This location is currently closed pending remodeling and a “new theme”.
Tonight Kim and I finally headed out to Two Guys From Italy (recently referred to on our site by commenters as TGFI). As many of you know, I have been closely following the opening of this restaurant here. I have also made mention of it numerous times before.
Figuring I might be asked to leave Kim decided for me that she would go inside and get the meals to go. She had spent some time online looking at their menu before we left and I took a quick glance too. I decided on their Gnocchi Gorgonzola (a dish with gnocchi, gorgonzola, ham, and asparagus) and a cannoli. Kim had chosen their pizza by the slice. Kim was confused by their menu’s wording on “Pizza by the Slice”. It mentions sausage, pepperoni, special, and cheese. She thought that “special” meant that she could get a slice of any of their “pizza specialties” and not just the “Two Guys Special” but that wasn’t the case.
After a few minutes Kim came out and said that the meal, even to go, would be 35 to 45 minutes. So that she decided it would be ok for me to come inside and sit down.
My meal came out 10 minutes after the order time on the receipt. Kim said the guy behind the counter was new and obviously was a little generous in his timetable. Works for me. While I got mine first, we sat waiting for Kim’s pizza and our silverware for 5 minutes. Finally they came with our cannoli and Tiramisu first. Still no pizza and no silverware. After bringing the silverware that we requested we were told that we’d still have to wait on the slices.
Kim immediately dove into the dessert and said it was pretty good and had a strong coffee flavor. After a couple more bites she changed her original statement and said it was a little overpowering. Being caffeine free I steered cleer of the tiramisu and saved my “kick” for the cannoli.
While waitng on these items Danny was circling the thin crowd and everyone was giving him compliments like:
“Best Italian food in the Twin Cities right here” and “We absolutely loved our meal.”
Based on the way the woman who said that it was the best Italian food in the Cities was acting and how she was moving around the restaurant, I would guess that she is somehow related to the business. The other commenter was from a woman that requested that Danny come out of the kitchen to take a photo with her friend sitting at the wine bar.
Kim’s meal finally arrived and we got started. My gnocchi was acceptable and the cream sauce was good. My only real complaint was the utter lack of ham and asparagus. I was seriously surprised to see as much gnocchi and as little everything else. I enjoyed the garlic bread and when I got to the bottom of the bowl I was a little disappointed at how shallow the bowl was for $8.95.
Kim’s pizza was authentic enough at first taste. I thought I would actually come here to eat that again but after a while I thought that the tomato sauce tasted canned (I have a feeling it wasn’t) as it was entirely too salty. It was better than most pizza available in the Twin Cities but it wasn’t even close to authentic.
After I finished my dish, I took a single bite of my cannoli. I had been looking forward to this from the moment it came to the table. At first glance the cream looked a little funny, seriously as if the cannoli cream was curdled and as if it was filled with nuts (Kim felt they were pistachios). Obviously Danny is using the same inferior cannolis that he did during my negative experience at his previous failed venture Viva Italia. I just had some excellent cannoli cream cake in NY last month and I was thankful that I had the proper way it should taste fresh in my mind. I’m quite comfortable in recommending that you do NOT order the cannolis.
Kim ate about 3/4 of her Tiramisu and left the rest. The coffee taste was just too much for her. She always looks forward to dessert and when she can’t even be bothered to finish that I know the entire meal is a bust.
We seriously spent the entire ride home taking turns going “blech” while talking about the meal.
The prices were a little high for what we got. The Gnocchi was $8.95, the pizza was $3.25 and $2.80/slice (pepperoni and cheese respectively). The tiramisu was $5.95 and my lame cannoli was $2.95. The total was $24.98 and was certainly not inexpensive for what we got.
While I’m not at all surprised by the lack of quality based on the comments posted in the other thread, I was still VERY surprised to hear the positive comments from the others in the restaurants. Kim asked if the people giving the raving review to Danny were shills… If they weren’t they certainly don’t have a clue what good food is, let alone good Italian food.
See all the pictures from tonight here (camera).
Related posts:
Dakota Complaints Map
Dakota Inmate Dashboard
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June 19th, 2007 at 11:29 pm
I think the only way you could be disappointed with this place is to have any expectations at all of a good Italian meal. If the bar is set at zero, it sounds like you had a pleasant experience.
June 20th, 2007 at 3:24 pm
Now for my mini post expanding on the ordering experience:
When I walked in I must have had a deer in the headlights kind of look on my face because one of the workers took pity on me after I’d been standing there for a bit and asked “Have you ever been here before?†He then quizzed me on what I was planning on ordering so he could tell me which counter to go to. I needed stuff from the ready made and made to order counter so he had me order with him at the made to order counter.
I have to say I knew going in there were two counters but I was still very confused by the layout. Later I couldn’t help but smile as I heard the same question being asked of everyone coming in the door over and over “Have you ever been here before?â€.
I told him I needed it to go and he said it would be a 35 minute wait. Unsurprisingly I immediately made the decision to eat there. Next I tried to order the specialty pizza slices I wanted. I like to think I’m reasonably intelligent but the wording on the menu totally threw me. I would suggest that in the pizza by the slice portion they write out the full name of the pizza they were referring to, Two Guys Special, instead of just Special because that had me thinking that I could order a slice of margherita pizza or one of the other Specialty pizzas.
As Bill noted above my pizza was the last thing to arrive to our table. Looking back when we were waiting for the whole meal one of the servers came up and asked if we were waiting for the gnocchi, tiramisu, and cannoli. He didn’t mention the pizza. And when he delivered those items he seemed to think he was done though our receipt was sticking out from under the table flag. We had to grab him before he ran off to ask about the pizza which makes me wonder if I really was supposed to pick up my pizza when I was ordering? I hope that’s not the case because then that would mean that the customer would be sitting there letting their food to get cold while they waited for their companions to get their made to order items.
On a sidenote, I really was pulling for TGFI, I was hoping we wouldn’t have to put up a negative post. I feel bad for the guy. At a certain point though I realized that we just couldn’t give them a good review. That was probably when I started giggling on the ride home after I realized we had been taking turns saying “blech†without realizing it.
July 31st, 2007 at 2:36 pm
Just saw this job posting on craigslist for Two Guys from Italy. They claim that they have a high volume of business (*cough*) but I figured you all might like to know regardless ;)
August 2nd, 2007 at 8:29 am
I’ve only tried the place one time, but was not impressed. I had the small mostaccioli, and the sauce was quite watery. The garlic toast was good, though. The set-up was confusing to me as well. I had thought about going back to try the pizza, but your mention of the saltiness of the sauce will make me think twice about it. If anyone out there has been there recently and had the mostaccioli, please post your opinion of it; if it appears it’s improved I might give it another shot. (I prefer DeGidio’s or Cossetta’s for that dish, but they’re a long trip unless I’m already on that side of town.)
August 14th, 2007 at 8:42 pm
Okay, I did a review before: (Under Andy on 6/3/2007) and said the Two Guys was basically poor.
I had heard since then that the pizza was good. I was doubtful. but on Sunday I was going to be at the Dunn Bros Coffee next door but was hungry. Since I had heard the
2Guys sold pizza by the slice I thought that this would be a good time to try it.
YUCK.
I ordered one slice of the “Two Guys Special” and a coke. When I tasted the pizza I was instantly aware that this was no better than the Crap at my company’s (poor) cafeteria. It was a foul tasting Saltfest. I tried to keep eating (as I said, I was hungry) but it was so bad that I gave up 1/2 way through. I walked out leaving the half of pizza slice and my coke.
I figured that there was no point in whining to the young girls that served me. Instead I decided to do one more write up and warn people. I may fax this from the web page to 2guys so they can’t pretend they haven’t seen it.
But I am now serious. I will never go back. This place is awful.
Edited by Bill to add direct link to his previous review.
October 18th, 2007 at 7:13 pm
Two Guys from Italy now has a large banner hanging in their window (blocking much of the view of the restaurant) that they now deliver.
I guess the empty restaurant wasn’t working out so they figured they’d compete with Ole Piper and Carbone’s to offer their food on wheels.
I’d put money down that it won’t be too much longer…
October 19th, 2007 at 4:45 pm
Danny, thanks for reading my comment above and moving the sign out of the window so that customers and potential customers alike can see in/out of the restaurant.
October 19th, 2007 at 9:50 pm
Danny likes playing musical delivery signs. Now it’s back inside on the window but still allows people to see in and out from the road — well for the most part.
I still think the sign is tacky. Perhaps you could put it in blinking neon? I bet that’s the plan huh?
October 25th, 2007 at 10:58 am
I’m currently employed at TGFI. It’s true, the layout is very confusing. We had to recite that tacky “Have you been here before?” Although I do not disagree with your experiences at all, I feel it’s a little more stable now, employees, service, and quality. Pizza by the slice is flawed, as sometimes it’s not the freshest, to put it nicely. Delivery was an idea from the get-go, but took awhile to get in motion. Overall, i’d have to say your analysis was pretty correct.
December 28th, 2007 at 3:27 pm
Just adding my .02 about TGFI. I went there on a Wednesday night this past week. The place was dead so I figured (incorrectly it turns out) that we should be in and out quickly. I ordered 2 slices of pizza and one of their chicken dishes from the specialty menu, Chicken Saltimbocca. What a mess. The dish was inedible. The chicken shared a plate with a side of dry stuck together pasta covered with a watery pasta sauce. It took us 25 minutes to get a chicken dish that looked as if it was fresh out of the microwave. The pizza we ordered, which was sitting ready when we walked in, was only delivered to our table after I asked about it 15 minutes after we sat down. What really surprised me was the number of staff just milling around. There had to be at least 7 or 8 people working that night.
My suggestion is this, bag this lame-o concept that you have going. It doesn’t work. Judging by the number of staff on hand you could easily have regular table service. Print a menu, let people sit down, take their orders. This casual dining thing is just not working, period. Someone meeting the diners at the door to “explain†how things work is a huge red flag in my opinion.
Needless to say I won’t be going back. Unless this place is doing a lot of business not visible to the casual observer I don’t suspect it will be around for much longer. Which is really too bad. I have very fond memories of the place in Edina.
March 23rd, 2008 at 5:52 pm
Is this the I’m a snob blog or what?!? Yeah I go Italy for my Italian, and Japan for my sushi. Everyone of these review is from some liberal stuck up snob, probably from Eagan or a competitor. Lets get a real review.
Been there more than once and will keep going! The price is very good and the people who are complaining about the size must usually eat at OCB and need to loose weight! I have tried something different every time have not had a bad choice yet.
If you are looking for a place you can afford to take your kids to without taking out a loan this is a good choice. Lets complain about a meal for $8.95???? Go to McDonalds then you cheapskate.
My kids love it, its affordable and it offers a different choice than the standard cookie cutter chain.
March 23rd, 2008 at 6:05 pm
I’m not a liberal, I’m not from Eagan and I’m certainly not a competitor. Please get your head out of your ass.
March 29th, 2008 at 1:43 pm
I see you did not agree that you are stuck-up. Well its nice to know that you know you are a snob. Complaining about 2 people eating out WITH desert for under $25 at any restaurant, why yes you are just out to be negative just to be negative (sounds like a snob to me). It does not matter what or how good this restaurant is, you are going to complain that the ice is too cold!
Don’t listen to any of these guys. You get a good meal fro a very very fair price. You can’t trust anyone who can’t eat one slice of pizza, come on is pizza ever that bad?
Go try it you’ll be back! My family will. Give it a try $25 for a meal is well worth it.
March 29th, 2008 at 1:46 pm
If you ever met me, you would know immediately that I’m the furthest thing from a “snob”. I am seriously rolling over that comment.
Next, the food sucked and apparently still sucks. Your lack of understanding what a decent meal is shows through but openly admitting that you think it’s worth the money (it isn’t). Hey, if you like it, by all means continue to eat there. Me? I’d rather go anywhere else — vote with your feet.
April 1st, 2008 at 8:50 pm
First lets take a look at the reply time you are very very obsessed with this place and pray that it does bad. You your buddy or somebody you know is losing business to this place or he fired you because you suck as a cook.
Lets face it $25 and you expect world class? You are a snob a stuck up prude or just out for vengeance.
The food is good.
The price is great!
If you expect Kincaid’s for $25 you are an idiot and a snob.
April 1st, 2008 at 8:53 pm
Are you really fucking serious? It’s my fucking website, of course I respond right away.
World class? No, I expect edible.
Kincaid’s for $25? LOL. Douchebag.
April 6th, 2008 at 3:17 pm
Is this place owned by the same people that owned the TGFI in Edina however many years agoa that was?
April 6th, 2008 at 3:18 pm
“Holy Cow”,
Yes.
May 2nd, 2008 at 5:06 pm
I’m glad to see this much passion in the S. suburbs over food.
There has been alot of failed rest. endeavors south of the river for one main reason. Not enough traffic. Which causes them to downsize and cheapen up the menu. It normally stats out with the intention of using nothing but the freshest ingredients and ends up from a can, to save on waste. Thustly tasting like sea-rations. It is a tough market out there and with the surge of Food Networks on TV it’s making critics out of all of us…..
The Foodie
June 9th, 2008 at 8:12 pm
[...] with Bucky’s and Jade Island Chinese Cuisine, we were on our way home and I noticed that Two Guys from Italy was closed and had a small typed note on the window. Hoping that the day had finally come, I drove [...]
June 10th, 2008 at 9:43 am
Two Guys from Italy has a sign up that they are going to be remodeling and will be opening up with a different Italian theme. See the picture on Flickr here (mobile).
August 12th, 2008 at 11:32 am
07/30/08 Pioneer Press
Looks like Two Guys From Italy in Apple Valley has folded. Chef/owner Danny Sarno could not be reached, and the phone at the restaurant is no longer in service.
August 12th, 2008 at 11:35 am
Thanks for the heads up Tearitup.
October 12th, 2008 at 2:37 pm
[...] all but they are including several other closed restaurants which I am very familiar with including Two Guys from Italy in Apple Valley (June 2008), Jan’s Brown Bag Deli (July 2007) which used to be right across [...]
October 13th, 2008 at 11:57 am
[...] Based on MSPD’s comment here, and a private suggestion from him in an e-mail last week, Kim and I made a stop at Luxury Sweets Gelateria located next to the now defunct Jan’s Brown Bag Deli and across from my other personal favorite, Two Guys from Italy. [...]
October 29th, 2008 at 8:23 pm
[...] at your beer taps and liquor shelves. Even “wine bars” like what was available at Two Guys From Italy and Pardon My French probably aren’t enough and even with the serving of alcohol, you may end [...]
August 19th, 2009 at 12:48 pm
Actually, You All Stuck UP, Kincaid’s offers a meal that includes salad, main dish and dessert for $20.
July 8th, 2010 at 7:31 am
[...] will attract people to fill in your empty downtown (please take down the damn signs which promote Two Guys From Italy and Jan’s Brown Bag Deli, they’re embarrassing, ok?) and bring in the kinds of [...]
January 23rd, 2011 at 12:00 pm
I am not surprised this place didn’t make it and I was shocked to learn that the owner had 22 years experience with successful and well reguarded versions of the same restaurant.
A friend and I decided to try it out and when I arrived I had to wait a few minutes for my friend. Their cold food (salad, antipasto, etc.) prep area was visible to the customers. The young guy working there was busy talking on his cell phone while making food with no gloves on. I don’t remember how many times he reached into the various ingredient pans and tubs after handling is cell phone, all with no gloves.
I’m ServSafe certified and frankly, he contaminated everything in the place. It was really gross. In ten minutes of waiting from my friend, he didn’t was hi hands one and his hands were in his trouser pocket, on the cell phone, wiped his nose with the back of his hand, scratched his hair and adjusted his hat. All with no gloves.
I approached the manage (I didn’t know he was the owner) and told him how gross it was and he didn’t do a thing! So, when my friend arrived I pointed out what was happening and she watched for like thirty seconds and said let’s go someplace else. So, we walked out without spending a dime and never went back.
it is too bad really, because Apple Valley could use a truly authentic Italian place that is not a chain. Oh well. Maybe next time, Dan will train his staff to wear gloves and to wash their hands when handling food.