Zamboni’s – St. Paul, MN

I was downtown during the lunch hour and had been meaning to get to Zamboni’s for a slice. I’m glad I did.

I see this place packed during every event the Xcel Energy Center ever has, so I figured it was good. They do slices, but they also do full sized (S-M-L) pizzas, and also some sandwiches. The slices are in the $4-6 range, so pretty reasonable and they do a slice-salad-soda lunch combo, if you’re into that sort of thing.

I got the slice of the day (which you should ALWAYS ask about). White/garlic sauce pizza with roasted red peppers, Italian sausage, and rosemary. They heat up the slices as you order them, so it’s still going to take three or four minutes while it cooks in the pizza oven, but it’s worth the wait. Also, the place serves beer (including Surly and Flat Earth), so grab a pint while you wait – or a pitcher if you’re eating in.

Zamboni’s has the super thin cracker crust popular in Minnesota and it’s got tons of cheese on it. The ingredients are fresh and generous. It’s also a generous sized slice, so you’re not going to go hungry if you just get one slice. I’m guessing the lunch combo is the way to go to fill you up, but I was headed home and didn’t want to pay for parking (full transparency), so I was pretty happy with my order.

Worth the trip and I’m not sure why I waited this long to go there. They do online ordering so you can grab it and head home if you want. I’m glad I checked it out and now will be looking forward to going there before any additional Xcel events I go to.

Top 5 things about Zamboni’s
1. Slice of the day
2. Extensive toppings menu along with sandwiches
3. Really nice staff
4. They serve beer
5. Prices are pretty reasonable

Bottom 5 things
1. I’m always skeptical of places that advertise gyros, yet don’t have spinning meat poles visible
2. Parking can be tricky downtown, especially with construction near the Xcel
3. I was bummed to see the loaded tots appear to only have cheese sauce and bacon on them – seems like “loaded” would mean more than two items
4. The menu can be overwhelming due to the awesome things that are on it
5. The inside isn’t going to hold a ton of people, but it actually holds more than I expected it to

www.zambonipizza.com