43. My Pi

Golden Valley, Minnesota

My Pi was the original deep-dish rave in Twin Cities restaurant folklore. First, a quick history lesson. My Pi started out as a family-run venture in The Windy City before franchising out to about 20 locations, mostly in the midwest, but have now scaled back closer to their original vision, with just two Chicagoland locations. It is classical deep-dish, not wildly different than other notable landmark pizzerias in town, but they had the vision to expand beyond city limits long before the competitors, which is how I was introduced to it. It was pizza like I had never seen before, and to partake in its uniqueness was a dining event.

I’m now very accustomed to deep-dish pizza, but in the late 70s, it was Man-On-the-Moon-level barrier smashing.

Located just across the road from Shakey’s (#48), US Highway 12 was developing into the Golden Road of Pizza before falling on hard times, as these veritable establishments have been erased and rebuilt numerous times in recent decades. A timeline of the My Pi property reads like a tragic suburban time capsule: The Jolly Troll becomes My Pi becomes The Metropolitan Ballroom. So much has been lost.

And speaking of tragedy, My Pi was also the site of my worst-ever “date.” It was the early 80s, and a promising girl suggests dinner at My Pi. (See? The girl showed some promise.) On the ride over, she casually tosses a grenade that we’re meeting her college roommate there, and would I mind, and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. So suddenly, I’m reduced to third wheel status, and I’m bludgeoned for HOURS listening to the two of them quack the night away with college tales and worse, an in-depth analysis of the roommate’s crappy new Renault Fuego that her parents just bought for her. It was a brutal date, but thanks to My Pi, it was a good night.