Giordano's Pizza - Minneapolis, MN

Chicago has its own style of pizza. A lot of places claim to have “Chicago-style” pizza, but it’s mainly just some low-budget deep-dish sub-par pie. Being an Illinois native, I can tell you there are “The Big 3” places in Chicago – Geno’s East, Lou Malnati’s, and Giordano’s. (Some people claim Pizzeria Uno is in there, as well, but it’s a distant fourth in all honesty.) My favorite of The Big 3 is Giordano’s, mainly because they’re serious about toppings there. DEAD serious. When I heard Giordano’s was opening a location in Minneapolis, I admit I might have done a little freak-out dance of joy.

The last time I ate at Giordano’s, I was with a bunch of roller derby people in 2010. I can’t believe it was that long ago. But thankfully, I did a decent write-up and took a bunch of photos of my friends. FIVE YEARS AGO. That’s insane.

The place opened a little while ago and has since been swamped. They even quit doing delivery because they were just too busy. Now, you can expect an hour or two wait to get in (not kidding). SO your best bet is to call ahead 30-40 minutes, go pick up your pie, and walk two blocks behind the restaurant down to the Lake of the Isles and have a picnic. Some co-workers and I called on our drive over and ordered a meat lovers pizza with some cheesy bread. Why he ordered cheesy bread is beyond me, but he did. 

I was worried it wasn’t going to be as good as the pizza I remembered from all my years driving downtown to get this pizza. I was incorrect – it was EXACTLY as good as I remembered. It’s is also still an inch-and-a-half or two-inches thick. It sounds like an exaggeration, but it isn’t. They lay down a nice crust in a super deep dish pan, throw in the toppings, and then cover it with cheese and a layer of tomato sauce. The sauce is incredible. The meat is substantial, without being TOO much meat – and this is ME saying this, so take that with a grain of salt. The cheese is delicious. The crust is also quite good, and even a little burnt on the bottom, since they have to cook the thing for at least 30 minutes to make sure it’s done all the way in the middle. 

I fully admit I was only able to eat two slices of this pizza. It’s sooooo filling, it’s like 6 pieces. So order accordingly. Also, the cheesy bread is fine, but not needed.

If you haven’t been to Giordano’s in Uptown Minneapolis yet, do yourself a favor and make a trip there. It’s perfectly fine to call ahead and get it to go. Just be ready to carry a 20-pound box of pizza back to your house/apartment. Just a warning.

Giordano’s (Uptown)
2700 Hennepin Ave. S.
Minneapolis, MN 55408
www.giordanos.com/location/minneapolis-uptown