Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Flying Pie Pizzeria - Lake Oswego, Portland, Gresham & Milwaukie, Oregon

Rating: 5!!!  (Ratings are between 0 - 5)

When I was growing up the one food that played an important part in my house was Pizza.  Saturday night always seemed to be pizza night.  My family moved to Portland when I was 13, and there used to be this great place on 82nd Ave called the Organ Grinder.  They played old silent black and white movies accompanied by a live organist; I loved the old wash barrel drums the best.   Just about the time I started high school my mom learned how to make homemade pizza.  It was by far the best thing she cooked.  Ironically her first job when I was about 20 was at a Round Table Pizza, it was perfect.  Now that she is retiring this year, she plans on making them again.  Just wish I could have them!

As you can imagine when I became allergic to tomatoes in my mid 20’s pizza was something I had to work around, very few pizza places had white or garlic sauce pizza in the 80’s.  Oops did I just date myself?  Eventually over the years there were more and more places that had it, and life was good again.  Saturday night at my house became pizza night just like when I was little; even our dog Snickers knew when the phone call was made at 4pm that the pizza would be there shortly.  She would go and stand in the window until the delivery guy arrived.  Then three years ago that all changed for me, no gluten no cheeses, meant no pizza.  The boys still ordered it and of course that drove me crazy. 

Last year I heard about a place close to home that had signs out front advertising they had Gluten Free Pizzas.  Having tried some Gluten free items before, I was skeptical that it would be something to write home about.  I was SO VERY wrong.  Flying Pie Pizzeria has once again allowed me to have my Saturday night pizza, and Monday- Tuesday- Wednesday-yeah any day of the week as I pass it on my way to and from work now.  Ah Heaven!

Flying Pie has 4 locations, Lake Oswego, Milwaukie, Portland and Gresham.  I have only been to the one in Gresham so my review is based on that location, but I am sure they all share the same basic philosophy. 

Like any pizza place this is a great place to bring kids, there is evidence of that on the ceiling.  You can color a cardboard pizza disk and then they put it up on the ceiling it is fun to see such great local talent.

There is a sign by the door that states that you cannot bring in your own food or drink, there are across the street from the High School so that makes a ton of sense, but if you call in ahead, are a regular or just tell the staff that you or your child has allergies they are more than happy to allow it.

The menu for the pizza toppings is very clear about what does and doesn’t have Gluten in it as well as what is low-fat.  There is only one topping that contains gluten and unfortunately that is the liguica, one of my favorites.  They also have Soy-Sation Cheese so that takes care of my dairy allergy as well.  The Gluten Free crust does have Tapioca & Yeast in it, both of these are on my intolerance list, so I can’t have it every night like I would like.  There is a list of ingredients in the crust right next to the register, so make sure you check it out or facebook them or call.   The service is always spot on and if you tell them about your allergies and that you are concerned about cross contamination they will go as far as to pull all fresh ingredients from the cooler to make your food in a clean area.  This includes the salad bar, which is always very nice and fresh.

The pizzas are great if I haven’t mentioned it, the Italian sausage is some of the best I have had outside of Italy, and for sure the best I have had in the States.  Besides Pizza and the salad bar, they have the traditional pizzeria fair, Subs, Calzones, Cheese Bread and even Chicken Wings.  They also have Gluten Free Beers.  Food-wise, Services-wise and Allergy Awareness-wise they rank 5 out of 5. 

Happy Eating!!!
debi

Now the Details:

Value - price:
A Gluten Free Pizza is $2.50 more than a regular 12” pizza, (the only size Gluten Free comes in) I usually get an Italian Sausage & Jalapeno; it cost $17 as the soy cheese is $1.20 extra.  ($10.60 for the cheese pizza, $1.50 for the sausage, $1.20 each for the cheese and jalapenos, and then the $2.50 for the crust) There is so much meat on this pizza that I can get 4 meals out of one pie, and I normally can inhale a 12” in one sitting.  So the value is way up there.

Tipping:
Even at a pizza joint I still tip, especially at a place I frequent a lot.  I at least leave a $1 and round up to the next dollar.  It isn’t much but they appreciate it.

Best hours to go:
Any time!  Hours are 11 am to 10pm Sun-Thurs 11am to 11pm on Fri & Sat.

Tips:
If you have allergies or need to bring in food, just let them know and they will do everything they can to make your visits as great as possible.   I have never had a cross contamination issue here, and that says a ton for a pizza place.

Allergy Extras or places that are close by:
In Gresham there is Lillian’s Natural Marketplace  as will Twelve MileKitchen & Market both cater to us Allergy Foodies.

Restaurant info: 

Lake Oswego
Phone: (503)675-7377
3 Monroe Parkway Suite S
Lake Oswego, OR 97035 

Portland
Phone: (503)254-2016
7804 SE Stark Street
Portland, OR 97215  

Gresham
      Phone: (503)328-0018
      1600 NW Fairview Drive
      Gresham, OR 97030 

Milwaukie
Phone: (503)496-3170
16691 SE McLoughlin Blvd
Milwaukie, OR 97267

No comments:

Post a Comment