Question for Portland, Oregon folks

[Shaun @ Tru6]

Hello everyone from the Portland area. I've been told that Ken's Artisan pizza is very good. I just learned they are ranked 8th out of 50 in Food & Wine's 50 best pizzarias in the U.S., just published a week ago.

Have you been there? How is the pizza? Do you think it should rank in the top 10 nationwide, subjective of course? Any other place you know that you think should? Thank you.

[rcooled]

Originally Posted by Shaun @ Tru6

How is the pizza?

Ask this question to 20 different people and you'll get 20 different answers. Pizza is one of those things that's nearly impossible to get a consensus on. Almost like asking what's the best sports car ever...

[LWJ]

I have an opinion. First. I REALLY like my pizza. Last March, Mrs. LWJ and I did a trip through Naples and stayed there for 5 days. I ate pizza at least 4 (probably 6+) times in Naples. Two were at the "best and most highest rated" pizza joints in Naples. So, they probably didn't suck. I did end up having a far superior pie on a day when I was starving and randomly stopped into some restaurant in Naples. It had great ratings but wasn't one of the big names in town.

Use the above data as a benchmark from which I evaluate pizza.

I have been to Ken's. We went with some foody friends who raved about it. It was crowded. It was loud. There may have been a line. It wasn't 5 Euro like Naples but rather $20++ per pie. And...the toppings were REALLY spectacular. The crust? It reminded me of Naples. And, the crust DIDN'T blow my mind.

Here is where my bias on pizza will come in. In my opinion. Pizza is 95% about the crust. You want to get that flour to have a little carbonized darkness to it. This is the flavor that I think is so special.

And the toppings? They are simply dressing on a killer crust.

Well, I may have overstated my case a bit. Really awesome basil can be a big deal. A thin layer of tomato sauce with that something that you can't put a name on but is sort of culinary crack? Also a big deal.

And I haven't been back to Ken's. I actually enjoy my homemade pizza more. Are the toppings better? Not even close. But the crust is exactly how I like it.

So Sean. If you come to Portland, look me up. I will take you out to Ken's and we can discuss the finer points of pizza. You seem to be a big fan as well. But please don't come here for this. It isn't nearly as good as some reviewer wants you to think.

And on the subject, may wife took our family to the Restaurant of the Year a few months back. It was a Mexican joint. Not nearly the best Mexican joint around. I can show you a handful that are better.

Summary: Use your taste buds. Reviews are made to sell media.


Humorous side note: Way back a decade or two ago, I went to Manhattan. I was intrigued by Ray's Original and Famous Rays and similar pizza joints claiming to be the first pizza in New York. (spoiler, they weren't). But I did eat at over 15 of them. Some were acceptable. Some, not so much.

[jyl]

Ken’s Artisan Pizza is right near our house. I went there a few times when we moved there. It was “the place” to go, in fact it opened the same year we moved there. I really can’t recall having any wow! reaction to the pizza and eventually stopped going. When I’m back home (in L.A. now) I’ll get a pizza there are let you know what I think.

When I was in Marseille trying to find decent pizza - they like this horrid honey and goat cheese pizza there, chevre-miel, I decided pizza should be subcategorized into at least four different types before one can even start discussing which is the best. Maybe: standard crust, thin crust, deep dish, alternative crust.

[LWJ]

^^^Ack. Chicago deep dish isn't pizza. It is a fine meal. Just NOT pizza.

[fanaudical]

I've never been to Ken's but will now have to find and try it.

I'm a child of the 70's - Pietro's is what's stuck in my head as the pizza to beat (and I'm sure it's nothing like the wood-fired thin-crust pizza that I've come to enjoy).

EDIT: I don't really consider "Deep Dish" pizza as true pizza either - it's like an unwrapped stromboli or a calzone made wrong.

[pavulon]

We ate at Scotties Pizza Parlor SE and thought it was terrific--but we were pretty hungry and didn't mind eating outside.

[Gogar]

If you're doing research What kind of starting point are you looking for as far as 'style' of pizza?

I mean like the dough and texture kinda stuff? New Haven, Tavern, New York, Detroit, neapolitan, etc? Or chef-fy stuff?

[KFC911]

Dominos .... corner of 3rd & Elm... best I never had... Brooklyn style crust too!

I've only had one BAD pizza in my life ... Welaka, Fl. from VIDEO Pizza

Ray's, et al .... yep

[onewhippedpuppy]

I’m convinced most of the “best of” lists aren’t written by someone who has even experienced each place on the list. For that matter, if you’re going to judge the best pizza in the country or even a given city, shouldn’t you eat at every single one to rank them? Being that it’s 2025, half of them are probably AI generated anyway. I see it all the time with travel sites, it’s all clickbait and then you realize the content is generic and written by someone who has obviously never visited.

[Shaun @ Tru6]

Originally Posted by LWJ

I have an opinion. First. I REALLY like my pizza. Last March, Mrs. LWJ and I did a trip through Naples and stayed there for 5 days. I ate pizza at least 4 (probably 6+) times in Naples. Two were at the "best and most highest rated" pizza joints in Naples. So, they probably didn't suck. I did end up having a far superior pie on a day when I was starving and randomly stopped into some restaurant in Naples. It had great ratings but wasn't one of the big names in town.

Use the above data as a benchmark from which I evaluate pizza.

I have been to Ken's. We went with some foody friends who raved about it. It was crowded. It was loud. There may have been a line. It wasn't 5 Euro like Naples but rather $20++ per pie. And...the toppings were REALLY spectacular. The crust? It reminded me of Naples. And, the crust DIDN'T blow my mind.

Here is where my bias on pizza will come in. In my opinion. Pizza is 95% about the crust. You want to get that flour to have a little carbonized darkness to it. This is the flavor that I think is so special.

And the toppings? They are simply dressing on a killer crust.

Well, I may have overstated my case a bit. Really awesome basil can be a big deal. A thin layer of tomato sauce with that something that you can't put a name on but is sort of culinary crack? Also a big deal.

And I haven't been back to Ken's. I actually enjoy my homemade pizza more. Are the toppings better? Not even close. But the crust is exactly how I like it.

So Sean. If you come to Portland, look me up. I will take you out to Ken's and we can discuss the finer points of pizza. You seem to be a big fan as well. But please don't come here for this. It isn't nearly as good as some reviewer wants you to think.

And on the subject, may wife took our family to the Restaurant of the Year a few months back. It was a Mexican joint. Not nearly the best Mexican joint around. I can show you a handful that are better.

Summary: Use your taste buds. Reviews are made to sell media.


Humorous side note: Way back a decade or two ago, I went to Manhattan. I was intrigued by Ray's Original and Famous Rays and similar pizza joints claiming to be the first pizza in New York. (spoiler, they weren't). But I did eat at over 15 of them. Some were acceptable. Some, not so much.

This is why I posted, thank you LWJ for the exhaustive and thoughtful details on your experience and so much more.

We are of the exact same mind, crust makes the pizza in the same way bread makes the sandwich, which is why I'm starting my journey down the schiacciata road this week when my Kitchen Aid comes in. Once that's done I can turn my attention to pizza dough. If you are up for it, I will send you a container and overnight label for a slice or two of your pizza sometime down the road. I know exactly what you mean about "my pizza" and that's the road I'll be going down.

When I was a wee tot, most Sundays were spent at my off the boat great grandparents for huge Sunday dinners where every single thing, from pasta to sausages and everything in between was made from scratch, picked out of the 1 acre garden with eels and crabs procured at the fishmonger that day. And that included the absolutely best Sicilian pizza I've ever had and can still remember the combination of savory and floral notes that made the crust unique, sauce bright and sweet, cheese full of flavor. She never wrote anything down so it's lost to the ages.

That's what I'm going for, just to my own taste.

[Shaun @ Tru6]

Originally Posted by jyl

Ken’s Artisan Pizza is right near our house. I went there a few times when we moved there. It was “the place” to go, in fact it opened the same year we moved there. I really can’t recall having any wow! reaction to the pizza and eventually stopped going. When I’m back home (in L.A. now) I’ll get a pizza there are let you know what I think.

When I was in Marseille trying to find decent pizza - they like this horrid honey and goat cheese pizza there, chevre-miel, I decided pizza should be subcategorized into at least four different types before one can even start discussing which is the best. Maybe: standard crust, thin crust, deep dish, alternative crust.

Really good to hear of your thoughts and experience, that's a key thing for me, "eventually stopped going." And I'm looking forward to hearing about what you think of today's pizza.

There's a lot of crusts out there, it looks like Roman style crust, which I had recently, is the new thing.

[Shaun @ Tru6]

Originally Posted by fanaudical

I've never been to Ken's but will now have to find and try it.

I'm a child of the 70's - Pietro's is what's stuck in my head as the pizza to beat (and I'm sure it's nothing like the wood-fired thin-crust pizza that I've come to enjoy).

EDIT: I don't really consider "Deep Dish" pizza as true pizza either - it's like an unwrapped stromboli or a calzone made wrong.

If you go, please post about it, thanks.

[Shaun @ Tru6]

Originally Posted by Gogar

If you're doing research What kind of starting point are you looking for as far as 'style' of pizza?

I mean like the dough and texture kinda stuff? New Haven, Tavern, New York, Detroit, neapolitan, etc? Or chef-fy stuff?

If all stars align this year (and a lot has to so the odds aren't in my favor), I could keep 2-3 customers and open a Neapolitan & Roman pizza and Florentine sandwich shop with business catering (sandwiches mostly) next year.

[Shaun @ Tru6]

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

I’m convinced most of the “best of” lists aren’t written by someone who has even experienced each place on the list. For that matter, if you’re going to judge the best pizza in the country or even a given city, shouldn’t you eat at every single one to rank them? Being that it’s 2025, half of them are probably AI generated anyway. I see it all the time with travel sites, it’s all clickbait and then you realize the content is generic and written by someone who has obviously never visited.

Most, absolutely. As a matter of fact Eater just posted Best Steakhouses in Boston (newsflash, there is no best steakhouse in Boston) which was just a list with some flowery text for each and it was immediately clear the two authors had never eaten at any of them.

This list 50 best is still just a list but done by a real organization with a mission. Of course it can't be exhaustive and there is nothing better than finding the whole in the wall place that no one thought to review, that is spectacular. One such thing happened to me coming back from a drive to Chicago, we got off a random exit in NY state, went to a steak place, they were packed, drove around, found this place, I ordered chicken parm with no expectations and it blew me away. Fresh made pasta, phenomenal sauce, chicken fried perfectly with tasty breading. Random, perfect. About 15 years ago. Still remember it well.

The reviewing organization: https://www.50toppizza.it/

[onewhippedpuppy]

I’m a big fan of the hole in the wall local joints that happen to serve exceptional food. When I was living in DFW we discovered an amazing Italian place in a strip mall. It wasn’t on any “Best of DFW” lists, but had way better food than some of the well known fancy places. The locals knew though, if you weren’t there early it was a guaranteed wait.

[dad911]

Shaun, I've seen pics of what you like, and I'm sure we would disagree.

The most memorable slice I ever had was a hole-in-the-wall place on Duval Street at 3 am. Not because it was great pizza, but it 'hit the spot'

My favorite "local joint" closed, but I miss their SOB slices(sausage onion bacon)

I rarely eat pizza now. If I'm going to eat a carb, it need to be special, like my wife's homemade bread.

[Scott Douglas]

I really miss Numero Uno pizza here in the OC.

[Paul_Heery]

Shawn, are you familiar with Dave Portnoy and the "One Bite" app? Portnoy does pizza reviews mostly on the East Coast. They post at least one review per day on YouTube. But, you can go on their website to search the reviews without the app.

The reviews for Portland are all user reviews and pretty sparse.
https://onebite.app/search?query=Portland,%20Oregon

Here are all of the reviews that Dave has done that are a 9.0 and higher. He is a big fan of New Haven apizza.
https://onebite.app/reviews/dave?minScore=9&maxScore=10

[Shaun @ Tru6]

Thanks so much Paul, years ago I saw him on YT and it was pretty lame. His review on your second link of Ceres was good though. And how he enjoyed that first slice is my mission.

Will be watching more, thank you again, very helpful.