the best of Beaverton/Aloha? (Portland, Hillsboro: live in, price, groceries)

[j_k_k]

Originally Posted by Bluesmama

There is another Thai place in Beaverton that's very good and few people know about it - Kaow Thai on Hall, near Hall Street Bar & Grill. The store frontage may not be noticeable from the street that well. Different atmosphere from Thai Bloom - very quiet. Food is very good, though, and reasonable.

I had lunch there today, as a matter of fact.

That's its second mention, so its enthusiasts may well be on to something. "Darn it, I don't want to try another Thai place" is not a sentence likely to come from me.

Some ex-Portland friends now living in Berkeley tell me I need to check out Chennai Masala in Hillsboro for Indian. These are hardcore foodies who have their own blowtorch to make creme brulée and whip up their own homemade mayo, so I listen carefully to anything they recommend.

For delivery pizza so far, I am liking Round Table. Partly because I've always liked them in other locations, and partly because this one delivers to me even though I'm slightly outside their catchment area. A case where one feels rather good about tipping the driver (which I suspect has become part of the reason they are willing to come a little farther). I always liked Pietro's in Hood River, but from the circulars so far, I'm getting the impression that the Beaverton one is trying to be Chuck E Cheese. Which is fine if that's their business model, but one of the things I love about kid-friendly restaurants is that they tend to draw raucous kids away from the places I want to eat, so we all win.

[Tipsy McStagger]

Love Thai Bloom. We have it delivered via DDish about weekly on average.

Pizzicato for delivery pies (ours is the Hillsdale location but there is one on Hwy 10). Had a difficult time in the Portland area finding a decent delivery pizza until we tried this place.

Wine & Growl is a nice small restaurant in a strip mall near the Fred Meyer on 10 with good food and a great wine and beer list. Good neighborhood-y place on a weeknight.

[j_k_k]

Originally Posted by Tipsy McStagger

Wine & Growl is a nice small restaurant in a strip mall near the Fred Meyer on 10 with good food and a great wine and beer list. Good neighborhood-y place on a weeknight.

I think I have seen that while trying to keep abreast of the speed limit changes. That's mostly what my eyes are doing on Farmington and TVH, one eye for speed limit changes and one eye for following distance. I've become used to knowing I will overshoot what I'm looking for, because I would rather have to turn around and make a left turn across the traffic than become Today's Involuntary Treasury Contributor or rear-end someone.

[j_k_k]

Originally Posted by Tipsy McStagger

Love Thai Bloom. We have it delivered via DDish about weekly on average.

Finally got around to Thai Bloom, with a local who grew up over here when it was all cow pastures and such, now lives over in East. Quite good. I can see going back.

You mentioned Pizzicato. Curious question: do they have what I call normal pizza? Pardon me for saying so, but I've learned that there is normal pizza and Portland pizza. Normal pizza is at least half an inch thick, has lots of cheese and whatever kind of meat, etc. Portland pizza, as I have taken to calling it, is on dime-thin crust with approximately ten grated strands of artisanal cheese, with sauce reflecting overtones of this and that delicate herb, plus a good amount of vegetables (probably stuff like fennel and artichokes) that my brain says do not belong on my pizza. Nothing wrong with it as far as it goes, as long as I'm not paying, but I prefer normal pizza when I'm paying. My time so far in this area has taught me to see if a given place has normal pizza, or if it's one of the Portland pizza places. I'm probably closest to their Murrayhill location.

[Yankeemama]

Originally Posted by j_k_k

Finally got around to Thai Bloom, with a local who grew up over here when it was all cow pastures and such, now lives over in East. Quite good. I can see going back.

You mentioned Pizzicato. Curious question: do they have what I call normal pizza? Pardon me for saying so, but I've learned that there is normal pizza and Portland pizza. Normal pizza is at least half an inch thick, has lots of cheese and whatever kind of meat, etc. Portland pizza, as I have taken to calling it, is on dime-thin crust with approximately ten grated strands of artisanal cheese, with sauce reflecting overtones of this and that delicate herb, plus a good amount of vegetables (probably stuff like fennel and artichokes) that my brain says do not belong on my pizza. Nothing wrong with it as far as it goes, as long as I'm not paying, but I prefer normal pizza when I'm paying. My time so far in this area has taught me to see if a given place has normal pizza, or if it's one of the Portland pizza places. I'm probably closest to their Murrayhill location.

I like my pizza thinner than what you describe like a NY Pizza. Are you looking for a Chicago style pie? Pizzicato has your pepperoni pizza and also has unusual toppings/ creations and the crust isn't always as thin as I like, it's not thick as you describe. They also have very good salads and yes there is a Murray Hill location which also has a nice eat in area.

[Sherwoody]

It's not Beaverton/Aloha but Apizza Scholls is touted as the best pizza in Portland. They are only open 5 pm to 9:30 and people are lined up prior to opening with a one hour wait through closing time so I haven't tried it. I don't mind waiting for a nice meal, but prefer a place that you can sit and have a drink while waiting. The photos look like what you describe.

Apizza Scholls Yelp

[j_k_k]

Originally Posted by Sherwoody

It's not Beaverton/Aloha but Apizza Scholls is touted as the best pizza in Portland. They are only open 5 pm to 9:30 and people are lined up prior to opening with a one hour wait through closing time so I haven't tried it. I don't mind waiting for a nice meal, but prefer a place that you can sit and have a drink while waiting. The photos look like what you describe.

Apizza Scholls Yelp

Odd to say, but I've been to Apizza Scholls once. (Good friends who lived in LO, job/career megashift, moved to Berkeley just as we learned we'd be living here, serious foodies one of whom is born and raised here.) I also experienced the crowd and wait. One of those good friends, the native, observed awhile back that he found their service borderline rude. Wasn't during my one visit, though. The pizza was good, and interesting, though less hearty than is my preference. Very creative serving method, with the pan platform.

I am giving Pizzicato a try this weekend, as my wife's absence and the spate of football games grant me the power of pizza.

[SETabor]

Pizzicato straddles that fine line between basic pizza and Portland pizza. You can get both but their pepperoni ends up a little fancier than basic pepperoni and their artisan sunchoke ends up a little more basic than Portland pizza.

[j_k_k]

Interesting. I guess one might say there's a pizza continuum. I also look forward to seeing how well Pizzicato straddles that.

I don't think I know enough about Chicago style to say whether I'm a fan; I have a perception, but it could be misinformed. I have had what I reliably believe was authentic NYC style pizza (as the workers said, "We'ah authentic"), and while I liked it all right, it was nothing I wouldn't trade in for Round Table. In the old days, Spooky's in The Dalles was amazing, though that's outside this area and it's not the same nowadays (and that's locals' impression, not my aging taste buds'). Flying Pie in Boise blew almost everyone away, but I don't think the local Flying Pie is affiliated with them. But by and large, I like rather thin crust, but not as thin as the standard Portland pizza, with a lot of sauce, cheese, and without fruit or vegetables.

In other Italian news, I'm fairly smitten with Bugatti's bread appetizer and the Caesar salad. Waitress the other day got probably the best tip of her shift by suggesting I might like to take some of the foccacia and oil home with our leftovers. Yes, please and thank you, ma'am.

[Rob Allen]

My impression is that "normal" pizza around here has a thick crust - 2-3 times as thick as what I remember from NJ/NY.

When the office gets pizza, it's usually from Pizzicato, Bellagio's, or Schmizza. At home, my wife is gluten-free so our options are more limited. We like Flying Pie, Bellagio's, and Garlic Jim's.

There's a new pizza place in downtown Beaverton - Big O's Wood-fired Pizza, just down the block from longtime local pizza champion Giovanni's.