Pizza! Hot, gooey, tasty and warm on a cold and cloudy day, just what the doctor ordered. So, while touring the Pearl District of wonderful downtown Portland, Oregon we decided to stop and find ourselves a wonderful little pizza joint. Hot Lips Pizza fit the bill, and when I saw the veggie-friendly daily special I knew that we would be walking away very happy campers.

I ordered the daily special - broccoli, feta cheese and garlic sauce. Pictured above. Delicious. I’m a big fan of feta cheese, but it has limited applications. Putting feta on a pizza can be hit or miss, but this one was a true home run. 

Kate ordered a slice of cheese and we split a parmesan bread stick. I asked Kate if she liked her cheese pizza and she gave me a thumbs up while chewing, always a good sign. The bread stick was also tasty, although I should have eaten it with the homemade marinara. Hopefully next time.

I didn’t know until after we left that Hot Lips is a chain, but it’s a very cool one. They sell marinara sauce, hot sauce, jams and soda that are all made by them. Also, they recycle (of course) and compost as much of their waste as possible. They have all of the bins lined up against the wall and the biggest one is the compost bin. Then next to that is a smaller bin that has a simple label: “Landfill.” 

The Hot Lips Pizza location that we visited is in the EcoTrust building in the Pearl District. NW 10th Street & Irving Avenue, Portland, Oregon.

Oh, and one last thing - they make cookies fresh every day. I grabbed a chocolate chip that Kate and I split that afternoon for a snack, very tasty.