Friday, March 20, 2015

Quick Impressions: Old Town Pizza

Old Town Pizza
226 NW Davis St.
Portland, OR 97200
(503) 222-9999


[Photograph by Adam Lindsley]

If memory serves, the first pizzeria in Portland I visited was Old Town Pizza. I'm sure I read about raves about it in some Chowhound thread, back when that was a thing. So I went. I vaguely remember being unimpressed by whatever I ordered, decided it wasn't for me, and ignored it thereafter.

Flash-forward several years and Old Town Pizza came back up on my radar, though the exact reason why escapes me. I recalled my less-than-positive feelings about the pizza from my initial visit, but decided to give them another shot.

Well, it's the same old humdrum "pizzeria-style" pizza they've always served.

The main offender is their crust, which is just awful. Dense as a pretzel but far less flavorful, it's a leave-it-on-the-plate affair. The sauce is a touch on the sweet side, but their Italian sausage was even sweeter, too sweet for me. I will say I approve of their pepperoni, which curled into glorious little grease goblets, as all the best pepperoni does (see here). 

There is one redeeming factor for visiting Old Town Pizza (or at least their Old Town location): they're located in a fantastic old building with all the juicy Portland history that goes with it. Great atmosphere. Mediocre pizza.