Tastebud

Tastebud Farm is now a restaurant, which lies hidden behind a walled courtyard deep in the forest of southeast pdx. My housemates and I ventured there prior to its official opening, but after building a following at area farmers markets over the years though, the cat is almost entirely out of the bag already and my housemates and i had to wait 40 minutes to get in. the busy waitstaff was kind to us, providing drinks on the outdoor patio.

Tastebud prides itself largely on its ingredients, which are fresh and regionally produced and the menu changes regularly to account for the change in seasonal goods. prior to the pizza eating, we sampled some pancetta with asparagus (believe the dish was roasted), which was overpoweringly flavorful—salty and savory. It was possibly the most absurdly tasty dish I've had the pleasure of consuming in recent memory. After that my expectations for the pizza were high to say the least. A wood-burning oven is always a good sign. Alas though, the pizza was only mediocre. While the sauce and cheese were certainly good, they really missed the third part of the margherita trifecta—basil—which was not yet in season. The pepperoni was a bit of a one note player, all smokiness, very little spice or sweetness. The clincher for me, though, was the airy-ness of the crust, which was the lightest baked good I've ever had. The air bubbles were universally large, which meant that you couldn't get any of that bready, umami satisfaction out of it. So pillowy. So very, very pillowy.

My recommendation: make a meal of the appitizers and desserts. The pizza's good, but it's not the star of this show.