Alder Wood Bistro, Sequim, Washington Field Report

I had the opportunity to actually visit and try the Alder Wood Bistro in Sequim, WA.

They are actually located on Alder Street in Sequim. That puts it a few blocks north of the main street through town, so you probably would not find it by accident if you were just driving through Sequim.

Their restaurant opened about 5 years ago. Based on my limited experience, you would be well advised to make reservations.

I believe I read that the oven was built by one of Alan Scott's apprentices.

The inside of the oven is 4 feet by 6 feet. It seems to be a typical Scott barrel vault design.

We got their roasted vegetable pizza.

Their menu contains a lot more than wood-fired oven pizza.

In this case, I can recommend a visit.

Mobile Wood-fired Pizza Catering Twin Cities

I'm adding this post because it's a common search term, and I thought I would prepare an answer for it.
(Updated 6/8/2012)

I have identified mobile wood-fired pizza catering businesses in (and near) the Twin Cities that make the effort to be easily found. All of these are (or will be) listed on my Business Ovens page (local to Minnesota and Wisconsin) and on my Mobile Oven page in the Mobile Oven Businesses section (which is worldwide).

• Big River Pizza
• Olive Pizza (added 9/26/2011)
• Pizza Festa di Viaggio (permanently relocated to Nashville, TN; sorry)
• Red Wagon Pizza Company (added 07/09/2012)
• Russell Glover Farm (River Falls, WI, but also serving the Twin Cities)
• Thyme to Entertain
• Wandering Fire (St. Croix Falls, WI, added 6/8/2012)

I have not used any of these businesses. I don't know how much they charge.

If you find similar businesses in Minnesota (or elsewhere), leave me a comment, and I will add them to my link collection.

Maine Grain Alliance, Skowhegan, Maine

I discovered the Facebook Farming/Agriculture page for the Maine Grain Alliance. Their info page says in part:

Maine Grain Alliance organizes the Kneading Conference, an annual event that brings together home and professional bakers, millers, wheat breeders, farmers, eaters, wood-fired oven builders, and food entrepreneurs and writers for two days of hands-on workshops, panel discussions and lectures.

The Kneading Conference has its own site.

I haven't been to any of the conferences myself, but what I have seen (on YouTube and other places) makes me wish I could go there.

Third Street Deli, Pepin, Wisconsin

People in one of my oven-building classes had told me that there was a new wood-fired oven business in Pepin, Wisconsin.

An article in the 7/7/11 Taste section of the StarTribune says in part:

As if Judith Hanks weren't busy enough, what with cooking jumbo breakfasts and lunches at her Third Street Deli along with running an adjacent consignment shop and day spa. No, Hanks recently dove headlong into the outdoor pizza business, and it's a gas.

 They have a Facebook Restaurant/Cafe page.

The next time I roll through Pepin at the right time, I'm stopping for pizza.

Nevada City Community Oven, Nevada City, California

Sometimes there are only a few clues, sometimes more.

There was a Wordpress blog, which disappeared. I did later find a replacement blog post that mentioned a community oven in Nevada City, California.

The post says in part:

The Bluebird Farm contingency has decided to revive the Thursday night summer potlucks……..only they have centered the gathering around a communal bread bake. They have built a cobb oven at the Wet Hill Road homestead off Cement Hill Road. A cobb oven is a wood fired oven made from clay and straw.

I did find a Wet Hill Road off of Cement Hill Road. Looking for information about Bluebird Farm turned up a page with a picture, which links to a page with some directions, but not to anyplace on Wet Hill Road.

I did add a section heading in the community oven links page for this oven. It's on the community oven map as well.

Culver City Community Oven, Culver City, California

I added some more section headers to my community oven links page with headings for some of the community ovens I had previously discovered in California.

One of the ones I knew about was in Culver City, CA, mentioned in a Orange County Weekly blog post.

The blog post says in part:

Finally, the place to be an Southern California food lover that weekend is at the Helms Bakery complex in Culver City, where the Eat Real Festival will take place Saturday and Sunday. While there will be plenty of food trucks there, the focus of the festival is on food making. There will be masterclasses on preserving, fermenting and pickling; there will be a pig-butchery contest; there will be a community oven and sourdough lessons.

This sounds like a one-time community oven, rather than a regularly scheduled repeating event.

In fact, when I look at the Eat Real Festival site, I could not find any mention of a community oven. So, maybe it's there and maybe it isn't.

Woodfire Brick Oven Pizza, Rockford, Illinois

I stumbled across a mention of Woodfire Brick Oven Pizza, Rockford, Illinois while doing a related Google search.

They have a "Restaurant/Cafe" Facebook page. (Their info page has a link to an inactive domain.)

They have gotten some mention in a local blog (here), and in on-line news article (here and here), and in bits about the Rockford City Market, "Joe D’Astice, owner of Wood Fire Brick Oven Pizza, serves pizza from the oven at City Market in downtown Rockford."

Black Beauty, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

A separate catering operation of Pizzeria Prima Strada, their mobile wood-burning oven, Black Beauty, is available for hire.

Six Hundred Degrees, Tofino, British Columbia, Canada

I found a blog post that mentioned several businesses with wood-burning ovens on (or near) Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada.

Posts like this are valuable to me because the identify several places at once, although they are also something of a burden for the same reason.


A comment in that blog mentioned the 600 Degrees bakery, and provided a link to a story about it.


The story says in part:

Inside this protusion [an addition to a shake and shingle home], a wood-fired oven roars to life each Thursday and on Friday, beautifully rustic loaves of breads, buns and cinnamon buns, all leavened with sourdough starter, emerge from the brick oven. A couple of restaurants and health food stores snap them up. And in summer, Julie Lomenda, owner of 600 Degrees, bakes up to 100 loaves every week, many of which are sold at the local Farmers’ Market (which opens in May at Village Green, across from the District of Tofino).

Apparently they spell out the name of the bakery, so its correct name is Six Hundred Degrees. Their home page is pretty minimal.

Pizzeria Prima Strada, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

I found a blog post that mentioned several businesses with wood-burning ovens on (or near) Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada.

Posts like this are valuable to me because the identify several places at once, although they are also something of a burden for the same reason.


The Pizzeria Prima Strada, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, apparently makes Neapolitan pizza, but without the VPN certification.


The blog post says, "Now with two locations, Pizzeria Prima Strada in Victoria is churning out pies at a rate of up to six every two minutes." The blog post goes into substantial detail about Pizzeria Prima Strada.

Wild Fire Organic Bakery and Cafe, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

I found a blog post that mentioned several businesses with wood-burning ovens on (or near) Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada.

Posts like this are valuable to me because the identify several places at once, although they are also something of a burden for the same reason.


There was a bare mention of Wild Fire Organic Bakery and Cafe, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.


Their home page says, "Organic Levain Breads Baked in a Wood-Fired Oven."


Pictures of the breads look beautiful. They have an on-line photo album.


I would like to visit someday.

Fol Epi, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

I found a blog post that mentioned several businesses with wood-burning ovens on (or near) Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada.

Posts like this are valuable to me because the identify several places at once, although they are also something of a burden for the same reason.


There was a very bare mention of Fol Epi.


All I could find was a mention in the on-line version of Vancouver Magazine: 

Artisan baker Cliff Leir moved lock and stock to bare all in his brand-new digs at uber-green Dockside Green. The wheat silo and hand-built wheat grinder are in place and the au natural décor of salvaged fir, brick, and rock is a fitting tribute to the earthy delights on the rise. Boule, baguettes, whole wheat, and pumpernickel are the daily wood-fired breads, while all-butter croissants, organic pain au chocolat and fruit Danish, and morish schneckens—a swirl of pastry with raisins and a slathering of Grand Fir syrup—give reason to wake up in the morning.

(The "bare all" looks like a typo, to me. Nude bakers are rather rare.)

Saltspring Island Bread Company, Saltspring Island, British Columbia, Canada

I found a blog post that mentioned several businesses with wood-burning ovens on (or near) Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada.

Posts like this are valuable to me because the identify several places at once, although they are also something of a burden for the same reason.


One of the businesses mentioned was the Saltspring Island Bread Company, Saltspring Island, British Columbia, Canada. Information about the bakery is here. There are many pictures of the oven and its owner, Heather Campbell.

Providence Farm, Duncan, British Columbia, Canada

I found a blog post that mentioned several businesses with wood-burning ovens on (or near) Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada.

Posts like this are valuable to me because the identify several places at once, although they are also something of a burden for the same reason.



One of the ovens that was mentioned was, "the James Barber Memorial Oven at Providence Farm."


Providence Farm has an "Open Group" Facebook page.


Their home page is nice, except there is no search available. I didn't find anything about the oven there.


A Google search for the "James Barber Memorial Oven" turned up a few pages.


Apparently it was installed thanks to some fund raising. Partly it was a matter of moving an existing oven the size of a small cottage 200 kilometers. It sounds like an epic.


One page about the Canadian Chefs' Congress 2010 says, "Wet Saturday and Sunday nights were fueled by endless pizzas coming out of the James Barber Memorial Wood Burning Oven, a legacy presented to Providence Farm by the BC Congress Committee."


A blog post by Chef Jonathan Pulker has a picture of the oven. A different blog post had more information about the party.


There was a picture posted on Flickr as well.


This sounds quite incredible; I would love to see it.

Merridale Ciderworks, Cobble Hill, British Columbia, Canada

I found a blog post that mentioned several businesses with wood-burning ovens on (or near) Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada.

Posts like this are valuable to me because the identify several places at once, although they are also something of a burden for the same reason.

The first place identified was Merridale Cider (which identifies themselves as Merridale Ciderworks).

They have a  "Local Business" Facebook page.

They have a page about their bakery and say a bit about their oven:

In the summer of 2006, we were fortunate to be approached to build a brick oven and bake at Merridale. We thought for mere seconds and said, "Of course". Now helmed by Alain Boisseau, our resident baker, we use this brick oven for our bread and pastries, apple pies, and special occasion menus. From late spring through early fall, we also make pizza, particularly for our famed Sunday night pizza on the deck.

This sounds like a lovely place to visit and a delightful place to eat and drink.

Feebie's Traditional Brick Oven Pizza, Taoyuan City, Taiwan

There is a group on Facebook for Brick Oven Builders. (I'm a member.)

There was a passing mention of Feebie's Traditional Brick Oven PIzza, Taoyuan City, Taiwan.

Feebie's Pizza in Taoyuan city, about 25min from the airport, $6 cab ride most. Whole wheat, thin crust, brick oven pizza topped with fresh ingredients....

While they have a Facebook Food/Beverages page, they no longer seem to own their original domain name (which they link to from their Facebook Info page).

Apparently they don't use that page much; instead they have a Facebook Open Group page.

Their Facebook page says they are Canadian owned. Some of the pictures show hockey uniforms on the walls.

Good luck to them, I say.

Lombardino's Restaurant, Madison, Wisconsin

I found an issue of the edible MADISON magazine that listed some wood-fired pizza places in Madison, Wisconsin.

One of the restaurants listed is one of the older ones in Madison, Lombardino's Restaurant.

The description in edible MADISON says, "Neapolitan style pizza using local, organic produce, eggs, and meats."

Pizza Brutta, Madison, Wisconsin

I found an issue of the edible MADISON magazine that listed some wood-fired pizza places in Madison, Wisconsin.

One of them was Pizza Brutta. The article says, "Chef Derek Lee is certified as a Pizza Yolo with VPN and uses local, organic ingredients and local firewood."

They also have a Facebook page.

Cafe Porta Alba, Madison, Wisconsin

I found an issue of the edible MADISON magazine that listed some wood-fired pizza places in Madison, Wisconsin.

One of them was Cafe Porta Alba.

Their home page says they make "Neapolitan Pizza officially recognized by the "Verace Pizza Napoletana" Association of Italy."

They also have a Facebook page. That page seems to indicate that they have homemade mozzarella.

Whistler Wood Fired Pizza Company, Whistler, British Columbia, Canada

Apparently some people are reading this blog, and deciding that they ought to be mentioned.

That's fine with me.

I received an e-mail from Korey Klein informing me of the existence of Whistler Wood Fired Pizza Company, Whistler, British Columbia, Canada.

I was sent what should have been a link to their home page, but I had to search using Google to find it.

Their home page says in part:

Whistler Wood Fired Pizza is an all-natural product, baked in a "portable" wood fired oven. We can set up in a park, parking lot, or flat lot, as long as we can bring our trailer through.

Their home page has a slide show showing a couple of different wood-fired ovens on trailers.

They also have a Facebook page.

A Google search turned up a couple of YouTube videos (one that looked to be in a farmers market and another about a new oven trailer).

I want to thank Korey for e-mailing me. It shows that some people out there are interested in the subject that this blog is dedicated to.