The Best Pizza I've Ever Eaten Was In...Minneapolis?

So here it is the end of June and I had planned a trip to Minneapolis for a graduation party.  The only thing left to do was figure out what to do until my ride arrived in Minneapolis to pick me up and go to North Branch which is about an hours drive north.  My answer?  Go to Pizzeria Lola and try what I was told is one of the best pizzas anywhere!

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"!

My Search for Truly Great Pizza in Charm City, Part I

Living in Baltimore has a few drawbacks:  the public transportation sucks, Peter Angelos still owns the Orioles and you just can't find truly GREAT pizza here.

I have been on an, "on again, off again, on again" search here in Baltimore for truly great pizza.  I'm not entirely sure I haven't set my standards too high, but that will be determined with an upcoming trip to Chicago in early July and a trip to NYC later this year to see just how great pizza can be.  But seeing how Baltimore has never been known for its pizza, we need to establish a baseline from a few places that created the standard.  For the record, I'm not a fan of thick crust, so I've eliminated them from the search by default.  What we do have here is a trio of establishments that are worthy of note but before we get ahead of ourselves we will be covering Joe Squared (I ate at the original location in the Station North neighborhood of Baltimore City in this post.

Joe Squared at one point was rated best pizza in the state of Maryland.  A great honor yes, but given that this is not a land known for its pizza, I was still a bit skeptical.  So back in March I called up my  friend Dahjn who is from of all places, Brooklyn.  The benchmark by which all other pizzas are judged.  We took a ride to Joe Squared and decided to order the BBQ chicken pizza.  I was a bit unsure how BBQ chicken, corn, avocado and spinach would work together but it did and in fine fashion.  My friends comments were very much what I expected, "The pie was good, very good but just wasn't a Brooklyn pizza".   My take was a bit different, and in part because I don't have the experience with pizza from NYC like I do cheese steaks from Philly.  The crust was just this side of what is now called "ultra thin" and just shy of crispy.  The flavors of the combined ingredients worked surprisingly well together and they were fresh, which makes all the difference.  I also was surprised by the white sauce, which was quite good.  I thought the pie was fantastic, though heavy on the gourmet side.  And that may be an issue when comparing pizzas.  When making a fair comparison of anything we want to compare apples to apples, not apples to cumquats.  In my mind anyway there are three basic classes of pizza; Classic Italian, Street Corner and Gourmet Pizza.  This was definitely in the gourmet class.

I have reason to believe that I will be back at Joe Squared and that you will enjoy your visit as well.  If not for the great pie and cocktails they have live music every night.



Enjoy and Eat Like A Local!

Simple Italian Food Done Right

This past Wednesday night found me craving a GOOD Italian cold cut hoagie.  Now having been born in Philadelphia and raised with the knowledge of what qualifies as a proper Italian cold cut left me with to very unappealing alternatives.  Either drive the 100 miles to Philadelphia or simply go without.  Neither option was acceptable at the time so I sat for a few moments to ponder how I would resolve this dilemma that had presented itself.  Eventually I remembered having stumbled across a small place in Baltimore's Little Italy neighborhood two years prior.  So I took a 15 minute bus ride and strolled another 5 blocks south into Little Italy and there it was...Isabella's Brick Oven.

Isabella's is actually more like a page from our past.  It is quite small (tiny may actually be a more accurate description) but serves multiple purposes simultaneously.  It is part deli, part market and part restaurant all shoehorned into a storefront on the northeast corner of S High & Stiles Streets.  There are only three tables inside along with the deli counter and a refrigerated display case that showcases the delectable treats for sale such as caprese, stuffed peppers, sauteed mushrooms and my favorite, marinated eggplant...I love me some marinated eggplant! Isabella's also has a full menu to choose from including hot and cold sandwiches and pizza that is baked in a brick oven.

I ordered the Italian cold cut (no surprise here) which is a masterpiece of prosciutto di parma, mortadella, proscuittini, capicollo, romaine lettuce, fresh tomatoes and an olive oil & red wine vinegar dressing.  Along with some marinated eggplant and caprese my mission was accomplished.

I have no reservation about giving the nod to Isabella's for having the best Italian cold cut in Baltimore.  I'll even go so far as to say it is the best I've found south of Philly.  Personally I think it will be some time before the title(s) are seriously challenged.  High praise indeed but I feel it is justified.

Places like Isabella's are both a joy and rarity at the same time.  They somehow foster and retain a sense of neighborhood and community within their walls and they exist to be experienced.  People stop in to chat, strangers talk to each other and say hello just for the sake of saying hello.  Though carryout is available and more often than not opted for due to our hectic schedules, dine in if you have the time.  Order your meal and a few sides and grab a table.  Take your time, enjoy your meal and those you are with.  Talk, listen and dine instead of eating.  Take the time to say hello to those around you.  Trust me, you will be glad you did.

Mangia, Mangia!