Pizza Week: 2016
As promised, these are the few slices I had during Portland Mercury’s Pizza Week. It’s like their burger week, but for pizza [you’re welcome]. My idea of heaven. Pizza is my weakness. I would eat it all day, every day, and have no shame. I like it hot. I like it cold [especially for breakfast]. I like just about every pizza combination. It’s also that one food that I have no qualms lowering my standards. Crappy pizza is still pizza, and I’ll happily eat it. Some of my fondest memories are eating a Totinos pizza all to myself when my dad was out of town. Classy is my middle name.
There were 31 slices to be had over the course of the week, and I only had a measly five but they’re worth talking about. Three of them were on a mini-pizza tour.
Left: The week after tax day, I treated myself to half-days of work. I’d go in for the first few hours, and then head home at lunch. Having that kind of freedom meant pizza. The first stop was Bella Faccia Pizzaria’s “She Bangs.” That’s the slice on the left. The base was deli mustard! My favorite condiment of all time. They added sausage, mozzarella, caramelized onions, feta, basil, and chili flake. It was tart and spicy and meaty and so, so good. I also had a generic [but also delicious] veggie slice. I hadn’t been to Bella Faccia in years. That’s another reason I love these types of events. If it’s not getting you out to try new spots, it’s rekindling your relationship with old ones. There are so many [too many?] restaurants in this town to keep up.
Right: I’m kind of a sucker for sausage, but I’m pretty sure you knew that based on the high percentage of sausage and chorizo recipes I make around here. This slice was from Old Town Brewing Co.’s “The Bellelujah.” Again, the base. This time = beer cheese sauce. Think about the goodness of that for a second. Does it get much better [hint: it does, but only barely]? Seeing that Old Town’s thing is being a brewery that happens to serve pizza, it seems like the only logical choice. They took that base and topped it with sausage, caramelized onions, fresh jalapeños, and tomatoes. It was another combination of delicious proportions. Those meatballs are the ones that they use in their meatball sandwiches, which is really good to know as someone who loves a meatball sandwich from time to time. Maybe they’ll start making one drowned in that beer cheese sauce.
Left: This was the beginning of what was a beautiful evening of pizza. Like I mentioned before, events like this get me out to places I would have never tried otherwise. East Glisan Pizza Lounge was “holy-shit-that’s awesome” from start to finish. They make this crazy good berry balsamic house soda. All of their pizza combinations sound awesome, not just the one we had for pizza week. They also apparently have lasagna Sundays because who doesn’t love lasagna? Their pizza week slice was “The Montaverde.” Again with the creatively awesome bases. Tomatillo cream base? WHAT. It was unreal. They topped it with a generous layer of cheese, roasted mushrooms, and pickled jalapeños. No one misses meat on their slice when it tastes like this. It might be my favorite slice of the week. I keep changing my mind.
Right: East Glisan makes cannoli. Cannoli! It’s perfectly seasoned ricotta. Delicious little chocolate chips, and a light, crispy cannoli shell. I’d go back for one of those without hesitation [and pizza because who says no to pizza?].
Left: Another place that wins on all accounts. UFO Pizza has been in business for 18 years, and yet somehow I’ve never heard of it [maybe because it’s in a part of town I hardly ever go to, but still…]. We’ve been back a couple of times because their pizza game is on point. We went last night even. They have many slices all the time and their to-go pizzas are equally good. Their slice for pizza week wasn’t that special since its on their menu all the time but why mess with success? It’s called “Danger Bird” — a spicy peanut sauce, chicken, bacon, red onion, and jalapeños. So spicy delicious. The crust was probably one of my favorites. It’s not too thin but still crunchy despite having substance.
Right: We ended the pizza tour with a heavy, rich slice from Atlas Pizza. Their “Whiskey-Soaked Smoked Brisket Pizza” is exactly what you’d expect, and really awesome. It takes so many of my favorite things and puts it right on my favorite food. Does it get much better?
This was taken after I picked Andrew up from the airport. We went straight to UFO Pizza. Did I mention that they have grape soda? Be still my heart.