P.R.E.A.M.’s Nicholas Ford and Brandon Gomez may have jumped ship to start their own restaurant, but Ned Ludd’s lauded pizza night is still firing on all cylinders. Since last January, Nedd Ludd chef/owner Jason French has been inviting Portland’s best chefs to throw their own pizza parties every Monday for an entire month at the house of wood-fired cookery. “We’re not doing loud hip hop music, but we’ve still got a festive party vibe,” says French. “We’ve had a funny amalgam of super traditional East Coast-style pies, and more chef-driven, California-style pies.”

So far, this year’s candidates have included everyone from French gluttons like St. Jack’s Aaron Barnett to lauded pizzaiolos like Apizza Scholls’ Brian Spangler. In July, Holdfast’s Will Preisch and Joel Stocks delivered a pizza with seaweed pesto, miso cream cheese, and bay scallops, along with a strawberry marinara pie studded with Italian bacon. If you are not going to these chefs-in-residence dinners, you are missing out. 

In September, Greg and Gabi Denton from Ox will bring their brand of Argentine cooking to the hearth. Their headlining pie? A spicy tomato-braised tripe and octopus pizza, topped with ricotta, mint, basil, and fried garlic. Essentially, it’s one of the best dishes at Ox, transformed on a charred crust—and a great way to sample the Denton’s cookery without the three-hour wait. For more info, visit Ned Ludd’s events blog.

Ned Ludd’s Pizza Social
3925 NE MLK Blvd
503-288-6900
Every Monday, 5-10pm