Chili Cook Off 2010 - Bend Oregon

On Saturday The Athletic Club of Bend and Scanlon’s hosted up to 17 restaurants and chefs who cooked up their best chili concoctions. All proceeds donated to the Education Foundation for the Bend La Pine Schools.

Some friends, the Wife, and I made it over to the Athletic Club of Bend for this event and had a great time. After paying the measly $10 per person we were warned to "pace ourselves" but of course I did not. I sampled 16 of the 17 recipes and I really enjoyed about many of them. I applaud all of the restaurants for showing up and helping to raise money for a good foundation.

Jake's had one of the best Pork Verde's amongst the lot. Yeah, Jake's Diner had the best Pork Verde. They also had a sirloin chili that I liked a lot but everyone at our table couldn't stop talking about the verde. Turns out, since he had two, they could only turn in one for judging and it was the verde that went out as their entry.

Zydeco had this white bean and duck ... uh ... stew? I wouldn't classify it as chili but it was very good. They served it with crunchy bread crumbs and topped with crispy duck skin that had been smoked. That skin was insane! So good.

Joolz offered a very unique take on chili and I ended up giving them my vote as my favorite. Elk, chickpeas, a light Feta, tabbouli, and of course...the main attraction of any good chili...Fritos!

I'm joking about Fritos being a key ingredient but damn if I don't love some Chili Cheese Fritos. Not the flavored ones, the plane ones with a scoop of chili over them covered in cheese and a dollop of sour cream.

Pisano's had the most technically sound chili in my mind for a chili competition. No beans, only red sauce and meat. That a boy! He said it was mild but it ended up being one of the spiciest of the bunch. I would gladly have that chili over a dog any day.

Country Catering made a classic chili con carne with smoked brisket and everything was cooked perfectly.

After completely stuffing my face on chili, I passed out on the couch. The Wife made a pot of coffee and then passed out as well while it brewed. Heard one of my friends did the same as soon as he got back to his place. Loved it! What a great Saturday!

Restaurants that participated in the 2010 Chili Throwdown:

Scanlon's - Chef Brad

Zydeco - Chef Steve

28 - Chef Travis

Country Catering - Chef Cody

Joolz - Chef Ramsey

Broken Top - Chef Matt M.

Deschutes Brewery - Chef Matt N.

The Bagel Stop - Chef Dave

Elk Lake Resort - Chef Tony

Jakes Diner - Chef Jim

Parilla Grill - Chef Jeff

Sysco - Chef Kevin

La Rosa - Chef Roberto

El Burrito - Chef Jason

The Oxford - 10 below - Chef Sam

Pisano's - Chef Ed

Lake Creek Lodge - Chef Ann

Pisano's Pizza vs Cibelli's New York Pizza

Pisano's vs Cibelli's

I remember reading about how the owner of Cibelli's was suing the owners of Pizanno's Pizza in the Bulletin. Recently I saw a new pizza restaurant in NW Crossing called Pisano's Pizza and wondered if this was the same as the Prineville one even though they are spelled different.

I figured that instead of getting into the rumors, I'd just compare slices from each place and see if there are any similarities and find out which is better. I decided that a simple slice of pepperoni wrapped up to-go from each place would be a good comparison.

Getting both slices back to the house I grabbed all my toppings that I use to doctor up my pizza at home and opened up my two brown paper bags of pizza from Pisano's (on the left) and Cibelli's (on the right).


Obvious portion size winner goes to Cibelli's and it only cost $3.25 instead of $4 at Pisano's.

I started off with a couple bites of each slice without any additional seasonings from my spice rack. The better flavor goes to Cibelli's again which could be mainly due to the grease. Grease = good. The slice from Pisano's had a thicker crust and wasn't greasy at all.

Some might like the lack of grease but I think the best slice is when there is a little grease but not enough that it drips off the pizza and thoroughly soaks your plate. That's just nasty.

The crust from Pisano's was thicker as I mentioned and it was a bit on the doughy side. For a slice of NY pizza, I like the Cibelli's huge slice, fold in half style like NY pizza should be. Before you go off on what real NY pizza should be, I've been to NY and have had real NY pizza.

The other factor for me was the slices of pepperoni. I mean, look at the photo and you'll see the difference in size between the pepperoni from Cibelli's and how it completely dwarfs the pepperoni from Pisano's.

For this round of taste testing between the two pizza restaurants, Cibelli's wins hands down. I can't imagine that this Pisano's is the same as the Pizanno's in Prineville that was accused of stealing Cibelli's recipes. The two slices were completely different and personally I don't think Frank Cibelli has anything to worry about here.

Cibelli's New York Pizza
738 NW Columbia St,
Bend Oregon
(541) 318-2800

Pisano's Pizza
NW Crossing
541-312-9349

Pisano's Pizza - Bend Oregon

Pisano's Pizza

Pisano's Pizza has been open for over a month now in NW Crossing next to Riley's Market. I've visited Pisano's on two occasions since it has opened and picked up a slice of pizza each time.

For $3.50 you get a slice of cheese pizza ($3.75 for white pie) and $0.50 each for additional toppings.

On my first visit I was actually heading to Riley's Market and stumbled upon Pisano's. I walked in and grabbed a slice and enjoyed it. I hadn't had a slice of pizza in quite a while and was happy to bump into this new addition to NW Crossing.

Just like any of the 'by the slice' pizza restaurants in Bend, they have already made up pizza and when you pick your slice they toss it in the oven to warm it up.


It wasn't the best slice of pizza that I've had in Bend but it wasn't the worst. I don't live in NW Crossing but I am over in that direction often. For residents in the area, it's a good option for a quick slice of pizza. The next time I'm in the area around lunch time, I'd like to give the Stromboli a try. Rolled pizza crust with pepperoni, sausage, served with marinara for $5.50. Looked good the last time I was in there.

Pisano's Pizza
NW Crossing
541-312-9349