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

Tommy Chicago’s Pizza – Mendota Heights, MN

Since this place opened, D.Rough and I have meant to get to Tommy Chicago’s Pizza in Mendota Heights. We drive by it all the time and consistently mention that we need to stop there. We both had Martin Luther King day off from work, so we decided to grab some lunch buffet action there.

The restaurant has a small bar area for seating and also a medium-sized dining room. The really helpful server told us to grab a seat anywhere and she’d be over to help us. We were having the buffet and therefore didn’t need much in the way of assistance.

The buffet area is pretty small. But keep in mind the buffet part is only for lunch, so it isn’t up the entire time the place is open. That being said, there is still enough room to house like 8-10 different pizzas on the heated surface. There’s also a separate salad bar area, which I personally ignored completely. Hahaha.

I loaded up my first plate with a slice of BBQ chicken, pineapple and Canadian bacon, and some Chicago deep dish.

The Hawaiian pizza was pretty good. Plenty of pineapple chunks and the Canadian bacon wasn’t a pain to deal with like it has been at some places. The BBQ chicken was also good. Not a ton of chicken on it, but the BBQ sauce was good. I liked it. The Chicago Deep Dish was just a little disappointing though. I am originally from Illinois, so maybe I had too high of hopes for it. But, the cheese on this piece was pretty skimpy and the sauce on the top wasn’t the same sauce as was on the other pieces that we got. It was more tomato-y and less pizza sauce-y. The crust was nice and thick, so I appreciated that aspect of it, but I think what I was hoping for was more of a stuffed pizza, rather than a deep dish pizza. I get it, it’s deep dish, and it was fine. But honestly, when D.Rough and I come back here, I’m going to do the stuffed crust like Giordano’s does it back in Chicago. D.Rough liked the piece of deep dish she got, so we’ll call it a draw – average deep dish pizza with the sauce on the top, just to make it official Chicago-style.

I went back for some more basic slices after they brought more out (and after the swarm of teenage boys let the dust settle). I got a slice of cheese and a slice of pepperoni. Both of them good, actually. Nothing ground breaking, but it was good pizza (there isn’t too many places I’d consider bad pizza, frankly).

I even went back for a sausage pizza and a couple of beignets (all that were left). The sausage was good Italian sausage and delicious. The beignets were surprisingly better than I expected, especially with a glob of honey on them. And that’s one of the best thigns about this place – they have honey at the tables for you to slather your left-over crust with after your done with toppings. I got hooked on this in Denver and now I love to see it on tables, not just for the beignets.

D.Rough's slice of Chicago Style Deep Dish was much better than the piece I got, so I figured I'd better show a photo of that, so you weren't left with a negative impression - it IS good pizza, I promise.

I’d give Tommy Chicago’s Pizza a big thumbs up. It’s not the run of the mill pizza place and has some pretty special combos on the menu – make sure you look at that, as well. They have calzones, salads, and a bunch of other items on the menu worth picking up. If you’re going to try the Chicago Style, my vote is to go with the stuffed pizza, and leap right over the deep dish. Again, just my opinion.

I’m looking forward to eating here again. They have a great pizza selection, aside from the buffet, and a beer and wine bar that isn’t too shabby. Thanks, Tommy!

www.tommychicagos.com

BJ’s Hot Dog Shoppe & Italian Beef

DorkyBarb mentioned a few months back that she needed to take me to this particular hot dog place in St. Paul. I, of course, was very interested. But it wasn’t until after this wildly inappropriate shower proposition conversation we had that I actually went there. See below…

DorkyBarb met me there, since she works nearby. The place is in a small off-the-beaten path strip mall on the east side of St. Paul. You really have to MEAN to go there, though they do have a sandwich-board-style sign on a more busy street to let people know they’re there.

You order at the counter from this incredibly awesome and friendly man who will tell you what’s good (everything), let you sample things (everything), and makes you feel right at home. He even gave me a sample of the Italian beef in a little sample cup, just so I could make sure I was going to like it – it was top-notch. I like this guy. He’s originally from Chicago and takes an immense amount of pride in the quality of his food. He’s old school and he knows what he’s talking about. You can get dogs and sausages and chili and even tamales (I’m soooo curious about these), but I went with my standard dog restaurant benchmark – the Italian Combo. It’s an Italian sausage covered in Italian beef on a bun that SHOULD be dipped in au jus – which the gentleman will ask you if you want dipped. You do, believe me.

You have the option of various cheeses to be placed on your bun before the meat is put in, and I got provolone and pepperjack. They also have a huge list of toppings to choose from (there are photos on the front of the counter if you have questions about what the toppings will actually look like – very smart of them). Some dogs get the works, but I went with hot giardiniera on mine. And an orange Fanta – duh.

You get your food right away (you actually pay after you eat, so you can enjoy your food immediately without fumbling for your wallet while holding food. There are a handful of tables inside and a few out on the sidewalk for you to choose.

I grabbed a spork from the counter since this thing looked like it was going to get mushy and sloppy. Believe it or not, the bun absorbed the au jus, but perfectly stood up to the juicy and liquidy ingredients like a champ – down to the very last bite. It was more of a hassle to eat the thing with the spork than it was to pick it up. I picked it up and was surprised how much this thing weighed. It was massive. The Italian beef was super thin and really juicy. The Italian sausage had some snap to the casing and was really quite tasty. The giardiniera was spicy and had tons of veggies in it (celery, peppers, olives, cauliflower, red peppers) and didn’t wuss out on the heat. The bun I will keep raving about. DorkyBarb said the couple that runs the place had to go through three or four different bun vendors until they found one that could stand up to the juicy ingredients they use – like they traditionally do in Chicago. I’m glad they patiently waded through vendors, because this bun had awesome flavor and retained it structure like a champion. Well done.

DorkBarb’s sandwich also looked fantastic. She opted for the Italian beef (no sausage in hers) and some different cheese and ingredients. Everything looks wonderful here and I can’t wait to go back.

Apparently, the lovely wife makes some amazing desserts and cakes for the shop, but they were all out today. They usually have southern caramel cake, red velvet cake, the best lemon cake in the world (according to DorkyBarb and the husband), and cafeteria style butter cookies. They all sounded fantastic, so I’ll have to try them the next time I’m there. And there WILL be a next time. And, I’ll even make sure I call DorkyBarb since she works right up the street and would be more than happy to join me. No inappropriate txt message next time – promise.

Their claim (on the sign) is they have the best Italian Beef in the Twin Cities. They aren’t lying. They beat Chris & Rob’s, and surprisingly beat Uncle Franky’s (which I am a huge fan of). [And, from what I've been told, it beats the Wienery, also.] But it’s true. It’s the best around. It makes me miss my Illinois roots, but now I’ve got someplace to appease my hunger pangs.

Thanks, DorkyBarb!

Top 5 things about BJ’s Hot Dog Shoppe & Italian Beef
1. Italian beef
2. Italian sausage
3. The couple that run this place are fantastic
4. Large number of toppings
5. Desserts (remains to be seen, but I’m guessing they’re up there)

Bottom 5 things
1. Can drive past it easily and not know it’s there
2. I’m trying hard to think of something bad, but there just isn’t anything. Sorry.
3.
4.
5.

www.facebook.com/bjshotdogshoppe

1990 Suburban Ave
St. Paul, MN 55119

Chicago Bears vs. Minnesota Vikings - Minneapolis, MN

We went to the Bears vs. Vikings game last Sunday at the Metrodome in Minneapolis. I went to cheer on the Bears, Chao went to cheer for football as he doesn't have a favorite team. We parked about 6 blocks away and walked to the dome. It was a cold walk but worth it. We entered the dome and got in line for some food. While waiting in line, we noticed several clusters of Bears fans through the sea of people. It was hilarious because they would high five other Bears fans who were clearly strangers, and some were singing the Bears fight song. No, I didn't join in. You can ask Chao, I don't know the words when I try to sing it. At Soldier Field they are always up on the screen so I have not needed to memorize them before, but I guess I might need to now.

2 hot dogs, a brat, random chips, nachos, and 2 sodas later, we were in our seats chowing down. We were in the 4th row from the back in the uppermost deck of the dome. Even though we were up fairly high, we could see the field pretty well. We watched all of the pregame stuff including the Vikings entrance through an inflatable Viking ship which was funny to watch.

I won't talk much about the game because I am reviewing the experience of being at the game rather than revisiting the unpleasantness of losing. We had several Bears fans in our section and on the rare occasions when we did do something well, it was fun to be cheering alongside fellow fans. There were Bears fans in front of us, and I had my Bears sweatshirt on so I think they identified us both as Bears fans. One of the guys in the group turned around in excitement and prepared to high-five Chao, but Chao, not rooting for a specific team, and wearing a nondescript metal hoodie, and hating high-fives, glared at him to shoot down the upcoming display of camaraderie. On the couple of occasions the Bears did score, choruses of the Bears fight song could be heard throughout the dome. All sung by those who know the words of course. The Vikings had their fight song too, which included the word "skol." We didn't know what this meant so I hopped on my new Blackberry and read all about the fight song from Wikipedia. Skol is like a toast, and the song was written in 1961. We would have guessed 1891 though as it sounds VERY old.

A serious highlight of the game for us was one of the beer vendors in our section. He was the best game vendor of all time. He greeted fans with unique salutations such as, "Does anyone else need a beer besides me?" and "Who else is drinking tonight?" and our personal favorite, "Overpriced beer here!" He was also handing cards to random people purchasing beer. Chao said they were his business card so I don't know what that was all about, but I was intrigued.

There were several points during the game when Chao caught me in a state of confusion about something the cheerleaders were doing. There were some off on their own doing a different dance at times as if they were their own renegade cheerleading faction. One of their big dances between quarters was a girl-singer cover of Sharp Dressed Man originally by ZZ Top and the mascot had changed into a tux and danced with them. I couldn't figure out how this related to football, or getting the crowd excited. It just weirded me out.

Best overheard fan comment of the night was a guy singing, "Save a horse, ride a Bears fan." SOO pathetic yet it made me giggle.

Top 5:
1. Getting to cheer for the Bears when they aren't the home team is really fun.
2. Best beer vendor of all time.
3. Lots of other Bear fans.
4. Game hot dogs (Wrigley's are better though...)!
5. After the game the song, "The Night Chicago Died" by Paper Lace played over the speakers and even though it was meant to rub in the loss, I love that song so I got to sing along as we left.

Bottom 5:
1. The Bears lost.
2. I couldn't hear what any of the penalties were for and was confused several times.
3. Every time the Vikings did something well, the "Vikings horn" sounds and that was annoying. I could understand if it went off after scoring, but even first downs would require the horn.
4. The large scoreboard would sometimes go away so random families and large groups could be thanked for coming in that space. I would look over there if I forgot what down it was and get super pissed off because we were all welcoming the fricking Jacobs Family which is NOT as important as knowing if it was the 2nd or 3rd down. Seriously! Send them a damn thank you card!
5. Hot dogs and brats come with a bag of chips and this is the only way they are offered. Unless you get the cheap hot dog which is half the size of the bun. Also, I had to drink out of a Vikings cup. Next time I will bring a Bears cup from home or a cover to hide the Vikings crap.

Chicago Bears

Metrodome