Post - The UV Life Magazine

From busy downtown establishments to neighborhood hideaways, the Umpqua Valley is packed with rewarding food-and-beverage destinations. Each issue, our contributors will be sharing their favorite discoveries. This issue, we focus on the simple sandwich done right.

Story by Dick Baltus

Eva Marie Chasteen and her husband Gary own Little Brother's Pub. Photo by Jonathan Cummings.

When it comes to concocting things in the kitchen, the sandwich is the great equalizer. While many of us are still wondering how to make pasta turn soft, throw a couple slices of bread in front of us and suddenly we think we’re a Top Chef finalist.

And why not? We’ve been practicing all our lives. I learned how to make sandwiches by watching one of my uncles spread butter on Wonder bread, dump a cup of sugar over it, and top it with another slice of bread. Check that; I learned how NOT to make sandwiches that way.

But who am I to judge what Uncle Jerry considered a delicious sandwich?

I don’t have a problem judging a restaurant’s sandwich, though, because, dang it, if I can make a Top Chef sandwich at home, people who do that for a living ought to be able to do it better than me. So it always surprises, and saddens, me when I order a sandwich done wrong.

Maybe it’s boring bread or limp lettuce or processed meat that takes me back to when my mom was telling me, “No, seriously, olive loaf is delicious.” Whatever it is, when a sandwich is wrong, you know it.

So when I find a good sandwich place, I’m its friend for life, and one of my newest friends is Little Brother's Pub in downtown Roseburg. The comfortable pub has almost iconic status in Roseburg, having been opened in 1976 by a couple of dudes who advertised that their new establishment was
“where it’s at in Roseburg.”

Today, it’s still “where it was at” in 1976, on Main Street just steps from the Douglas County Courthouse. In its uninterrupted 44-year history, the pub has had only four owners, the latest being Gary and Eva Marie Chasteen.

If you’re nostalgic for a Cheers-like setting where everybody knows your name, Little Brother's is as close as it gets in Roseburg. “We want people to feel comfortable, like we know them even if we don’t initially,” says Eva.

If the Chasteens don’t know your name during your first visit, they likely will on the second. Friendly and welcoming, they work as hard to get you to come back as they do on their food, none of which will disappoint. From fresh salads and old-school baskets (chicken strips, fish and chips, etc.) to fish tacos and one of the best burgers in town, the Chasteens never fail to deliver.

But we’re here to talk about sandwiches, and my Little Brother's go-to is the BLT. One would think it would be hard to screw up a sandwich with, if I’m doing my math right, three ingredients. But it happens.

If you’re nostalgic for a Cheers-like setting where everybody knows your name, Little Brother's Pub is as close as it gets in Roseburg.

Not at Little Brother's though. Like all the Chasteens' sandwiches, the BLT starts out with two slices of fresh bread the approximate size of an Apple laptop. Then they lay on generous portions of crispy bacon and... wait, why am I describing the ingredients of a BLT here as if I’ve solved the Riddle of the Sphinx? Just trust me, it’s the perfect BLT, and it’s just one of many great sandwiches on the menu, from homemade pulled pork to a fantastic Reuben.

And now that I’ve made myself hungry, I’m heading down the street before you get there and take my table. See you at Little Brother's Pub, 428 S.E. Main St., 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays.