59. Randy’s Pizza Salúte

North St. Paul, Minnesota

One of my highlights each summer is golfing with Sparky, Swen, Paul, Rusty and Boomer for a tournament supporting a local nonprofit. It involves lots of fun, food, and laughs, while also raising money for a worthy organization.

We’ve played for 20 years now, and there are literally too many highlight to mention, but we have witnessed Swen beautifully and forcefully striking a difficult bunker shot 140 yards straight through a latticed tool shed to the edge of the green. And over time, we’ve watched Sparky’s play grow more steady and consistent, despite having a swing that even Charles Barkley ridicules. His drives look like a primitive form of country line dancing. And despite dropping style points for wearing nylon support hose on the course, Boomer always seems to walk away from the tournament with a major door prize. He’s won bicycles, televisions, sports memorabilia, and much more. He now only joins us during personal hardships, as it’s become a regular source of income.

We’re not great at golf, but it’s hard to imagine a foursome (or fivesome) enjoying the day more than us.

Despite spending 4-5 hours on the course and grazing on snacks as our secondary pastime, we still manage to fit in a full meal at the post-tourney banquet. So, it’s probably not the best time to go grab a pizza at the end of the day, but overindulgence has never been a deterrent. After the 2019 event, we found ourselves at Randy’s, a rare gluten-free pizzeria, and in all truth, we didn’t really give it a fair shake. If things were more equitable, this pizza could be rated higher, and I look forward to trying it again on an empty stomach while not suffering from fatigue and borderline heat stroke. It looked good and the atmosphere was great, and I even know of a co-working local who has made it one of his neighborhood go-tos. Randy’s deserves another chance, and I look forward to returning.