Nick Ford’s New Lake Oswego Pizza Spot Has an Opening Date

Nick Ford, the pizza-flinging chef behind P.R.E.A.M. and Associated, has set an opening date for his new Lake Oswego trattoria. Pizzeria sul Lago will open March 19, and the menu will feel familiar to his devotees.

Ford slipped Eater a copy of his new menu, which features gluten-free, vegan, and traditional Neapolitan-ish pies. Some come swiped with peak-Oregon hazelnut pesto, others with burrata and marsala cream.

No hoity-toity certification here; instead, Ford is focusing on creating seasonal pizzas that are true to the area, from Follow Your Heart vegan mozz to Sherwood’s Our Table Cooperative produce. On Saturdays, he’s serving a farmer’s market pie and salad with ingredients sourced from the produce stands outside his restaurant.

Beyond his pies, Ford is bringing some of his legacy dishes with him. His shaved carrot salad, tossed in a miso dressing with yogurt, mint, and harissa, is something he’s honed over the span of his career, as well as the obligatory Portland-pizza-joint kale caesar. Ford’s partial to the wild boar bolognese, one of the restaurant’s three pastas.

In January, Ford announced he was leaving Associated, the taco-and-pizza mashup on 11th Avenue to pursue his own project, saying the split was amicable. The restaurant has since dissolved, making room for Holdfast Dining.

Ford says the new spot should feel familiar to those who’ve followed him since his hip-hop pizzeria P.R.E.A.M., but he’s hoping he’s grown up since those days.

“It was a clean slate, an opportunity to start a new, focused pizzeria from the ground up,” Ford said. “The focus I’ve been able to have, honing in on what Neopolitan pizza is and put my style and twist on it — I would say it’s more mature.”

Take a look at his upcoming menu:

Courtesy of Nick Ford

• Pizzeria sul Lago [official]
• Associated to close, Holdfast Dining moving in [EPDX]
• Nick Ford is leaving Associated for something new [EPDX]