Welcome to Mama`s Pizza Parlor!  We look forward to serving you. We hope you visit us often, we have our menu available for you to look at while you are here.

QUALITY ITALIAN & AMERICAN CUSINE!
SERVING THE NORTH END FOR OVER 40 YEARS!

Since 1964, Mama’s Pizza has been a local staple north of the capitol in Saint Paul on Front and Rice Streets. Serving classic midwestern style pizza, many come for the the pasta too, which has equal weight on the menu.

After a recent closing and remodel a couple years ago due to a pipe leak and water damage, the interior now drowns in kitsch: a mural of stereotypical Italian landmarks, large christmas lights dangling around and fake grapes hang from fake vines climbing brick arches. Even though the old coin-operated televisions have been yanked out, they’re replaced with small, wide-format flat-screen encased in wood trim in some of the booths. You still have to pay: they’ve rigged even these modern boob tubes to be coin-operated somehow.

While a friend and I were waiting for our pizza, a woman sat alone at the table next to us wearing a large bib, scarfing down a ton of spaghetti. The staff treated her as a regular, but I can’t assume she was because they treated us the same way. I recalled the first time I stopped by Mama’s: even though they were closed, owner Tony Mudzinski (son of the namesake of the restaurant) immediately greeted me graciously and apologized almost profusely that he couldn’t make a pizza for me yet. On this visit, the staff was just as friendly and we were asked directly by Tony on our way out if the pizza was up to par.

Up to par it was: our pepperoni pie had crispy crust with more sauce and much more cheese than I’m used to on midwestern-style pizza. Not too much grease and the pepperoni was tangy. Balanced and quite filling, actually. Solid for midwestern style but slightly unique in flavor — but I can’t nail exactly what made it different. Perhaps some secret zing in the sauce? I also really appreciate it when the cheese doesn’t slide off on square cut slices.

We noticed another party enjoying mini soft-serve ice cones after their pizza and we were offered the same. Why not, right?

Many in the neighborhood consider Mama’s Pizza to be the best around — even though competitor Red’s Savoy is a mile and a half away. I’d certainly take Mama’s over Red’s anyday. I’ll be back.