Pizza Baron

You know out of all the pizza I have eaten in my life, this is probably the pizza I ate the most growing up. In my family, my cousins always had their birthday parties there.I had a few birthdays there. I am sure anyone who grew up in SE Portland in the last 40 years has fond memories of this place. We still went there after we discovered Flying Pie, I think the reason why is that it was a nice central location, and it was cheap. That was probably the main motivator. Even the last time I was in Portland, we all went there. Now, Pizza Baron pizza is kind of different than most pizzas. The crust is like ultra thin, but it doesn't really resemble most thin crust pizzas. There is definitely a "cardboard" quality to it. I know that sounds gross, but don't knock it until you have tried it. Maybe its the nostalgia factor, but to me, there is almost nothing like a pepperoni pizza from Pizza Baron. Flying Pie is my favorite Portland pizza, but compared to Pizza Baron its almost overkill. There is an utter simplicity about Pizza Baron which makes it good. The decor is definitely classic pizza parlor. Brick walls, video games, long bench seats, a big fireplace....there is as much comfort there as in the food.
There used to be a Model T mockup, that kids could sit in, in fact there are probably pictures of all of us in it. From my older brother in the early 70s, to my daughter a few years ago. But the last time I went, it was gone. Oh well, maybe it had termites. There also used to be an old player piano, that had a Vargas style pinup painted on it. I used to be so fascinated with that thing. Man, its 8:00 on a Sunday morning, but I'm craving a slice right now.
Check these photos out, the only ones I could find on the internet. Even this shopping center holds a lot of memories for me. There used to be a mom and pop video store there, Maude's Video, those are a thing of the past more and more. Now its all big chains like Blockbuster, you know I love Netflix, but I really miss those kind of places. I remember staring at video boxes like Ken Russell's Gothic, and Over the Top, and wishing my mom would rent them for me. They came in those old big brown plastic cases. Good times.