On the corner of Southeast Division Street and 35th Avenue, a bowl of Jewish wedding soup tells the story of Dream Deli. Matzo balls float alongside Italian pork meatballs in a warm, comforting broth, blending two traditions in a single bowl.
“Pairing these two tiny little orbs of either gluten or meat into a singular soup, while keeping it very, very simple and reverent of the ingredients really kind of speaks to how we approach things as a Pacific Northwest deli,” said Dream Deli co-owner John Bissell.
In its first two months, Dream Deli has gone from a quiet neighborhood newcomer to a destination deli, drawing regulars for corned beef on rye, whitefish melts and a Pacific Northwest take on Jewish and Italian deli staples. Co-owners Jessie Levine and Bissell describe the early days as “a blur,” filled with loyal customers, local partnerships and, at times, unexpected conversations about identity and politics.
“It’s been really cool to be embraced by that Division Street, Richmond neighborhood community,” Levine said. “I would say overall, things have been going really well.”
Dream Deli opened on Nov. 28 and is the first restaurant the couple has owned, although Bissell has nearly 20 years of experience in the food industry, specializing in Italian cuisine — most recently as executive chef at Ava Gene’s only two blocks away.
Dream Deli combines Italian and Jewish influences on the menu at Southeast Division Street and 35th Avenue.Chiara Profenna
Bissell has since applied that experience to a more casual, daytime concept, blending Italian cuisine with Jewish influences drawn from his own background and Levine’s heritage. Dream Deli fills a perceived gap in Portland’s deli landscape while deliberately avoiding the label “traditional Jewish deli,” Levine said.
“First and foremost, we describe the concept as a Pacific Northwest deli,” Levine said. “The North Star is just sourcing everything we serve locally from purveyors who are stewards of the land and the communities that they operate within.”
The menu centers on locally sourced proteins, with an emphasis on whole-animal butchery and ethical production. Beef from Revel Meat Co. — a meat processor and distributor using regenerative practices and humane handling — anchors Dream Deli’s popular corned beef sandwich.
“It allowed us to have a small, tight menu of sandwiches where each sandwich features a different local protein on a different bread,” Bissell said.
Alongside corned beef on marble rye, the deli offers a whitefish salad melt on milk bread, beef tongue Reuben on marble rye, ham on pane bianco and veggie “meatloaf” on milk bread. Other menu items include salads, soup, focaccia, knishes, rugelach, cookies and other pastries. Levine and Bissell expect the menu to evolve over time.
In addition to sandwhiches, soups and salads, Dream Deli serves a variety of fresh baked pastries and breads.Chiara Profenna
“After cooking for the last 20 years, I want to keep it as fun and interesting as possible,” Bissell said. “So the processes that excite us and the products that excite us are going to continue to drive the menu.”
In addition to learning how to run their own eatery, operating an Italian-Jewish deli in a city Levine described as “starved for a traditional Jewish deli” has come with unexpected challenges.
“It’s actually been such an interesting lightning rod, that Jewish part of our concept,” Levine said. “It seems like we’re either not Jewish enough… or we’re too Jewish.”
Levine said patrons have questioned everything from the decision to serve ham to the owners’ stance on the Israel-Palestine conflict, forcing the team to navigate political and identity-based conversations alongside running a neighborhood deli.
“The hate speech and polarization we’re seeing in our country right now is poisonous,” Levine said. “What we’re trying to do with this space is really the opposite. It’s about community and togetherness and experiencing pleasure.”
If you go: 11a.m.-3 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday; 3542 S.E. Division St., dreamdelipdx.com.
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Dining and Cooking