NOVEMBER 2007

Local boy does good . . . pizza

Chris Penner brings in California Pizza firepower

By Vanessa Nix

Local boy Chris Penner has returned to North Portland and the home he once knew - the Portsmouth Club. He's back in charge over at his old digs across from the Twilight Room (co-owned by his father Doug Penner and partner Jim McKenna), but things have changed in this neck of the woods, and Penner is happy to change with them. He has converted the Portsmouth Club and remodeled it to give it a warmer, more open and inviting feel. Penner is hoping to give the area something it desperately needs, a place where neighborhood folks - both newcomers and old-timers - can bring the family and have a good time.

The decor isn't the only change. Penner has brought in former California Pizza Kitchen alum Ross Montana and centered the menu on Italian homestyle and gourmet pizzas, calzones, lasagna, salads, and an assortment of hot Italian subs. Add to that the Italian twist on nachos, oven-baked hot wings and a decadent artichoke parmesan dip with freshly made breadsticks, and mama mia, it's a party!

We started with the pesto pizza ($14.75 medium, chicken breast, roasted garlic, tomatoes, red onion, mozzarella and pesto sauce). The crust was thin but crisp with a real homemade doughy flavor - this is hand-tossed not machined dough. The pesto was flavorful but not overpowering, mixed with the roasted garlic and sweet fresh tomatoes and the bite of red onion was so melodious it made the chicken almost superfluous.

Then came the meatballs ($3.95). These are Montana's specialty (his mother's recipe) and they are REAL meatballs - NOT, mind you, the mushy, over-sauced and sometimes gritty variety served at countless banquets and at those restaurants that serve those gristly Major Sysco's frozen variety. No, the meatballs here are firm and meaty and seasoned so good you might think you're in Sicily, or at least Little Italy. They are covered with the perfect amount of Penner's mother's homemade marinara. Delizioso!

Finally we had to try the hot wings ($4.95). Portsmouth Pizza doesn't deep-fat-fry their wings, they bake them, and because they bake them the hot sauce soaks deep into the chicken. These babies are hot like nobody's business; I'd wager they use Frank's Red Hot, but you'll swear it's hotter when you taste 'em baked.

With plenty of room for birthday parties, a comfy, roomy environment and affordable prices, North Portland families should take notice. All this and collapsible privacy walls for the dining booths so that once the kiddies are in bed, the adults can let their hair down and the good times can roll with plenty of live music. Bellissima!

Portsmouth Pizza Pub, 5262 N Lombard, (503) 289-4644.