Celebrating New England Craft Beer

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While our main gig at OTTO is crafting an array of delicious pizzas, we also like to celebrate the range of local craft beers we have on tap from breweries across New England. From an Austin Street Patina to a Lamplighter Lucid Nonsense, we’re always seeking out the best local beers to pair up with our pies and slices.

Overwhelmingly we’re serving beers from breweries in the two states we call home – Maine and Massachusetts. Our New England offerings come from as far north as Atlantic Brewing in Bar Harbor and as far south as Stratford, CT, the home of Two Roads Brewing Company. Our Massachusetts beers come from as far west as Big Elm Brewing in the Berkshires to as far east as Cisco Brewers on Nantucket.
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AND, just last year our hometown of Portland was recently named America’s Craft Beer Capital! While the city’s population is smaller than all of the other cities on the list with only about 66,000 people, there’s an average of 25.5 microbreweries per 100,000 inhabitants! Yep, Portlanders like their beer. Each year, droves of beer lovers trek to Maine just to check out the 60+ breweries across the state.

Here at OTTO we also have a bi-annual collaboration going with Rising Tide, our not too far away neighbors in the East Bayside neighborhood of Portland. Each year, we brew two beers with Rising Tide –  Oscar Tango Tango Oscar, our spring collab (coming right up!) and Autohelm, which is released in the late fall. The two beers are available exclusively at OTTO locations and in the Rising Tide tasting room. Our employees enjoy working together with the Rising Tide crew each year to brew these fan favorites.

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Back in the fall, we opened our newest location in Portland (250 Read Street) with our most taps yet – TWELVE. The majority of these taps serve up local Maine beers, but we always offer a few options for those wanting to grab some brews from a bit farther afield like Jack’s Abby and Lord Hobo.

Since we opened our first location in 2009 in downtown Portland, we have enjoyed ‘growing up’ alongside the craft beer scene and supporting our local brewers. We’re proud to be currently serving beer from over 20 New England breweries and cider makers! These local breweries make it easy for the love match between beer & pizza to continue…forever.

MAINE
Allagash – Portland
Atlantic – Bar Harbor
Austin Street – Portland
Banded Horn – Biddeford
Bissell Brothers – Portland
Foundation – Portland
Funky Bow – Lyman
Lone Pine – Portland
Oxbow – Newcastle
Peak Organic – Portland
Rising Tide – Portland
Urban Farm Fermentory – Portland

MASSACHUSETTS
Bantam Cider – Somerville
Big Elm – Sheffield
Castle Island – Norwood
Downeast Cider – East Boston
Ipswich Ale Brewery – Ipswich
Jack’s Abby – Framingham
Lamplighter – Cambridge
Lord Hobo – Woburn
Night Shift – Everett

CONNECTICUT
Two Roads – Stratford

Kids Eat Free on Wednesdays!

kidseatfree-01Are you down and out with cabin fever this winter? Get yourself out of the house and bring the kids along with you!

Buy any large pizza and get a FREE 8″ kids cheese pizza! We’ll be offering this for a limited time at all of our full-service dine in restaurants. Head over to any of the following OTTO locations for a night out with the family:

576 Congress St., Portland
225 Congress St., Portland
250 Read St., Portland
159 Cottage Rd., South Portland
367 Main St., Yarmouth
779 Portland Rd., Saco

Treat yourself (and your wallet) and satisfy that mid-week pizza craving. Because we know you really don’t want to cook tonight.

*the following restrictions apply: Full service dine-in only; one free kids cheese pizza per check; kids 12 & under

OTTO TO GO: Pizza Delivery Available in the Portland Area

Why order delivery from the big chains, when OTTO Pizza will come to you?OTTO Pizza delivers!

Now, of course we love to see you. Your smiling face brightens our day. But we also know there are times when it’s hard to get out of the house, or you just don’t feel like getting out of your pajamas.

If you live in the Portland area, you can order any of our deliciously different pizzas by phone or fax. Whether you’re in the East End, the West End, downtown, the Arts District, Old Port, or Munjoy Hill, OTTO will ensure your pizza is delivered hot and fresh from our oven.

Delivery times may vary, depending on volume, but you can expect to have our custom-topped gourmet pies within 30-45 minutes. Some of the big chains can’t even do that.

It’s OTTO-Matic. For the people.

Win An OTTO Pizza Hat Just Like the Ones Worn by the Folks Behind the Counter!

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Here’s your chance to win an official OTTO Pizza hat, just like the ones worn by the folks who work there!

If you’ve been to OTTO Pizza, or had OTTO Pizza delivered to you, you’ve probably seen them — those sylish, white hats that the kitchen and delivery staff wear. Here’s your chance to get one for yourself!

To snag one, all you’ve got to do is visit our Facebook page, click on the “OTTO Hat Contest” link and fill  out the form by 11:59 p.m., Sunday, July 1, 2012. We’ll select a winner at random from among the entries on Monday, July 2, and the lucky entrant should be sporting that new cap by the weekend!

These are great hats, featuring the OTTO Pizza logo embroidered in black thread on the front of a 100-percent cotton, pure white cap, and until now the only way to get one has been to work at OTTO Pizza — which is a possibility. We’re always looking for good help.

But if you’ve got a job, or are otherwise occupied in that respect, this is your best bet to get an OTTO Pizza hat. We’ve got no plans to offer them for sale. So get on over to our Facebook page and enter! You can’t win if ya don’t play.

OTTO Pizza’s Deering Little League Girls Softball Team Closes Out Season

OTTO Pizza coach Brian Carleton serves up some pizza to the members of the Deering Little League OTTO Pizza Girls AA Softball Team as they celebrate the close of their successful season with some pizza at OTTO Pizza’s Munjoy Hill location last night.

This year, OTTO Pizza sponsored a girls softball team in the AA Division of Portland’s Deering Little League. The girls, all seven and eight years old, wrapped up their season last night with a game at the Hall School field, whereupon the entire team adjourned to OTTO Pizza’s East End location on Munjoy Hill for a celebratory pizza party.

In addition to the pizzas, the girls enjoyed a special cake commemorating their season and tore into two packs of Topps 2012 baseball cards, supplied by Assistant Coach Danny Terroni.

It was a great year, and the best part of it was watching all of the girls improve as players as the season progressed. It was a real treat to watch them learn how to play the game and then put those skills to use on the diamond in the games each week.

The members of OTTO Pizza’s Deering Little League AA Girls Softball team gather for a team photo at the beginning of the season.

Coach Brian Carleton did a great job teaching the girls how to hit, how to field and how to make accurate throws, and every game was well-attended by the players’ parents, friends and family.

“We had a great year because we had great kids and all the parents were involved, too,” Coach Brian said. “That makes a big, big difference.”

We’re proud of the girls, not just those who played on the OTTO Pizza team, but of all of ’em who played in the league this year. It was an honor to be able to be a part of it all and we’re looking forward to being involved again next year.

 

A member of the OTTO Pizza AA Girls Softball Team in Portland’s Deering Little League drives a solid hit up the middle as her teammates look on.

Tony Hawk Twitter Hunt Winner Claims the Prize at OTTO Pizza in Portland, Maine

If you’re into skateboarding, or even if you’re not, you’ve probably heard of Tony Hawk, who is without question the most popular skateboarder in the world.

Craid Candage found the Tony Hawk Twitter Hunt box that had been stashed at OTTO Pizza in Portland, Maine.

Every year, Tony Hawk stashes a bunch of boxes, filled with swag — skateboard gear from his company, Birdhouse Skateboards, autographed items, and other cool stuff — at various locations around the country. You may have read about it in USA Today or on ESPN. This year, he hid 45 boxes in cities throughout the country and a handful in various other English-speaking countries throughout the world.

More specifically, he stashed one at OTTO Pizza‘s shop on Munjoy Hill in Portland, Maine.

And about five minutes after the shop opened this morning, Craig Candage, of Portland, Maine, walked in and asked for the “Birdhouse Special.”

He got it: a big ol’ box full of swag, courtesy of Tony Hawk and his skateboard company, Birdhouse Skateboards.

So, what was in the box? All sorts of cool stuff: some T-shirts and other apparel gear, some skate gear … too much to describe, really.

Craig Candage, who found the Tony Hawk Twitter Hunt box that had been stashed in Portland, Maine, as part of the 2012 event, displays the load of swag that had been packed into the prize box.

Check out the photo to get a sense of what the winner walked off with.

You can see a video of Craig unpacking his box here.

And if you want to see if you can find one of these wicked cool boxes next year, make sure you follow @tonyhawk on Twitter so you can track the clues.

Good luck.

OTTO Pizza’s Lady Zen Has What It Takes — And More

Lady Zen delivers some spoken word truth at the OTTO Pizza Christmas party in December 2011, which took place at the OTTO Pizza on Munjoy Hill.

The folks who work at OTTO Pizza are an eclectic bunch, no doubt, but it’s not often that one of our own gets a cover story in a well-read local mag.

Lady Zen, a jazz singer and poet who also happens to work at OTTO Pizza‘s Munjoy Hill shop at 225 Congress St., in Portland, Maine, got a helluva write-up this month in The Bollard, a monthly magazine in Portland that’s become a must-read for anyone who wants to keep up with the lowdown on what’s going on culturally in this town.

Not only did The Bollard’s publisher, Chris Busby, who wrote the piece himself, manage to convey a compelling account of her life story, he also delivered a convincing argument as to why her shows are quickly becoming can’t-miss events wherever she plays.

From The Bollard piece:

The most powerful voice in Portland belongs to a 40-year-old Brazilian Buddhist from the Bible Belt who makes her living slinging pizza. Her name is Alzenira Santos Amaral Quezada. You may know her as Lady Zen.

Lady Zen’s music mirrors her life: both have been all over the map. On the heels of a heartbreaking year, Lady Zen is poised to make her strongest music yet in 2012. She’s learning how to meld her influences into a sound that’s uniquely her own.

You’ve never heard anyone like Lady Zen around here. And you ain’t heard nothin’ yet.

Lady Zen, who works the OTTO Pizza kitchen on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and also takes a turn hosting on Friday nights, has a couple of gigs coming up that promise to showcase different aspects of her amazing talent and engaging persona.

The first is set for Feb. 14, (Valentine’s Day, ya know) at The Big Easy, where she’ll recreate Erykah Badu‘s phenomenal record, “Baduizm,” in its entirety — for the first set. In the second set, she and her band will present a complement of her original tunes, which she said she’s reworking specifically for this performance.

“We’re rearranging the songs to reflect the feel of Erykah Badu’s album, so the show will flow,” Lady Zen said. “This isn’t going to be some sit-down jazz thing, it’s going to be a get-up-and-shake-your-booty kind of thing.”

The second gig on the horizon represents something else entirely — exactly what, however, remains to be seen: Lady Zen will be participating in the Space Gallery’s 48-hour Music Festival, with a show set for Saturday, Feb. 18.

What, you make ask, is the 48-hour Music Festival? Let’s let the folks from the Space Gallery answer that one. From the Space Gallery’s webpage:

Thirty adventurous artists from different Portland bands of all genres agree to step out of their comfort zones and be randomly shuffled into 6 supergroups, announced on Thursday afternoon. No members of these newly formed bands are allowed to have previous musical history with one another. From there, each band has exactly 48 hours to construct and practice a 25 minute set of material, culminating in the Saturday performance.

So, mark the dates down in your datebooks, folks, and try to hit at least one or both, if at possible.

And if you find yourself on Munjoy Hill sometime, stop in at OTTO Pizza, grab a slice and a refreshing beverage, and introduce yourself to Lady Zen — and maybe you’ll be able to say you knew her when …

In the meantime, you can check out a couple of tunes from her recent gig at the Big Easy at The Bollard’s website, or you can go straight to the source at her own website.