enlarge John Patriquin/Staff Photographer

Boars Head meats are featured at The Picnic Basket in Portland, including in this roast beef sandwich displayed by Martha Blackburn.

enlarge John Patriquin/Staff Photographer

THE PICNIC BASKET

WHERE: 494 Stevens Ave., Portland; 772-1880

HOURS: 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday; 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday; closed Sunday

CHEAPEST GRUB: Breakfast: muffin, $1.75; Lunch: tuna salad wrap, $5.95

WAIT: 5 minutes

PARKING: On-street only

RATING: ***

Based on a 5-star scale

The strip of Stevens Avenue around Pat's Meat Market (and the cafe above) has become something of a mini foodie hot spot for the Deering neighborhood.

Right next door is the brick-oven pizzeria Siano's, where you can get french toast and omelets in the morning or pepperoni pizza and veal parmigiana at night.

Walk down the street a bit and you'll find dessert at Good Eats Boutique, where there are plenty of locally made and mouthwatering cookies, cupcakes and other treats ready to eat in or take home.

Simply Scandanavian Foods, a former resident of the Old Port, is here now too, should you suddenly get a hankering for some pepparkakor, lingonberry jam or Swedish meatballs. Oh, ja.

And now the neighborhood has a deli.

The Picnic Basket is located inside a mocha-colored clapboard house with a white picket fence, right next door to the shoe shop and a couple of doors away from Pat's. It's serving breakfast and lunch, and eventually will sell specialty foods as well, although the place still seems to be stocking up on those items. A selection of wines is also in the works.

This is definitely an eat-and-run kind of place. Customers order at a front counter. There's a table for two in the next room, and a couple of stools at a window counter, but that's about it for indoor seating.

Breakfast items range from a bagel with cream cheese, peanut butter or mango chutney for $2.25 to an egg-and-cheese sandwich with bacon, sausage or ham for $3.25. There are also homemade loaves of blueberry bread and coffee cake available. Homemade cinnamon rolls and whoopie pies are displayed on the counter.

The Picnic Basket serves both cold and hot sandwiches, many featuring Boars Head meats. The least expensive is the tuna salad wrap with capers, red onion and pickles for $5.95. Most sandwiches are $6.50, including a turkey and swiss panini, a rueben and a three-cheese panini with tomato and pesto, spinach and cherry peppers on grilled ciabatta.

We tried the roast beef special, which consisted of roast beef, horseradish sauce, lettuce and tomato on a fresh sourdough roll. Everything seemed really fresh, and the horseradish sauce was terrific. It's the kind that will clear your sinuses.

If your pockets are really light, there are hot dogs for just $1.60 and chili dogs for $2.

Sodas, teas and other drinks – locally made and otherwise – are available in a cooler that also stocks cheeses such as Great Hill Blue, manchego and Black Diamond Cheddar.

So far, most of the specialty products on display seem to be from Stonewall Kitchen, but there are also coffees from Coffee by Design and granolas from Borealis Breads.

This little place needs some time to develop, but it looks like it's off to a good start.

The Features Staff of the Press Herald/Sunday Telegram anonymously samples meals for about $7.