“For men, sex is like pizza,” someone once told me.
“Even if it’s not very good pizza, it’s still pizza.”
But really, who doesn’t like pizza?
If I was told that I could eat only one food for the rest of my life, pizza would be it. That’s kind of cheating though, isn’t it? I mean, a pizza is comprised of many foods. There are also many ways to make a pizza. So, I wouldn’t get bored.
Over the past few weeks, we’ve had both pizza that was great and then not-so-great.
Still, even the not-so-great did not go to waste! That pizza hailed from:
Fat Lorenzo’s
We had been to Fat Lorenzo’s in Minneapolis near Lake Nokomis once before and we both remembered liking it, but not loving it.
The walls and ceilings are painted like murals.
Big cans of tomatoes line the booth dividers.
The interior is small. If you go at peak times, you are going to wait. It’s a great place for kids because next to the parmesan and red pepper flakes, you will find crayons.
You can write on the white paper covering your table. Rob and I like to play Hangman while we are waiting! See below the cheese bread:
Cheese Bread w/marinara – $4.79
This was your basic cheese bread, but not overly exciting. On our first visit to Fat Lorenzo’s, we ordered a specialty pizza:
Carne Pazza (Meat Crazy) – Pepperoni, Canadian bacon, sausage and sliced meatballs
I honestly didn’t remember that we ordered it until I found this photo! That size is a medium. Yes, a medium.
However, on our last visit, we built our own pizza with sausage, mushroom, garlic and pepperoni. Toppings are $2.50 each when you build your own; so we spent $10 in toppings alone!
My thoughts on that pizza: This crust is more deep dish style, which I’m finding I enjoy less and less as I age. This crust is nice and doughy, but with very little flavor. Maybe brushing it with a little garlic-infused olive oil would help. The sauce is sweet and too tomato-paste-y for my taste-y. And the cheese-lover in me would have wanted a bit more on pizza #2. I don’t remember that being the case on pizza #1 pictured above. The real stars of the show were the sausage and mushrooms, of which I would have wanted more.
We most likely won’t be back with all of the great pizza joints in the Twin Cities, but Fat Lorenzo’s leftovers made it home with us and did not go to waste!
~
I think pizza is also like wine. After tasting many, you start to discover what you truly enjoy. The real pizza winner this month was one that our friend Kim discovered:
Red Wagon
We were intrigued the instant we looked up Red Wagon‘s menu online. The pizzeria is a newly established bricks and mortar restaurant that spawned from a stand at the Linden Hills Farmers Market. After dining there, we understood why!
Upon arrival, there was a bit of a wait. Rob drooled over the tap selection {36 of them to be exact!} while Kim and I ordered a bottle of the highly recommended Grüner Veltliner. It was a little chilly outside, but we elected to wait there and sip our drinks so that we could have a seat. The wait wasn’t long.
Rob ordered us a couple of appetizers…
Bar Chips – Gaufrette-Style seasoned with rosemary, garlic salt and black pepper
I knew Rob would like these chips after he fell in love with similar ones at the Six15 Room. They were a bit too salty, but we’d still get them again in a heartbeat. That sauce is a nice accompaniment, too!
Pepperoni Roll – house cheese and pepperoni rolled in fresh dough w/fig balsamic vinegar – $7
For some reason, we were expecting something different here. We ordered More Cheese on the pepperoni roll for an extra $1, which was absolutely necessary. However the fig balsamic was so sweet that to me this tasted like we had a little pepperoni and cheese on raisin bread. I found it a little strange.
One thing I did love about Red Wagon that has nothing to do with the food, is the addition of purse hooks at the pub tables!
I love having a place to put my purse when there are hooks when I’m sitting at the bar. This is often the case at most restaurants nowadays.
But when you are sitting at a high-top table on a chair without a back, I’m always perplexed when it comes to stowing my purse. On the floor just feels so far away and out of sight. On my lap is just uncomfortable. On the table is cluttered and takes up space. Right under the table on a hook – perfect! I hope more restaurants begin adding these to their high-top tables.
There were so many different types of pizza to try. Here are the two we selected:
Top: Lucy! – Dijon mustard, Cuban pulled pork, thin slices of ham and provolone, topped with housemade pickles and Cuban sauce – $17 | Bottom: Popeye – garlic-infused olive oil with spinach, house sausage and Robiola cheese, finished with a squeeze of lemon and black pepper – $18
We loved them both! When I read the word Lucy! on the menu, I immediately thought it would somehow be a Juicy Lucy pizza. {How? I don’t know!} However, this Cuban-style pizza is really a nod to Lucy and Ricky Ricardo. Clever! Kim’s eyes got wide after her first bite indicating that this was a pizza not to be missed. I think if I’ve finally found my perfect Cuban!
That housemade sausage on the Popeye was incredible. Even though we would order this pizza again, Rob and I felt like it was missing something that we couldn’t quite put our fingers on. Maybe just a hint more flavor of some sort. Or maybe just more of that perfect sausage. 😉
While our favorite Twin Cities pizzerias remain Pig Ate My Pizza and Pizzeria Lola {although our last visit to the latter was less than stellar}, Red Wagon is high up on our list of great pizza joints.
What style of pizza is your favorite?
Cheers,
Carrie
Season It Already! 