Seth and I wandered down to his neighborhood pizza joint, Tasty Pizza. It’s located in a strip mall just north of Minneapolis and east of Columbia Heights in a small little corner of Anoka County called Hilltop. It’s been recommended to me by many in the area and it’s a favorite for many in Northeast Minneapolis. Personally I don’t see what the big deal is.
Our service was very friendly and prompt but the pizza was messy, greasy, sloppy and overall too wet for my taste. The crust was soaked and drippy. The pepperoni wasn’t all that special and each bite tasted a like I was chasing it down with grease.
I’ve been more satisfied with lower end frozen pizzas. I wasn’t bad pizza, but I can’t see going out of my way for it.
Disagree? Please chime in. I know a lot of people really dig Tasty Pizza. I like supporting the locals too, so if you haven’t tried them out please give them a shot if you’re in town.
Tasty Pizza
875 45th Ave NE
Hilltop, MN 55421
763-571-2722
Comments 18
Bummer.
Posted 25 Feb 2008 at 21:45 ¶It doesn’t look awesome, but I’d still eat it in a pinch.
Posted 25 Feb 2008 at 22:11 ¶Dead on review. This place is very close and is the best pizza I would be able to get for delivery. If we were feeling like going out, this would not be our go to place.
Posted 25 Feb 2008 at 22:35 ¶I’m so surprised to hear the crust was soggy! Too bad! Whenever I have Tasty Pizza there’s always been a satisfying crunch to the crust. Also, I like how wet the pizza is, but I know that’s not a common favorite quality for pizza. Glad you gave it a try though!
Posted 25 Feb 2008 at 22:37 ¶zouch! all i’d heard until now was good things.
Posted 25 Feb 2008 at 22:47 ¶No, you pretty much nailed it.
That place has been there since I was little, though I don’t know if it was always the same name. They used to have little jukebox things on the tables.
This is the kind of pizza meant by the old joke: “Pizza is a lot like sex. Even when it’s bad, it’s pretty good!”
Posted 26 Feb 2008 at 04:08 ¶that pizza is an exact doppelganger for the cardboard fest that is Gina Marias thin crust. Sometimes is crunchy other times it tastes like your eating frozen pizza and they forgot the dough.
In the SW metro you don’t have a lot of choices…I generally try to pick Detellos in EP as their thin crust is usually much more satisfying.
Posted 26 Feb 2008 at 10:14 ¶the crust is usually good, and they have really nice sauce.
You have to realize that the reason we really north northeasterners talk about it is because our delivery options are abysmal. We have pizza hut, tasty, pizzaman, and that’s pretty much it. Snap will deliver to us if we tell them they’ve done it before, but that was an accident, since we are one block over from their delivery area.
As someone who used to live downtown and uptown, it’s heartbreaking to lose luce, leaning tower, etc, and just have Tasty
Posted 26 Feb 2008 at 10:25 ¶Ever try eating at Village Pizza in North Saint Paul? Was looking for some places to eat on the way to the movie theater over there and came upon that but haven’t checked it out myself.
2565 7th Ave E, St Paul, MN
Posted 26 Feb 2008 at 10:26 ¶651-777-5440
Scott-
I have had Village Pizza… as well as Randy’s and Pizza Factory in North Saint Paul. They’re all decent but all somewhat similar to Tasty Pizza. If I had to pick a favorite, I’d say Randy’s Premiere Pizza in NSP. Pizza Factory always has cops in it for some reason too. You’ll be safe there. The service at Village can get slow at times as well. All and all though, Village Pizza isn’t bad. Call beforehand and find out their hours though – if I remember correctly they’re closed at some weird times.
Posted 26 Feb 2008 at 10:42 ¶Seth’s a Heights resident? Mrs. Lungs and I lived there for years, near 40th and University.
How about a review of the Flameburger hashbrowns next, or the lunch beffet at either of the two Marina’s?
Posted 26 Feb 2008 at 10:55 ¶This review sure brings back memories. I grew up about a mile from there and ate that “messy, greasy, sloppy” pizza way too many times. I used to love the greasy stuff, but I can’t stomach it any more.
Posted 26 Feb 2008 at 12:59 ¶Tasty isn’t “good” pizza by all standards, but for NE/CH folks, it’s “comfort food”, they’ve grown up with it, their parents probably grew up with it, they know the taste, they enjoy it. I lived in CH for years and while I particularly don’t enjoy Tasty pizza over other pizzas, it still is, like Chuck Olsen said, still good when it is bad! People rave about it because it’s consistent and if you like greasy pizza (which some people do) Tasty is an excellent example.
In other words, it’s sorta cultish!
Posted 27 Feb 2008 at 00:30 ¶Heresy! Tasty will get you… just wait.
Posted 27 Feb 2008 at 16:38 ¶I can’t believe people don’t like this pizza!! I have had pizza at many many places but, there is only one TASTY! When you eat it the restaurant it comes to your table molten HOT and tends to burn the roof of your mouth. They have the best sausage pizza i’ve found. If you go to the Tasty in Hilltop they also have polish sausage pizza, a personal favorite of mine. I also love the thin crisp crust. In my 43 years of exsistance on this planet it is THE comfort food I always come back to.
Posted 20 Oct 2008 at 22:38 ¶I suppose there’s a difference between “thin crisp crust” and “a big hot cracker,” but it’s very hard for me to tell the difference. I come from a place where most pizzas are thin, but only the outer edge is crisp. The rest is somewhat springy and chewy, and it’s hard to explain it to people unless they’ve tried it, and then there’s no need to explain.
I’ve lived in the Twin Cities for over 20 years (after living between Philadelphia and NY for 30 years), and I still don’t understand cutting the pizza into little squares. When I showed it to a New Yorker friend, he thought it was a sacrilege.
Here’s an example of pizza love and fanaticism in expatriates from good pizza lands:
http://www.varasanos.com/PizzaRecipe.htm
Many people rave about Beek’s Pizza and Broadway Pizza, but I’d rather get a high-end frozen pizza and pay less.
One very good and interesting frozen “pizza” is at Trader Joe’s for $4 or $5. It’s actually called a French “tartlet,” with a very thin crust, and ham and gruyere cheese on top. If you bake it just enough, and keep an eye on the oven, it won’t turn into a big cracker. VERY tasty.
If you want New York style pizza, with the thin but springy crust ( NOT like a cracker), and cut into pie wedges as God intended for pizza, Broder’s at 50th and Penn is a “best buy” with no compromise in quality. I haven’t tried Brianno’s in Eagan, but their authentic subs lead me to believe that their pizza is worth trying. Punch is excellent, but they can be a bit snooty and their prices are high. Slice of NY (on Nicollet) is good.
A new contender is Minnehaha Pizza, in the new strip mall right by the Cub Foods at Minnehaha Mall on east Lake St. (across the street from Rainbow Foods.) They know how to make NY pizza, despite there being no Italians working there.
I have no clue where to get “live” Chicago pizza. I asked a friend from Chicage, and he suggested getting a frozen Home Run Inn Pizza, which has about 5000 calories per slice, even when meatless. Once in a while Aldi’s will have a special order of frozen Uno pizzas, and they’re OK.
I almost forgot to mention another kind of pizza you can get back east, and that’s the very thick, square Sicilian pizza. I like them, too, but there’s no hope of finding one until I go back there to visit.
Another thing that saddens me is what passes for sub sandwich bread around here. Even though it’s far from Italian, I love the sandwiches you can get at some Vietnamese restaurants and delis. Now, THAT’S the kind of fresh crusty bread they should be using in subs, not that mushy, Wonder-bread, two-day-old stuff.
After saying all that, I have to admit that the restaurant food in the Twin Cities has improved tremendously in the last 20 years. At least half of that is thanks to Asian immigrants. It’s a lot harder to find a decent European restaurant with moderate prices that it is to find an Indian one. It’s not even too hard to find good Afghan food. (Check out Crescent Moon on Central Ave. NE. Their version of pizza is pretty nice! Plus they have a lot of other very tasty stuff.)
Posted 09 Dec 2008 at 13:59 ¶I am sorry but I think that all of you people are crazy. Tasty Pizza HANDS DOWN is the best pizza in the Twin Cities. I love the fact that it is greasy and sloppy that is the beauty of it. I love how you can fold it up and eat it. Don’t listen to these people, just go and try it.
Posted 18 Jan 2009 at 19:27 ¶To each there own. I grew up in Fridley, and yes, I grew up on Tasty Pizza. This pizza happens to be my all time favorite. All pizza’s have there place, whether deep dish, medium crust or the thin crust pizzas. Whether New York style, or Lou Malnatti’s sausage patty pizza (another personal favorite) no pizza makes me water at the mouth like a Tasty’s Canadian Bacon with extra cheese pizza.
I have been to the other locations in Blaine and others, but nothing brings it home like the original in Columbia Heights. Growing up my brother and I would play the Ms Pac Man machine. Occassionally another regular would come in and play the old game as well. Just your everyday average local pizza joint. Of course now it is twice as large with a bar, but some of the original paneling and fixtures are still around.
I actually drive out of my way to go to Tasty’s. I live about an hour and a half south of Tasty’s and will drive that distance just for a nice square piece of pizza. I keep my dentist in Fridley simply because I like another excuse to get up close to Tasty’s.
If you have not had Tasty’s – try it! You just might like it.
Posted 19 Jan 2009 at 13:35 ¶Post a Comment