I spent my Saturday evening dining at the Pizza Research Institute, located at 1328 Lawrence St. Readers may have noticed lately that I’ve been writing about pizza places around the community; along with Cozmic Pizza and Bene!, this pretty much covers the gourmet pizza locations around Eugene.
The Pizza Research Institute restaurant itself is quite small. But with spring finally here, a number of tables sit outside, so people can eat in warm weather and open air. Inside, the ambiance is playful and friendly, even slightly hip. Numerous power boxes stylishly painted black decorate the far wall, and the stereo system (playing reggae during my visit) is hooked up to an old-school oscilloscope so customers can see the sound waves of the music. Origami, crayons, books and games adorn the shelves. Live flowers are set on the tightly-spaced tables, and a sign above where we sat read, “Tomorrow’s Pizza Today.”
I ordered a medium Chef’s Choice pizza, which the menu ambiguously describes as “always elaborate, changes based on the availability of the freshest ingredients.” It’s also available in a vegan variant, but I went for the cheese.
When it came time to pay, I made the mistake of coming without cash in my wallet. The place doesn’t accept credit or debit cards of any type, so I ended up having to ride to the bank to pay for the meal.
There was about a half-hour wait for our food, and the restaurant steadily filled with hungry customers. I drank a homemade honey lemonade soda, and my friend and I were able to get in a game of mancala while we waited.
Then the pizza arrived. I was completely unprepared for the wealth of ingredients — artichoke hearts, asparagus, baby corn, broccoli, olives, peaches, portobello mushrooms and ricotta cheese. I was hesitant to eat because the meal was clearly so artfully prepared. However, my stomach quickly spoke louder than my eyes.
Because there were so many ingredients covering the dough, there was not much additional crust. A medium pizza gives you six large slices — more than enough for two people. In fact, we couldn’t finish, and ended up giving our last slice to the people sitting next to us.
The homemade sodas continued to intrigue me, so I ended up having another — at first, I wanted a hemp cola, but they were all out. I ended up with a homemade root beer, which was a little on the flat side, but mostly good.
The total price of our meal, including tip, was around $20. The food is a little spendier than typical pizza fare, but entirely reasonable — especially when considering the size of the pizza, and the quality of ingredients, which are mostly organic, or as I was told “as organic as possible,” according to the season.
And of course, you can eat without having to go all out: The restaurant offers soups, salads and pizza by the slice. The Pizza Research Institute is open 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. seven days a week.