- Eliza Sohn
Escape From New York Pizza
622 NW 23rd Ave.Portland, OR 97210
Northwest
503.227.5423
Hours: Daily 11:30am-11pm
Restaurant Details
Escape from New York is still the best joint in town for a greasy, floppy slice of New York-style pizza, dished up by Escape's affably surly staff. Toppings are minimal, you won't find artichoke hearts or pineapple here. A focus on quality ingredients and a mastery of the Holy Trinity of pizza (sauce, cheese, and crust) make Escape perhaps the best reason to brave NW 23rd.
Price: $
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The crust, the sauce, the toppings... so good! I will never stop going here for a slice on my lunch break.
Portland's got plenty of hippy pizza places (It's A Terrible Pizza), gourmet places (Ken's, A Pizza Scholls), and pricey local chains (Pizzicato, Hot Lips), but nobody can seem to serve up a simple, everyman's pizza. The fact that Rocco's is still in business is proof of Portland's hopeless pizza scene...hopeless except for one shining beacon of greasy goodness: ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK. This is real pizza. I don't care if it's not organic. I don't care if I can't get eggplant or fennel as a topping. At least it's real pizza. Plus the people-watching on the sidewalk almost competes with some of New York's best sidewalks.
This is truly my definition of pizza. The flavor of the crust and simplistic style makes this the most tasty pizza ever, I can't find ANYTHING that compares. I can't wait to return to Portland!
In 1999 I move to Portland from Manhattan and worked in NW Portland. Everyone I met seemed to ask me about Escape- they wanted my approval of a NW favorite. So I went with a Portlander friend and the whole experience was weird.. The friend laughed when I told him NY Pizza joints don't have tip jars and that the slices there are usually bigger, cheaper (a whole $1 cheaper), greasier AND crispier . Now 8 years later it's the only pizza joint I will eat at in Portland. It doesn't beat any of my old NY favorites, but Escape is the Best of Portland. Plus it is one of the few places on 23rd where you can eat a Delicious Meal with a good beer for less than $10. Awesome.
With attitude. Closest thing to NY pizza in PDX. Slices are cheap and perfect. Local character/owner Phil, frequently mans the counter and always engages the customer with disarming conversation. Great semi-obscure music always on. Why don't I have their CD collection?
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