Vincent's Gourmet Pizza

SE Hawthorne and SE 19th







We went deep into inner SE to bring you this one.  Actually, the little one was asleep so I drove around following Yelp until I decided on Vincent's.

As we walked by and I saw what appeared to be a small bar I wasn't sure if my little guy would be accepted (or legally allowed) to be in the place.  On closer examination through the window I realized this was a family friendly environment with enough space to host a party and have two functional bars for everyone else.




We walked in and immediately saw the Pin Ball machines in the back room.  While sprinting towards those I happened to pass by the bar and saw several local brews and a few international ones.  We ordered a pizza (they do slices) but also have a customizable pizza menu.











After dropping some quarters at pinball, we walked around the rest of the establishment which hosted an upstairs bar with a pool table, foosball, and an adult bar.  There was a large area for a family celebrating a party and the walls were lined with picnic plates with what appears to be children's art hanging on the wall.















The pizza?  It came out hot and good.  I was very impressed with the crust and the amount of toppings.  They gave you enough quality to fill you up, but not so much it was falling off the thin crust.  The crust was done well considering they don't have a brick oven but was of high quality and lacking any sogginess or issues with undercooking.

 









Our final review is that it's a great place to hang with a family during the day and a great place after a long night touring SW Hawthorne.

Amalfi's Restaurant

NE Fremont and NE 47th Ave

First opened in 1959 Amalfi's is a well established Italian restaurant specializing in pizza.  For all the years they have been around, they don't make their own pasta which puzzled me and perhaps discouraged me from going in on a few occasions.  I had recently read they were voted best pizza in Portland at which point I had to see for myself.  I have read other publications claiming one place or another was "the best pizza in Portland" only to find myself horribly disappointed and halting my subscription to the magazine as I believed it was paid advertising dressed up as a review.

 Having that in mind we went to Amalfi's with some friends and found they had their own small parking lot in back, which is a blessing in NE Fremont's busy restaurant scene.  We walked in and I was amazed at the classiness of this place.  I was expecting checkered vinyl table cloths with a few photos of Italy and New York City coupled with servers who didn't know Chianti from Cabernet.  What I found was an elegant dinning experience where the restaurant is divided between an adult area and a section where you could bring moderately behaved children.

 The menu had a variety of pastas and salads (we enjoyed Caesar salad) but it seemed most people came for the pizza.  There were several selections of full pizzas which we were able to customize. There were enough toppings added to fill you but not so much they slide off the slice when you pick it up.  The crust was done to perfection with no traces of sogginess but not so done that you feel it shatter in your mouth.  In all, a very well done pizza. 



I felt the meal was good and I would recommend coming here for a nice dinner, a birthday celebration, or to sit at the bar and enjoy a drink.    Not sure it's the best in Portland but it's pretty good.

Al Forno Ferruza

NE Alberta and NE 27th Ave

Long gone are the days where a new restaurant dared to set foot on Alberta Street next to the drug deals, dilapidated buildings, and scores of graffiti marked gang territory.  Now the food scene appears to be not only flourishing on this street, a restaurant must stand out enough to compete with the others in order to survive.  Hour long waits at the more popular places are accepted as the norm so if you want business lined up out the door, you better have something worth it.  

 I have been to Al Forno's twice now.  The first was at their opening and I found another pizza restaurant in North East to be nothing special or new.  I will admit I had never tried Sicilian style pizza so perhaps this was different than the other serious contenders in Portland.  

 When I first walked in I noted the wooden tables (seems most Portland area restaurants buy from the same vendor), the creaky wood floors, and small bar which offers a few extra seats.  At first glance this appeared to be a classic Portland restaurant (except there were colorful fabrics draped across the ceiling instead of bar rafters showing off the steel ventilation duct work. 

I also noticed there were several employees speaking with a strong Italian accent.  Could it be?  A restaurant on the East Side where I'm not being served food by a tattooed, face pierced, 35 year old who drinks PBR out of a tall-boy and rolls his eyes at me when I ask if I can add onions to a pizza?  Interesting...

Of course the first thing to catch my eye was the Sicilian hand tossing pizza dough about five feet above his head expanding the dough to almost two feet in diameter.  Ok, you have my attention.  Skill like that I'm sure is not wasted on bad pizza. 

 We sat down and looked at the menu which had some a modest list of excellent looking pies (I'm not into the white clam pizza but maybe folks really dig that).  They have some impressive Calzones and Strombolis as well.  The best addition to the menu is that you can build your own and the list of ingredients ranges from Walla Wall sweet onions to caper berries.  


I asked what beer they had on tab and the bartender/server/cook walked over showed me the taps, gave me a description of each and, on his own volition, grabbed some pint glasses and poured me some one ounce samples so I could make my decision. 

I was happy to wait content with my carefully select beer and customized pizza.  As we were the only ones in the restaurant at opening, the chef came out and made sure my four year old witnessed the impressive hand tossing of the dough.  He then assembled our pizza and 10 minutes later out came a blazing hot pie.  Most impressive in presentation and taste and takeout is an option as well.  If given the choice, I would rather stay and enjoy.  

Earth Oven Pizza

Hillsboro (E Main St and E 3rd Ave)

Yes I know Hillsboro is not Portland however I was stuck in Hillsboro and there is a lack of good food in this entire city.  I'm sure there is great food here, I just never happen to find it on the west side.  So one afternoon when I was compelled to be in Hillsboro, I stumbled into Earth Oven Pizza.

I can start by saying it is in a strip mall near the courthouse.  Strip malls are not necessarily a sign of bad food and the sign out front could have easily been placed out in front of a trendy SE Portland Pizza restaurant.

When I walked inside I was greeted with funky art on the wall, a large brick oven, and a young woman behind the counter with multiple piercings on her face.  For a minute I thought I was in Portland but then I looked around and saw the bamboo flooring, fake ivy hanging in pots in the ceilings, and a fake palm tree in the dining area.

The entire place looked like a start up pizza restaurant which didn't quite have the money to change the decor of the out-of-business Chinese or Sushi place which probably inhabited the building first.

The bar in the back was nice, boasting what I would imagine to be cheap wine and equally cheap and non local brews.  I noted the menu offered gluten free pizza (although you had to order a whole one), and several other options of meat and veggie pies.

Their menu is appealing, they offer whole pies and slices, they have a wood fired oven and non traditional "west siders."  What was lacking was the execution of the recipe.

I found they did not take advantage of the brick oven as they could have accomplished the same sloppy crust with a traditional pizza oven and substandard dough.

The pizza was limp and had no distinguishing tastes which would set it apart from any pizza on the east side.

To give credit, I remember I am in the middle of downtown Hillsboro and they are very different from other restaurants in the area.  While I can get past the interior decorating reminding me of a horrible General Tso's Chicken I once had, I can't get past pizza which does nothing for me.  I am willing to give this place a second chance though.

Being so close to the court house you either get a lunch crowd of professionals eating quickly before court starts again, or you get a place which hosts folks ready for one last meal before they have to pee in a cup for their parole officer and face 30 to 90 at the "hotel" down the street.  This place obviously caters to the former and are perhaps marketing to lawyers from Multnomah County.

Maybe they are new, don't have the recipes down, or were having a bad day.  They had a perfect combination of elements with an earth inspired theme to their menu, they just didn't quite put it together in a package which I would consider noteworthy.

Another time perhaps.....

Dove Vivi

NE Glisan and NE 27th Ave

Bordering hip NE 28th Ave on the busy Glisan St intersection is a small restaurant called Dove Vivi.  Walking in with a small child, I immediately felt as though I had brought the bull to the China shop.

The dim candles glowing on the table offered illumination to the soft glow lighting.  The restaurant boasts some features found at Portland's most elegant late night destinations.  Polished cement floors, wooden tables, and duct work hanging from the wood ceiling seems to populate most Portland area  dining experiences and they were all present here.

However I was able to spot a few high chairs in the back so bringing a little boy was obviously not a social crime at this place.

 I was intrigued at Dove Vivi's signature crust.  At most [izza restaurants, apart from the standard whole wheat crust cooked in the pizza oven, you might be fortunate enough to land a place with a wood-fired brick oven which slightly chars the crust to perfection.

However at Dove Vivi they make a deep dish cornmeal crust which I wondered if the consistency would elevate it's status to unique, or be a short lived fad which would not be special enough to keep the doors open and the restaurant space from becoming another mediocre Thai restaurant.

We were able to order half a pizzas, slices, and whole pizzas.  They ask for no substitutions but their menu boasts quite a variety and there are specials.  There is a vegan selection, several meat pies, and pesto sauces.  A few salads and some dessert make this dining experience perfect for either a date or a nice place to take someone celebrating some grand life milestone.

I respected Dove Vivi's boldness to try a new style of crust and center their entire menu around it.  My one and only caution with cornmeal is if a chunk of hard cornmeal lands just right when I bite, it feels like a just bit into a rock.  This can happen with muffins or the cornmeal used on pizza stones, I just feel sensitive to it.

That aside, all I can say is wow.  The staff were great, takeout is an option, and the pizza was amazing.  We will be coming back and by the looks of filled tables, others agreed with us.

American Dream Pizza

NE Glisan and NE 46

Located across the street from Providence Portland Hospital lies one of Portland's best pizzas.

The atmosphere is colorful. Literally. The walls are littered with pizza boxes which feature creative pizza art painted directly onto the box. Combined with a healthy regiment of 80's music, I felt like we were getting pizza in a John Hughes film.

The pizzas are great with either set pies or build your own. They run on the spendy side and cut their pies into squares (if that makes a difference to you). Veggie and meat options are in supply as well as plenty of local drafts.

We have been there several times but not for breakfast which they now offer. Lunch and dinners are great and To Go and limited NE/SE delivery makes American Dream perfect to grab on the way home.