Find a super slice of pizza on Portland’s busiest delivery day
February 7, 2010 by karenvitt
Filed under Neat STUFF, Neat WIN
Put down that bucket o’ Buffalo wings. Super Bowl Sunday is the biggest pizza delivery day of the year, with national reports from Domino’s Pizza and Pizza Hut saying they each expect to nearly double their average Sunday night sales. But why not take a slice of the local pie instead, and order up from one of these favorite Portland pizzerias:
American Dream – Northeast Portland’s most quirky pizza shop serves solid pies named after celebrities and cultural icons. Enjoy a perfectly chewy, medium-thick crust and a staggering choice of toppings and sauces, including things like spicy beef, chilies, pesto and chipotle. They also have plenty of vegetarian choices, and pizza-by-the-slice if you’re watching the game solo. 4620 N.E. Glisan St.; 503-230-0699.
Al Forno Ferruzza Pizzeria – Inspired by traditional old family recipes from Sicily, Al Forno serves up artisan handmade pizzas and calzones from a low-key storefront on Alberta Street. Classic thin-crust Margherita pizza baked in a kiln with tangy sauce, whole milk mozzarella and fresh basil leaves is as good as it gets, and comes as close to New York style pizza (which is really Sicilian style) as we’ve seen in PDX. 2738 N.E. Alberta St.; 503-253-6766. www.503alforno.com
Bella Faccia Pizzeria – Simply great pizza with quality ingredients, Bella Faccia (right) serves 18″ pies with those huge, classic New York style fold-over crusts, tangy sauce, fresh veggies and smoky meats. This funky Alberta pizza parlor is often called out as one of Portland’s best, relying mostly on simple, locally sourced toppings and skillful production. You can still order up gourmet toppings like artichoke hearts or roasted eggplant, but the focus here is fresh rather than fussy – and consistently near-perfect pizza. 2934 N.E. Alberta St.; 503-280-0600. www.bellafacciapizzeria.com
Dove Vivi – Open early today for Super Bowl orders, this local pizza joint is far more sophisticated than its strip-mall setting. Every pie is 12″ (six slices), and made with cornmeal crust in what they call Colorado style – i.e., somewhere between Chicago deep dish and California creative. Every pie is made to order from local produce and meats, including house made sausage from Carlton Farms – they even cure their own Pancetta and Tasso Ham. Gourmet toppings like caramelized onions and golden chanterelle mushrooms don’t come cheap, but this pizza’s worth every tangy bite. There’s a take and bake at home option, too. 2727 Glisan St.; 503-239-4444. www.dovevivipizza.com
Hot Lips – Family owned and operated with four local locations, Hot Lips is a favorite for delivering fresh, local pizza pies to your doorstep fast. Order seasonal specialties, like the Carlton Farms smoked bacon, potato and cheddar, or design your own from fresh ingredients and seven different sauces. How about Parmesan garlic sauce with housemade Italian sausage, white cheddar and button mushrooms? Yip. They also make their own fresh fruit soda, if you’re among the approximately two Americans not drinking beer today. 721 N.W. Ninth Ave.; 503-595-2342. www.hotlipspizza.com
Want to win a FREE pizza?! The Neat Sheet is getting so many enthusiastic Portland pizza comments on Facebook and Twitter that we’ve decided to hold a cheesy contest. To win a large pizza from your choice of local pizzeria, just leave a comment on this post about your favorite Portland pizza place or send an e-mail titled “PORTLAND PIZZA” to neatsheet@karenvitt.com. We’ll pick one lucky random winner on Friday, March 5 and gift you a large pizza in time to order up while you watch The Oscars (Sunday, March 7).
We’ve just had two more great Portland pizza suggestions! For Nostrana and for the margherita pizza at Bluehour – though we’re pretty sure Bluehour won’t be delivering pizza on Super Bowl Sunday.
Not to be too curmudgeonly, but I have been bad-mouthing Portland pizza ever since Burlingame Pizza closed years ago. They put herbs in their thick chewy crust and it was delicious. Why doesn’t anyone else ever do this??
Despite my reluctance to leave the past where it belongs, I have managed to find a few alternatives…but it hasn’t been easy. This is likely due to my impossibly narrow view of what pizza should be. I’m not saying Ken’s or Escape or Nostrana aren’t delicious, they absolutely are, but I lament the lack of thicker crust pizza around this town. Is thick crust a lost art form? It certainly seems to have been left in the past, or to the suburban chains, eclipsed by a now long-standing trend of NY-style or artisan pizza making. (Not that there’s anything wrong with that!)
In my desperation, I have been ordering from Rudy’s, a mom and pop sort of place on Powell with low prices and passable ingredients. Not the greatest but at least they do thick crust and god bless em for that. Who else? Old Town? Hammy’s? Yeah, I guess they’ll have to do.
It’s possible that I need to give up this hopeless search and head back to the suburbs, where I can bask in the faded glory of the Round Table’s and Pizza Hut’s of my youth.
I’m sure Hammy’s Pizza delivered to many after parties and well into the night! They are my favorite!
Bella Faccia is the best! I could eat it everyday…mmm…
As the unofficial pizza broker in my group of friends, I would definitely get use out of this contest! Mmmm…cheesy…
My 2 favorite pizza places are Round Table and Pizzacato. (2 very different styles and flavors of pizzas.)
Al Forno Ferruzza Pizzeria is quirky and delicious.
Apizza Scholls is my family’s favorite! Well worth the wait. I can’t decide if I love the thin crust or the sauce more…
I particularly like the laid-back, grungy, hole-in-the-wall feel of Escape from NY on NW 23rd, but am DYING to try KEN’S ARTISAN PIZZA!
Agh, Dove Vivi’s corn pie is my fav in the city!
Bella Faccia please! yum yum yum
My fiance and I enjoy a good pie and are always looking for new suggestions. Hope to win so we can venture out to a new pizza hot spot!
We don’t have many choices of unique pizza this side of portland. Extreme Pizza is as unique as we can find! None of the fast pizza joints compare!
I’ve been dying to try Dove Vivi ever since I heard about it from a friend!