PORTLAND, Ore. — An up-and-coming Beaverton pizza establishment has risen to new heights after the New York Times named it one of the best pizza places in the U.S.
Hapa Pizza in downtown Beaverton, known for its unique blend of Asian-inspired Neapolitan pizza, was recently featured on a New York Times list of 22 best pizza places in the country.
Natalie Truong and her husband Aaron opened Hapa Pizza last year, which originally started as a farmer's market pop-up. Their menu includes items like bánh mì pizza, phở pizza, Kalua pork pizza and Thai green curry pizza, as well as classics, such as Margherita, cheese and pepperoni pizza.
Aaron told KGW the inspiration behind Hapa Pizza started when he was getting into pizza making and would experiment with adding Asian toppings that he grew up eating.
The restaurant name is Hawaiian that "means 'mixed' or 'half and half,'" Aaron said, since they are combining Italian pizza with Asian toppings.
Aside from their brick-and-mortar restaurant, people can also get Hapa Pizza at the Beaverton Farmers Market on Southwest 5th Street.
"Wow! It is such a huge honor to be discussed among legends like the other pizzerias on the @nytimes list," Hapa Pizza said in a post on Instagram.
"At the same time, it’s honestly kind of scary to get that praise because we still feel like a little mom-and-pop shop who have a lot to learn and that there are so many other AMAZING pizzerias in this town," Hapa Pizza added.
The New York Times article also gave a shoutout to Portland as "the best pizza city in the country" and gave recognition to Chef Sarah Minnick at Lovely's Fifty Fifty, who was nominated this year for a James Beard Award as an outstanding chef in the U.S.
It's not the first time the Portland metro has gotten a shout-out for its pizza: Ken's Artisan Pizza was named one of the world's best last year, along with Apizza Scholls and Nostrana.
