East Glisan - Visit #4

   East Glisan Pizza Lounge is in the Montavilla neighborhood of Portland, the site of a former neighborhood Mexican restaurant. It has a dark but friendly hipster vibe with big windows and comfy booths. We went Thursday evening with both of our partners to check the place out. The menu is simple and straightforward as is the taplist and cocktails.The service staff was SUPER nice and attentive as well. Ok...on to the pizza...

Pepperoni

Baking in a deck oven with a neopolitan style, East Glisan puts out a nice variety of pie choices. They have several Vegetarian choices, and even a Vegan pie. We ordered four small pies for the table:

- Four Cheese

- Vegan Sausage

- Pepperoni

- Capicola

Overall, the pizza was good, but there is a major opportunity to bring the quality up another level. The potential is in the dough. The crust was thin, lacked flavor, and wasn't nearly as airy for this this style of pie. It was just kind of there. Room for improvement overall, however there were definitely a few highlights. 

The Vegetarians at the table were eager to see what type of Vegan pizza this place had to offer as negotiating cheese alternatives is a challenge on pizza. The balance of toppings on the vegan slice was perfect. There was a smaller portion of cashew cheese on the slice compared to what I have seen elsewhere ,which prevented the texture of the cheese from overpowering the flavor of the slice and allowed the vegan sausage, onion and sauce to flourish. The flavor combination of the four cheese was very good as well.

Capicola

The meat lovers enjoyed the Pepperoni and Capicola. Each was unique in its own way. The Capicola (a favorite meat topping) included a copius amount of arugula, and Mama Lil's peppers. Those following the blog, know I love Mama Lil's on pizza. Again the pie was tasty, but again the dough left me wanting more quality. The arugula also over powered the other flavors. 

We enjoyed the pepperoni as well. It included quality, small pepperoni slices, fresh black olives, and fresh mozz. A nice combination, and definitely well balanced.

Pepperoni

East Glisan also did their best to offer a unique overall experience, and their own pizza identity. They added to this effort by including a glass dropper bottle full of chili oil. I enjoyed adjusting the heat of my second slice of pepperoni by adding a few drops.

Chili Oil

We certainly enjoyed our visit, and with improvements in the dough East Glisan could compete with the best shops in town. The space, service, drinks, and overall vibe are all reasons to pay a visit. We will be back again. 

Insider Tip: ‘Detroit style’ pizzas are served on Tuesday.

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