Pizza Nea

We remember when going out for pizza meant three things: a jukebox, cracked (red) vinyl booths and amber­ colored candlelight. Could it be that the owners of these local pizza places had never actually been to Italy? No! Our childish interpretation of Italy was fully formed by those Friday night outings! Not so for this next generation of pizza eaters. Because we helped Pizza Nea stake its claim in NE Minneapolis ­and following the super­success of that restaurant, opened a second location smack in the middle of Uptown. A little bit of Italy, not a caricature of Italy — la cosa vera! Why does Minneapolis love it so? Maybe it’s the hearth~bar built around the stone pizza oven, the dramatic mosaic… or maybe it’s just the pizza.