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Apizza Scholls has made Portland's best pizza for a decade.
Even with a huge number of newcomers challenging it for the crown—see the map of artisan pizzerias that've opened in the past two years with this week's review of the new Tastebud in Multnomah Village—Scholls remains the king.
Which is why when we named the 12 wonders of Portland food back in October, we included the sausage and Mama Lil's pie.
So making Portland's best calzone should be a cinch. Chef Brian Spangler announced plans to do just that today.
Those calzones will come from new ovens that are "being built to our specs and will be installed in early March" and will be joined on the menu by artisan bread, which is what Spangler was doing before the whole pizza thing took off.
Back in the year 2000, Spangler started his Oregon food career out in the small town of Scholls, where he bought a five-acre Christmas tree farm and installed an oven in the barn to make bread for Olive Mountain Baking Company.
Back then, pizzas were reserved for friends and family who came out for Sunday afternoon gatherings at the farm. They moved to a storefront in Scholls for almost a year before the restaurant's burgeoning popularity caused strife with neighbors, which led Spangler and wife Kim Nyland to Hawthorne.
"I'm experimenting with the calzones in our old ovens," he says. "I can make bread in my sleep, but I've been wanting a separate deck with steam injection. Finally getting my dream oven."
Why now?
"Been talking about it for years, but we had to prioritize our capital expenditures," he says, referencing last year's front-of-the-house renovation. "Wait to see what happens next year!"
We'll catch up with Spangler soon to talk about those plans for next year. Until then, feast your eyes on this bread.
Willamette Week