Extra Life 2014: Help me for the big day on October 25

Once a year, I deprive myself of sleep to do one thing — help sick kids at Doernbecher Children’s Hospital. How do I do this, you ask? By playing videogames for 24 hours straight. (Last year, it was 25 hours.)

Extra Life began after the untimely death of Victoria Enmon due to acute lymphoblastic leukemia in January of 2008. When I first heard about this charity, I thought that it was a great way to do something I love and help people that I have no connection to. But, as I continued to promote the cause each year, I’ve found out that I have a closer connection to it than I thought.

I’ve had family lose loved ones at the hospital in the past, and I don’t think I ever would’ve realized that if it wasn’t for this charity. When I went to the first Extra Life Portland guild meeting about 4-6 months ago, the stories I heard about why people participate would make some people cry. Doernbecher was finally working to get people more involved and organized, which I found refreshing considering we raised so much money for the hospital last year. With the help of everyone involved, we’re getting even more people involved at Rose City Comic Con and the Retro Game Expo.

This is where your help comes in to play. I can’t do this without you. Each year, my goal gets a little higher than the year before. This year, my goal is $400. I plan on streaming my play session along with doing a lot of fun stuff on social media. Basically, I want to make sure that if you’re sponsoring me, you get as much entertainment from me as I can offer.

So, I ask you, can you please sponsor me for Extra Life 2014? People are encouraged to donate a dollar per hour for each hour I play, but I appreciated any donation, even if it’s $5.

Do you have any other ideas for ways that I can entertain you and get more donations? Please let me know!

Making time to write, preparing for Extra Life

I’ve written what seems like countless times that I’d write more on the blog, so I’m not going to make any big excuses this time around. When you write for a living, it takes extra effort to write recreationally. I can’t find the quote now, but I remember a sentence I read on Destructoid about writing every day. They wrote something to the likes of, “Don’t have time to write every day? Make time, puto!”

So, here I am. I’m making the time. Lately, my job has been an interesting mix of business communications, press release writing, media list building and event planning. Event planning has never been something I favor in the PR industry, but I’ve gotten better at it over the years. I recently organized a clean-up event for Portland Brewing, and as with most event planning, I don’t think it would’ve been even moderately successful without the help of others. Though it kind of burnt me out, the feedback I got from everyone was really nice.

The most interesting thing I picked up was an elastic band of men’s underwear

Now that the event has passed, it’s time to concentrate on one of my favorite times of the year — Extra Life. Each year, I’ve tried to get a little more interactive with it, especially for the people who sponsor me. I’ll tell you more about what I’ve got planned later on this week, but I’m pretty excited to begin testing it out. Here’s a hint to what I’m going to start using. I encourage you to watch the video below, if you’re curious to know the story of how Extra Life came to be.

Because, I’m going to write more often, my posts will be shorter like this one, but I hope you find it easier to digest.

Be awesome.

Four Inspirational Ways to Make Content Marketing Work for Your Videogame

Public relations is a fun industry to be in, because of all the creative ways I can spread the word about things I appreciate. But, as the profession continues to evolve, we in the PR field need to know how to adapt and provide more value for our clients as well as our own business. What I like about content marketing is how it can solve a problem for someone and also provide extra exposure to a brand. If the brand grows in popularity, community relations can provide publicity for other content creators and for the brand itself.

With E3 2014 being criticized by some as an event that should change as the game industry evolves, the role of PR also needs to adapt to provide more services that benefit their clients. One of many ways to provide benefit for game developers is through content marketing. Here are four ways content marketing can provide value to PR in the videogame industry.

Via Blackbolt

Provide tips and walkthroughs to sharing game content on social media platforms

If you want people to share your game content on social media, begin by showing them how to do it. Xbox’s Major Nelson uses his podcast to provide tips on how to upload and share streaming game content in a segment called “Xbox 101.” Given enough time, guides and walkthroughs may have already been created by others and you merely need to strategically share them on your own channels.

Via ZeldaDungeon.net

World location hints and tips

Does your game have a large world filled with lush landscapes, dark dreadful swamps and hidden areas? Most players don’t want a story spoiled, but there are those whose time is limited and would appreciate tips on finding a hidden location or a not-so-well-known weapon to defeat a truly tough adversary. Whether you use YouTube as a video guide, or take screenshots that provide clues to where a rare item is at, these are things that can provide great value for your social media platforms if implemented correctly. People will turn to you for help.

Content from the game for other uses

It might seem like common sense to provide things like custom images for desktop computers and mobile devices, but there are other assets from a game that can be just as useful for extending the experience from the device into popular culture. Phil Fish did that when he had Disasterpeace create the soundtrack for his unique puzzle platformer Fez. The developers of Borderlands released a handful of sound files that could be used as ringtones for your phone, and they also created one of the most memorable memorials I’ve seen for a fellow fan who had passed away. If it’s created organically and authentically, content like this can take your game from just a product to a fan favorite.

Via Dekuwa

Button presses and combo tips

If your game utilizes complicated button presses, then this is something that people can utilize to improve their own skills. Sometimes a fighting game will provide a full tutorial utilizing one character, but not with others. This is the perfect time to provide tips for how the player can succeed with additional characters in the line-up. If your game is a third-person brawler, it might be worthwhile to provide tips on how to utilize items or skills, along with intricately timed button presses, to finish off a difficult opponent in short time.

These are only four ways to provide content to spread out the life of your game from a digital interactive product to much more. With a lot of hard work and a little luck, the content you provide along with the careful sourcing and distribution of community content can spread the word about your game.

Happy Mother’s Day to All of the Great Mothers in Our Lives

From left to right: Kathy and my mom, Teresa; my cousins Cody, Haley, and myself in a fresh red shirt.

Next year will mark 10 years since my mom passed away. It’s something I didn’t even think of until a recent conversation I had with my friend Ian. The first couple years after her death, I was bitter whenever the holiday rolled around. Commercials and strangers badgering me not to forget my mom on Mother’s Day, the one day I’d rather have anything top of mind but my mom. But, with loss comes growth and I realized something I’ve never really considered before: Mother’s Day is the day for all the great mothers in your life. I wanted to pay tribute to a few of the great mothers in my life.

My Mom

My mom was one of the best people in my life. She wasn’t perfect by any means, but she sacrificed what little she had for me and always provided one of the things you can never take for granted – love. She was the person who bought me my first videogame console with her tax return: the Nintendo Entertainment System. A console that I have such a love and hate relationship with, I tattooed the controller on my body. She was the one who’d call me almost daily to the point of annoyance just to talk. It was annoying then, but I miss it now. I’ve been asked before about how I turned out as well as I have and I firmly believe it was because my mom always showed me love.

My Aunt Kathy

Throughout my childhood, there were a few times when unfortunate circumstances would occur. My aunt Kathy and uncle Jim were usually there for us, letting us stay in a spare room in their house. I’ve always had a close relationship with my aunt and uncle, but it was after my mother’s death where I realized how great of a relationship it was. Kathy has helped me during some of the toughest moments of my life and has instilled in me a sense of responsibility for my actions. She never forgets a birthday, always calls me just to check in when she hasn’t talked to me in a while, and never forgets to pack me a stocking during the holiday season. I’d easily consider her a second mother.

Afternoon beverages with Kathy and Yaicha

My Soon To Be Mother-In-Law

I’ve met the parents in all of the relationships I’ve had in my life. Many of the mothers were very nice, some probably just tolerable of our relationship. It wasn’t until I met Yaicha’s parents that I learned something new: When you begin a relationship with someone, you also begin a relationship with his or her family. Yaicha’s mom has been there for us countless times. Whether it’s the big things such as being the subject of one of my photojournalism projects and letting us stay in their spare room to save money for moving to Portland, or the little things such as making me a zombie graveyard birthday cake, Kathy has been there for me and for us. She’s a mother that I appreciate more than words can say.

So, take a moment today and appreciate the mother in your life. Let them know how much they mean to you.

Twitter Lists: 3 Tips To Help You Stay Updated In Any Industry

There have been countless articles on the web about how to use Twitter lists – including a guide from Twitter – so I’m not going to give a Twitter 101 on what they are; however, I did want to write about a small reorganization I made to a growing list of Twitter profiles I previously had in one list, and show how you can use these three tips to help you stay updated in an industry you’re passionate about.

By breaking up my “Video Gaming” list on Twitter into three better-organized lists – one for media in the gaming industry, one for media outlets, and one for game developers and publishers – I can utilize Tweetdeck to organize my lists into columns that display the most recent tweets on those lists. This gives me an easy-to-read command center for staying updated with individuals and companies in the industry.

You too can employ this simple resource, and you don’t even need to follow them in order to add them to a list. It’s a good tactic to use when you don’t want to blow out your ratio of follows to followers.

1. Media
By following media active on Twitter that you’re in contact with – or want to be in contact with – you already have a personal touch to the next email you send them. It’s an easy way to find out if he or she is on vacation or if they’re working an additional beat. Plus, it’s an easy way to stay in touch with someone without asking something of him or her.

Tip: Give your list a name that will make someone happy he or she has been put on it. My gaming media list is called “You Make Gaming Awesome.”

2. Websites
Many websites that have Twitter profiles tweet way more than the average person does. While it’s easy reading headlines in tweet format, it can clog a Twitter feed when mixed with people in the media.

Tip: Use this list to read more about websites you aren’t too familiar with, as well as websites you already know. It’s also a great way to track media on the fly or to bookmark articles that sound interesting, but you can’t read at the moment.

3. Creators
This column is a little more nimble when it comes to who you’d place in it. I have one that’s just for companies that develop and publish videogames, but you can adjust it to have tech companies, restaurants, book publishers, and more. The point of this list is to stay knowledgeable about potential clients, because they might need help with a future project whether they know it or not.

Tip: Show these companies some love by retweeting some of their posts to help spread their reach – it’s an act of goodwill that may pay off in the long run.

Whether you like skateboarding, cars, food, or videogames, Twitter is a great place to find tons of information on broad subjects. These three simple lists will help you stay organized and expand your knowledge of the subject you’re passionate about.

Do you use Twitter lists in any interesting ways?

Jesse’s Top 5 Videogames of 2013

2013: Another year almost finished and another year full of fantastic games. As I look back on my year in gaming, it became clear that I did a lot of catching up this year with many games released from 2009-2012. However, the games I did play from 2013 thrilled me, humored me and left me with a sense of awe at how imaginative a story could be told through an interactive medium. These are my top five videogames of 2013 in no given order except for the number one spot.

5. Puzzle & Dragons (iOS | Android)

This mobile title from GungHo Entertainment hooked me from the start after reading about it on Destructoid. The puzzle-like aspects of Bejeweled mixed with the leveling up process similar to Pokemon had me logging in every single day since I’ve owned it. For not spending a dime on this game, I’ve gotten more than my fair share of entertainment from it and while it’s not deep in storytelling (in fact, I haven’t seen any actual story in it), it has an entertaining formula that can keep you logging in 50 days straight. Note: Technically this game was released in North America in Nov. 2012, but I gave it some leeway due to its platform.

4. Gone Home (Windows | Mac | Linux)

I heard how good this game was from multiple game writers and critics who, unfortunately, slightly spoiled the premise of the game for me. Regardless, the story told in this game isn’t often found in videogames, especially in 2013 — a year with an unusual amount of games filled with violence. Gone Home’s storytelling worked because of how you’d unlock each room set inside an eery house replete with nostalgic items from the ‘90s. This was one of the most memorable games I played during Extra Life and the end of the game left me with goosebumps.

3. Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon (Xbox 360 | PS3)

Part of catching up from 2012 was getting to play and finish Far Cry 3, which was a phenomenal game in itself. The Blood Dragon DLC took the fundamental gameplay elements of Far Cry 3 and turned it into a neon tinted world filled with cybernetics, dragons, and cheesy 16-bit interludes full of macho behavior you’d see in a movie like Predator. Sure, the leveling up process may have been simplified for this title, but the humor and the music made this game a top contender for 2013. I’m listening to the soundtrack as I write this and recommend “Blood Dragon Theme” and “Power Core” (Spotify) for some rad early ‘80s synth and power drums. Play this game.

2. Grand Theft Auto 5 (Xbox 360 | PS3)

The prolonged console cycle of the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 brought about the annualization of more games than I’m used to, many of which could’ve benefitted from a break between years. When I think back to Grand Theft Auto 4, it kinda’ blows me away that it was released back in 2008. So, it wasn’t much of a surprise to me that Grand Theft Auto 5 broke entertainment sales records with its expansive open world, unique soundtrack and introduction of three playable characters, each with his own quirks, strengths and weaknesses. This game isn’t perfect — there doesn’t seem to be one strong female lead in the whole game — but what Rockstar did was polish everything that was rough about Grand Theft Auto 4 and they took you deep into a world you could explore for weeks on end.

1. Bioshock Infinite (Xbox 360 | PS3 | Steam)

The first Bioshock is still one of my favorite games on Xbox 360. Bioshock 2 didn’t live up to the same feeling of vulnerability that I had in the previous game, but seeing through the eyes of a Little Sister fascinated me and it’s still a moment I remember vividly. Bioshock Infinite took me to the colorful and saturated world of Columbia only to realize that everything isn’t as quaint as it seems. The shooting mechanics and the vigors weren’t as balanced as I remember them being in Bioshock, but the introduction of the sky hook made zipping through the areas invigorating, while the story left me dumbfounded and awestruck.

So there you go! I admit that I missed out on some great games from 2013. From what I’ve been told, The Last of Us is quite a remarkable game, but I don’t own a PS3. Papers, Please slipped through the cracks for me, but one I’ll have to play soon. Tomb Raider was a lot of fun and almost made the list. Rayman Legends is a beautiful platformer that I still want to play at some point. Got any other game recommendations? What were your favorites?

Project inspiration: Using Tumblr for promotion

Always trust the thoughts you have as you wake from a good night’s rest. Last month, I executed on an idea I had after a restful night of sleep and that idea was brought to fruition through my voracious appetite for reading videogame news and my love of promotion. I set out on a project in my spare time where I’d publish news about Xbox on the social media platform Tumblr.

Read on for why I began this project and how these tips can help your own blogging:

1. Finding an audience through SEO

Initially, I made it a point not to tell anyone about this profile nor would I promote it through any other social media platforms. (I ended up telling a few close people over the course of the month, but they weren’t damaging to my results). The reason for this was to see what audience I could attract through the use of search engine optimization on each of the posts. The results were rather surprising.

The post below is a great example of the structure I use along with the SEO tags at the bottom of the image. Notice how many notes (likes and reblogs) it’s gotten. Use keywords in the article as well as any similar ones you believe a person might use when searching for content. Ask yourself what you’d search for to find your post.

2. Showcasing your knowledge on a subject

I started an Xbox focused Tumblr because I like gaming on Xbox, but it was also great timing being just a couple weeks out from the launch of Xbox One. Consumer appetite for news of the product was in high demand and I thought the timing would be perfect for a blog of that nature. Using the news websites I have on my Feedly RSS and daily email newsletters, I began promoting Xbox news from enthusiast and mainstream news outlets.

3. Gain experience with analytics

Tumblr has built-in analytics, which displays how many times people have liked and reblogged a post as well as new followers, total followers, biggest fans and your top post. I also used bitly links for each of the posts to track how many times people would click through to the article. I was rather surprised with the amount of interaction that took place over the last month. To date, I’ve published 101 posts and have gained 145 followers through just using SEO. Not every post had a bitly link on it, but out of the 90 I’ve used, they’ve been clicked on 191 times from people in the U.S., U.K. and Canada.

4. Tumblr makes it easy and cost-effective to run a blog

The structure I used for publishing posts worked fantastic for Tumblr. The website’s format of publishing was perfect for displaying photos and videos through image URLs and embedded code. The short writing structure of headline, descriptive content, web link, and notation of where I sourced the content from was quick and easy to read, but it was even easier to write, thus making it a cost-effective strategy for my time.

5. It’s helpful to web content producers

Whether you write or produce video on the web, it’s clicks that count. One of the delicate balances to working in public relations is your relationship between your client and the media. By directing people to a writer’s post or by having them watch a video to gain another view, I’m helping people in the media get more eyes on their labor of love. It’s my small way to give back.

Overall, I’ve found Tumblr to be a great platform for easily managing a blog as well as for gaining an audience. This publishing structure can be used for many different industries and brands and is a phenomenal way to show a solid example of your knowledge on a subject.

If you were to start a Tumblr blog today, what subject would you focus on?

Note: This post is not sponsored in any way by Microsoft, Xbox, Tumblr or any other brand. If you’d like to see more examples of posts, head to http://xboxinsider.tumblr.com/.

What’s Fresh for October 13, 2013

BTBAM in 2013 is still a fun show to see live

In an effort to write even more than I do already, I’ve started a new piece called What’s Fresh. Part of my job is to read news — a lot of news — and over the years, it’s become an obsession. I was one of the Google Reader users who were pretty upset when they were disabling the service, but Feedly has been great to me as a tool to read news on my computer as well as on my mobile. What’s Fresh features news I’ve found interesting over the past week or so.

Benefit For Brewpublic’s Angelo De Ieso

Photo via BREWPUBLIC

Brewpublic has been one of my favorite Oregon-area beer blogs for years now. I met Angelo for the first time this year at the Organic Brew Festival and he was a super nice guy that was totally willing to chat for a few minutes. So, it shocked me to hear that he recently that he had to have brain surgery and now has a huge bill to pay. Because the craft beer community in Oregon is so awesome, The Commons Brewery is having a fundraiser to help pay his medical bills on October 17. Drink beer and help a cool dude? I’m in!

Why Confidence Is So Important (And How To Improve Yours)

This Lifehacker article offers great insight into how confidence can improve how you’re perceived by others and lists some different ways to improve your confidence. This can take you from knowing confidence to believing in confidence. Great inspirational material.

Grand Theft Auto V Mythbusters

Every once in a while, I see these awesome Mythbusters YouTube videos featuring games like GTA 5 and Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 where they try different tricks in a videogame to see if they work or not. I’m always surprised with what they confirm and bust. If you dig these, you might want to subscribe to their channel.

Respawn’s Trial And Error Of Creating Titanfall Modes

One of my most anticipated games of the next console generation is Titanfall. Though I haven’t played it yet, from what I’ve seen, this game is going to revolutionize the console shooter. I’m pretty sure it’ll be the next Halo and Call of Duty for the console generation. If you have a spare 20 minutes, check out the video above featuring their tireless community manager, Abbie Heppe.

Kuma’s Corner Makes Statement About Ghost Burger

Photo via Metal Insider

I went to Kuma’s Corner in Northern Chicago for the first time back in 2010 and had one of the best burgers ever — the Plague Bringer. If you don’t know about this place, it’s a metal-themed restaurant that specializes in serving burgers. Recently, the restaurant made a burger inspired by the band, Ghost B.C., which contains goat shoulder, ghost chili aioli, a red wine reduction and is topped off with a communion wafer. Of course, some Catholics weren’t amused by this in the least. So, Kuma’s Corner has done something very nice in return. I wish Portland had a Kuma’s Corner.

Bacon Weave Taco Recipe

Do you like tacos? How about bacon? Then why not make bacon tacos? Tasted is a channel on YouTube that I’ve grown to appreciate the more I watch it for it’s very cynical humor and funny food news. If you like this, there’s a taste review that they do for some bacon flavored pop rocks and it’s pretty interesting to hear all of their descriptors which is almost everything but bacon.

Thanks for reading and leave some links to things you’ve found interesting in the comments. Cheers!

Extra Life 2014 — What I’m Playing and When

Drained. That’s how I usually feel after videogaming for 24 hours straight. But, once a year for the past three years, I’ve made that choice to help kids at Doernbecher Children’s Hospital, because friends and family have believed in this cause enough to sponsor me. I’m doing it again this year and we’re upping the challenge, because the official day lands on November 2, which just happens to be on Daylight Savings Time.

Each year, I try to figure out as many ways to make this event as entertaining as possible for the people who sponsored me and to promote the event for others who may want to participate. This year, I seriously considered a live stream of my gameplay, but it just proved too expensive for something I wouldn’t use very often. However, there have been new technologies that have been released since last year’s event that I will use — Instagram video, photo apps for interactive participation and more. If you have any other ideas for promotion and entertainment, please let me know.

I’d be delighted if you’d like to sponsor me. My profile on the Extra Life website is at bit.ly/Jesserad. I’ve included a list of some of the more current games that I’ll be playing below, but I have a fair amount of digital games in my Xbox 360 library, so let me know what you have and if you want to play some multiplayer games. The last five hours are usually the toughest, so if you want to play some games at that time, I’d be most appreciative.

At this time, I’m $100 away from my goal and with everyone’s help, I’ve managed to raise $1,155.26 over the four years. If it wasn’t for the generosity of everyone I know, this never would’ve been possible, so I applaud everyone who has sponsored me. You’re all the best.

Here’s to another great year and let’s surpass the 2 million dollars that were raised last year!

The games I’m planning to play this year are as follows:

• Grand Theft Auto 5 (Xbox 360)
• Asura’s Wrath (Xbox 360)
• Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 (Xbox 360)
• Bioshock Infinite (Xbox 360)
• Minecraft (Xbox 360)
• Terraria (Xbox 360)
• You Don’t Know Jack (Xbox 360)
• 30 Flights of Loving (Steam)
• Hotline Miami (Steam)
• Amnesia: Dark Descent (Steam)
• Card Hunter (PC Browser)
• Plants vs. Zombies 2 (iOS)
• Infinity Blade 2 (iOS)
• Ridiculous Fishing (iOS)

5 Portland Sandwich Restaurants You Must Eat At

I love sandwiches almost as much as I love beer and videogames. In a perfect world, I’d have the most cheesy, protein-filled (meat or tempeh), bready sandwich; a hoppy craft beer filled to the brim with IBUs and a game that transfixes me to the point of making me forget almost everything else in life. The only thing that could make the scenario more perfect would be if I could share that experience with Yaicha. So, before my first cake day on Reddit, I asked a simple question to other Portland Redditors: What are Portland’s best sandwich restaurants?

People weren’t shy in responding and it was great hearing from other sandwich lovers in the community to find out what they like in a sandwich. After taking a poll in which I tallied each person’s recommendation in the 100+ comments, these are the top five places to get a sandwich in Portland, Oregon.

5. People’s Sandwich of Portland

I’m sorry to say it, but this place is closed. I know … sad violin. I’ve heard good things about this place, but when I finally made the effort to go there, I found out they shut up shop. Whether you’re a meat lover looking for the Argento Arrabiata — a spicy italian sub featuring salami, ham, provolone, pepperoncini, mayo and lettuce on a french roll — or a veggie lover searching for The People’s Sandwich — pan-fried ota tofu covered in pesto, sweet and spicy peppadew peppers and filberts on a french roll — you could find a sandwich here. Their last Facebook post stated, “Thanks for three and a half years Portland. We’ll let you know of the next step, when that foot falls.” Maybe we’ll see something from them again soon? One can only hope.

4. Lardo

Lardo is what makes Portland great. What started out as a food cart, turned into a restaurant on the southeast side of Portland and then another popped up shortly after on the west end of downtown Portland. On my first visit, I had the smoked coppa cubano with ham, dijon, pickles, Lardo sauce, Valentina and provolone, which was just as rich and condiment heavy as I like in a sandwich. The double burger with its cascade natural beef, cheddar, porkstrami, and Lardo sauce is what made me love burgers again. It’s so good. This place is fabulous and is also a great place to grab a good beer.

3. TIE — Bunk Sandwiches

I’ve only gotten a few different kinds of sandwiches at Bunk, each of them have been fulfilling upon the initial consumption of the meal, but they always had strange after-effects. My favorite is the Italian cured meats with Bunk marinated hot peppers and provolone piccante, but it always leaves me a little more oily than I like and I feel like I have to wash my hands and mouth after eating it. The meatball parmigiano hero was a fantastic sandwich that I had at the 2013 Malt Ball, but it gave me some seriously wicked burps. The roast beef was the sandwich I remember the least, but what I remember about all of the sandwiches from Bunk — and what most Redditors remember — are the price of the sandwiches compared to the size. If price doesn’t matter to you and you’re looking for a quality sandwich that isn’t huge, you might like this place.

2. TIE — Eastside Deli

This is the only other place I haven’t eaten at on this list. From all of the comments, this deli is one of those places where you can get your money’s worth in the size and quality of the sandwich. Sandwiches come in a Portland French 6-inch sub, 12-inch sub, or on Dave’s Killer Bread and have Boar’s Head meats as well as a whole vegan and kids menu. Despite their name, they’re located in three places: SE Hawthorne, North Lombard, and in downtown Portland. I must get here soon.

1. Shut Up and Eat

A large majority of people said that this was the place to get a sandwich and they weren’t kidding. Ryan and I went there one Saturday morning for a sandwich brunch to find a standing room full of people who knew the secret before I did: these sandwiches are awesome. The Italian Grinder — made with mortadella, genoa salami, copocollo, sopressatta, proscuitto, pepper ham meats, provolone, asiago, parmesan cheeses, olive pepper, roasted bell peppers, relish, lettuce, tomato and olive oil — is probably the best sandwich I’ve ever had in Portland. It’s crazy to think that all of those ingredients can even fit on a sub, but here it is in all its glory.

So, if you’ve heard of all of these places, you now have another opinion for or against them. If you haven’t and you love sandwiches, I recommend checking out the places that are still open. Special shout-out to Kenny & Zuke’s deli and Meat Cheese Bread — both of those places are great as well. There were many more recommendations, but I’d love to hear yours in the comments. If you’re in another city and these places remind you of a favorite there, I’d love to hear of those too. EAT UP!