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Pazzo Ristorante

Pazzo's Pizza Week slice—er, cube—is so fancy I had to eat it with a knife and fork. It’s not that I couldn’t pick it up—eating it with my fingers just felt wrong. This is a classy cube of pizza. Cube pizza isn’t like ordinary pizza—a slice’s taper points straight to your pie-hole, making it bluntly obvious how you’re supposed to eat it. Cube pizza is more mysterious, daring you to experiment. This cube's rustic Roman crust protectively holds together slabs of potato, made gooey by caciocavallo (that’s Italy’s version of cheese curds). Anchovies add the perfect amount of saltiness to the potato/cheese situation, while red onion and spicy calabrian peppers bring some intrigue to the party. This is all sealed under a thick coat of even more cheese, which is adorned with fresh sprigs of parsley. Pazzo’s Executive Chef Kenny Giambalvo tells me this cube is inspired by a pan pizza his grandmother used to make. It's so good it’s not even in the same dimension as the basic red sauce and cheese slice, but at the same time, it’s nostalgically comforting—just like grandma’s cooking.

Pazzo Ristorante, 627 SW Washington, pazzo.com. Pazzo's Pizza Week slice available April 18-24, Sun-Sat 11:30 am-5 pm. Dine-in or take-out, whole pies available. For more about Pizza Week, see portlandpizzaweek.com.