Friends who grew up in NE Iowa or who went to Luther College in Decorah, IA always raved about Mabe's Pizza (see map). I had to try Mabe's on my own and I'm glad I did.
Mabe's is located in downtown Decorah in a non-descript building. The decor is decidedly 60's-ish, but that doesn't detract from the taste of the pizza, that's for sure.
Mabe's is a thin crust pizza that offers nice big, juicy chunks of sausage, tasty pepporoni, a great sauce and ample amounts of cheese. The crust isn't crispy, but it isn't doughy or moist, either. The grease has to add to the taste of a Mabe's and the more sausage, the better.
There have been attempts to do Mabe's at other locations around NE Iowa, SW Wisconsin and SE Minnesota, but they've never made a go of the other places. I ate at the one in Prairie Du Chien, WI and it just wasn't as good as the original Mabe's.
My friend, George Miller, told me to get a pizza when "Venus Flytrap" is making them. He's a guy whose lower lip sticks out and looks like it would just lap up a fly if he flipped it up. But George said that he's a helluva pizza chef. He works mostly at night and I've yet to be there other than through the day.
I've gotten Mabe's pizza to go - fully cooked. That's not the way to get them. You have to eat them in the restaurant to get them to taste the best. They also offer frozen half-baked pizzas that you can take home, but make sure that you take a cooler if you're more than an hour away from your destination.
If you ever make it up to the Decorah area, you've got to stop at Mabe's.
