I discovered the Pit Stop in Beaverton through Living Social, and to be honest, I don’t think I would have ever visited this establishment had it not been for Living Social. It’s just not really my kind of place. In a sports bar like this, I was a fish out of water. What lead me to purchase the Living Social coupon was I thought it was a place my husband could appreciate because he does love sports. Unfortunately, we chose to visit on a Sunday, and I was surrounded by football fanatics. More than the food of this place, what surprised me the most about our time at the Pit Stop was the fact that there are people who are even more excitable than my husband while watching a football game (or in the case of the Pit Stop, all the football games at once).
Thai Chicken Pizza
Location: 10245 SW Canyon Road, Portland, OR
Order: For an appetizer, we shared an order of Pulled Pork Sliders and Fries ($8.99 for five sliders). I chose the Thai Chicken Pizza ($9.99 for a 9″ pie).
What I Think:
We had ordered the sliders without the cole slaw topping, and I guess this was overlooked on the ticket, because our first order of sliders arrived at the table covered in cole slaw. We sent this order back (my husband does NOT like cole slaw). A replacement (without the slaw) arrived pretty quickly, and I really did enjoy these sliders. The pork was incredibly tender, and they were not slathered with any type of sauce. Instead, they brought out two different sauces (one mild, one spicy) so that we could top the sliders ourselves. Since pulled pork is often over-sauced, I liked that I could control the amount and the heat of my sauce (I found that a ratio of 2 parts mild sauce to 1 part spicy sauce was just about perfect).
The french fries were REALLY good. They were coated in a batter before frying – somewhat reminiscent of a curly fry type batter. Normally, I don’t really like the curly fry batter, it is often overly seasoned and takes away from the flavor of the potato. But this batter was spot-on … it enhanced the crispiness of the french fry without overwhelming it.
Before we arrived at the Pit Stop, I did glance at the online menu, and I figured I’d probably order from their barbeque selections. However, when we got there, my eye kept going back to the Thai Chicken Pizza. And I’m glad I decided to order this pizza. Yes, I am sure I would have loved the ribs, but, I really liked this pizza. The dough itself was just kind of average. Nothing really outstanding… in fact, it reminded me a bit of biscuit dough but didn’t rise like a biscuit would have.
But the toppings made it for me. The peanut sauce was yummy, and together with the pineapple chunks it provided sweetness to the pie to contrast the spiciness of the pepper flakes. The chicken was tender although it was a little on the dry side (since it was probably twice cooked: once prior to baking the pizza, and then in the oven with the pizza). But I was able to overlook this because it had a pleasing tender texture, and the flavor of the peanut sauce was so appealing. The sesame seeds added a nice crunchy and slightly nutty element to the pie.
As delicious as it was, I couldn’t finish the pizza in one sitting, but I was able to bring the rest home and the left overs were almost as good as the fresh baked pie.
My Final Thoughts:
While I probably won’t ever be back to the Pit Stop, I certainly did enjoy my visit. Unfortunately, hanging out in a bar full of screaming sports fans and wannabe sports announcers just isn’t something that’s high on my list of things I want to do. That being said, if you are a sports fan living in the Portland/Beaverton area, you should definitely stop by the Pit Stop. I was pleased at how delicious the food was. The service we received was also very good – our server was very busy so there was some wait time, but, this was more than made up for with personable service.
Hungry in Portland 