Bargain bites: Tono Pizzeria's Tuesday banger

State of play: Tono has grown quickly since opening its first restaurant in Maplewood in 2019, adding outposts in St. Paul, Coon Rapids, Maple Grove, Woodbury, Chanhassen and Southwest Minneapolis, which is the one I visited.

The vibe: It's counter service and the 12-inch pizzas are baked in a brick oven. When I went, the crowd featured a lot of soccer moms and teens.

The intrigue: I went with the intention of ordering one of Tono's Philly cheesesteaks, but the high energy kid at the counter talked me out of it.

• "I love telling people about the Tuesday special — it's my favorite thing," he told me, before showing me how much money I saved going with a cheese pizza for the kids and a Don Carlo (pepperoni, burrata cheese and hot honey) for me.