Fold Up a Slice at New York-Style Pizzaiolo in Portland Next Month

Where do you go for a huge, thin, foldable slice of New York-style pizza in Portland? Slab's Sicilian behemoths won't scratch that itch, nor will OTTO's crispy New Haven-style approximations.

Pat Scally suggests you swing by Pizzaiolo, the new spot he's opening in mid-January at 360 Cumberland Avenue. The business currently has, of all things, a Google+ presence. Scally told Eater his use of the term pizzaiolo — which often refers to a pizza maker himself — hews most closely to the Urban Dictionary definition: "The locally owned neighborhood...'old fashioned way' pizza joints that use the highest quality ingredients and are an art form in and of themselves."

"We're making ricotta from scratch, where in New York they skimp a little bit since you're already there for the pizza," Scally said. His offerings are "a little pricey at $21 bucks for a large specialty pie, but we use the best of everything, we make our own dough, where most other places in Portland, including OTTO, use frozen." Scally would know: he worked for Bronx Pizza in San Diego, then as district manager of Papa John's in the Boston area, and most recently as OTTO's director of operations.

Pizzaiolo will open 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily with delivery, catering, takeout, sit-down, and a slice bar. Alongside 12 different selections of white, whole wheat, and gluten-free slices ("no one else has gluten-free slices ready," Scally insisted), the pizzeria will offer salads and precisely one type of sandwich: a meatball sub with roll and meatballs baked in-house. Scally said he doesn't keep his pizza for the full four hours allowed by law; if slices don't move within an hour, he throws them out — or finds other outlets for them, like samples for potential catering customers, or donations to homeless shelters. If times are slow, he has tricks to minimize waste, like making half-pies. Look for the neighborhood addition across from German restaurant Schulte and Herr next month.