MSP: Hiawatha Pizza Halal (NY Style Pizza)

[MSPD]

For those that have a yearning for a NY style slice (or whole pie), I would recommend a stop at this place in between Cub Foods and Target along Minnehaha Ave/Lake Street/Hiawatha Avenue. Slices are huge, the right amount of greasy and served on a paper plate. The owner was a pizza guy in upper Manhattan for 20 years and seems very eager to please. The place is new and menu in flux, but the pizza is very good.

2740 Minnehaha Ave
612-455-6944

[beelzebozo]

trying this place out this evening, i think.

pepperoni and anchovies looks great. do they have white pies?

[alpa chino]

I was wondering about this place. I shop at that cub all the time. I'm going to need to check out hiawatha pizza. I usually go to A Slice of New York on 24th and Nicollet for a slice. That's also a halal joint. SONY is alright but definitely not authentic new york. I'll let you know what I think.

[petergray]

i checked it out last weekend, per this thread. i think the pizza is very good. the key to the NYC-style (as far as i'm concerned) is the crisp crust and wideness of slice. so, by that measure, this place is solid. worth checking out, especially since the owner is so nice, and how often do you get to drink african tea while waiting for your slice?

[HypodermicMD]

I went here with my boyfriend at the beginning of April, and while there were some technical difficulties, I will be going back just due to the fact that the owner is geniune and fantastic.

I was craving pizza after my hip surgery so we took a drive out there. I was going to get a personal size pizza with pepperoni. However, they were out of pepperoni. My boyfriend was going to get an artichoke and sundried tomato pizza. They were out of both. We ended up getting just an extra large cheese pizza (they were out of extra large boxes too!). The owner was forth coming about why he didn't have ingredients and made us some fantastic sumac tea.

The pizza, by the way was really good, even if it was just cheese. Considering I live in Eden Prairie and the drive is long enough that I need to heat it up anyway, I will just buy my own topping and add them when I get to my place. This place is a gem!

[MSPD]

Hmmm...sounds like there's some inconsistency. At lunch on a weekday, the slices were hot, fresh and decidedly thin. Any thinner and there wouldn't have been anything to them. You can see the photos in the post from Bill Roehl above (including my slice of pepperoni and anchovy).

Buyer beware I guess -- maybe ordering a whole pie is the solution.

[brokenbuzz]

Just gotta quickly reply to the naysayers here. Not sure if you got a bum slice or something, or maybe I and OP just got lucky, but the slice I got was 100% NYC, and this is from a NYC native, and fairly recent MSP transplant. The slice was quite thin, maybe even a bit thinner than some of the more prominent NYC slice joints (Joe's, my favorite, comes to mind).

[scoopG]

Joe's? I live in NYC and there is a huge difference between NYC neighborhood slice joints and whole pie nirvana like DiFara's, Patsy's, Artichoke etc. Hiawatha's had one stale pie from which my slice came.

[scoopG]

Sadly, the only attributive New York quality to the slice here is the sign in the window. The pie is too thick. He has a special now of one plain slice and a can of soda for $2.99 - a true recession buster. The slice is huge but it is too thick. I too found only one pie when I walked in and it clearly had been sitting awhile as evidenced by the hardened bottom on the crust. Don't look for a brocolli and ricotta slice here. Broders is better (and more expensive) and had more of a selection with four pies displayed. Problem in the Twin Cities is the lack of a critical mass to help ensure quick turnover. I think Hiawatha would do better on Lake Street. Any other slice joints of note?

[The Dairy Queen]

"Of note" is debatable, but here's an old MSP by the slice thread. Could use some updating, I'm sure.

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/3056...

~TDQ

[oldspinachtooth]

Thanks for pointing out Hiawatha Pizza. I've stopped in three times now. And so it's plain that I don't mind the pizza -it certainly makes for an economical lunch - but I'm afraid I have to be a bit of a spoiler. Tucked into a strip-mall, Hiawatha doesn't seem to draw the traffic that's needed to keep even more than one fresh pie at the ready. Each of my visits have included slices pulled from a lone pie that's a bit tired. It may be a steam rolled crust but it remains thick enough to be bready. In my opinion it needs to be tamped down a little more, cooked a little hotter and faster. It's not quite New York.

[churchka]

So it is halal or no? The name would clearly suggest it is, the pepperoni in Bill's pic would suggest it is not. Or is it beef pepperoni?

I used to work with a lot of Muslims and finding a place to do takeout from was a nightmare. They would all end up with vegetarian food even though they didn't want it. This would be a good alternative.

[AnneInMpls]

Gosh, with the word "halal" in the name, it had better be truly halal. I wouldn't be surprised if there was halal pepperoni - after all, Holy Land sells a halal version of Spam!

Almost as critical an issue: Is the pizza foldable? I pine for the NYC pizza that looks like it has been run over with a steamroller. This version looks a bit too puffy, but I still live in hope...

Anne

[MSPD]

Yes, it is halal. The owner specifically said no sausage, etc.

Anne, it's not puffy at all. Not like Cossetta's, Fat Lorenzos, etc. The photo makes it look like that. I folded them and also destroyed the inside of my mouth because I'm too stupid to wait for it to cool down.

[Bill Roehl]

Agreed, poor pictures, my fault. The pizza is definitely "steamrolled" and is certainly foldable.

[AnneInMpls]

Ooooooh! Foldable steam-rolled pizza!! Oh still my beating heart!

Anne

[karykat]

Dumb question: what is "steam-rolled" pizza? Is that a NY thing?

[faith]

I believe it refers to a very flattened appearance, as in literally looking
like it was under a steam-roller. As opposed to 'puffy-looking'. Not sure
how this is all achieved. Hey, I'm only from upstate NY!

[karykat]

Thanks! I was curious about what makes New York pizza New York pizza. I found this recent article (from the Los Angeles Times!) It does indeed talk about the flatness of these pizzas and their much greater diameter, which I suppose is part of what makes slices so large.

And I also learned that when I go I should order a "slice" of pizza and not a
"piece"!

http://www.latimes.com/features/food/...

[scoopG]

That article pretty much sums it up: very thin crust and baked in a wood or coal fired oven.

[faith]

That's really funny- I just looked at the LA Times article and noticed it made
a major distinction between Buffalo pizza and NYC pizza. I thought I was just
being cute about being from upstate NY...
Oh, also just got a slice at the Lake Calhoun Whole Foods- not a NYC style
slice, but not too shabby. Good mozzarella that made strings when you took a bite- you don't see that much around here.

[phimoez]

Did you happen to see if they offer broccoli slices? I have moved here from NY almost a year ago and am still searching for a broccoli pizza with ricotta that doesn't suck!

[Bill Roehl]

Agree with MSPD on the recommendation. I went in today and had a great slice for $2.99 and a huge (thick Chipotle sized burrito) gyro for $3.99 more. I have never been that full for lunch for $7.

Excellent little place. Check out some photos I uploaded to Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bill_roe...

[MplsM ary]

Thanks for the pics. You answered my question about a good slice of cheese pizza - which looks wonderful! I love food as big as my head.

[The Dairy Queen]

Wow, that is a find.

~TDQ

[faith]

I would like to mention Broder's Cucina Italiana deli at 50th and Penn for a good pizza
slice. Perhaps not as totally greasy as the NYC style stuff, but high quality ingredients, nice
dough, pretty big size, good price.

[MSPD]

Agreed. Totally different thing, but an excellent pizza suggestion nonetheless.