Classification: Traditional
Location: Rogers, Minnesota
I like the concept of the small-town tavern that serves pizza to the locals, where the host is the owner, cook, bouncer and bartender. He knows all the regulars and looks upon newcomers with skepticism, but not so much that he won't seat you and accept your money in exchange for product and services rendered. This is such a place, and the pizza, while adequate, did not separate itself of the large pack of solid-but-unspectacular players that clutter the middle of these rankings.
In fact, I'm really being generous placing them even this high, since they really didn't earn such a lofty position. But when doing my pre-season unofficial back-of-the-napkin rankings, only a simpleton wouldn't understand why a place called Dimagio's gets ranked at #56, despite their unfortunate spelling.
It was June 2014 when Costco Chuck joined Swen and I (with his family and U-Haul in tow during a cross-continent move) and we all agreed that everything here was fine. Flat pie, cut into squares, and nobody harmed in the aftermath. The town of Rogers is a semi-blossoming suburb on the prairie about 25 miles outside of town that until recently was mostly known for having the last in-bound rest stop on the interstate before entering the big city. Dimagio's has maintained its small-town charm as the larger national chains start to pop up along the freeway in modern retail clusters, and even though it's not going to win any Great Pizza Bakeoffs, I would gladly visit again when returning home from Bismarck. (5 of 10 stars)