Wy'east Pizza

Location: 3131 SE 50th, 3 blocks north of Powell

Description:

Over the past few years, Portland has seen a wonderful growth in artisan style pizza. One doesn’t have to go far to pick up a pie that has been carefully prepared with local ingredients and baked to perfection. Now, enterprising entrepreneurs have taken their pizza craft and open carts. Wy’east Pizza arrived this past summer down in SE Portland with the belief “good pizza can be quick, healthy, affordable, and most importantly, fresh and delicious.” And they live up to that.

Sasquash Pizza

The night before Thanksgiving was the perfect night for pizza. Everyone is running about trying to prep for the big meal and not wanting to start dirtying up the kitchen too early. Normally, I would have wandered down the street in my own neighborhood, but wanted something different, so we ventured to Wy’east. Squish and Red, the owners, took my order over the phone and had a hot pizza ready for me when we arrived. Seeing a squash pizza on the menu was another selling point.

Sasquash Pizza from Wy'east

The Sasquash is a brilliant take on a veggie pizza. Fresh dough, delicata squash, blue cheese and walnuts. I have really become a big fan of squash in the last few years, but never thought to put it on a pizza. Mix the sweet squash with the blue cheese and walnuts and you have something truly unique. Throughout the meal, we kept remarking about how we loved it, but couldn’t describe it properly. We added veggie sausage to our pie also, so that even gave it another layer of complexity. Needless to say, it was a great pie and opened my eyes up to yet another meal I can make with my stored squash this winter. The Sasquash was their seasonal pie, so you should get it while you can, they will eventually run out of delicata squash.

Wy’east Pizza takes their pizza seriously. They only make so many pizzas a night – based on the amount of dough they prepare. They make the pizza when you order to ensure freshness, so if a couple of people arrive at the same time, there may be a wait – but it is worth it. Wy’east will be closed for winter from Dec. 22-Feb 8. Just enough time for us all to build up a huge craving for their pies. Go check out Wy’east down in southeast Portland, enjoy a pie and tell them Food Carts Portland sent ya.

Sample Menu:

All pies are 12″; veggie sausage available for $1; any pie can be made “white” with olive oil garlic and spice; vegan available with Follow your Heart cheese

• Seasonal Sasquash – delicata squash, blue cheese, walnuts – $14
• Margherita – fresh mozarella and basil – $12
• Pepperoni – Otto’s pepperoni – $12
• Zig Zag glacier – white pie with kalamata olives, arugula and garlic – $14
• Three Sisters – kalamata olives, mushroom and onion – $13
• Cheese – $11

Hours: Tuesday through Saturday, 4:30-9:30pm; Sunday, 4:30-8:30pm
Phone: 503 701 5149
Website: Wy’east Pizza
Facebook: Wy’east on Facebook

Pyro Pizza

Location: SE 12th and Hawthorne at Cartopia

Description:

Friday night on the town. Happy hour at a fancy restaurant in the Pearl with cocktails made from fancy gin and vodka. Where does one go for dinner after such an event? Cartopia! Yes, indeed. We cruised down to SE 12th and Hawthorne to get some food and specifically, try the new Pyro Pizza.

Pyro Pizza is the latest from pizza guru John Eads. You may know him from his other pizza adventure – Give Pizza a Chance – which has graced a downtown spot now for a couple of years and is always busy. John wanted to try something different – wood oven pizza. And by try, I mean build a few by hand and work out the bugs. The oven in the cart at SE 12th and Hawthorne is the 6th iteration and by the taste of the pizza, I think he worked out the kinks.

The night we arrived, it was cool and wet, but not raining. The cart sits high, so they have a small deck to step up to in order to be face to face with them while ordering. You can smell the alder and pine burning away in the oven and feel the warmth while you peruse the menu and order. Just reading the menu makes your mouth water, offering up 12″ pies of all sorts, made right there when you order. While I love a good meat bonanza, I decided upon the traditional margarita so our whole group could enjoy some if they wanted. While we chatted about the new cart and I took some photos, John quickly made my pizza and before I knew it, they were handing to me. Less than 5 minutes, maybe even shorter. Now that is a hot oven.

Margarita from Pyro Pizza

The margarita was a great blend of marinara sauce, mozzarella and fresh basil all on a whole wheat crust. The crust was thin and tasty and even the edges kept me intrigued. Ask anyone, I’m not a crust end eater and that evening, I ate every last bit. It was hard to offer up pieces to my friends. The pie is pretty large for $8 and could easily feed two people.

Pyro Pizza is now open at SE 12th and Hawthorne. The glory of that pod is that you can go down there, get a pie and also have a pick at some of the other carts to round out a meal. Take a group and have a potluck. John admits they are “working out the kinks.” Not sure what that means because my pie was excellent. Stop on by and enjoy some wood oven pizza and tell them Food Carts Portland sent ya.

Sample Menu:

• Antipasts – sliced fresh mozzarella layered with plum tomatoes, fresh basil and balsamic vinigar – $5
• Traditional Margarita pizza – fresh marinara sauce, mozzarella di buffalo, fresh basil, and a dash of olive oil – $8
• Pepperoni – fresh marinara sauce, mozzarella cheese and locally produced peperoni – $7
• Caramelized onion – caramelized torpedo onions, gorgonzola and parmigiano-reggiano cheese with pistachios – $8
• Cuattro formaggi – a blend of fresh mozzarella, sheep’s cheese, gorgonzola and parmigiano-reggiano – $8
• Homemade sodas also available

Hours: Tuesday through Thursday, 6pm-12am; Friday and Saturday, 6pm-3am
Phone: 503 929 1404
Website: Pyro Pizza
Twitter: Pyro Pizza
Facebook: Pyro Pizza

Southwestern Pizza Company

Location: N Mississippi and Skidmore as part of Mississippi Marketplace

Description:

This past week, at the grand opening of PROST!, a German pub that anchors the Mississippi Marketplace compound, we started to get a little hungry for something different. The pub did have menu items, but we wanted to take advantage of the entire lot and eat food from a cart while drinking beer from the pub. I walked over to Southwestern Pizza and our wish came true.

Southwestern Pizza is a pizza cart, but they serve up their pizzas on freshly baked 8″ tortillas instead of the traditional dough we are all familiar with. The end result is a very thin, but crunchy crust topped with whatever fixin’s you have chosen. We chose to get one each of the Stagecoach (pepperoni & Italian sausage with homemade tomato sauce) and the Tumbleweed (bell peppers, onions, mushrooms, tomatoes, with homemade tomato sauce.) It only took a few minute for them to make the pizza while we continued to enjoy our beer.

Beer and Southwestern Pizza

The pizza was enjoyable. Different than what we were use to, but still pizza. Large chunks of sausage and thick slices of pepperoni on one and the fresh bell peppers and mushrooms on the other kept us eating until it all we had were empty plates. For $5 each, it is a perfect size meal for one person.

Southwestern Pizza Company is open morning until night. They offer a breakfast pizza to start your day and soon plan to offer up pasta dishes. Next time you are up in the area, grab a beer at PROST! and some pizza while you enjoy it and tell them Food Carts Portland sent ya.

Sample Menu:

• Breakfast pizza – butter, egg, ham, bacon or sausage and four cheeses – $4
• Vegan – red bell pepper, sweet onions, tomatoes, mushrooms, soy cheese – $7
• Sagebrush – chunky Italian sausage with alfredo sauce – $4.50
• Stagecoach – pepperoni and Italian sausage with homemade tomato sauce – $5
• Tumbleweed – bell peppers, onions, mushrooms, tomatoes with homemade tomato sauce – $5.50

Hours: Wednesday – Saturday, 11:30am – 7pm; Sunday 12-6pm
Website: SouthwesternPizza.net
Twitter: SouthwestPizza

Location: SW Stark and 5th

Description: I’m impressed and surprised. You never know the quality of food from a specific cart if you have never eaten there before but this pizza was very good. In my humble opinion, better than most actual sit down pizza restaurants in Portland. Made with a half whole wheat and half white flour crust, the crust was neither too thin nor too thick and cooked to perfection. A perfect balance of crunch with softness. The fresh vegetables were standouts.

New on the cart scene, this single man operation around the corner from the food cart row on SW 5th and Stark/Oak features pizzas artisan pizzas, available by the slice or as whole pies. Toppings include basic cheese or pepperoni, and revolving specials like roasted red peppers or roasted eggplant with garlic and Parmesan. Calzones are also available, as well as a bread sticks and a lone salad of the Greek variety.

One of my favorite things about this cart though, are the housemade natural soft drinks, such as the black cherry, a nice sweet but not too tart light lemon-lime and a very refreshing but not over powering gingerale that is sure to become one of my summertime staples. Plus, these drinks are a bargain at $1.75 for a big 16oz biodegradable plastic cup, or only $0.75 if you bring your own cup.

Sample Menu:

Pizza- Slices ($2 to $3, Whole Pies Start at $10.00)

Calzones – $6 to $7

Salads – $3.00

House Made Soft Drinks – $1.75 (or $0.75 if you bring your own cup)

Hours: Lunchtime Hours M-F

Phone: Unknown at this time

Website: Unkown at this time

Location: SW Stark near 5th Ave.

Location: Sw 4th Ave and College St. (near PSU)

Description: Portland now has another food cart serving tasty and traditional Sicilian street food.

Pizza, calzones, and daily specials ($5.00) like lasagna, eggplant parmesan, and pastas make up the offerings at this large purple cart on the corner of SW 4^th Ave. and College Street near PSU, while desserts such as house made cannolis, cakes, pies, and brownies round out the offerings. The food is good. Really good. For Stephen Ferruzza, the affable young owner, is some kind of Sicilian food savant. Originally from upstate NY, he comes equipped with some pretty impressive credentials including stints working as a chef at the Lake Placid Lodge, and a Sicilian father who taught him his trade. Stephen’s biggest love however, is baking.

And it shows. Pizza aficionados usually agree that one of the most important parts of the pizza is the crust, and Ferruzza makes a crust to rival that of the best in Portland. Equipped with a real pizza oven that gets up to 700 degrees F, a true slow risen dough, and a touch that only a passionate and true baker can have, his crust is a perfect balance between crusty and soft, thin in the right spots and thick around the fat edges, and has little air bubbles and the occasional spot of char on the bottom indicating it was made in the traditional and proper manner. It’s pretty darn close to a slice of heaven if you ask me. Toppings are basic and include the classic pizza margherita, pizza carne (choice of pepperoni or hard salumi), or a pizza verdura that features seasonal veggies. Pizzas come in three sizes – a large slice is $3.00, a nine- inch or so round “personal pizza” is $6.00, and a whole pie goes for $14.00, no matter the toppings. Stephen doesn’t skimp on quality either, using well regarded San Marzano tomatoes for his vibrant sauce and quality mozzarella, fresh basil and different seasonal vegetables for his toppings.

The calzones are large and well worth the $5.00 and come as a choice of Classico (ricotta, mozzarella, and basil),Verdura (seasonal vegetables), or Carne (with pepperoni or salumi). In addition, Stephen, with his love and knowledge of baking, also makes his own bread, “soft and Sicilian style, not that hard crunchy kind found everywhere else in Portland,” he says. Bread comes as a side for the daily specials, or a whole loaf can be purchased for $3.00.

I’m always amazed when I find cart food like this tucked away in the corners and parking lots of Portland, especially when it is of this high caliber and made by someone who truly cares about his craft. Highly recommended!

Sample Menu:

Pizzas – $3.00, $6.00 or $14.00 – Margherita (tomatoes, basil, mozzarella), carne (mozzarella, basil, peperoni or salumi), or verdura (seasonal vegetables).

Calzones – $5.00- with a side of tomato sauce – classico (ricotta, mozzarella, basil), verdura (seasonal vegetables), carne (mozzarella and choice of pepperoni or salumi)

Specials – $5.00 – with fresh baked Sicilian bread – rotating daily specials with things like lasagna, eggplant parmesan, pastas, etc.

Fresh baked bread – $3.00

Rotating desserts – $3.00 – cannoli, cakes, pies, brownies, etc

Hours: (call for hours)

Phone: (315) 523-3407

Website: Unknown