Chicago style pizza in MSP?

Question

With the demise of Pizzeria Uno in Edina, I am having trouble locating any decent deep dish pizza in MSP. Wondering if anyone has any suggestions. I don't think Greenmill's version is very good. Is there any other options?

Answer

I'm no expert, but I like the Italian Pie Shoppe on Grand Avenue, in St. Paul (though I haven't yet been there since they relocated to their new spot just West of Snelling). http://www.italianpieshoppe.com/

There's also Old Chicago in Har Mar in Roseville.

~TDQ

Answer

I don't hold myself up as an expert of authenticity either, but I think Psycho Suzi's Motor Lounge on Lowry & Marshall in NE Minneapolis makes a delicious deep dish pizza.

http://www.psychosuzis.com/

Answer

I live with a pizza fanatic and can honestly say I have never had a pizza in Minneapolis that is anything like Gino's East, Pizano's or Giordano's (places I consider to have the quintessential Chicago-style pizzas). For me, it's all about the polenta crust, the rolled layer of sausage, and the sauce on top and no place in the TC's has these as far as I've found. 

Sadly, the closest is probably Old Chicago, but it's not that close and you can tell the crust was frozen and it's wheat flour. Suzy's pizza is good, but I know the shells come frozen there and the dish is not "deep" really. 

I would follow Jordan's recommendation and have Gino's (they ship as well now) or Malnati's send you a frozen pie. Or lets start a petition to get Giordano's to open an outpost up here!

Answer

What about Fat Lorenzos? Cedar Ave I believe in SoMpls

Answer

I heartily agree. I haven't been able to get an authentic Chciago Style Deep Dish pizza in Minneapolis for 20 years. Years ago, some may remember a pizza shop called MY PII pizza. They may have had more than one location but living in Edina at the time, I went often to the one in Golden Valley off what was then Hwy 12. The pizza was a traditional Chicago Style pie with the hand molded crust baked in the cast iron skillet/pan. It was approxiamtely 4" deep and had a layer of mozzerella, then the fresh chunks of tomatoe and spiced sausage intermixed. The place closed about 18 years ago and I haven't had a decent deep dish since. I've tried Green Mill, Uno, and the italian Pie Shoppe but they aren't even comparable. Let me know if you ever find one. If I had the guts, I would open a Pizza restauraunt here in MSP that would fill the void. I think there would be a market/demand for it!

Answer

Nobody's mentioned Davanni's. I'm not an expert on Chicago deep dish but the construction is done right with the tomatoes on top. How does Davanni's deep dish compare? What areas is it lacking in? Is the crust wrong?

Answer

First, I gotta try Italian Pie Shoppe. I've lived within 2 miles of the place for 2 decades and never once eaten there. It's on the top of my list.

Second, for some heresy wrapped in a delicate and buttery crust of blasphemy ...

I spent a year in Champaign Urbana about 25 years ago. I tried and liked Papa Del's deep dish and Giordano's stuffed pies. I've been to Uno's original location and two Gino's locations in Chicago a number of times (never Lou Malnati's, I'll try that next trip).

I like deep dish pizza but I'm not religious about it. I save religion for BBQ.

If you don't compare it to the original, I didn't think the Uno's chains were too bad. I also enjoyed pizzas at the Edwardos when they opened here. I eat, but don't really like the deep dish at Green Mill, so that's why I suffered the Uno's & Edwardos Chain stuff...it wasn't as good as in Chicago, but it was certainly better than Green Mill. I even like Old Chicago's pizza more than I like Green Mill.

Like I said, I've got to get out and try Italian Pie Shoppe.

(For Neapolitan, I love Punch).

Answer

Tried Italian Pie Shoppe on Grand last night for first time. It wins. Best Deep Dish in Twin Cities. Easily. Maybe not as good as some of the best from Chicago. But it's certainly better than Green Mill or Old Chicago.

Answer

It's not happening. No one in the Twin Cities can hit it right on crust, sauce and cheese. I'm a CHI No. Burbs native and when I make my quarterly return voyages, a decent pizza is the first thing on the list. Don't even bother getting a frozen pizza, even if it is shipped straight from Lou's of Gino's -- they don't compare when cooked in your own oven. When it comes to pizza in the cities, I just stick to what the cities does well -- neopolitan style at Pizza Nea (anyone else been getting bad pies at Punch lately?) and Frankie's in Bloomington is decent. A search for Chicago style here will only lead to disappointment. 

By the way, any other Chicago imports up here want to get a Portillo's going in the metro?

Answer

ok, now I'm depressed. I make an annual pilgrimage from Plymouth to Bloomington UNO's with my Happenings coupon for a deep dish fix, and just figured out they're closed. And yes, I remember MY PII - used to work next door to them on the old Hwy 12 - and totally loved their pizza. I have discovered Home Run Inn frozen pizza and enjoy that for a change. I haven't had a Green Mill deep dish for years. 28 years ago used to drive over to St. Paul for one of those. Maybe I need to try Marcello's deep dish again. Or better yet, a road trip to Lincoln. NE for Valentino's.

Answer

There is a new pizzaria in town. Tommy Chicago's in Mendota Heights. My family is 1/2 thin crust lover, 1/2 deep dish lover. We had a pizza party recently. The deep dish lovers really liked their deep dish pizza. They said it was just a little better than Green Mill, which they also like. We loved the thin crust, too. The place itself is a bit too preppy for me, but takeout works fine. Nice thing - you can preorder, which we did (we called at 1:30 to have pizza picked up at 6 - it was hot out of the oven!)

Answer

Green mill has the best deep dish pizza in MN.

Answer

My Chicago favorite is Giordanos. The best deep dish Chicago style pizza I've had in MSP is Di Noko's. Di Noko's gets the cheese, sauce and sausage perfect and the crust is almost there. It has the right flavor & texture, Giordanos seems to fluff up a bit more and seems thicker, but it's been a few years since I've been to Chicago.

http://www.dinokos.com/

Answer

I moved to MSP about two years ago from Chicago and the short answer is "no." 

 For a bit of clarification, I would say that your "typical" Chicago pizza is tavern style thin crust cut into squares. I'm not sure when "deep dish" became the city pizza for Chicago (I'm guessing with the expansion of Uno chains) but I don't know many Chicagoans that often order out deep dish for pizza night. 

Lake Harriet Pizza cuts theirs into squares and it's not bad but I think the sauce may be a bit spicy and off balance. My one go-to here was Frankie's Chicago style pizza in St. Louis Park off of Minnetonka and Texas. To me, it tasted like my local delivery thin crust I would order in Chicago. They have deep dish but I've never tried it. I guess I should but even in Chicago, I would eat deep dish about 2x per year. If that was the case I would order from Pequod's or head up to Burt's - the two best pizza places in Chicago-land for deep dish / pan pizza. Next would be Malnati's and the original Uno or Due. Then Gino's East. Just my $0.02.

Frankie's Pizza
8114 Minnetonka Boulevard, St. Louis Park, MN
http://frankiespizza.com/

Answer

We split some good info about making it yourself from this thread to Home Cooking so more home cooks would see it. Check it out here: http://www.chow.com/topics/861139

Answer

This might sound a little unorthodox, but here's what we occasionally do to approximate Chicago pizza in Minnesota: 

Order one of the 5-meat or Chicago-style "stuffed" pizzas from Papa Murphy's (maybe with extra cheese). Bring it home and spread a thick layer of either some extra-chunky tomato sauce, or some crushed tomatoes over the top of the crust, and add a (fairly) large sprinkling of Italian herb mix - oregano, basil, fennel, rosemary, maybe some chopped garlic - and then bake it per the Papa Murphy's instructions. Sometimes I'll also brush the crust around the outside with butter or olive oil and a little more seasoning.

No, it's not Giordano's, or Gino's, or Lou's, but it's really not too bad in a pinch - especially here in the southern 'burbs, where there's really not a lot to choose from. 

We moved here from Chicago almost 10 years ago, and have yet to find anything quite like Chicago pizza here in the Twin Cities. The closest approximation I've found to the _taste_ is the deep dish at Italian Pie Shoppe - if only it had the "heft" of a true Chicago pizza.

Answer

I'm not sure that there is anything better than Di Noko's chicago-style pizza in the Twin Cities. It is by far more authentic than any Green Mill or Old Chicago chain pizza. The Italian Pie Shoppe's deep dish is pretty good but still not in my great category like Di Noko's.

Has anyone tried Tommy Chicago's? Can anyone compare it to Di Noko's?

Answer

In the 80's there was a place in Minneapolis called Mario's. I loved their deep dish. They opened a place in St Paul, which was Gannon's and is now a Buca. LOVED it. Not sure what happened, one day we called for take out and they were both closed. That is the only deep dish I've had around here that was near Chicago deep dish. 

I recall My Pi only as a location. I know I ate there but no recollection of anything about it.

There was also a place on campus called Perry's (NOT the current Perry's) that was the best pizza of any kind. Although it was discovered the same summer my friends and I discovered drugs so my memory of the place is slightly tainted.

Answer

Giordano's is coming soon!

http://kstp.com/article/stories/s3582735.shtml

Answer

Pizzeria Pezzo in White Bear Lake is by far the best around the Twin Cities.

I was born and raised in Chitown and when back home, have to hit up Gino's East or Lou Malnati's. The buttery, flakey crust is addictive.

But Pezzo in White Bear Lake is the best around here. Try the Wrigley if you like homemade fennel sausage or the Bucktown if you like it extra cheesy, extra saucy and extra fennel sausage. Their cool-fired pizzas are really good also, if you're more into a thinner, lighter crust.

Pizzeria Pezzo
2143 4th Street
White Bear Lake, MN 55110
(Corner of Hwy 61 & 4th Street)
651-788-7844

Answer

I do agree that the Italian Pie Shoppe has very good deep dish, as well. However, it's not as authentic of a true Chicago-style deep dish as Pizzeria Pezzo in White Bear Lake. The original Italian Pie Shope at the Eagan location is the best and has the best quality. Their Italian Fries with pepperoni are also really good.

1438 Yankee Doodle Road
Eagan, MN
651-452-4525

Answer

And eight years later, your wish is granted!
(the new Giordano's in Uptown...)

:)

Answer

There are two worth trying - Giordanos in Minneapolis & Pizzaria Pezzo in White Bear Lake

Answer

Giordano's is an original deep dish chain out of Chicago- we tried it a couple weeks ago and loved it, the location is right on Hennepin toward's uptown. It's the real deal - or at least very close to it, in our opinion. Nice bar and seating area too.

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Chicago style pizza in MSP?

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