Portland’s Brooklyn Neighborhood Will Get a Sicilian-Style Pizzeria This Fall

2019 is clearly the Year of the Pizza, because yet another pizzeria is opening in Portland this fall. Pizza Doughnais, specializing in West-Coast-meets-Brooklyn-Sicilian pies, will open a tiny Southeast Portland pizza counter this September.

Pizza Doughnais comes from Jessica and Justin Donais, home cooks who just got really into making pizza. Justin Donais is from Connecticut and Jessica Donais is from California, so as the two experimented with pizza, they started incorporating elements of their respective coasts’ pizzas: the natural yeast of West Coast doughs, the crumb and thickness of Brooklyn Sicilian pies, New Haven-style toppings. The result is six distinct pies, with flavors like clam and potato-bacon, all on a thick-yet-airy crust.

“There are so many styles that are covered so well (in Portland), but our love for Sicilian pies we’ve only seen bits and pieces of,” Justin Donais says. “Mixing in the digestibility of a 100-percent natural yeasted dough, we figured out how to make this beautiful pie that looks like it could be heavy, but it’s actually nice and light.”

The two will start with three white and three red pies, with a weekly rotating pie that allows the two to experiment. The Brooklyn neighborhood pizzeria will be pretty small — 550 square feet — so seating will be extremely limited inside the pizzeria; still, visitors can get pizza, beer, and wine to eat and drink on outdoor picnic tables along Milwaukie. “We’re really excited to immerse ourselves with the folks on Milwaukie, while also offering lunch,” Jessica Donais says. “Brooklyn squares for the Brooklyn neighborhood.” Pizza Doughnais will be located at 3539 SE Milwaukie Avenue.

• Pizza Doughnais [Facebook]