World Renowned Masterpiece Has Many Good Minnesota Options

Pizza restaurant comparison

Max Yousha | Staff Writer

Pizza, a delicious food from Italy, is a staple in American food culture.

In Minnesota, there are a variety of pizza restaurants, some rare, some common. Blaze Pizza, a chain founded in Florida, with the majority of their restaurants being in California, only has a few locations in Minnesota.

Punch Pizza, a favorite among Minnesotans and founded in Minnesota, has nine locations within the state.

I tried Blaze in St. Louis Park and Punch in Wayzata. When comparing different pizzas, four main factors stand out: the toppings, the cheese, the sauce, and the crust/ dough. A good topping comes from good taste, texture, and how well it fits into the pizza. Good cheese and sauce combos are determined by the ratio of cheese to sauce, the consistency, as well as the taste of both. Depending on personal choice, a good crust could be thicker or thinner, but a big factor in a great crust is how good it tastes alone.

When comparing Blaze and Punch, these factors all stood out to me for one side or the other. Cheese, sausage, pepperoni, and olive pizzas were tried and compared from both places.

To start, the toppings were close; both restaurants had fantastic toppings that fit in phenomenally with their respective pizzas. The edge here goes to Blaze, as Blaze’s sausage, pepperoni, and olives not only tasted better, but also fit in a bit better with the cheese. Punch’s toppings,