Flatbread Community Oven

I’ve written about Flatbread Community Oven before but that was for lunch shortly after their opening. We’ve tried to go a couple of times since but the place was slammed so we ended up going elsewhere.

Recently we made it to Flatbread Community Oven for some pizza and had a wonderful experience. Upon arrival there were many tables filled and not much in the way of staff. Our waitress, Martha, was cool, calm, and collected in the face of many tables filled with little kids and not much help. However she found the time to take care of everyone and we never had to remind her once for anything we’d asked for.

We ordered some salad and a flatbread to start.

Sea Salt & Parmesan Flatbread with 3 dipping sauces – $7

Italian Salad – Iceberg-Radicchio Blend, Pepperoncini, Salami, Olives, Red Onions
Tomatoes, Mozzarella, with Red Wine Vinaigrette – $10

The salad was great and plentiful. Yeah, I said it, the SALAD was great. Had just the right amount of Mozz to go with the salted pork products. All around a solid salad.

The flatbread was good but I think I’d go with a different one when we go back. We liked the three dipping sauces. We’re big fans of dips and sauces. We have 7 different types of hot sauces stalked at all times.

So we had plenty of time to finish our bread and salad before the pizzas arrived. We didn’t really notice a big delay in the process but apparently a pizza burnt in the wood fired oven. This means they have to clean out the oven thoroughly so the rest of the pizzas don’t get tainted. We didn’t know any of this until later.

Our pizzas arrive and of course the Wife got a nasty, veggie covered pizza while I got a proper pie covered in meat.

First up, the Wife’s 1/2 Lasagna 1/2 Roasted Chicken Portobello pizza – $14.88. Martha was very clear that they are cool about doing 1/2 anything pizzas and we can basically order whatever the hell we want. Very accommodating and wanted to make sure we knew it.

Roasted Chicken & Portobello – Roasted Chicken, Herbed Portobello, Fire Roasted Tomatoes, Fontina, Garlic, Pesto

Lasagna – Fresh Mozzarella, Ricotta, Prosciutto, Fresh Basil

She really liked the Portobello / Chicken side and only thought the Lasagna side was ok “it wasn’t phenomenal”. I only tried the Lasagna side cause I’ll be damned if I’m going to accept chicken as a pizza topping. UNACCEPTABLE!!!

I liked the Lasagna pizza a lot and would get that on again.

Now for a real pizza, custom built just for me – $16.25. I selected Garlic, Pepperoni (how original), Salami, and 1/2 FCO Formaggio and 1/2 Mozzarella cause I wanted to see if I could even taste the difference.

I liked my pizza a lot and the Wife did as well. The fresh Mozz side of the pie was my favorite, nice and creamy and smooth. Great sauce and nice dough. All in all, a very well done pizza.

So the owner, or who I assumed was the owner, comes over and explains about the burnt pizza and apologizes about the wait. We told her that it was fine and we honestly didn’t notice any real delays in service. We had noticed that Martha was the only server for quite a while and mentioned that she did a great job handling everything.

Then the manager comes over and apologizes as well. We noticed that both of them made the rounds to all the tables and did the same. She gave us a couple of coupons for free flatbread upon our next visit which was a nice gesture even though we really didn’t think it was warranted.

Also, since we were there on a Tuesday night, it was Toss-Up Tuesday. This means that since we ordered two regular pizza’s, they will toss a coin, we call it, and if we get it correct, one of our pizzas is free! Tails never fails! And it didn’t fail. So off came the Wife’s silly pizza from our bill. Loved it.

I really can’t say enough about the excellent customer service and the great dinner that we had at Flatbread Community Oven. I’ll gladly visit again any night. And we’ll ask to sit in Martha’s section anytime.

Time for a rant? OK, this is not really the fault of Flatbread Community Oven’s but more for their patrons. Manage your damn kids will you? I’ve written about Dining Out with Kids before, maybe some parents need a refresher. I understand that FCO is a family friendly environment but come on, don’t let your kids wander around and run wild in the damn place. I can’t handle this. I sat there and watched a little boy and girl stick their swine flu infested faces inches away from three pizza’s waiting to be served.

I watched in terror thinking that one of those pies was for my table but sighed in relief as they were delivered to another group. The kids didnt touch it or sneeze/cough on them or anything but still, they didnt work there, why are they soooo close? Get control of your rugrats and keep them at the table.

At FCO you can get a kid pizza where they even get to build their own by adding the sauce, cheese, and whatever toppings you want (one included) for $4.99 (drink and cookie included). So it makes sense that families would take advantage of this but just show some respect for others and keep your kids at your table.

Flatbread Community Oven
http://www.flatbreadpizza.com/
375 SW Powerhouse Dr # 130
Bend, OR 97702-3436
(541) 728-0600

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