Apizza Scholls

It's time to stutter and stammer my way through describing to you my favorite pizza in Portland, Oregon. You see, this is the "best" pizza I have ever eaten on a couple occasions, but am not sure I have the authority to make such declarations. Oh wait, I don't have to! How about we just let them do the talking? Go here and read about the pies. Everything you need to know is explained there. Come right back for a closer look!

When you go to Apizza Scholls you wait. This is a given. Apizza Scholls showed up on Anthony Bourdain's television show about a year and a half ago and has received accolades locally and nationally. Then of course, the Portland dining scene as a whole is in a bit of a golden age at present. People are dying to spend money on good food. The waiting area was full of well dressed middle class Portlanders drinking bottles of wine and talking about their mundane work days. We settled on tall cans of Heilman's Old Style.

Perfect.

We snacked on a very competent appetizer, but who really gives a damn about that? We came for the pizza.

How do you like your pizza? I like it very simple. I don't have a problem with toppings, but I like the flavor of the pizza itself to provide the enjoyment, not the afterthought. I believe Apizza Scholl's website once included rules about how many toppings they would allow on their pizzas. It appears to be gone now.

If you'd done your homework, you'd understand my reasons for showing you this picture. This crust is perfect. It almost reminds me of excellent bread. In fact, while eating my crust, I remarked that each piece was good to the last bite. I dare say the crust is my favorite part.

Looks simple huh? It may look that way, but this pizza reaches a level of perfection not easy to attain. It's not just the ingredients, the oven, the quality control, or the people doing all these things. It's all of the above. It's really satisfying and a great way to eat when someone puts this kind of care into your food. As a friend commented at an unrelated meal on a different day: "Man, after I eat great food, it's always tough to go back to eating junk." I feel the same way about pizza.