Portland Pie Company!

The decision to skip ahead to Portland Pie Company came from a decision to eat someplace with ‘atmosphere’, which certainly says something of the kind of pizza we will be getting here.   I have heard wonderful things from tons of people, and my good friend James calls it his favorite pizza.   So expectations are incredibly high.

Smell : The smell was not too overpowering in the restaurant or when I stuck it up to my nose like a ridiculous child.  But I will say that my friend Kevin’s office is right above it, and I do remember walking up to his office, sniffing around and suddenly realized I desired pizza.  So that says something.  2.5/5

Appearance : Perfect!  Nice crust, nice brown bits, just a few cheese pockets, not too much, *and* cheese strands that came apart when you pulled off a slice.  I always think that part is very important to the pizza anticipation experience.  Point being, I’m sold.  5/5

Cheese: Texture was perfect here.  Stringy, chewy, but for the most part stayed on the pizza, although occasionally falling off.  The flavor was not overpoweringly mozzarella-y…I find this is the paradox with pizza – good taste = too sticky a texture, whereas a stringy texture leads to a “meh” taste.  I’m going to go with 4/5.  

Crust:  We ordered the beer crust, which may have been a mistake, but I have not made any rules as to all crust having to be white.  The crust had an awesome flavor and a really, really nice texture.  My only complaint is that it was so thick, the taste of the sauce and the cheese may have been overpowered.  I find myself craving more mozzarella-y flavors and more sauce.  This again, however, may be another pizza paradox.  For a pizza to get the appropriate thickness for the sake of consistency and lack of floppiness, as well as hearty flavor, it will overpower the flavor of the cheese and sauce.  So, for the time being, until I impressed by finding the crust of my dreams, I am awarding the crust with a 4/5

Sauce: Almost the perfect amount of sauce, although I found myself craving a little more.  I think it needed a little bit more kick, a nice, spicy oregano flair, or even some rosemary, black pepper or salt.  Something a little extra.  But it was yummy, and almost the correct distribution.  It’s getting, again, a solid 4/5.

Overall experience: A nice atmosphere, lots of options on the menu, and a decent price for what you got.  The pizza came straight out of the oven, and I was asked if I needed another PBR three, count them, three times!  It is that kind of attentiveness that I appreciate in a pizza place, although it was yummy enough I didn’t need a constant flow of Milwaukee’s best to null the pain.   Honestly?  Not a damn thing wrong with that pizza experience.  I will say, however, that I did not fall off my chair with perfect glee.   

So, I give it a 4.5, with an average of 3.9 for the piecemeal evaluation.  

The piecemeal evaluation is the same as Pizza Joint, which I thoroughly agree with.  Because, based on individual aspects, Pizza Joint is pretty damn close.  However, Pizza Joint was a little disjointed, a little more unevenly distributed.  Portland Pie Company just makes more sense as a pizza, bringing its total up to 8.4 and currently leading as frontrunner in the search for Portland’s Best Pizza.  This has been Nancy Nevada Talking About Pizza, signing off to fall asleep watching Star Trek on mute and listening to the rain.  G’night, team fatties.