Portland’s Favorite Sandwich Shop Is Popping Up in San Francisco

Sandwich shop Lardo, which ranks among Eater Portland’s 38 essential restaurants for beloved burgers and and pork meatball banh mi, will make a guest appearance in San Francisco with a one-night only pop-up. That’s being held on April 27th from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. at The Pearl (601 19th Street) in Dogpatch. And to keep the experience convincingly Portland, Oregon’s Fort George Brewery will be there, too, pouring beer (that’s typically only distributed in the Pacific Northwest) to wash down Lardo’s famed dirty fries — prepared with pork scraps, marinated peppers, fried herbs, and parmesan.

Lardo chef/owner Rick Gencarelli started his business as a food cart in Southeast Portland. It now boasts two locations in that city under the umbrella of restaurant group ChefStable. Gencarelli has some local SF connections — he once cooked at One Market and Rubicon —and so does ChefStable’s Kurt Huffman, a prominent Portland restaurateur. Huffman is an an investor in the Pearl event space that’s hosting the pop-up. The Pearl, as it happens, is also where SF restaurateur Traci Des Jardins just announced a new weeknight-only bar project called Schoolnight.

Lardo’s San Francisco pop-up is only the restaurant’s second out-of-state event — they already did one pop-up in LA, sponsored by Thrillist. And, more than a one-off chance to taste Lardo sandwiches, it could be a move to test the waters in the Bay Area market, Huffman suggests.

“We are absolutely considering expansion,” he tells Eater SF.

Tickets to the Lardo pop-up are on sale now for $15, with a portion of proceeds donated to No Kid Hungry and its Chefs Cycle benefit. Sandwich choices will be Nashville hot fried chicken, pork meatball banh mi, Korean pork shoulder, griddled mortadella, and porchetta.