Is Portland Americas the Best Pizza Town?
Bloomberg Food Editor Kate Krader Wednesday Morning published approximately 1,500 words that will inevitably piss off New Yorkers and create a food-themed microcosm of vitriol that absorbs part of Twitter for at least 24 hours: After tasting hundreds of pies in cities across the country, Nathan Myhrvold and Francisco Migoya, the authors of the famous Modernist cookbooks (Modernist cuisine, modernist bread), have decided that Portland is the best pizza city in the Americas. (Myhrvold) calls up two 15-year-old artisan pizzerias, Apizza Scholls and Kens Artisan Pizza, which have set the standard for promising pizzialos [sic], writes Krader, but the two chefs who are currently working on their next book, Modernist Pizza dont attribute the pie-throwing success exclusively to these two longtime pizza restaurants. Portland Pizzerias  offer genius in multiple styles, from New York-style pies at Scotties Pizza Parlor to Neapolitan-style Nostranas and creative, ingredient-based pizzas at Lovelys Fifty Fifty, the liner reads. article. While many on the internet will see this conclusion as improbable, there is even a precedent for such an opinion. Robertas alumnus Anthony Falco, who has touted himself as an international pizza consultant since leaving the legendary New York pizzeria, called Portland the nations largest pizza city in 2018. Falco, at the time, had a more direct connection to the qualities inherent in the Pacific Northwest, if not Portland in particular: Falco attributed the towns success to access to local produce and high-quality flour. grinds nearby, which has helped many of the towns pizza chefs to be successful. Pizza lovers in Brooklyn and New Haven are probably furious in their corners of the country, furious that anyone can even suggest that the crisp, slow mob at the top left could understand what it means to make good pizza, leave alone surpass the Big Boys in the art of the slice. Weve seen it before: Whenever people make a claim about Portlands food scene (excluding its claim as the best vegan town in the country, no one disputes it) opinions are divided. between Look at these little guys! Frankly, Portland is full of exceptional pizza places, with chefs who have moved here after working in some of the countrys most notable pizzerias and restaurants. Tommy Habetz, the owner of the beloved Cully Pizza Jerk lounge, spent time working for Bobby Flay before moving to Portland. The perpetually underrated Gracies Apizza, which was worth mentioning by the Modernist Men, comes from Craig Melillo, who grew up eating in New Haven institutions and worked for bustling Brooklyn operations. Not to mention, Portland is home to experts in the art of dough and Italian cuisine: Ken Forkish, owner of Kens Artisan Pizza, is the author of James-Beard-Award-Award books on the art of bread and pizza, Flour Water Salt Yeast and the Pizza elements. And Cathy Whims, owner of Italian mainstay Nostrana, studied with iconic Italian chef Marcella Hazan and is a full leader in the world of contemporary Italian cuisine. However, Portlands position relative to other cities does not matter. Portland is do not New York. We, as guests and as chefs, value different things. Portland is not a city with hundreds of slice shops; in fact, sliced cultivation barely survived the pandemic in Portland. Trying to define the specific style of the city Pizza making would be tough, aside from the thick, multi-grain crusts stacked with seasonal veggies and yet some of the best pizzerias in town dont make pies near this shape. Those looking for tangy, multi-faceted crusts, thick or thin, soft or crisp, sourdough or inoculated, will find them here, often made from non-white flours ground just a few hours south of Portland (Camas Country Mill Flours are ubiquitous in Portland). Youll find a range of styles, from Detroit style at Assembly Brewing to Chicago tavern style at Jerrys or Bridge City. Youll find pizzerias that proudly eschew tradition, like the ranch-side pies at Ranch Pizza, and those that often try new things, like the specialties in Red Sauce. Then again, there are likely plenty of cities across the country doing this even if a journalist, international pizza consultant, or award-winning cookbook author hasnt noticed it yet. Heres the thing: Portlandians dont care. We dont care if you think it was great, and we dont care if you think it was garbage. On the contrary, we dont appreciate the way people talk about Portland as if its an outsider, whether its a guest chef talking about his restaurants with a condescending sense of enthusiastic surprise or a sarcastic commentator questioning the citys presence on any sort of national stage. The appeal of Portland as a culinary city, or as a city in general, is the simple fact that we arent interested in anyones opinions, especially on the east coast; chefs who move here come to portland to cook without pressure, with access to a better quality of life (daily hikes! swimming holes! camping! a backyard!) and greater proximity to ingredients (fruits of the valley Willamette! Columbia River Salmon! Painted Hills Beef! Portland Grown Vegetables!). Without the weight of Michelin stars or an impossible audience, people can just cook. If theres a reason our food scene is interesting or special in any way, its how light it is, the way people can experiment, or not, and cook in a way thats relaxed to them. and honest. So yes, our pizza is good. If you live in Portland, you probably know this; Then again, if youve moved here from Manhattan, Chicago, or New Haven, you may have a pervasive sense of nostalgia that keeps you from enjoying the pizza thats here. Thats okay, these pizzerias will keep making pies no matter whos paying attention. The best pizza town in America is Portland, Oregon [B]  Sorry, New York: International Pizza Consultant Dubs Portland Americas Best Pizza City [EPDX]  Correction: This story has been corrected to show that Camas Country Mill is based in South Portland, as opposed to just across the river.