Ken’s Artisan Pizza — making lots of dough

Ken Forkish likes dough, and Ken’s Artisan Pizza makes a lot of dough in every sense of the phrase. I checked it out on a Thursday night in January, again weeks later for my last two handed meal before the unpleasantness. I returned after a long absence on a recent Saturday for a nice late night meal.

Ken’s is in a newish building on 28th and SE Pine that they share with Masu East (soon to be re-invented as Bamboo Sushi). The space is pleasant: white walls, blonde wood counters and tables constructed from timber salvaged from a Jantzen Beach roller coaster, and a wood fired oven that truly dominates the room. The wait can be intense at peak hours, but the bar turns over relatively quickly for a tandem eating crew.

On my first visit we ordered the roasted vegetable platter and learned that the roasted vegetable platter is the star of their appetizers. On my winter visits the platter included roasted cauliflower with red onions and golden raisins, yams with an ancho chile sauce, and brussels sprouts doused in fruity olive oil. On the first visit there was more nutmeg in the ancho sauce than visit two, but the sprouts were split in two and cooked perfectly with garlic and fruity olive oil. The roasted cauliflower bordered on slightly underdone on the second visit, but the mixture of cauliflower, golden raisins and pickled onions was delightful, and I hate raisins.

On my most recent visit, the roasted vegetable trio consisted of cranberry beans with sliced chanterelles, Eggplant medallions topped with tomato sauce and oregano pesto, and green beans with cherry tomatoes and chopped garlic in olive oil. The oregano pesto was a nice touch and rounded out the eggplant/tomato bit well.

I appreciate that Ken’spizza joint uses the super hot wood oven to prepare everything. I spotted no stoves or ovens in the food prep area, (there may well be one hidden in the back) but the line crew prepares the roasted platters in sauté pans in the same oven as the pizza.

I have had the Magherita Arugula, the Squash (a winter seasonal special) and the Magherita with Olives pizzas during my visits. The Squash pizza was truly a transcendent and new experience for me; thin pieces of butternut squash strewn about a plate sized pizza with onions was an interesting flavor and texture experience. The magherita arugula was a bit unwieldy; the giant pile of lightly dressed arugula in piled atop the pizza after it pops out of the oven forces you to either eat your salad first, or go NY pizza ‘taco style’ and fold the slices. The relatively crisp crust doesn’t like this treatment so much. The Olives were left whole (but pitted), which made them roll about on the pizza, but they were very fine olives and the flavor combination was quite delightful.

I’ve not yet written a review separated by nine or so months, but I am impressed that each pizza at Ken’s is consistent in crust, flavor, char, stability, texture… all the things that pizza nuts wax philosophically about. The wine selection is unique (a New Mexico Champagne?!) and the beer selection rotates through local stalwarts. The desserts are good, if unremarkable, but I’ll be honest: What will keep me going back to Ken’s is the roasted vegetable appetizer

other reviews of Ken’s Artisan Pizza:
FoodDude
Da Merc
Portland Pizza Review
Portland Food
WWeek