It's been more than a decade since Portland climbed out of the primordial pizza muck with the twin openings of the East Coast-inspired Apizza Scholls and wood-fired Ken's Artisan Pizza.

In some ways, little has changed since then. Spoiler alert: Brian Spangler and Ken Forkish's destination pizzerias still make the best pizza in Portland. And our personal pizza Mt. Rushmore has stayed steady since Pizza Jerk made it a quartet in 2015.

On the other hand, much is different. The supporting cast around those pizza All Stars continues to change, with newcomers to this list since our last update in 2016 including East Glisan Pizza Lounge, Scottie's Pizza Parlor and Pizzeria Otto.

Another sea change: You can now get decent pizza by the slice in almost all five regions of Portland, with indies such as Scottie's in Southeast and Checkerboard downtown leading the pack. It's time for the chains to up their collective game.

For this list of Portland's 10 best pizzerias, we aimed for a diverse collection of restaurants, with New York, New Haven, Neapolitan, Neo-Neapolitan, Detroit and farm-focused Portland styles all represented. Let the debates begin.

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No. 10: East Glisan Pizza Lounge

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If this dark, two-roomed pizzeria and bar had never experimented with Detroit-style ‘za, it still would have been a welcome addition to the Montavilla neighborhood’s northern reaches for its good pizza, craft beer and pinball. With each square slice edged with a lattice of crisp cheese, with more mozzarella oozing on top and above that, a ladleful of super-bright marinara sauce, those rectangular pies make this a proper destination. Note: Detroit pies are available only on Tuesday and Saturday. Plan accordingly.

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Details:

8001 N.E. Glisan St.

971-271-4273

eastglisan.com

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No. 9: Baby Doll Pizza

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There's only one pizza joint in Portland named after the Manhattan topless bar of its owner’s grandfather. Baby Doll Pizza, Travis Miranda’s New York-style pizzeria is the place to go for find big slices and full pies and square-cut nonna slices. Here, 18 inches of crunchy, chewy crust get slathered with a bright tomato sauce and a heavy hand of mozzarella cheese before toppings, some housemade or local. Bonus points for handling their own deliveries (including beer).

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Details:

2835 S.E. Stark St.

503-459-4450

babydollpizza.com

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No. 8: Pizzeria Otto

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The Roseway neighborhood might not even know how good they have it with Pizzeria Otto, a narrow restaurant with Italian movie posters on the walls and pizzas flying out of a super-hot red-and-black-tiled oven. I’ve said it before, but after a handful of painful closures over the past few years including Via Tribunali and Pizza Maria, Pizzeria Otto has emerged as the gold standard for traditional Neapolitan pizza in Portland.

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Details:

6708 N.E. Sandy Blvd.

971-373-8348

pizzeriaotto.com

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No. 7: Tastebud

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Tastebud, long a fixture at Portland farmers markets, opened in Multnomah Village in 2016 and has been drawing lines ever since. This is some weighty ‘za, with plenty of mozzarella and an abundance of seasonal toppings. An early kitchen-sink creation had leeks, green olives, red peppers and golden raisins. As good as the pizzas are, save room for some of Mark Doxtader’s wood-fired vegetables or tender meats.

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Details:

7783 S.W. Capitol Highway

503-234-0330

tastebudpdx.com



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No. 6: Scottie's Pizza Parlor

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Owner Scott Rivera did stints at Baby Dolla Pizza, East Glisan Pizza Lounge and Handsome Pizza before opening this pint-sized pizza nerd’s paradise, its white walls accented with red and decorated with boxes from some of America’s most blogged-about pizzerias. The restaurant is impressively fast at turning out slices, with cheese and pepperoni triangles and basil-topped grandma-style squares hitting the table piping hot before you’ve properly settled into your seat. Keep an eye out for specials like the recent “kale-ing me softly,” with fresh mozzarella, fennel sausage, crispy purple kale and tomato vodka sauce.

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Details:

2128 S.E. Division St.

971-544-7878

scottiespizzaparlor.com

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No. 5: Handsome Pizza

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After relocating from its original North Portland home in 2015, Handsome settled into a new space shared with Seastar Bakery just two miles east of their original home. Pizzas come in two sizes -- small and large -- and are often named for local comic book writers and friends of the pizzeria. Our go-to order is a split pie, half Rico Suave with ricotta, mozzarella, olive oil, garlic and black pepper, half something else, perhaps the Di Fara, with mozzarella, Parmesan and a sweet tomato sauce with wilted fresh basil. Keep your eye out for the blue-green dragon -- it was made by Chris Walas, the man who created Gremlins.

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Details:

1603 N.E. Killingsworth St.

503-247-7499

handsomepizza.com

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No. 4: Pizza Jerk

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Stephanie Yao Long

For his next trick, Tommy Habetz only reinvented the Portland pizzeria. The Bunk impresario used a punk-rock ethos and skills learned under now-disgraced celebrity chef Mario Batali to elevate the once-humble sandwich into something special. He’s at it again at this family-friendly pizzeria, topping thin-crusted East Coast-style pies simply with gorgeous pepperoni cups, meatballs or char sui pork with mustard greens and honey. Later this year, the original Bunk Sandwiches on Southeast Morrison Street is expected to reopen as a second Pizza Jerk.

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Details:

5028 N.E. 42nd Ave.

503-284-9333

pizzajerkpdx.com

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No. 3: Lovely's Fifty Fifty

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Once again, Lovely’s Fifty-Fifty lords above most Portland pizzerias, its naturally leavened pies topped with the same ingredients you’re likely to find at that weekend’s farmers market. In the spring, that means pies topped with first-of-the season morels, truffled pecorino and fresh ramps, or juicy fennel sausage, gooey cheese and bitter greens turned crisp in the oven. The salads have a rustic elegance: Any pizza can be topped with an egg or a side of fresh Calabrian chiles. And the ice cream (and soft serve) might be our favorite in town.

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Details:

4039 N. Mississippi Ave.

503-281-4060

lovelysfiftyfifty.com

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No. 2: Ken's Artisan Pizza

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Ken Forkish first started tinkering with pizza once a week at his Northwest Portland pizzeria back in 2005. Nearly 13 years later,the James Beard Award winning author's spin-off pizzeria often still boasts healthy lines before the lock clicks open, while his Checkerboard kiosk at Pine Street Market (126 S.W. Second Ave.) serves sterling New York-style slices downtown. At the flagship Ken's Artisan Pizza, springy pies emerge from the centerpiece wood-fired oven bubbling and charred under warm tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella, Calabrian chilies and fennel. And it’s more than just those golden discs that draw a crowd. Come summer, with its big windows, fresh salads, roasted veggies and good wine, you’ll find us enjoying the breeze as often as we can with a glass of good Italian red in hand.

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Details:

304 S.E. 28th Ave.

503-517-9951

kensartisan.com

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No. 1: Apizza Scholls

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We’ve said it before, but what’s changed? The pizza at Apizza Scholls, a sort-of New York-meets-New Haven hybrid, is the best in Portland and probably tops in the Pacific Northwest. Here, owner Brian Spangler cooks his pies hot and fast in an electric oven, turning the most basic cheese and tomato pie into archipelagos of melted mozzarella, seething seas of tomato sauce the color of red-hot lava and a golden crust that’s crunchy and yielding at the same time. The menu is simple, the decor is simpler still and the service has warmed from its cooly efficient early days. You're not here for small talk anyway. You’re here for pizza. Go with friends and order some olives or antipasti, a fine Caesar salad plus a split sausage and peppers and tartufo bianco pie, the former kicked up with spicy Mama Lil’s peppers, the latter highlighting good truffle oil and sea salt.

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Details:

4741 S.E. Hawthorne Blvd.

503-233-1286

apizzascholls.com

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Read more

What makes Apizza Scholls Portland's best pizzeria? Read our most recent review.

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Got anything besides 'za?

Don't miss our guide to Portland's 40 best restaurants, our top 10 newcomers of 2017 and our reigning Restaurant of the Year.