ADC and I hit Apizza the other night because it was in the cue for out WW Cheap Eats survey (see this entry). We decided that evening to embark on a pizza quest. On Monday, May 8, we hit Ken's Artisan Bakery for their pizza night, and round 2 of our search for Portland's best pizza...We tried to recreate the meal as best we could... Beer for me (Terminal Gravity IPA instead of Caldera), a Caesar salad for us to split, and a hot sporessata pizza (in place of the hot cappicola). Here is the break down...
1-Beers. Better selection at Apizza. But hey, they are a full service restaurant. If I were judging espressos, I'm sure Ken's would prevail.
2-Salad. This time we do get croutons (if you recall, Apizza was out for the night). ADC prefers this Caesar to Apizza's, I find it a little too garlicy (I know, hard to believe), but don't particularly prefer Apizza's either (meaning the salad is a wash for me).
3-The pie. A different topping makes it a little tough to judge. Spicy, yes indeed. Crust, yeah pretty good. Thinner on the bottom than Apizza's, and a little chewier on the edges where it gets thicker. A nice bit of char around the edges. One major difference, Ken puts the basil on before baking, whereas Apizza applies fresh basil once the pie is out of the oven. I prefer Apizza's take on basil, and both the ADC and I prefer Apizza's pie overall.
4-The locale. ADC prefers the feel of Ken's, saying that it is cool when a local bakery has pizza night once a week. This 'warm' feeling will most likely fade when Ken has his own pizzeria. But, then again, the pizza may improve with a heftier oven...
As for now, Apizza beats Ken's. Nostrana still to go (if we can get a table). Watch this space for results.
4 comments:
Good luck at Nostrana. Smooth Melon and I met there for lunch a couple weeks ago - my third and last visit. The service was horrific, and the food just ... eh. We weren't greeted by anyone at the door, and finally had to wander toward the bar to get anyone's attention, despite a dozen empty tables. The waiter was literally wiping and flicking sweat from his brow as he ran from table to table, and made it very obvious that he was "slammed" by huffing and puffing when he finally greeted us. We didn't get water or place our order for nearly 20 minutes. It took at least that long once we were finished to have our plates cleared, and then that long again to get the check. Abysmal, and the food just isn't worth it. Sorry, Cathy.
Thanks for the comments, Miss Tasty. I thought you were a fan of Nostrana!?! This will be my third time, and last time I swore I wouldn't go back (or at lease kind of swore. Here's my quote "Overall, disappointing again. I'm not sure I'll go back."
And the link to that post...
http://tarteauxpoires.blogspot.com/2006/04/nostrana-with-cc.html
It'll either be 3rd time's a charm, or 3 strike and you're out. We'll see...
Note that Ken's will be opening a pizza joint on SE 28th just a little south of where Noble Rot and Esparza's is this summer.
I think these are the three best pizzas in town. There are some good slices out there, but these three do a good job start to finish. Some places like Wildwood, Castagna, and Lauro would have pretty darn good pizzas too if they cooked them hotter. The crusts are never quite crisp enough.
MSG - Thanks for the comment. I think these three are in peoples' minds as the top 3 in Portland, and although I've been to them all before, it seemed like I should get to them all within a week (for a little continuity).
BTW, loved the discussion on portlandfood.org on this very topic. Anyone interested in these pizza joints shoud check out this link (I really hope it copies over okay)...
http://portlandfood.org/index.php?s=9203d0cf0833350b8c2df845af70d8b7&showforum=15
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