Portland's Italian renaissance is in full swing
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Pork sausage and beef are braised with tomato all day in Sunday Sauce's signature dish. Photo: Courtesy of Devin White
Portland is in the midst of a renaissance — an Italian renaissance, to be exact. Nearly a dozen new restaurants have opened in the past year, helmed by chefs who aim to reimagine, or reclaim, what it means to be Italian.
The big picture: From a focaccia-forward sandwich shop to a wood-fire steakhouse (and a handful of ristorantes celebrating red sauce in between), Portlanders have more options than ever before when that mangia mood hits.
Catch up quick: The city had a large, concentrated Italian population in southwest Portland until the 1960s, when an urban renewal project razed what was once Little Italy, leaving the community to scatter across the city.
- Stalwarts of old-country cooking have championed the cuisine in the decades since.
- Nostrana just celebrated its 20th year, Gino's has served the same bolognese out of Sellwood since the '90s, and DeNicola's Authentic Italian is still run by the family who immigrated here during World War II.
The latest: Within the last year, a new generation of Italian-inspired staples has emerged.
- Angolo serves Italian street-style mortadella sandos and slow-fermented pizzas on Northwest 23rd Street, while Monty's Red Sauce, from the folks behind Montelupo's, opened in February. There, plates of linguine and meatballs can be shared among the whole family.
- Then there's the casual, counter-service Maglia Rosa, bronze-cut pasta food cart Rose City Pasta Co. and paper-rolled grinders from Dimo's Italian Specialties.
What they're saying: "Most people these days are opening things that are from their memories," Gabriel Pascuzzi, chef-owner of Slabtown's Bistecca and Hey Luigi, told Axios. "It's cool, you get to see Italian from different lenses."
- At Bistecca, steaks are brushed with a balsamic-herb glaze before they hit an open flame, which is rooted in Florentine culture.
- Down the street at sister pasta bar Hey Luigi — inspired by Pascuzzi's father's love of martinis and seafood — cocktails are served alongside small plates, like cheesy potato croqueta and anchovy toast, relying on Pacific Northwest ingredients.
- "There's nothing more Italian than to use what's around you," he said.
Meanwhile, in North Portland, Sunday Sauce leans into East Coast nostalgia, serving red sauce classics owner Amanda Cannon Winquist grew up eating in New Jersey.
- She started cooking her childhood favorites after her mother died a year ago, and through her pop-up at Normandie, she found others took comfort in the dishes, too.
- Now, plates of eggplant parm topped with caponata relish, marsala disco fries, banana pudding tiramisu and dirty shirleys are served in a dining room filled with decor paying tribute to the Garden State.
- "I think comfort is what people are craving right now," Cannon Winquist told Axios. "I've lived here for 15 years, but it doesn't mean I can't feel homesick."