According to Sara Hottman of The Oregonian, Geffner "refused to serve salads, provide ranch dressing or delivery, or take credit or debit cards for just more than 30 years.

[7][8] He described EFNY as "the elder statesman of local pie-slingers" and said, the cheese slice "is large enough to hang well off the edges of a paper plate, floppy with a hint of crunch, with salty mozzarella and spicy sauce, always served hot enough that a bite taken within the time it takes to walk four blocks will land you in the burn ward at Legacy Good Samaritan Medical Center.

The newspaper said EFNY "has been here so long it has, indeed, escaped New York: Getting a pepperoni slice with long-proofed dough, sweet red sauce and generous mozzarella has become Portland's greatest and longest-running pizza tradition—as has getting ribbed a bit by owner Phil Geffner when you come in.

[6]Alex Frane included EFNY in Thrillist's 2020 overview of "The Absolute Best Pizza in Portland", writing, "Fact: Escape has the most authentic New York slices in the city...

He wrote, "The cheese vs. sauce needle here is tipped heavily towards the mozzarella end of the scale, making an Escape From New York a sound end-of-night counter-balance to that last drink you had at the bar.