Best Pizza in Minneapolis: Styles and How to Judge

The best pizza in Minneapolis depends on the style you want: thin tavern-cut squares from a bar oven, deep rectangular Detroit-style pies with crisp cheese edges, wood-fired rounds with a blistered crust or a plain slice on the way home. Here is how to judge each style, so you can decide.

Pizza is local taste. A question about the best one belongs to the people who eat it, and an honest answer starts with a clear idea of what you are judging.

What is the best pizza in Minneapolis, in styles?

The Upper Midwest has a tavern tradition: a thin, crisp crust, cut into small squares, topped to the edge and served in bars with a pitcher on the table. Alongside it, the city eats New York-style slices, Neapolitan pies from wood ovens, thick pan pizzas and, more recently, Detroit-style. Each has its own judge's checklist.

Decide on the style before you search. A pie that is excellent in one style can be disappointing as another.

How do you judge Detroit-style pizza in Minneapolis?

Look for a rectangular pan, a thick but airy crust with a crisp, almost fried bottom, and cheese that reaches the edge and caramelizes into a dark, crunchy frame. Sauce traditionally goes on top in stripes. The crumb should be light, not heavy, and the corners are the prize.

Cut a corner piece and check the underside. A golden, crisp bottom tells you the pan was hot and well oiled.

What makes Minneapolis pizza by the slice good?

A slice shows a kitchen's consistency. Judge the crust at the tip: it should fold without cracking and hold its shape. The cheese should be bubbled, not oily, and the sauce bright. Ask when the pie was baked, since a slice that has sat under a lamp tells you about the shop's turnover. A reheated slice should come out crisp.

A good slice shop sells a lot of them. A line at lunchtime is a sign.

Check the underside when you can. A slice that droops at the center was probably baked too fast, and a bottom with a few dark spots usually means a hot oven and a decent crust. Reheat leftovers in a dry pan rather than a microwave, and the crust returns to life.

How does tavern-style pizza differ?

It is thin, crisp and cracker-like, with a crust that snaps. Toppings go to the edge, and the pie is cut into squares so a table can share it. It suits a casual night at a bar with friends and a long conversation. It is not a dish for a knife and fork.

The squares are the point: you eat many of them, and the last ones are the best.

Minnesotans argue about which edge piece is superior, and the dispute is part of the evening. Order one with sausage, one plain and one with vegetables, and rate them as three different dishes. A tavern kitchen that bakes all three evenly is doing its job.

What is the Best in town pizza question?

Best in town is a feature in the Mosey app that asks quick questions, one at a time, about places near you, such as where the best coffee or pizza is. You pick a place, give it stars and see the places you have put on the map. The questions are an invitation to rate, and the app does not tell you an answer. Every place you rate helps the next person find somewhere good.

Your answers are your own.

How should you rate a pizza fairly?

Rate the pie, not the evening. Score the crust, the sauce, the cheese and the toppings separately in your head, then give a single star count. Name the style in your note: tavern, Detroit, New York, wood-fired. Add tags such as Pizza, Great Value or Group Dining. A short line about the wait and the size helps the next diner.

If you are with friends, tag them. They can add their own rating of the same meal.

How do you compare two pizzas?

Order the plain cheese or margherita from each place, since it is the simplest test. Eat both on the same day if you can, with a pause between, and take notes on the crust, the cheese and the sauce. Then try a house specialty.

The cheap eats near the university guide covers where students buy slices, and the date night guide covers a table for two.

How do you keep a pizza list?

Make a list called Pizza in Minneapolis, with sections for each style. Add a note on what you ordered, and invite friends to add theirs. Over a season you will have your own map. Note the date beside each entry, since a pizza kitchen can change hands or recipes, and a record that says when you ate is worth more than one that does not. If two friends disagree about a place, let both rate it, and the difference tells you something.

More in the US food guides.

Open the Mosey app after your next pizza, rate the pie by the dish, add a tag and save the place to a list for the friends who ask.