CARBONE'S PIZZERIA, Bloomington

Though it now has more than 30 locations across Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Montana, Carbone's Pizzeria came from humble beginnings. In 1954, Antoinette Carbone gathered traditional recipes from her native Italy and opened up a pizzeria with her sons. Now, more than half a century later, Antoinette (or Nana, as she was affectionately known) still influences the restaurants' menus, though the chefs have come up with new, inventive meals like buffalo-chicken and cheeseburger pies to supplement her classic pizzas, pastas, and other Italian specialties. Add in craft drafts from local breweries like Pitchfork, a pool table, and arcade games, and Carbone's has become quite the destination for modern-day pizza lovers.