Southwestern Pizza Company

Location: SE 50th and Ivon, A la Carts Food Pavilion
Hours: Tues-Thurs, 11am-8pm; Fri/Sat, 11am-9pm; Sun, 11am-6pm

The Story:

Southwestern Pizza Company was one of the first carts to open at Mississippi Marketplace in North Portland back in October of 2009. With a unique menu of pizza based on tortillas, they made a splash in the community and created a following. A year later, the original owner sold the cart to John Nicoletti and his wife who moved the cart to A la Carts Food Pavilion in SE Portland. John has kept the same menu, but added some new options.

After the move to A la Carts, I remember the cart not being open on a regular basis. I had assumed it was closed, but what was actually happening behind the scenes was that John was working with the former owner to learn how to make the signature pizzas. During that time, they re-branded the menu and added some new pies and flavors. While you can still get the Sagebrush with Italian sausage and Alfredo sauce or the Stagecoach with pepperoni, Italian sausage and tomato sauce, they also now have the Hawaiian Cowboy with pineapple, ham, cheese and tomato sauce. John has also added clams to the menu along with wheat and gluten-free, dairy and goat cheese options. Truly someone who understands Portland’s palate and is catering to it.

Southwestern Pizza Company is open everyday except Monday and stays open into the dinner hour so you can grab something to take home for the family. Drop on by and say hi to John and let him know Food Carts Portland sent ya.

Full menu can be found at their website Southwesternpizzacompany.wordpress.com.

Hours: Tues-Thurs, 11am-8pm; Fri/Sat, 11am-9pm; Sun, 11am-6pm
Website: SouthwesternPizzaCompany
Twitter: SouthwestPizza
Facebook: Southwestern Pizza Company

[Our original post from October 2009 below the fold]

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.

[Update November 2010: Southwestern Pizza Company moved to SE 50th and Division]

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

Location: SE 32nd and Division
Hours: T-T, 12-8pm, F/S, 12-9pm, Sun 12-7pm

The Story:

There’s pizza and then there is brick oven pizza. We have some great carts in this city who produce top quality slices and now we have a newcomer in a truck – Slice Brick Oven Pizza.

Take a West Point grad and seasoned officer and send him to culinary school and you get Chef Nak, the man behind the oven. Chef Nak served his country for eight years before moving on to culinary school in Atlanta. After a distinguished military career and then stints as a five star chef, Chef Nak decided he wanted to take his show on the road and work for himself. He and his partner Shannon, also a culinary school graduate, outfitted a truck and launched Slice with an extensive menu of brick oven pizzas.

Pizza alla Vodka

When you walk up to the truck, Shannon leans out the window and welcomes you with a smile and a hello. The menu has everything from cheese to pepperoni to mushroom madness as either 10″ or 16″ whole pies and individual slices are also available. With the brick oven hovering between 900-1100 degrees, your pizza will always be hot. The trick with pizza is the crust. Slice prides itself in a New York style thin crust and off the bat, they are doing it well. I chose to snag a couple of slices to test the waters – cheese and pizza alla vodka. I was intrigued by a pizza with vodka in the title. Sliced Italian sausage, some Mozzarella, and a creamy sauce made with vodka created an excellent bit of nosh. Back to the crust – perfectly thin with excellent burn marks loved by pizza aficionados. Both slices were enjoyable with just the right flavors and cooked to perfection. I’ll be getting a whole pizza next time.

Slice Brick Oven Pizza is now open at D-Street Noshery, Portland’s newest pod. You don’t have to just get a slice to go. You can call ahead, order a whole pie and enjoy it with a pint from Captured by Porches in the tent on the lot. Drop on by next time you’re down in the area and let Chef Nak and Shannon know Food Carts Portland sent ya.

Sample Menu:
[Full menu available at SliceBrickOvenPizza.com]

Pizza by the slice:

• Cheese – $2.75
• Margherita – $3.25
• Pepperoni – $3
• Pizza alla Vodka – $3.50

Whole Pizzas:

• Cheese: Mozzarella, Provolone & Parmesan – 10″-$5.50; 16″ – $15
• Pepperoni: Mozzarella, Pepperoni & Parmesan – 10″ $6; 16″ – $16
• Margherita: Mozzarella, tomato sauce, fresh basil – 10″ $6.50; 16″ – $16
• Arugula and Prosciutto: Mozzarella, prosciutto, arugula & shredded Parmesan – 10″ – $8; 16″ – $18
• Pizza alla Vodka: Mozzarella, Italian sausage, creamy vodka sauce – 10″ – $8; 16″ – $18
• Mushroom Madness: Fontina, mushrooms, caramelized onions, Porcini cream sauce – 10″ – $8.50; 16″ – $24

Hours:
Phone: 503 475 8985
Website: SliceBrickOvenPizza.com
Twitter: @Slice_Pizza_Van    Facebook: Slice Brick Oven Pizza
Other: Debit and Credit Carts accepted

Wy'east Pizza

Location: 3131 SE 50th, 3 blocks north of Powell
Hours: Thurs.-Sun. 4:30-9pm, Sun. close at 8:30

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: Thurs.-Sun. 4:30-9pm, Sun. close at 8:30
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

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.