And we close out the Portland part of this trip with a quick slideshow of Al Forno Ferruzza, 2738 NE Alberta Street, Portland OR 97211 (at NE 28th Street; map); 503-253-6766.
Al Forno Ferruzza, Exterior: The sixth and final stop in the Portland, Oregon, leg of my west coast pizza tour was Al Forno Ferruzza in what I guess is being called "the Alberta Arts District." When I moved away from the city, this strip of Northeast Portland was just starting to undergo gentrification. It's still a little funky, and so you get fun little start-ups like Ferruzza locating here in spaces that look like they haven't been updated since whatever five-and-dime might have inhabited them closed in the 1960s.
The Margherita Pie: The brick-and-mortar Ferruzza is an outgrowth of what used to be a pizza food cart in Southeast Portland around Portland State University. The folks who run it are New York State natives and, unsurprisingly, make a Neapolitan-American-style pizza.
Off the Wall: The mural depicts the original forno Ferruzza—the owner's dad's hand-built oven back east. ("Forno" is "oven" in Italian.) The elder Ferruzza himself works at the pizzeria, taking orders and helping out, while his son does the pizza-making.
The Forno Ferruzza Upskirt: A little floury. Just crisp enough. It's good pizza, just not great. When I walked in, the aroma reminded me of something: my own kitchen when I cook pizza. And, funny enough, the crust tasted almost exactly like the day-of pizza dough I make at home. A little salty, overywhelmingly floury, and missing the developed flavor profile of an extended-rise dough. Don't get me wrong, if I lived in the neighborhood, I'd be happy eating this pizza, but I wouldn't make a special trip up to Northeast for it. That's Adam Lindsley of the pizza blog "This Is Pizza" in the background. His take on Al Forno Ferruzza pretty much sums up my thoughts exactly.
The Whole Pie: The sauce is chunky in parts and was overly salty — perhaps to make up for the crust. I was struck by the cheese distribution on our pie. One table over, a couple had ordered a plain pie of the same size and theirs was blanketed with cheese, whereas ours had little islands of barely melted mozzarella. The cheese distro was not necessarily a bad thing, but I would have liked more meltage. Maybe that's why it didn't spread out and cover the pie as much.
I don't make the trip across town (even from my house it's only 15 minutes, so it's not like you have to take the Lincoln Tunnel) for the pizza. It's good, as you say, but it's at the bottom of my list among the better pizzerias in Portland. However, I do go across town for the calzone which uses their ricotta, which I believe is housemade and very milky and almost floral.
@extramsg: I've heard those calzones are where it's at here. Actually, I think it was on your site's forums that I heard that! Damn, your pics look scrumptious. It's one in the morning and I'm hungry for a calzone, thanks a lot.
Just moved to Oregon, from LA, where there is no real good East Coast 'za as it were. Saw this article on Portland pizza, and being from NY originally, and having eaten Pepe's in Connecticut many a time, I was impressed. The best West Coast pizza I have had yet. Actual pizza. The service was tremendous, the guy behind the counter was pretty damn legit. And yes, the ricotta is amazing. I had a canonli, made with said ricotta, hand stuffed by the guys girlfriend. Better than anything I've ever eaten at any "Eyetalian" joint anywhere. If you live in PDX area, or within 80 miles, do it. I drove 50.
@mrjwain: That's exciting! Next time you're in town, you MUST check out Ken's Artisan Pizza and Apizza Scholls. You'll respect Portland pizza even more.
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4 Comments:
I don't make the trip across town (even from my house it's only 15 minutes, so it's not like you have to take the Lincoln Tunnel) for the pizza. It's good, as you say, but it's at the bottom of my list among the better pizzerias in Portland. However, I do go across town for the calzone which uses their ricotta, which I believe is housemade and very milky and almost floral.
extramsg at 2:59AM on 11/11/09
@extramsg: I've heard those calzones are where it's at here. Actually, I think it was on your site's forums that I heard that! Damn, your pics look scrumptious. It's one in the morning and I'm hungry for a calzone, thanks a lot.
WikiAdam at 4:05AM on 11/11/09
Just moved to Oregon, from LA, where there is no real good East Coast 'za as it were. Saw this article on Portland pizza, and being from NY originally, and having eaten Pepe's in Connecticut many a time, I was impressed. The best West Coast pizza I have had yet. Actual pizza. The service was tremendous, the guy behind the counter was pretty damn legit. And yes, the ricotta is amazing. I had a canonli, made with said ricotta, hand stuffed by the guys girlfriend. Better than anything I've ever eaten at any "Eyetalian" joint anywhere. If you live in PDX area, or within 80 miles, do it. I drove 50.
mrjwain at 11:10PM on 11/14/09
@mrjwain: That's exciting! Next time you're in town, you MUST check out Ken's Artisan Pizza and Apizza Scholls. You'll respect Portland pizza even more.
WikiAdam at 1:29AM on 11/15/09