My neighbor Reese, 13, had never been to Escape from New York Pizza.
Portland’s pizza origin story, our first real pizza. A little bit punk rock, a little bit worn out. Everything a pizza shop should be.
Owner Phil Geffner has given me Escape from New York T-shirts over the years, so I threw one on and grabbed Reese. “They have the best ginger ale,” I told her. “What’s that?” she asked. “Like a spicy 7Up, I guess.”
What would Reese think?
We rolled in, and it was busy. Reese’s first question was, “Why is it called Escape from New York?”’
“That’s because that’s the owner’s favorite movie. It’s got Kurt Russell in it,” said a friendly young man throwing dough in the window, who complimented my shirt and told us about the new design up front.
Reese ordered a cheese slice and a ginger ale. I showed her the newspaper sitting on the top of the garbage can. “That’s the Sunday New York Times,” I explained. “They have two copies of it here every day for people to read. The Sunday one has a magazine, a book section, arts. It can take you all week to read it.”
“Look at the floor. It’s worn out from people coming in here,” Reese said.
We noticed three old cash registers on the back counter near where we were sitting. Reese want back up to the front and asked, “What’s the deal with those cash registers back there?’”
Another friendly guy explained that they use them for parts to keep their main cash register going. “You can mess with them if you want.”
She downed her slice and ginger ale while taking in all the old photos on the walls, and we headed out to the next place.
Pizzicato Pizza, 1265 NW 10th Ave.
“I like the cushy booths,” said Reese, tearing into another cheese slice. “I like this place in winter because it has all these nice lights.”
Except for a couple sitting nearby, we were the only people in here. Lots of takeout orders were being prepared, though.
The pizza? “I like the crust better at Escape. The cheese part is yummy at both places. This one is very oily. It’s running off my slice.”
I asked her how many friends it would take to eat a whole pizza if they ordered one in.
“About three of us. But I would prefer to take them out and eat it at Escape from New York for the decor. And I’m going to bring my Dad there.”
Hot Lips Pizza, 721 NW Ninth Ave.
We sat at a picnic table near an espaliered pear tree and a tiny white poodle.
“I haven’t been here since Covid,” Reese said. “I like this outdoor space.”
She couldn’t eat a third slice, so we ordered a breadstick with marinara dipping sauce. “I love that garlic smell,” she said, tearing it in half to share and shaking more Parmesan cheese onto it. “This is very doughy,” she said with a smile.