Skip to main contentIf you're tired of upscale Italian-by-the-numbers clones, try Piazza Italia for an authentic alternative. The Italian-parlando staff yell at one another across the noisy dining room, gesticulating so energetically, you'll think you've stepped onto the set of La Dolce Vita. The flavors can't be beat, beginning with Gino's Salad, its bright apple slices nicely counterbalancing creamy Gorgonzola cheese. The Insalata Bresaola grounds the lemon-bathed arugula in hearty cured beef, a satisfying coexistence of light and heavy. As for pastas, Piazza Italia makes the best Bolognese sauce in Portland, hands down. Served atop rigatoni, the ultra-slow-cooked sauce blends flavors meltingly, achingly—you will be transported, no joke. Also try the lasagne with bechamel cream sauce, an agreeably rich take on the Italian classic. For a brief moment, Piazza Italia was a secret known only to a lucky few, but now, it's hard to find a table at dinnertime, even when weather permits the crowd to spill outside for al fresco dining.
WWeek 2015