Pizza Jerk (NE 42nd)
Tommy Habetz put a Dan Dan pizza on an East Coast board: chile oil, char siu pork, charred mustard greens. An electrical fire caved the roof in during June 2016 and Bon Appétit named it Pizzeria of the Year eight weeks later. Check that it is open before you go.
Why go
Habetz cofounded Bunk Sandwiches and then opened a pizzeria in a 93-year-old building out in Cully.1 The straight pies are East Coast: bright, fruity marinara, puddles of Grande mozzarella, and teeny Molinari pepperoni.
1 The crooked ones are why people argue about it, starting with the Dan Dan.1 In June 2016 an electrical box on the north wall caught during the hottest week of the year, the roof caved, and Habetz watched it from across NE 42nd thinking, Welp, that's it. I'm ruined. I'm done for.
1 He was back open in early September.1
Order this / avoid
- Order: the Dan Dan,
a spicy Asian-inspired 'Dan Dan' pizza slicked with chile oil and layered with char siu pork and charred mustard greens.
1 - Order: the eggplant parm sandwich, which came back on the board with everything else after the fire.1
- Avoid: treating this page as proof the door is open. I could not confirm it, so call ahead.
What locals & experts say
- Portland Monthly (October 2016):
Habetz topped his East Coast–style pies with bright, fruity marinara, puddles of Grande mozzarella, and teeny Molinari pepperoni.
1 - Bon Appétit, 2016, as reported by Portland Monthly: one of the 50 Best New Restaurants in the country, and Pizzeria of the Year.1
Good to know
- Call first. Nothing citable confirms this room is trading today, so I am not telling you it is.
- Booking: walk in.
Verdict
could-visit — Tommy Habetz built this out of Bunk Sandwiches and put a Dan Dan pizza on an East Coast board: chile oil, char siu pork, charred mustard greens. An electrical fire took the roof off in June 2016 and Bon Appétit named it Pizzeria of the Year eight weeks later, with the windows still boarded. The rung is held down by a status question rather than by the cooking, because nothing readable confirms the room is trading today. Check before you drive out to Cully.