2223 SE Hawthorne Blvd

www.hotlipspizza.com

Date of Visit: November 16, 2009

Price for 2 (including tip and blogger discount) $10

People ask me all the time if I get free food because of this blog, or at least, if that’s the goal. The answer is no on both counts, I am simply doing this cause it’s a fun project. But on our trip to Hot Lips, blogging did pay off. It also helped that I knew the person working (through a friend), so I happened to bring up the fact I’d be blogging about our experience. When we were rung up, 3 slices, two drinks and a salad magically only cost $8.50. I am sharing this in the interest of full disclosure (take that FTC!), and so that I can stress this discount in no way is reflected on my review, which just happens to be favorable.

Hot Lips has been a go-to pizza place for us for awhile, mostly because it’s some of the best pizza in Portland. Add in reasonable prices (even without blogger discount) such as a $6.50 slice/salad/drink combo and house-made fruity soda Jared is especially fond of, and Hot Lips wins. One thing about this place is that every day the selections are different and I am definitely fonder of some special slices than others. The “taco-style” one I got once was just plain weird, but Monday’s special: sausage, red onions and greens, was damn good. I went with the salad combo, which includes choice of caeser or green salad. I got the green salad, which is lettuce and various root vegetables and grabbed ranch dressing for the dual purpose of dousing my slice in it.

Jared got two slices, a vegan foccacia and a plain old cheese. He really takes advantage of the sauce and pepper bar, which offers plenty of ways to spice up your slices. (God, I really just typed that.) But it’s just another thing that’s rad about Hot Lips. After trying out a bunch of the pizza places on Hawthorne (Oasis, Vincente’s, Rovente), I must say, Hot Lips would still be a favorite even if we didn’t get that discount.

Speed: Pretty quick, though they do reheat your slices

Veggie options: yep, even some vegan ones.

Vegan foccacia and cheese slice

lunch combo with special slice

3701 SE Hawthorne Blvd

www.oasispizza.com

Date of Visit: October 26, 2009

Price for 2: $16.75

I was trying to decide what makes a slice of pizza perfect for me and I realized I don’t know. It’s just the sort of thing where you bite into and say, damn this is a great slice of pizza. But like everything in life, it’s going to be different for everyone. And honestly, I don’t even really like pizza that much. Call me un-American, but rarely when we head off for lunch do I say, I really want a slice of pizza right now! But unfortunately for me, there are two people on this blog venture, and the other one really likes pizza. Add to that there are several pizza places on Hawthorne, and I am pretty much screwed.

So today we hit up Oasis Cafe. This place actually came highly recommended, and I decided I could satisfy my lack or urge for pizza by getting a sandwich instead. One cool feature about Oasis is the giant windows overlooking Hawthorne. You could sit in them and entertain yourself hours watching oddly-dressed humans walk down Hawthorne. As for the food though, it’s either grab pizza by the slice or order something off the menu.

Jared got two slices, a cheese and a special veggie with tomatoes, basil and feta. Unlike the other two pizza places we’ve tried, the crust is thick, almost sicilian-style, and rather than reheating them in the oven when you order, they pull them from under the heat lamp and slap ‘em in front of you on the counter. Jared said he actually prefers not having them reheated, but if you ask me, it just made for soggy crust.

As I had planned, I ordered a sandwich, the Paisano. The ingredient list read: proscuitto, roasted red peppers, mushrooms, mozzarella, garlic-infused olive oil, which sounded pretty damn good. After about 10 minutes (and Jared had polished off both his slices) it came out piping hot. The menu said it was served on foccacia, so I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that the fillings were basically sandwiched between two slices of dry, over-cooked pizza crust. It was also served with store-bought tortilla chips and a plastic cup of whatever brand of salsa must have been on sale that week.

I have left a few new places a bit unimpressed, but I have yet to be so bummed on a meal as I was at Oasis. I made it through about half of the sandwich before just giving up. I can see if you wanted to grab a quick slice and have entertainment while you eat, this could be a cool place. But as far as an actually good lunch spot, sorry, this was not it.

Speed: For slices, really fast, but the sandwich took its sweet ass time

Veggie options: yeah, and gluten free pizza as well

slices

Paisano Sandwich

1935 SE Hawthorne Blvd

Date of visit: October 15, 2009

Price for 2 (with tip): $20

It is my firm belief that when you see the words “gourmet” and “pizza” together, you should not even consider going inside. But since the goal of this blog is to eat at every restaurant on Hawthorne, we were going to have to bite the gourmet bullet and eat at Vincente’s eventually, so today was the day. I should also note I have been here before, but only for drinking purposes while waiting for movies to start and Cinemagic across the street. But this was my first pizza/lunch experience.

The slice options were limited, today it was cheese, pepperoni and once special slice with pesto, cherry tomatoes, roasted garlic and feta. Since we were at a gourmet pizza shop, I figured might as well go with the fancy one. Jared got two slices of cheese and we also got a medium garden salad to split. The menu said it “fed 2″ and was actually served family style with two separate bowls, which was nice. It also looked really good with fresh tomatoes, mushrooms, red onions and garnished with poppy seeds. Unfortunately, the ranch dressing (the only option presented) was perhaps the blandest we’ve had since Bridgeport Ale House. The lettuce was ok, but overall, even a bunch of salt and pepper couldn’t help this bowl of ruffage.

As for the slices, as one would expect from “gourmet pizza” they were expensive and mediocre at best. The crust was way too thin and tasted more like corn meal than anything else. And even the fancy slice was really not that flavorful, though thanks to the giant garlic chunks, left me with a lovely after taste for hours to come. At least the check came with Andes mints, right?

Veggie options: Slice of the day was veggie, but otherwise, custom order or plain cheese only

Speed: Considering we got slices and a salad, kinda slow

Garden Salad

Cheese slices

Special slice of the day: Pesto, tomato, garlic and feta

3240 SE Hawthorne Blvd

Date of Visit: September 28, 2009

Cost for two: $15 (with leftovers)

West coast pizza places tend to have one thing in common: shitty pizza. So either Rovente is an exception, or I have been here too long, because I was pleasantly surprised with the offerings at this hole-in-the-wall pizza joint.

Rovente apparently as two locations in Portland. The one on Hawthorne is tiny, with only a few indoor bar seats to speak of. Most of the dining room is taken up by a huge glass case displaying the day’s pizza selections. Luckily, the day we hit up Rovente it was nice out, and we were able to take advantage of the few picnic tables that make up an outdoor seating area. Should the weather be more “classic Portland,” this place would be strictly take out.

So as I already mentioned, I liked the pizza. The crust was thin and crispy and it wasn’t too greasy, but what overall set it apart were the toppings. I got a “meat” slice with sausage, olives, pepperoni, onions and peppers, as well as a garlic chicken slice with a white sauce. The sausage chunks were big and flavorful, not like that ground up crap you sometimes find. My vegetarian compatriot was not as bowled over by his slices, a cheese and a veggie, which is why I credit the toppings for my enjoyment.

I asked and the cook if selections change from day to day, and he basically said it was depending on the cook. On the day we were there, the line up was pretty standard pizza toppings, but like I said, both slices I tried were good.

Veggie options: Yes, a couple, but not as glorious as for us meat eaters.

Speed: Yes.