however not the same restaurant-bakery-bar. We don’t resemble the pre-pandemic Pambiche at all. We’ve had to modify, adjust, streamline, cut and create a new version of Pambiche. As the Covid era surges on we continue striving to survive. We’re here thanks to you, our beloved patrons. We are happy and grateful, the black beans are still boiling, the café cubano is still brewing, the empanadas are still baking, and the daiquiris are still flowing. Thank you for your patronage and support. I will use this blog to share with you our trials and tribulations as we navigate the circumstances surrounding restaurant operations, Covid complications and Pambiche’s transformation. We look forward to the opportunity to serve you all the best in Cuban Cuisine and Cuban Cocktails ¡Buen Provecho!