Week 18: Joey Nova's Pizza (Tonka Bay)

My Grandma Ginny was the epitome of a spunky, sassy, independent gal.  When life tried to knock her down, she jumped right back up and punched life in the nose.  Or the arm.  Or on the backside.  Although she was barely five feet tall, you did not want to mess with Grandma Ginny – and not just because of her mean right hook.  She survived the Great Depression; raised seven children; traveled to exotic places like Japan because my grandfather had an itch to see the world; but never got her drivers’ license.  

I have so many memories of this amazing lady, but some of my favorites include the time she locked herself out of her townhouse and scaled her deck like Spiderman; her penchant for wrapping Christmas gifts in empty cereal boxes; her giant, adult-cycled tricycle; and her willingness to hop on public transportation to go downtown when she wanted to go shopping.  And who could forget taking Grandma Ginny grocery shopping?

Since she didn’t drive, we often took Grandma grocery shopping, where we would invariably lose her in the aisles.  On one memorable occasion when I managed to keep pace with her at Holiday Foods, I caught her in the cereal aisle giving the hairy eyeball to a box of Raisin Bran.  I vaguely recall a steep rise in the price of boxed cereal around that time – a type of inflation that infuriated Grandma Ginny.  Her response to $4 Raisin Bran?  “I’ll just eat toast for breakfast!” Thus began the great cereal strike of the 1990’s.  (Side note: her refusal to buy $4 cereal impacted her gift wrapping, as she no longer had old Cheerio’s boxes to wrap gifts in.) 

While I often am compared to my Grandma Mary (my dad’s mom), I definitely inherited Grandma Ginny’s frugal nature.  I love a good Groupon (who doesn’t?) and I’m not opposed to using a coupon or two to save a few nickels and dimes.

“Is there a point,” you ask?  I’m getting there.  Our 18^th week of pizza consumption was inspired by a $5 off coupon, spotted by my dad, who knows that I love pizza eating as much as I love saving money.  And that is the story of how we found ourselves at Joey Nova’s Pizza in Tonka Bay on the very same day that our coupon expired.

Pre-Pizza Moods:  Not surprisingly, we were starving due to missed meals throughout the day and at around 4 PM, one of us may have wondered aloud how the dog would taste.  That was the signal to exit the house immediately and head out for pizza.  In spite of our growling tummies, pre-pizza moods were pretty good.  After all, the expensive German automobile was in perfect running order!  We both clocked in at a 7.

Parking Situation & Exterior Appearance: Joey Nova’s Pizza is located in Tonka Bay, a town of just about 1,500 people located between the upper and lower lakes on Lake Minnetonka, a place where the hubby used to spend a lot of his free time.  I’m not built for water sports, so this was my first trip to Tonka Bay. 

Joey Nova’s is located in a nondescript strip mall between a Caribou Coffee and a drycleaners.  There is a large parking lot with ample enough space for even the parking challenged to successfully navigate.  Although I probably couldn’t find Tonka Bay again without the help of Google Maps, I could definitely park at Joey Nova’s if I could find it!

Entrance/Welcome: Joey Nova’s is another counter-service pizza joint.  When you walk in, it’s not abundantly clear what to do or how.  Although we were greeted with a friendly hello, it was hard to figure out what to do.  Should I sit down?  Stand up?  Where’s the menu? 

After standing stupidly for a minute or so, we realized that the menu is up on the wall and that we should place an order at the counter.

Clientele/Vibe: This is obviously a place for the locals, and it is family friendly.  It was quiet at 4-something PM on a Saturday but even so, this place has a friendly, “come as you are” vibe. 

Menu Selection: You can view the entire menu here.  Joey Nova’s specialty is New York-style pizza.  They offer three sizes (medium, large, and extra-large) and boast award-winning fresh dough, whole milk mozzarella, and homemade tomato sauce.  Planning ahead?  You can also order a “take and bake” pizza to go.   You can design your own pie if you’re so inclined or you can opt for one of their specialty pies.  We opted for a large Deluxe which features pepperoni, sausage, mushrooms, onions, diced Roma tomatoes, and fresh basil.

Food Wait Time:  We actually remembered to set the timer this week and total running time from order to pizza at my table was about 30 minutes.

Drumroll, please . . . the Pizza Itself: Maybe it was the prospect of saving $5 on my pizza; maybe it was my reminiscing about Grandma Ginny; maybe I was just good and hungry.  I don’t know what the reason but Joey Nova’s exceeded my expectations.  There was just the right amount of cheese, a zesty yet slightly sweet sauce, and the entire pizza exuded freshness.  The basil and Roma tomatoes were a nice counter balance to the spicy pepperoni and sausage.  My only complaint about this pizza is the onions. 

Before I explain further, I want you to know that I love onions.  I can’t get enough.  But, much like the lost art of grocery-bagging (you don’t even want to get me started on that topic), I fear that the art of onion placement may be going the way of the dinosaur.  For the past several weeks, I’ve noticed my pizzas have featured long, thick onion chunks lounging lazily on the top layer of the pie.  This is not how I want my onions to show up.  Slice it, dice it, and mix those onions in with the rest of the ingredients.  Onion should not be a layer of pizza unto itself, because onion is kind of a showoff, and onion will overpower the other ingredients and make me angry.

In spite of the onion layer, the pizza hit the spot and went well with the glass of Chardonnay I treated myself to.  Hubby stayed true to form with his iced tea.

Price & Value: Even without a coupon, Joey Nova is a great deal.  A large homemade pizza with fresh ingredients for $20 is a bargain no matter how you slice it.  (Pun intended).  With our $5 coupon (thanks, Dad!), our pizza date, including drinks, tax, and tip, was barely over $25.   

Post-Pizza Mood:  Saving money always puts me in a good mood, but so does date night with my beloved.  When I can combine saving money with a glass of wine, a delicious pizza, and quality time with my hubby, I’m pretty much on top of the world.  My post-pizza mood was about a 9. 

My hubby was also in good spirits post-Joey Nova.  Being on Lake Minnetonka brought back memories of his misspent youth, and as we all know, nostalgia often leads to good moods.  The combination of pizza and a walk down memory lane had him at a post-pizza mood of 9 also.

Bottom Line:  I love that my dad recommended this place to me based on a coupon he found in one of those Valu-Pak mailers.  I love that he, in turn, mailed me the coupon.  I love saving money, because it reminds me of Grandma Ginny, who was truly a kick-ass little lady.  And I really did love me some Joey Nova’s pizza.

Would I love it without a coupon?  I don’t know.  It’s kind of a long drive out to Tonka Bay, and I could get an equally delicious pie at Leaning Tower of Pizza or Italian Pie Shoppe without the long commute.  But if you’re in the Lake Minnetonka neighborhood with a hankering for old school New York style pizza and $20 in your pocket, you won’t be disappointed by Joey Nova’s.   

And by the way, I sure do miss my Grandma Ginny.  I always knew she was one of a kind, but writing this put it in a whole new perspective.  I might wrap my Christmas gifts in cereal boxes this year as a way to pay homage to the old gal.