When we embarked on our pizza eating adventure a mere 19 weeks
ago, I was ignorant to the number of pizza consuming options that exist here in
the Twin Cities metropolitan area. I’m
not exaggerating when I say that there are enough pizza joints in this
geography to keep us in a different restaurant every single week for the next
three years. But this blog is about more
than just pizza. It’s about an intentional
weekly adventure. It’s about making sure
that, as a married couple, we spend quality time together doing something
outside of our normal routine. And, as
an added benefit, it has provided us a connection to our family and friends
both near and far, as we’ve relied on our networks to help us fill our pizza
eating dance card.
It’s hard to believe we’re over 1/3 of the way through our
pizza experiment already. What started
as an idea made in jest has become a weekly tradition – and one that we look
forward to all week long. One of my
favorite parts about this pizza experiment is the glimpse inside the lives of
our family and friends. When you
recommend a pizza place to us, it’s a little bit like you’re joining us for
dinner.
Week 19 took us to Columbia Heights, a first-ring suburb of
Minneapolis, which it borders on the south.
Known for its hilly terrain, Columbia Heights features one of the highest
points in Hennepin, Ramsey, and Anoka counties at the intersection of 47th
Ave NE and Stinson Boulevard. The city
of Hilltop, population 744, is a small enclave contained within the city of
Columbia Heights whose claim to fame is that it is one of only two cities in
America that consists primarily of manufactured housing.
This history and geography lesson is important because Tasty
Pizza and Hangar 45, our week 19 destination, may be Hilltop’s other claim to fame. Or it might just be part of good old Columbia
Heights. Wherever it is, Tasty Pizza was
a recommendation from my cousin Jhanel, who was looking for redemption after
shaming me into signing up for adult ballet class. I’m about as graceful and coordinated as a
drunk hippopotamus. But that’s off
topic.
Pre-Pizza Moods:
It was a dark and stormy night . . . no, wait.
That’s incorrect. It was a dark
and wet late afternoon when we departed for Tasty Pizza, which means that it
was after 4:30 PM when we headed out for date night, thus reversing the trend
of pizza linner
that’s become the norm lately.
We took the scenic route, not because our GPS didn’t work
but because we’re as much about the adventure as we are about the food. While we could have hopped on the highway, we
elected to take the Grand Rounds
Scenic Byway from Theodore Wirth Parkway to Victory Memorial Parkway, which
is a beautiful drive that happened to take us right by the house I grew up in
and some of my old childhood haunts. And
you know I like a little nostalgia, so my pre-pizza mood was a solid 7.
My hubby, who probably would have preferred to take the
highway so he could show the world what that expensive German automobile can
do, was at a pre-pizza mood of 6.
Parking Situation: Tasty Pizza is located in a nondescript strip
mall that may or may not be located in Hilltop.
If you’re in the market for dollar store goods, ethnic groceries, or
used video games, this is the mall for you.
It has a large but crowded
parking lot, so the parking situation is okay but not ideal. The parking spots are all at an angle, and I
can see that when it gets busy, you could easily get run over here. We almost did get clipped crossing the
parking lot to enter Tasty Pizza.
Exterior Appearance:
It’s not much to look at from the outside, but that’s okay. After almost getting run down by someone in a
rush to get to Pooja Grocers, I was more interested in getting to safety than
in admiring the outside of Tasty Pizza.
Tasty Pizza was founded in 1963 by Louie Sigorney and Daniel
Luleski. Luleski sold his share of the
business shortly after their grand opening in 1963 and Louie took on a new
partner, Duane Estrem. A shrewd
businessman, Duane was actually not a pizza lover when he bought into the
business. After tweaking the recipe to
his taste, Duane became a pizza convert and his recipe is the one Tasty Pizza
uses today. Tasty Pizza is now operated by Duane’s son and daughter in law,
Todd and Tawyna.
Entrance/Welcome:
Although Tasty Pizza proudly boasts their recent addition and remodel – they added
on a sports bar called Hangar 45 – when you walk through the door, it’s like
being catapulted back to the 1970’s.
When you enter, you’ll see a sign inviting you to seat yourself. So we did.
Our first table was too close to a screaming toddler, so we relocated to
a second table featuring a faux granite laminate surface and sharp booth springs
that assaulted my delicate backside.
Clientele/Overall
Vibe: This is a place that draws a local crowd, and while we dined, we
noticed a steady stream of takeout customers.
Other patrons appeared to be Minnesota Vikings fans as evidenced by
their choice of apparel. There were
families with small children, extended family gatherings, and there was even a
birthday party going on a few tables away from us.
Wait Staff: Have you seen those Gallup
studies that cite how something like 70+% of American workers are actively
disengaged? Actively disengaged, by the
way, is fancy talk for people who are emotionally disconnected from and/or
apathetic about their work. They are
less likely to be productive or enthusiastic, and there is a high likelihood
that these actively disengaged workers will piss me off. Breanna, our server at Tasty Pizza, was a
poster child for actively disengaged. The very act of having to interact with us was
clearly distasteful to her, and she was among the least friendly and least
helpful pizzeria employee I have met lo these past 19 weeks.
Menu Selection: Tasty Pizza has a
large menu that features sandwiches, pasta, ribs, chicken, and of course,
pizza. You can build your own thin crust
or you can opt for a specialty pizza like Taco, Buffalo Chicken, or a
Nordeaster (featuring Polish sausage and sauerkraut). We opted for the “garbage” pizza which is a
design-it-yourself featuring up to six toppings.
I would be remiss if I failed to mention Tasty Pizza’s
surprisingly vast selection of local and regionally brewed craft beers. From the outside, you might surmise that this
is the kind of joint that features Miller Lite and maybe Budweiser. And you would be wrong. They also have interesting craft beers from
around the country like Epic Hopulent, Boulder Mojo, and Green Flash
Bullet. I opted for a Saga IPA from St.
Paul’s own Summit Brewery and enjoyed every last drop of it because it nicely
complements a garbage pizza!
Food Wait Time: It
took about 27 minutes from order to tableside delivery. I’d like to point out that Breanna did not in
fact deliver our pizza to us, as she was probably busy hating her life
somewhere. A much friendlier gal dropped
off our pie.
Drumroll, Please . .
. the Pizza Itself: While Tasty Pizza may lack in the aesthetics department,
you’ll forget all about that booth spring violating your backside as soon as
you sink your teeth into their thin crust pizza. In fact, their pizza was so delicious that I’m
starting to develop a hypothesis that states that the more delicious your
pizza, the more horrific your restaurant can be. Must I remind you of Red
Savoy’s? Or Latuff’s?
Or even Broadway
Pizza?
Our garbage pizza was loaded with Italian sausage, green
peppers, mushrooms, pepperoni, black olives, and jalapeño peppers. After our recent experiences with onions, we
wisely steered clear of them on the menu.
This pizza, cut into delightful squares, had a tangy sauce, an
appropriate ratio of sauce to cheese, and fresh toppings. It was . . . tasty. Yeah, I said it. In fact, it was so tasty that it may have
edged its way onto the top ten list.
Price & Value: I didn’t have a coupon, but we licked the
platter clean on this pizza. There was
nary a crumb left on the table when we finished. Our bill came to just over $30 (excluding tip) and I did
leave the disengaged and unpleasant Breanna a tip, but I’m not going to lie to
you. Although I am normally a very fair
and generous tipper, leaving at least 20% and more when service exceeds my
expectations, I only left Breanna 15%.
Because she was that
unpleasant.
Post-Pizza Mood:
How could we not be on top of the world after this tasty experience? We
left Tasty at a post pizza mood of 9 for both of us. It might have been higher had Breanna not
tried to kill me with her eyes and if I hadn’t been violated by that booth
spring.
Bottom Line: Cousin Jhanel – you have redeemed
yourself. Tasty Pizza is TASTY PIZZA. But the joke’s on you anyway, since you have
to be seen with my clumsy, heffalumping self at ballet class every week and I am
clearly bringing shame to the family name in my dancing endeavors.
If you like Red Savoy, Broadway, or any of the greasy thin
crust delicacies around town, you won’t be disappointed by Tasty Pizza. And – if you happen to be a craft beer connoisseur,
you’ll be even more pleased by the very tasty experience that this Hilltop
pizzeria has to offer.
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