Pizzicato is a pretty successful chain of non-hokey pizza parlors that run down the length of I-5 from Vancouver to San Diego, but it all started right here in Portland in 1989.

What can we say? Pizzicato’s not bad for chain pizza. The dough is made daily and baked to a nice, thin crust. It holds up to reheating. Good ingredients are used, like heirloom tomatoes and fresh mozzarella; the fennel sausage is high quality. Of course, the range of ingredients is all over the gourmet spectrum: lamb sausage, sun-dried tomatoes, artichoke hearts, and even (shudder) tzatziki. There’s the forgettable “Thai” pizza, with sweet peanut sauce and chicken or shrimp. But stick to the basics for best results. A margherita doesn’t use great mozzarella, but nor does it heap on the tomato sauce (it comes with fresh tomatoes; you have to ask for sauce, but it’s better this way).

Salads and panini are also reasonably good for a chain, although quite pricey. A Caprese is totally crazy, though, with balsamic vinegar and sun-dried tomatoes and other totally unnecessary ingredients you don’t normally see. And to pay this much money for roasted garlic cloves and a bit of Gorgonzola is even crazier.

Forget about wine here—it’s a lost cause; a few local beers in bottle are better with this pizza anyway, and there are often a couple of craft beers on tap. Thomas Kemper sodas, like vanilla cream, are also ideal pizza partners.

Although the insides of the Pizzicatos certainly feel like a slightly nicer version of a massive chain restaurant—catalog-style furnishings, unflattering light—there’s sometimes a pleasant array of outdoor seating. And some even deliver, which is better. In fact, of all your delivered-pizza options, this might be your best.