If you are looking for some fun in this dreary weather, say no more! It’s Pizza Week!
Every year, pizza restaurants around Portland create a special slice for $3 during Portland Mercury’s Pizza Week (similar to Dumpling Week or Burger Week later this year). It’s an easy and inexpensive way to check out new restaurants and the perfect excuse to visit spots I have been meaning to try, like Pizza Kat or Atlas Pizza. Pizza Week runs April 18-24, and 28 restaurants are participating this year. You can see the list and their special pizza offering this week here. Make sure you check their hours and understand that there may be a long wait, and sometimes they even run out. I always have a back-up pizza restaurant just in case. Portland Mercury even created a very handy map of the participating restaurants.
We first went to Pacific Crust Pizza—I have been curious about this downtown spot after PDX Parent‘s review, and their Alpine spring slice with beer cheese sauce, asparagus, and potatoes sounded delicious. We went for an early dinner and there was no wait. The pizza was full of flavor and each ingredient shone and complemented the others. My kids gobbled it down quickly. It was a pretty small slice, so we were ready for pizza slice #2.
Luckily, Straight From New York on W. Burnside was not far, and they had an intriguing special: “I would do anything for loaf.” It is a mashed potato pizza with meatloaf sauce and sliced meatballs. My son said, “ This tastes more like a regular meal than pizza, which is good.” The mashed potatoes were strangely comforting on the pizza and it was a huge slice. We were stuffed! I did see that they only allow one slice per person. We were all present so we got four slices, but if you are planning on doing takeout, you may want to call ahead and order a whole pie.
Since we knew we were going to two different places, we didn’t get any sides to supplement our meal. But we tipped well since these restaurants are doing a smokin’ deal with these $3 slices and the staff are putting in a lot of extra work. This is a great opportunity to support our restaurants!
We are looking forward to trying a couple more pizzas this week. I have my eye on Pizza Kat, open Wednesday-Saturday 4-8pm. They have a twice-baked potato pizza that sounds incredible! Also, we will have to stop by Straight From New York on SE Hawthorne with their James and the Giant Slice with prosciutto and roasted peaches.
It’s a fun way to stretch my kids’ palate beyond pepperoni and cheese. They love it because they get pizza. I love it because it’s creative and fun. And if they don’t like the special, it was only $3 and I can get them their usual pepperoni. All in all, I am grateful that I live in a city that celebrates pizza and creativity. Good weather is not a guarantee, but at least I can guarantee some good food this week!
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