Mellow Mushroom: In a Mellow Mood

Mellow Mushroom (1411 NW Flanders St., 224-9019, mellowmushroom.com) does not make good pizza. This is no great revelation. More surprising is that the Pearl District outlet of this Georgia-based chain has a bar with about 50 beers on tap. It’s populated largely with the usual craft-brew suspects—Deschuteses and Ninkasis and Sierra Nevadas—some macros and a handful of imports. I ask the affable bartender for something “summery” and receive a pint of GoodLife’s Sweet as Pacific Ale ($5.50), which is perfectly inoffensive. Still, I’d rather drink a serviceable draft at Mellow Mushroom’s shiny, wood-paneled bar than at Rogue across the street or Henry’s a few blocks away, if only because Mushroom is mostly filled with families quietly munching away on shitty pies and not the back-slapping, popped-collar crowd. Besides, the aroma of Parmesan cheese and freshly baked crust costs nothing and smells great.