Minnesota Pizza Tour

Mommy Baggage and the boys have been across the state sampling pastries at donut shops, ordering up flavorful scoops at ice cream parlors and dining on delicious burgers and fries at various drive-ins around Minnesota. This year we decided to chow down on the best slices of pizza our home state has to offer. Here’s our findings on our Minnesota Pizza Tour.

Wrecktangle Pizza

Located in the Market at Malcolm Yards, Wrecktangle Pizza serves up thick crust slices of cheesy goodness as well as heaping salads and yummy garlic cheese bread styx. All Wrecktangle pies are served as 8×10 rectangles (get it) and sliced into six pieces. You can create your own pie or order one of the creative menu offerings; sotalicious-beef casserole, tater tots, poblano crema, chive, cheddar jack and pickle roll-up. We opted for a more classic choice. A supreme with pepperoni, green peppers and onions-hold the green olive. The name Wrecktangle is both a play on words and a nod to the pies style-Detroit style. Detroit style pizzas have a thick yet crispy crust and are baked in a steel rectangular pan.

Red’s Savoy Pizza

Pizza tour stop number two is Red’s Savoy Pizza. They serve up ‘sota-style pizza; thin crust, sweet red sauce, piles of toppings and cheese cut into squares. Our Red’s order consisted of a half pepperoni and half Canadian bacon pizza plus an order of garlic cheese bread. Note in the picture above, the boys gobbled up the cheese bread before I could snap a picture of it.

Red Wagon

Next stop; Red Wagon Pizza. Red Wagon pizza features thin crust, wood-fired pizza and is “off the wagon” good. With just the right amount of wood fired char on each slice, we loved the pizza at Red Wagon. We ordered a plain cheese pizza because, well kids, and the P.S.O. The P.S.O had caramelized-onion red sauce, house cheese, sausage, spicy cup pepperoni and habanero infused honey. It was just the right combination of spice and sweet. Definitely recommend.

Pizzeria Lola

Continuing with wood fired goodness, our next pizza stop is Pizzeria Lola. For thin crust pizzas and a family of four, we order two pies. Again, it was a plain cheese (Old Reliable) and the Iowan (arugula and prosciutto). Certainly not the most adventurous eaters our boys each tried a slice of Iowan pizza and liked it! Here, like at Red Wagon, the crust is light and crisp with the perfect amount of char. Pizzeria Lola is known nationally as one of the best pizzerias in the country. We agree. As an added bonus we paid a visit to Lola’s photo booth. So fun!

Black Sheep

The next pizza place on our tour is Black Sheep. The pizza here is coal fired, as the first pizzerias in the United States would have served it in the early 1900s. Black Sheep Pizza is the first coal fired pizza place in Minnesota. The original location opened in 2008 in St. Paul but they have since expanded to include two more locations in Minneapolis’ North Loop and Eat Street. We ordered the 12 inch choose your own with Canadian Bacon as well as a 16 inch, number 5-with fennel sausage, hot salami, onion and cracked green olives-hold the olives. All of us scarfed down every bite of our Black Sheep pizzas. In short, we loved Black Sheep and highly recommend a visit to this unique pizzeria.

Pizza Shark

Another wood fired pizza place; Pizza Shark was our next stop on the Minnesota Pizza Tour. Pizza Shark is new to the Minnesota pizza scene, opening its doors in 2021. The menu features some tried and true favorites as well as multiple unique and interesting combinations. We ordered a Canadian bacon pizza as well as the Meat Lovers-fennel sausage, spicy pepperoni, ham, bacon and smoked brisket. It was loaded with meaty goodness. La La Creamery is just down the road from Pizza Shark, so we made a stop there for dessert. See our review in our Minnesota Ice Cream Tour post.

Boludo

I can’t share enough good things about Argentine pizzeria, Boludo, in Minneapolis. The crust, the sauce, the cheese, the toppings were all amazing. We ordered three pizzas; one margarita (because, well kids), a pepperoni and the porteno (smoked mozzarella, pickled pepper, pancetta and red onion). Delish. The crust at Boludo is the perfect combination of crispy and chewy. We all drooled over the turned up pepperonis and the piles of shaved parmesan atop each pie.

We ordered more than enough pizza but wanted to try the empanadas as well; a jamon y queso and a pollo. Here again, the dough was the star; flaky and crunchy plus the chicken was perfectly seasoned and the ham and cheese was very good as well. Boludo has been hands down, our favorite stop on the Minnesota Pizza Tour.

Fat Lorenzo’s

In a change from wood-fired pizza places, we made a visit to Fat Lorenzo’s for thick crust deliciousness. There was a bit of hangery happening when we arrived so we ordered garlic cheese bread hoping to curb these feelings. The appetizer plus the paper table cloths and crayons made the wait for our Fat’s Combo pizza more bearable. We ordered a medium pizza, which was huge and enough to feed all of us and still have leftovers to take home. Fat Lorenzo’s has been serving up great pizza in Minnesota for 35 years. It’s easy to see and taste why they have become a Minnesota favorite.

Hello Pizza

Back to wood-fired za for a stop at Edina’s Hello Pizza. The boys may be young but they have big appetites lately, so we order two pies; a cheese (of course) and the Hello Trinity. The char of these wood fired crust and the natural casing pepperoni were perfect. Hello has good pizza however the atmosphere is lacking. We could see making this a famiy pizza destination if the ambience was sniffed up a bit.

Love Pizza

Our family loved, loved, loved the coal fired pizza at Love Pizza. Love offers bar pizza in addition to coal fired so we tried one of each; a bar cheese pizza and a coal fired signature pizza called Read the Room. The bar pizzas have a crispy, cheesy edge that will make you wish for more crust over pizza. While the coal fired pizzas offer a thin crust with the right amount of burnt. Love Pizza also uses high quality San Marazano dop pizza sauce which makes a tasty difference. We loved and the fun and upbeat atmosphere at Love Pizza and are already planning a return trip.

For other food tours in Minnesota, see our posts on drive-ins, ice cream shops and where to find the best donuts in the state.

Happy Adventuring, Rochelle