California to Minnesota (Minneapolis, Morgan: find a job, preschool, quality of life)

[QuietBlue]

Originally Posted by rodentraiser

I never did find Chinese BBQ pork and it was harder than herding cats to find salami.

I don't know about Anoka or the north suburbs specifically, but there are a number of places where you can get char siu around here. And if nothing else, lots of places carry the Noh brand seasoning mix to make it yourself. I used to get it at Cub Foods all the time.

[WriterDude]

Originally Posted by rodentraiser

There is no Round Table pizza...

Oh, I knew there had to be a downside. I moved from California to Phoenix, and the only thing I miss is Round Table. I'm sure there are compensations, though, right? Right? Do you guys have Carl's Jr?

Minnesota folks, what IS the regional go-to for comfort food? And what's your favorite pizza place? (Please don't say the buffet at the Radisson.)

[K-Luv]

Originally Posted by WriterDude

Oh, I knew there had to be a downside. I moved from California to Phoenix, and the only thing I miss is Round Table. I'm sure there are compensations, though, right? Right? Do you guys have Carl's Jr?

Minnesota folks, what IS the regional go-to for comfort food? And what's your favorite pizza place? (Please don't say the buffet at the Radisson.)

No, they have Hardee's which is the exact same thing down to the logo minus the [newer] Green Burrito attachment in California. Never understood why they have different names.

I would say that Psycho Suzi's (Minneapolis) has the best pizza hands down, followed by Pizza Luce and maybe Galactic Pizza if they are still around.

Go to comfort food? Probably a hot dish, aka a casserole. You know, I lived in Minnesota for ten years and I could not tell you what "Minnesotans" ate (probably because close to 90% of my friends where not from Minnesota). Hamburgers, maybe?

[wushuliu]

Originally Posted by rodentraiser

Winters can be iffy in MN. The year I was there (2011/2012) there virtually was no winter. The following summer was hot, humid, and horrible. The winter after I left there was snow like no tomorrow. Somewhere in there was a summer with record rain and last summer it was way cooler than normal. From people who have lived there for decades though, I heard the winters are nothing like they used to be back in the 60s and 70s, when the drifts would practically cover the houses (taking into account the age of the narrator).

The highways are horrible, nothing like the wide, sleek, well maintained freeways in California. Make sure you have rust repellent on the underside of your cars, if you don't want them rusting out on account of all the salt they put on the roads in winter. Be prepared.

I was visiting the Anoka area and there were a grand total of 2 name grocery stores with limited selections. And they all make you pack your own groceries. There were some smaller stores, but if you are looking to grocery shop, at least in that area, do not look for large stores like Safeway or Albertson's. Groceries are generally cheaper than California, but seafood prices will make you tuck tail and run. I never did find Chinese BBQ pork and it was harder than herding cats to find salami. But they have lots of white cheddar cheese, which I never found in California. Go figure.

There is no Round Table pizza, Baskin Robbins ice cream, Jack in the Box, or 7-11s in Minnesota. Personally, I don't how I survived there as long as I did. However, there are McDonald's, Burger Kings, Subways, and Taco Bells. And even a Spaghetti Factory downtown.

I don't know what it's like now, but don't live next to the Mississippi. It used to flood every year. And don't live near any standing water big enough to be named. They don't call it Land of 10,000 Mosquito Farms for nothing.

OMG You miss Round Table Pizza and JITB from California?!!! That is hilarious. Of all the great burger places there you pick JITB. Round Table Pizza? LOL When I lived in LA I couldn't understand how people loved the crappiest tasting pizza. You could put sprinkle sauce and cheese on a loaf of bread and they'd be excited.

And the sleek, well maintained freeways. Riiiight. Except you don't see any of that because you're going 80mph 9 oclock at night in bumper to bumper traffic.

Dunno about NoCal but SoCal was an overrated massive disappointment. The only thing it has over MSP is the geography.

[MSMCGirl]

Minnesota has the best pizza!!! Best pizza in Minneapolis IMHO:

- Pizza Nea
- Punch
- Pizzeria Lola
- Pizza Luce
- Element

Pizza in LA is terrible!!....except for Lido Pizza or Chi Chi's in the Valley (yummmm!!!)

Oh and Hardee's is NOT identical to Carl's Jr. Hardee's is missing several menu items from the Carl's Jr menu (ie the Western Bacon Cheeseburger).

[Rhody2Mn]

Originally Posted by MSMCGirl

Minnesota has the best pizza!!! Best pizza in Minneapolis IMHO:

- Pizza Nea
- Punch
- Pizzeria Lola
- Pizza Luce
- Element

^^This. I'd also add Black Sheep Pizza. Round Table pales in comparison to any of these.

[Chubsworth]

I lived in california for 8 years and have never heard of Round Table Pizza. I think that guy was pulling everyone's leg. He couldn't find cheese in California or salami in MN?

[StanleyVegas]

Originally Posted by Chubsworth

I lived in california for 8 years and have never heard of Round Table Pizza. I think that guy was pulling everyone's leg. He couldn't find cheese in California or salami in MN?

I don't think there are as many as there used to be, but I ate a lot of Round Table growing up in CA. Middle of the road pizza parlor with a King Arthur theme. In the 70s Round Table and Pizza Hut were pretty comparable until Pizza Hut went downmarket to compete with Domino's and Little Caesar's in the 80s. Round Table was not great, but they stayed out of that particular race to the bottom. Their big claim was no frozen or canned ingredients.

The only thing I ever liked at Jack in the Box was their onion rings.

[Fata Morgana]

We're in the same boat roughly. We live in San Francisco and are looking to relocate for better quality of life. MN is one of the states we are looking at (Minneapolis-area). To complicate matters my husband is a software engineer so not sure what kind of job market there is for that in MN, plus our only child who is 4.5 is mild-mod ASD and needs services in school (he currently gets ST, OT, ABA + preschool thru the district here).

[WoodburyWoody]

Originally Posted by StanleyVegas

I don't think there are as many as there used to be, but I ate a lot of Round Table growing up in CA. Middle of the road pizza parlor with a King Arthur theme. In the 70s Round Table and Pizza Hut were pretty comparable until Pizza Hut went downmarket to compete with Domino's and Little Caesar's in the 80s. Round Table was not great, but they stayed out of that particular race to the bottom. Their big claim was no frozen or canned ingredients.

The only thing I ever liked at Jack in the Box was their onion rings.

Sounds a *bit* like Shakeys in that it was built around a theme (in Shakey's case, it was an olde fashion pizza parlor theme). Their big deal as I recall was being able to watch them toss the dough as they made pizzas, open dining areas with long tables/benches and entertainmnet (silent Laural and Hardy or Buster Keaton movies on a big screen, player piano and in some locations banjo plyers leading sing-a-longs). Actually good pizza in the '70s before they gave way to a buffet mode in the '80s - you could still buy pizza by the pie but the quality dropped as they went to the buffet mode. I haven't seen one in Minnesota or the upper Midwest in many years. The last one I saw was one in Tujunga on Foothill just off the 210 when we lived near there in the early '00s, and according to their web site, they are still in SoCal..

Not much if any deep dish in the Twin Cities. But a lot of neo and thin, wood- and coal-fired being popular (and quite good) here.

I do miss In-and-Out. And real breakfast burritos. And cajun-creole - a few options in the Valley out to Claremont when we were there, not many here (looking forward to trying Cajun2Geaux when he gets the restaurant up).