Skip to main contentNon parlo Italiano, but according to the menu of this new St. Johns pizzeria, girasole means "sunflower." The name was chosen in part as a nod to the cafe's pastoral roots: Girasole has operated as a stand on a Sauvie Island farm since last spring, and only opened as a brick-and-mortar restaurant in January. The pizza-making operation's move from farm stand to storefront just goes to show you can take the pizzeria out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the pizzeria. Even after being transplanted, Girasole has retained its earthiness. The vegetables are fresh, the service is friendly, and much of the decor, like the old doors that serve as tables, has been resourcefully repurposed. The pizzeria serves Italian-style, thin-crust pies baked, per tradition, in a wood-fired oven. The Queen Margherita ($7 small, $14 large) is decent, and the bacon, blue cheese and caramelized onion Mimi ($8 small, $15 large) is good, but if you only try one pie, make it the Thai ($9 small, $16 large); it's nice and spicy, and the thick peanut sauce tastes as natural as a bucolic day back on the farm.
WWeek 2015