Commercial nodes, restaurants, coffee shops and amenities are necessary components to building strong viable communities. People love where they live if they have a fun and tasty restaurant within walking distance where they can enjoy a decent meal, a little libation and a chat with neighbors or friends. Mick and Kris Brogan, the owners of Papa’s Restaurant and Deli in the Victory Neighborhood of North Minneapolis are committed to this ideal. They opened this family friendly restaurant with not only a passion for food but to help support a community lacking these most basic needs, and their restaurant is a gem.
Papa’s turns out amazing pizza as well as pasta and East Coast sandwiches. “Papa” Mick Brogan, is in fact originally from New Jersey, and has delivered the goods to Minnesotans. In addition to the restaurant they have also opened an adjacent deli with specialty meats, cheeses and Italian gelato. The vanilla bean got a big thumbs up from the nine-year-old in our life! The deli also beautifully houses an art gallery where they host a different Northside artist each month. How’s that for giving back to the community?
Mick’s East Coast Tomato Pie was fabulous. The sauce is made with crushed tomatoes and no tomato puree so it carries a very fresh flavor. Apparently you can have it topped with other ingredients as well, but I wanted to celebrate the tomato theme so opted only for fresh tomatoes. It has a nice amount of cheese – a little less than the average pizza, but on the same fabulous Papa’s crust. This crust is crisp on the outside and chewy in the middle, it’s not thick or thin – it’s homemade, hand-tossed perfection.
A Ceasar Salad before the pizza also got a big thumbs up from Max because he was able to pour his own dressing and he loved the black and white croutons.
Papa’s not only serves up a mean pizza, but they also have a decent wine list, Surly and a patio! Take the kids and head out for dinner at Papa’s in Victory – you’ll all be happy!
A couple of clarifications and a little more information from owner, Kris Brogan:
We are calling our place Papa’s Restaurant and Deli (to try and get more folks to try us – not just for the great pizza!). Mick is from New Jersey – born and raised – but I hail from Minnesota with just a short term stay in NJ – long enough to meet Mick, get married and have a couple of kids – then it was back to Minnesota! In our deli (Papa’s Deli Gallery) we sponsor a Northside artist each month. Not only does the artist get to use the wall space but we host a reception for the artist and serve wine and appetizers.
