WCCO Viewers' Choice For Best Pizza In Minnesota

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – The world's favorite pie isn't apple, French silk or lemon meringue – it's pizza. That's probably why thousands of WCCO viewers weighed in when we asked where to find the best pizza in Minnesota.

Chris Shaffer takes us to your pick: Cossetta in St. Paul.

"The Italian sausage pizza is still one of the best," Dave Cossetta said.

And it is that famous Cossetta Italian sausage recipe that is the foundation upon which this iconic restaurant was built.

"This was my grandpa's original grinder. We'd make 10 pounds at a time and we thought it was a big thing," Cossetta said.

Cossetta is talking about his grandfather, Frank, who took over the store from his father, Michael Cossetta, who opened the original store in 1911.

The time spent working with his grandfather rendered much more than the art of sausage making.

"Family is pretty much everything. I'm very proud of the Cossetta name," Cossetta said.

A stroll around this place – this time capsule – gives one the sense of how much it has impacted this neighborhood. It was Dave's recipe of embracing tradition mixed with a touch of innovation that made Cossetta a huge player in the Twin Cities pizza game.

"In 1984, we moved from the old location to a block from here and we started selling pizza by the slice, and no one else was doing it at the time," Cossetta said.

And it appears that it was a pretty good idea, no matter how you slice it.

"The key is that we're always trying to give new and traditional products that continue the Italian heritage," Cossetta said.

Fillippo Cafarre, Cossetta's culinary director, is giving us a sneak peek at the next big thing, coming in August: Roman-style pizza.

The new Roman-style pizza doesn't officially go on sale until August, but you may find a sample between now and then.