REVIEW

You’d figure that a place that operates as a bakery by day and a pizzeria by night would probably feature pizza with a superior crust. And you’d be right. Turtle Bread Company has three locations in Minneapolis, where, as well as turning out rosemary olive levain and sticky buns, the bakery serves as a grocery, coffee house, and breakfast and lunch spot. The Chicago Avenue location becomes Pizza Biga in the evening, where rounds of handmade pizza dough are topped and quickly baked in a wood-fired oven.

The namesake Biga pie with mushrooms, red onion, pickled peppers, and more

It’s that dough that won us over. The crust emerges from the oven thin and delicate, not brawny. A micro-thin crackle hides a soft and moist crumb that needs no tomatoes or cheese to satisfy. If you are a fan of the Northeast U.S. pizza style where the pies arrive just short of hopelessly burned, know that in most of the rest of the country, a blackened crust is not looked upon favorably. Pizza Biga does not buck that trend. No matter. If you enjoy good bread you’ll enjoy the Biga crust.

A small green salad will suffice for two of you.

The toppings we tried are fine but not especially interesting, and they have a tendency to overload these pizza crusts, leaving the centers limp. We recommend keeping it as simple as possible. A nice green salad is a good way to pass the time during the very few minutes your pizzas are in the oven.

Turtle Bread takes up most of the space here. They are open during the evening pizza hours, so you can grab something sweet after dinner.

Unlike the staff at many pizzerias that fancy themselves “artisans,” the folks at Pizza Biga are as friendly and laid-back as can be. This really is not a pizza mecca; it’s just a nice neighborhood pizzeria for locals to grab some better-than-average pies.

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BEST THING TO EAT: Margherita pizza