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Category Archives: Pizza

Parkway Pizza, Minneapolis, MN



Parkway Pizza Pepperoni Pizza, originally uploaded by Aaron Landry.

The other day a guy called me after Googling thinking that I was Parkway Pizza. I gave him two suggestions for better pizza in the area. Feeling a bit bad about this situation, I figured I should give them another shot.

I’ve had a bunch of mixed experiences with these guys. They’ve been decent, they’ve been bad, they’ve had some weird service, and I was at Ed’s house a month or two ago and they ended up delivering the wrong pizza there. I’ve even had weird comments from them and about them on my site, many under pseudonyms.

I called them to order deliver and the line was busy. I guess that’s a good thing for them, right? Five minutes later I get through. He verified that I was “Aaron” but didn’t have any more information about me in his computer. I gave him my last name and my address. We got disconnected for some reason and I called back. I verify the rest of my information and then he asks me to hold. Then someone else picks up and asks for my phone number, then verifies my information with me again.

I order a 14″ Pepperoni, figuring I’ll have half of it now and reheat the rest the next day. I put it on my credit card and I’m asked if I’d like to put a tip on the credit card. I’ve never pre-tipped pizza delivery before. I said, “sure, put three bucks on it” figuring if it’s worth more than a 22% tip I’ll give the driver a couple more bills. I’m told I’ll get it in 30 to 45 minutes.

24 minutes later I get a phone call from Parkway Pizza asking to verify my order of a 14″ Pepperoni and another large pizza with mushrooms, sausage… “woah, woah, woah!” I interrupt and explain that I only ordered the one pizza, “and you put it on my card for like 13 bucks, right?” “Yes, of course,” they said.

38 minutes after I finished my original order I got another call asking if I got my pizzas fine and everything is in order. I didn’t get any pizza “and I only ordered one” I explained. I was told that he’s just trying to get down to the bottom of the mixup.

43 minutes after I ordered the pizza arrived. I asked to verify it before the driver left and he understood. It looked like it took the long trip around Minneapolis even though I’m 13 blocks away. The pizza was warm, not hot.

The pizza itself wasn’t all that photogenic. The pieces on the edges didn’t have cheese on half of them and it slides right off when you try to eat it leaving just huge piles of sauce. The crust is thicker than most thin crust pizza and it’s soft, foamy and flavorless. I don’t really like this pizza at all. That’s all I’m going to say about it.

I love supporting local, independent pizza places but Parkway Pizza needs to shake things up. I’ll give them another shot in about six months.

Parkway Pizza
4457 42nd Ave S
Minneapolis, MN 55406
612-729-9090

Posted 11 May 2008 § Minneapolis ‡ Comments (1) ° Tagged: , ,

Golooney’s East Coast Pizza Cafe & Sub Shop, Minneapolis



Golooney’s East Coast Pizza Cafe & Sub Shop, originally uploaded by Aaron Landry.

After enjoying some cupcakes, Courtney, Max, Alexis, Rachel and I went to Golooney’s East Coast Pizza Cafe & Sub Shop.

Golooney’s has been around for as long as I can remember and at one point I thought they were rather representative of New York pizza. This was before I had ever visited New York. I’ve only visited twice since and haven’t been a fan.

I was surprised that Courtney suggested we go here especially as we were with Rachel who is actually from New York. To give Courtney credit, she hadn’t been in over four years. Either way, it’s probably the worst idea for an out-of-town guest from the east coast.

Put simply, our service was slow (especially for a slice shop), the people were rude and worst of all was the pizza. I ordered a plain slice. It hardly had any sauce and the cheese was almost tasteless cheese although it was piled on excessively. It wasn’t easy to fold or hold like I would expect out of a slice shop with the Twin Towers in their logo. In fact, this pizza was the worst I’ve ever had at Golooney’s. Courtney and I agreed that it was actually poorer than we remembered.

I was taking a few shots and I was scolded for taking photos and was asked to put my camera away. He said I needed to ask for permission first and to be fair, I should have done that. I promptly put my camera away. Unfortunately to make matters worse, he goes to his co-worker after scowling at me and exclaims “I hate that fucking shit.” Classy. We joked our table that the generally male-dominated staff are stereotypically rude to male clientele but “all hey baby” to women. In our experiences, at least.

Humorously while we were waiting the 10th Global Marijuana March was across the street. The gathering wasn’t terribly well organized as many of the protesters wandered in and out of Golooney’s getting a slice. My advice? Keep on marching down 24th Street and eat at Leaning Tower of Pizza.

Golooney’s East Coast Pizza Cafe & Sub Shop
2329 Hennepin Ave
Minneapolis, MN 55405
612-377-8555

Posted 03 May 2008 § Minneapolis ‡ Comments (8) ° Tagged: , ,

Pizza on the Farm: A to Z Produce, Stockholm, WI



Margherita Pizza from A to Z Produce, originally uploaded by Aaron Landry.

After a number of recommendations from friends and readers of this site I finally made the trek down to the Pizza Farm, home to A to Z Produce in Stockholm. Run by Robbi Bannen and Ted Fisher, A to Z Produce opens up the farm up for visitors to buy pizza on Tuesdays.

Max, Courtney, Lesely and I took the trek down for our first pizza on the farm. We chose to leave before rush hour and the trip from Saint Paul was only about an hour and fifteen minutes.

People were showing up when we arrived around 5 P.M. to both order pizza for take out as well as set up tables and chairs to dine on the farm with friends and relatives. I talked with Ted Fisher briefly while he was making pizzas and he explained that they try to grow and raise everything in the pizza on the premises. Everything from the wheat in the dough to the animals that produced the cheese to the fresh peppers are all within a short reach of the outdoor wood-fired brick oven they built themselves.

They had a surprising amount of pizza options written on a chalk board such as “stinging nettles with shallots cooked in cream, parmesan, mozzarella” and “italian sausage (happy pigs), kalamata olives, red onion, fresh mozzarella.” All the pizzas are large, about sixteen inches in diameter, and are priced in the lower twenties, tax included. We ordered their Margherita with basil, garlic, roasted tomato and mozzarella.

The process was fast: Ted takes your order and goes into the kitchen to lay out the dough and put on the ingredients. Through a window you can see other family members helping out. The uncooked pizza then parades through people waiting to the other side to the oven where Robbi takes over. It’s only in the oven a few minutes and it’s pulled out a couple times to rotate. She puts it directly in a box (it’s common for regulars to re-use their pizza box) and you pay in cash on the spot.

We were lucky enough to score one of the few picnic tables. We brought our own wine, cups, napkins, plates and it’s expected that everything you take in you take out with you.

Our pizza was nothing short of beautiful. All the ingredients tasted incredibly fresh. The crust fluffed up perfectly and the edges were almost artfully uneven and were a little crispy on the edges. The cheese was tasty and satisfying. We all were impressed with the pizza to the point where afterwards we couldn’t resist to get another, even if it meant we’d take most of it home with us.

Our next pizza had artichoke hearts, kalamata olives, roasted tomato, garlic and fresh mozzarella. Just as great as the first pizza. As expected, we couldn’t finish it and took most of it to go.



Pizza on the Farm, originally uploaded by Aaron Landry.

As we were leaving, more people started arriving. The crowd was quite mixed from older families laughing and drinking oversized bottles of white wine to a large group of college students to parents with young kids to a man in an old Camaro delivering a bottle of Argentinean wine and picking up his pizza to go and few people speaking only in Swedish.

Being able to meet the animals and the people raising the ingredients that you eventually eat was a great experience and the pizza itself was one of the freshest pizzas I’ve ever tasted. On the way out I picked up some focaccia to enjoy later in the week.

It’s well with the trip.

Check out Courtney’s fantastic video of the pizza farm done in a “Sesame Street documentary” style as well as my photoset on Flickr. If you have a minute, I recommend watching the slideshow to see the farm as well as our bonus stop to Lake Pepin on the way home. I’ll be back soon.

A to Z Produce
N2956 Anker Lane
Stockholm, WI 54769

Posted 30 April 2008 § ‡ Comments (6) ° Tagged: ,

Marcello’s Pizza & Pasta, Plymouth, MN



Large Pepperoni Pizza at Marcello’s, originally uploaded by Aaron Landry.

After a recommendation from Katie, I decided to take my father out for his birthday at Marcello’s. I brought my sister and brother in law as well.

Marcello’s is situated at the end of strip mall and the interior is rather campy. Dark booths, a lot of woodwork and shingles around the kitchen area to simulate another roof. Right away, my sister and I commented on how it “smelled like pizza.” It was strong.

We ordered some cheese bread as an appetizer and they gave us so much it could have been a meal by itself. Our large pepperoni pizza came soon after and immediately reminded me of many other midwestern round pizzas cut in squares or party-style. There were little pools of grease and the cheese and sauce dripped off the edges. The slices themselves were quite tasty and most notable was the particularly spicy pepperoni. Outside the pepperoni this pizza was a no-surprises, straight up pie.

The slices came apart nicely and worked great for a party of four. We didn’t finish our bread and when it was down to our last slice nobody would claim it. Our waiter, Tony, said that he’d prepare it for take out for us with the bread. We thought he’d just put it all in a box but when he came back, we all were impressed with his packaging: the last slice was individually wrapped in foil. Cute. Great service.

Many locals in Plymouth say this is the best pizza in town. Check it out.

Marcello’s Pizza & Pasta
4112 Lancaster Ln N
Plymouth, MN 55441
763-559-8266

Posted 29 April 2008 § Food, Drink and Dining ‡ Comments (1) ° Tagged: , ,

Yarusso Brothers Italian Restaurant, Saint Paul, MN



Yarusso Bros. Pepperoni Pizza, originally uploaded by Aaron Landry.

Lesley and I decided to check out Yarusso Bros. Italian Restaurant as she’s a current and I’m a former Saint Paul resident and neither of us had been before. Yarusso’s, as it’s more commonly called, has been around for 75 years and many people regard it as an staple of old Saint Paul restaurants. The building is recognizable with a Statue of Liberty on top if you drive down Payne Avenue.

Yarusso’s was brought up in a thread on MNspeak and Steve Sundberg chimed in that they are “more famous for their giant meatballs and garlic bread than they are pizza.” I would attest that this is likely true as when we arrived we didn’t see any pizza at all but many people dining on pasta.

We each ordered a Brewer’s Cave Golden Caramel Lager as their menus indicated they were related to the brewer. It wasn’t our favorite beer but couldn’t exactly put our finger on as to why. Brew52 has more on this beer, including my short experience with it. I’ll order it again the next time I’m back. We also got a basket of slices of white bread and bits of butter in pre-packaged containers.

Our pizza arrived it looked a lot better than we expected. The pepperonis were good and it was loaded with cheese. Topped with some grease but not overwhelming. There wasn’t much sauce but most notable was the crust: it was surprisingly thick and crispy. We had a hard time comparing it but we kept agreeing it was most like a higher end “self-rising” frozen pizza. We felt bad with that comparison because the pizza was actually good, but it wasn’t good enough to avoid the similarity.

One of the owners or managers stopped by our table and asked if we wanted some free carrot cake as well. A nice little bonus.

Overall, not bad. Yarusso’s is a well established, family owned and operated joint in Saint Paul and worth a visit if you haven’t been. If pasta’s your game, you may want to try that instead of the pizza as that’s what their known for. Also, for their 75th anniversary they’re having “1930’s costume night” on the first Thursdays of each month. Sounds like a hoot.

Yarusso Brothers Italian Restaurant
635 Payne Ave
Saint Paul, MN 55130
651-776-4848

Posted 28 April 2008 § Food, Drink and Dining § Saint Paul ‡ Comments (2) ° Tagged: , ,

The Forum at Roman Market, Willernie, MN



Pizza Margherita at Roman Market, originally uploaded by Aaron Landry.

I grew up just northeast from the Mahtomedi and Willernie area and I treated it as a biking gateway to White Bear Lake. I never enjoyed anything about the town other than the 3 Seasons Restaurant now and then. Scott Haraldson emailed me the other day saying that he enjoyed pizza at Roman Market and recommended it. I was surprised that there was even a place in that neighborhood worth going out to so a few coworkers and I gave it a shot.

Roman Market is a nice meat shop and deli. They recently added on to have small restaurant and bar called the Forum. It opened just over a month ago but they have their game down as if they’ve been open for years.

Our service was fast and friendly and got seated wherever we wanted. We were surprised by the decent bar menu but figured it’d be nice to have a few more locals. We didn’t drink as we all had work in front of us but Scott wrote there was…

…big liter mugs of Stella, Hacker Pschorr Alt and Moretti on tap and a nice bottle list as well. I had the Alt and a bottle of Kwak.

Yum. Not bad for this area.

Then our pizzas arrived. Right off the bat I couldn’t stop talking about how beautiful the pizzas were. We got Margherita, Fromaggi and the Vestuviu. The crust is a little bit thicker than you might expect with this style of pizza but they pull it off quite nicely. The tomatoes on my Margherita tasted especially fresh and the cheese was nicely placed and seemed to balance everything quite well. The sauce was minimal, as I’d prefer, and the cornicione was chewy. I tried a slice of the Fromaggi, where they use five italian cheese and the flavors were rich and quite rewarding. I wanted to have more. With both pizzas I tried, everything felt close to perfect for my tastes.

I asked around our table and everyone loved the pizza here. A surprise for us all. I don’t know how they’ve pulled off such great pizza with only serving for the last month or so. On the way home we joked that I should have window clings that I give as awards to places I think have fantastic pizza. This place would get one right away. Even though it’s small trek from the office we’ll find excuses to make our way out here more.

Roman Market
460 Stillwater Rd
Willernie, MN 55090
651-653-4733

Posted 25 April 2008 § ‡ Comments (1) ° Tagged: , ,

Arezzo Ristorante, Minneapolis, MN



Pizza Margherita at Arezzo Ristorante, originally uploaded by Aaron Landry.

For the Aliveness Project’s Dining Out For Life day, where participating restaurants donate a percentage of their proceeds to the organization, Sarah and I went to Arezzo Ristorante. I hadn’t been before, and honestly I’m usually not down in the 50th and France area of Minneapolis and Edina.

While Arezzo is technically in Minneapolis, Edina is across the street and the crowd is to match. We were seated near people that were barely murmuring to each other and we had a hard time maintaining a comparable volume. I also muttered a vulgarity in conversation and the family behind us, including the head of the family in a full business suit, turned to stare at me. My mistake, but the point is that one doesn’t get away with poor manners here.

Our server was shy but formal and prompt. We ordered a bottle of Allegrini Valpolicella which was quite tasty. Overall their wine menu is well rounded out mostly with Italian wines. Their dinner menu is full of Italian cuisine and their brick oven pizzas are surprisingly tucked away on the bottom part of one of the pages. I wrongly assumed, as they invested in having a brick oven for pizza, that they would put it on the menu more predominantly.

Our Neapolitan-style pizzas came quickly. I got the Margherita. I noticed first that their pizzas are a bit larger than most pizzas of this style. The cheese tasted quite fresh and held together well. It didn’t have much basil but the sauce was tasty and sweet. It wasn’t too oily and had good consistency. My favorite part was the crust: chewy, a tad bit doughy, not too sweet and a slight crispy edge to it. The cornicione of the crust was just the right size and was enjoyable like a small breadstick at the end.

Our server multiple times made sure our wine glasses were full and was very attentive. Overall great pizza, and a good experience but priced a bit on the higher end. Certainly worth trying if you’re in the area.

Arezzo Ristorante
5057 France Ave S
Minneapolis, MN 55410
612-285-7444

Posted 25 April 2008 § Food, Drink and Dining § Minneapolis ‡ Comments (1) ° Tagged: , , ,

The Village Pizzeria, Dresser, WI



Classic Margherita Pizza at The Village Pizzeria, originally uploaded by Aaron Landry.

Taking a recommendation from Genna, decided to trek up to Dresser to The Village Pizzeria after work yesterday. It’s not that far — just north of Osceola and southeast of Taylors Falls.

We walked in during peak hours on a Friday and it was quite full. The kitchen is rather exposed and we noticed a strong amount of cooks wearing not only sanitary caps but also beard nets. We hadn’t seen so many beard nets before! The restaurant has multiple rooms and we got seated in a quiet one with the walls painted to look like we were in a courtyard in Italy. Even the light fixtures had fake leaves on and there were an abundance of fake plants. There was a door with spigots on it that we found especially strange.

We noticed early that seemingly nobody else in the pizzeria was eating pizza. They have a full menu and it feels like a classic family restaurant. We ordered the Classic Margherita. Service was somewhat slow but again, they were busy.

When the pizza arrived the first thing we noticed was the smell. It had a great aroma and was quite sniffable. The crust, which is hand tossed, was quite fluffy with a crispy edge. It lacked much flavor, though. They were generous with the basil, which I can’t complain about. It was drenched in olive oil which left a pool in the middle of the plate as we ate more slices. The cheese and sauce were pretty standard. Not much to say, honestly. The pizza was satisfying but overall rather average.

I’d have pizza there again if I was in the area (if Pizza Cellar in the next town wasn’t open), but I wouldn’t drive out from Minneapolis just to have it. For the locals, their menu is large and the Village Pizzeria seems to be quite popular.

The Village Pizzeria
101 State Road 35 S
Dresser, WI 54009
715-755-2900‎

More photos on Flickr but unfortunately I only had an old point-and-shoot.

Posted 19 April 2008 § ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged:

Randy’s Premier Pizza, Oakdale, MN



Hand Tossed Pepperoni Pizza at Randy’s Premier Pizza, originally uploaded by Aaron Landry.

Bill and I visited Randy’s Premier Pizza for lunch today.

I’ve met award-winning owner pizza Randy Hueffmeier a few times as a friend of mine worked at his Battle Creek location in 2001. That location has unfortunately closed and is back down to just the Oakdale location.

I’m used to their thin crust but decided to take their hand tossed pizza for a spin. It’s cut in triangles instead of squares — I don’t know many places that serve pizza cut both ways.

I blindly ordered a 12″ hand tossed pizza with pepperoni and then we were told to pick out a couple cans of soda in the fridge behind us. I didn’t know there was a coupon that said we get two cans of soda with any 12″ pizza, it was just offered to us. Then we were told there was another coupon for a significant amount of savings. I don’t remember what it was but I think it may have been 50% off if you dine in. Either way our total bill for everything was $6.25.

The pizza had great pepperoni, tasty sauce and had a crispy but chewy crust. The cheese was good but overall the pizza was pretty greasy. For the most part though, the grease works on this pizza. I have no complaints. Unlike some pizzas this one it tastes how it looks. Yummy. This has to be the best pizza value in the entire Twin Cities.

Humorously, Randy’s Premiere Pizza has 30, 36 and 48 inch pizzas. The 30 inch is on the menu for just over $50 while the smaller sizes are inexpensive. I think the largest two sizes are available only upon special request. Can you imagine a 48 inch pizza? I can’t. That’s crazy talk. If you want a shot at winning a 30 inch pizza, there’s a drawing. I’m going to enter.

Bill wrote a lot more and beat me to the punch on posting about it. Check out what he has to say too.

We’ll be back.

Randy’s Premier Pizza
6030 50th St N
Oakdale, MN 55128
651-777-1400

More photos on Flickr.

Posted 15 April 2008 § ‡ Comments (3) ° Tagged: , ,

Great Waters Brewing Company, Saint Paul



Four Cheese Pizza at Great Waters Brewing Company, originally uploaded by Aaron Landry.

Great Waters Brewing Company is known for its beer. They always have a good selection of cask conditioned and pulled beers. I’m not into all of them but what keeps me coming back is their willingness to try a bunch of different styles and they switch out their seasonal beers frequently. Sometimes they put out a really fantastic brew. Either way I love drinking something new when I’m there. I’m a big fan of Great Waters.

Tucked and hidden in a back page of their menu under “Sandwiches, Etc.,” is a four cheese pizza. It’s not a pizza you’d expect to find at a brew pub: no sauce and they chose provolone, asiago, bleu and mozzarella cheeses. It’s sized around 12 inches like a neapolitan style pizza but it’s much heavier. The crust is thicker and the cheese is piled on liberally. While this pizza lover has enjoyed this entire pizza in one sitting before, it is a bit much sometimes for one person. Last night I shared this as an appetizer with a friend and it worked out great for both of us.

Great Waters’ pizza is easy to hold and pulls apart nicely from the other pieces even though they’ve melted back together in the time it took to go from the kitchen to your table. This pizza is certainly almost all cheese and you can easily taste through all four of them. It’s a good blend and the aftertaste is especially biting. The crust is a bit plain but doesn’t take away from anything — the focus here is the cheese. It’s a fantastic compliment to a pint or two.

Great Waters Brewing Company
426 Saint Peter St
Saint Paul, MN 55102
651-224-2739

Posted 15 April 2008 § Saint Paul ‡ Comments (2) ° Tagged: , ,