Sarah Minnick's pies combine exceptional flavors and textures with wide-ranging toppings: housemade sausage with kale, reggiano, and rosemary; green heirloom tomatoes with mozzarella and grana padana; nectarines, melted leeks, and panchetta. “She uses ultra-seasonal, ultra-local product,” says Modernist Pizza. “She almost never puts sauce on the pizza, which means that the cheeses, the vegetables, the different cured meats, they all have to work because there’s no sauce to distract from them.”

Baker Ken Forkish, also a veteran of the tech industry, specializes in classic pies. His crusts, made with long-fermented dough, are immaculately charred and topped with such ingredients as handmade mozzarella, aged and fresh. The bacon pie stars house-smoked meat. “In the realm of traditional pizzeria, the pepperoni is remarkable,” says Modernist Pizza.

This Oregon-based mini chain offers pies whose names reflect the heavy metal interests of owners Matt Jacobson and Mikey McKennedy. Pig Destroyer is topped with pepperoni, meatballs, and bacon; Napalm Breath has crushed garlic, pepperoni, red onions, jalapeños, and additional crushed garlic. “It’s an experience,” says Modernist Pizza, who called their Spiral Tap, with caramelized onion and a dusting of nutritional yeast the best vegan pizza they tasted anywhere.

Although Nostrana is not a pizza spot—it’s an Italian restaurant with a menu of antipasti, primi, and secondi—there’s a selection of a half-dozen excellent pies on the menu. The mozzarella is made daily for such offerings as the Funghi Verde, with shiitakes, garlic, pecorino, and lemon oil, and the Diavola, with spicy sausage, provolone, and peppers. “It’s not even a pizzeria,” says Modernist Pizza. “They just happen to make a really good Neopolitan pie.”

Scottie Rivera’s place specializes in two kinds of pies, a square Sicilian one, and even better, says Modernist Pizza, a New York-style round. What makes his round pizzas such as the pepperoni and Bianca options great is that he bakes them twice, at two different temperatures: first, in a super hot oven to blister the crust and the second in a lower temperature oven that gets it crispy and sets the toppings.

Brian Spangler, who started off as a baker, specializes in chewy, crunchy pies with a glorious bite, tangy tomato sauce, and molten cheese. Pies range from the Margherita, with cured pork shoulder from local butcher Olympic Provisions, to Paulie Gee (named after the Brooklyn pie shop) with hot soppressata, ricotta, Sicilian oregano, garlic, and a Mike’s Hot Honey drizzle. Spangler has earned a reputation as a version of Seinfeld's Soup Nazi for declining to add more than three ingredients.

This neighborhood joint, run by Shardell Dues, makes by hand almost every component that goes on top of its blistered crust, including pickled peppers and sausage (Princess Sarah) as well as plant-based mozzarella and vegan pepperoni (Ritual Arts). “At first, the pizza we tasted looked like any other pizza, but the care that went into dough was evident,” says Modernist Pizza. “Part of the philosophy here is that they want to do everything, and it shows.”

Opened in 2011, the first location of Matt Jacobson and Mikey McKennedy's now multi-state chain gained fame with its bold, heavy metal names and even bolder toppings: Pig Destroyer comes with pepperoni, meatballs, and bacon; Napalm Breath has crushed garlic, pepperoni, red onions, jalapeños, and additional crushed garlic. “It’s an experience,” says Modernist Pizza, who called their Spiral Tap, with caramelized onion and a dusting of nutritional yeast the best vegan pizza they tasted anywhere.

Grab some books at Powell's and some slices at this Portland-original chain that offers pies whose names reflect the heavy metal interests of its owners. Pig Destroyer is topped with pepperoni, meatballs, and bacon; Napalm Breath has crushed garlic, pepperoni, red onions, jalapeños, and additional crushed garlic. “It’s an experience,” says Modernist Pizza