A Minneapolis pizza place was named the “Ultimate Pizza Place” in the United States by Good Morning America on Friday. The title went to Wrecktangle, which offers Detroit-style cakes at three locations in Minneapolis.
“It’s a whirlwind, it’s surreal, it’s crazy,” said Wrecktangle co-owner Breanna Evans. “We don’t really know how to process that between jumping and screaming and crying.”
Wrecktangle advanced to the finals of the GMA’s United States of Pizza contest earlier this week, beating out South Minneapolis’ Red Wagon Pizza Co. to finish in the finals.
In the final showdown, Wrecktangle faced pizza places from four other cities, two of which (New York and Chicago) are considered some of the best pizza cities in the country.
But Minneapolis had Wrecktangle’s crispy, cheese-caramelized square crust, plus an unusual topping combination that won over two of the four judges.
Wrecktangle chef and co-owner Jeff Rogers introduced the pizzeria’s signature Very Nice Breakfast pizza. “It’s very early,” Rogers explained on the morning show of his contribution to breakfast.
The cake is topped with pork sausage sauce, soft scrambled eggs, bacon jam, seven cheeses and fried sage leaves.
The jury was impressed.
“This wrecktangle pizza shouldn’t work. That’s not the pizza I would order,” said cooking show host Aarti Sequeira. “I fucking love it.”
Sequeira was wooed by the sauce and cheese, “and then just the texture of the pizza itself—that’s delicious.”
Other judges included former NFL player Tiki Barber and owners of Artichoke Pizza in New York, Sal Basille and Francis Garcia.
Garcia also chose Wrecktangle as his choice for top cake. With two votes, Wrecktangle took home the title — and a huge check for $10,000.
“It was an honor to be a part of it in a way and it’s crazy that we took home the win,” Rogers told the Star Tribune a few hours after the show. “I still can not believe it.
The other competitors were New York City’s Unregular Pizza, Atlanta’s Phew’s Pies, Chicago’s Milly’s Pizza in the Pan, and Philadelphia’s Pizza Jawn.
Afterward, Rogers and Evans walked around town with their huge check, earning some funny looks from passers-by. They plan to spend the weekend in New York before heading back to Minneapolis to party.
The relief following the win was especially sweet after the Wrecktangle team – Rogers, Evans and Alex Rogers – completed challenges to get their pizza to New York City. They had sent all the ingredients to the GMA studio, but the box had been returned to sender. Luckily, they had packed a second set of ingredients in a cooler and checked them in for the flight.
Early Friday morning, Rogers and the other attendees cooked the pizza in an Ooni portable pizza oven in the plaza in front of the studio.
“It was a great time,” Evans said.
Would you like to try the winning cake yourself? It is available at Wrekctangle’s three locations: its flagship store at 703 W. Lake St., Mpls.; in the market at Malcolm Yards, 501 30th Av. SE., Mpls.; and its original location at North Loop Galley, 729 N. Washington Av., Mpls.
A record number of orders had already been received by Friday afternoon. “Everyone was prepared,” said Rogers. “We stocked up.”