It took me about an hour on the Minnapolis public transit to finally get to Lola's but it was well worth the ride. As you walk in you will quickly realize that this is not your typical corner pizza joint. Aside from the dark woods and upscale appearance you can't help but be awed by the huge wood fired copper oven sitting in the middle of the establishment. That and the crowds waiting inside as well as outside on the patio for a table immediately gives some credibility to the raves and hype of the pizza here. If you arrive in the early evening or thereafter expect every bit of a 30-45 minute wait for a table or you can chance it at the bar which is first come, first served. And that is exactly what I did. I like the bar since your more apt to meet people and learn of the area over a meal and a glass of beer or wine then from the guy sitting at the next table over.
The crust here is regular in the thickness but has a great taste. The ingredients however are what really shine here. Most everything on the menu is either house made like the fennel sausage, house cured bacon, red sauce and the soft serve ice cream with olive oil and sea salt; or it is from a local organic farm. After some tough deliberations I decided on the Korean BBQ pizza. A great dough topped with Grass Run Farm beef short ribs, mozzarella, scallions, arugula, sesame and soy-chili vinaigrette. The flavors on this pie ran the whole gamut from spicy to sweet and is what I classified as, "Outrageously Delicious"! I can't talk this one up enough other than saying if you are in or near Minneapolis, go to Lola's for dinner and order this pie. If your not, well then get to Minneapolis and go to Lola's and order this pie. Yes, it really is "THAT GOOD".
Now just to make sure that this wasn't a fluke I decided to order another pizza as it was looking like I had at least another hour to kill. This time I ordered the Sweet Italian pie with house red sauce, house-made fennel sausage, mozzarella, provolone, red onion and Peppadew. The night was really going in my favor. Again we had a winner that was knocking it out of the park. I couldn't finish the pie alone so I shared it with one of the couples at the bar with me. i noticed that both the customers and the staff were most socailbe here so be ready to dine, drink and meet complete strangers while doing so. In addition to the the wood fired copper oven and the fantastic food that is cooked inside its bohemeth belly, the upscale & funky atmosphere there is one more component to this puzzle. The people working here are fantastic and they all seem to genuinely enjoy what they are doing. from the hostess at the door to the bartender and kitchen staff they all were happy and enjoying themselves as they jumped from answering a question to making the orders sent in to them to socializing a bit with the costumers. They were all having a fun and that shows through every time and I cannot speak highly enough of those I spoke to on Friday night. When you go to Lola's ask for Marissa or Marisa at the bar. Two different ladies but both were awesome!
As I've said in previous posts, there are differnt classes of pizza but Pizzeria Lola is in a class all by itself and gets my "Jeff Approved" stamp!
Enjoy and "Eat Like A Local"!
