Glass Nickel

In a word: Deep delish!

The specs: #0197
Address, hours & details via Isthmus; reviews at Ultimate Madison Bar Tour, Yelp, the Culinary Adventures of Jahboh and Tossy, QSC, Madison Fish Fry; Dane101 features on delivery vehicles & bar offerings; Cap Times forum thread; links collected at del.icio.us; official web site;

Latest Glass Nickel news and reviews

Amanda, Chris, Eric, Emily, JM, John,  Kelly, Lisa, and Nichole ate a Vegg-Out, a Cordon Bleu, and a ham & pineapple pizza.
John, JM, and Lisa gave Glass Nickel an A; Nichole gave Glass Nickel an A-; Emily gave Glass Nickel a B+; Eric and Lisa gave Glass Nickel a B (Lisa rated the Vegg-Out a B and the ham & pineapple an A) (see our grading rubric).

For the second game night in a row, we were able to foist the food critiquing onto our good-humored guests. Without further ado, here's what they think of Glass Nickel.

John said the Cordon Bleu (ham, cheese, chicken fingers, honey mustard) is excellent and "easily one of the best pizzas I've ever had." This is especially odd since he doesn't like mustard, a key ingredient. Glass Nickel always has reliable pizzas as well, making it a pizza joint Madisonians should feel obligated to take visitors to. He does wish the University Ave store had good inside seating (and if anyone's been there in July, you'll remember how infernal it is in that place - and how hard the staff there have to work to keep Madison's favorite pizza flowing).

Lisa and Emily simply gave Glass Nickel kudos - all pizza is good, but Glass Nickel is super good, even with veggies on it.

JM, of course, ia frequently in favor of Glass Nickel.  He, too, would have given them a lower grade if he'd eaten at the restaurant off University.  Atwood seems pretty good.  Good pizza -- really good.

Let's close with some verse from Eric:

Glass Nickel Pizza is really neat,
the Cordon Bleu was a real treat.
We ate, we laughed, we played some games,
we hemmed, we hawed, we racked our brains.
For a pleasant meal, Glass Nickel will do,
but I'd recommend Roman Candle, too.

FIN

Comments

[Rhea]

I don't live in Madison, in fact, nowhere near there, but I love the idea behind this blog! I want to do this, too!! Except Boston might have a lot more places to cover.

[nichole]

Hey, thanks! You're right, Madison might be about as big as you can go with this. But there was a guy that just covered one street in LA...

[Tim]

I live in Oshkosh and love Glass Nickel. Its the best pizza I've ever had. I just have to get a better paying job so I can eat it more.

Anyway For the past two years my roommate has worked there and become a manager and will be opening a brand new glass nickel in Green Bay. I'm so excited for him.

[Carrie Helms]

I had a horribele expereience at Glass Nickel and would never recommend eating there. They food was late, cold and wrong. When I called to fix my problem, I had to talk to three different people and was told that my order could not be refunded(the food they sent actually made me sick to my stomach), so instead of being refunded, I had to wait another 25 minutes for the delivery driver to come with the correct food. Overall satisfaction: Horrible
Place: Glass Nickel

[Al]

Man, Madison really is a small town. This pizza is basically Dominos with more diverse ingredients. The crust is too bready and the sauces do not taste fresh. I mean, it is pizza and even average pizza is worth eating. But there is absolutely nothing special or deserving of an A rating about the Glass Nickel.

[Kyle]

Oooh, we're so burned.

Dude, if you honestly can't distinguish Glass Nickel from Dominoes, then you should move to Ave Maria and start up your own chain.

[Timmy]

hah hah Ave Maria. Funny but I agree with Al. A place like Glass Nickel only shines in a poor pizza city. They'd bomb out for lack of quality in any of the major pizza markets. They're great about fast hot delivery though. Most of the problem is the dough, which is cheap, enriched, bleached, and whatever else cheapens the price of the flour. Some of the toppings are pretty good. If only they'd offer a higher quality crust.

[Kyle]

Hey, I don't love Glass Nickel at all. I'd only ever eat the Fetalicious, and even that would probably only be if someone else was paying for it (pricey!)

But Dominoes is nothing like Glass Nickel. It just ain't.

And I'd hesitate to call Madison a pizza-poor community. Pizza Brutta, Cafe Porta Alba, and even Ian's are high quality pizza joints.

Glass Nickel is slightly better than Dominoes/Pizza Hut/Papa John's, and they deliver all over the place, which puts them above Topper's for the overpriced college town "gourmet" pizza crown.

They succeed in Madison for that reason.

[Jason]

I can see the Glass Nickel - Dominos connection. Cheap ingredients and a bland product designed to appeal to the widest possible audience. I think it's garbage but to each his own.

[Timmy]

I agree, a bit better than Dominos, much worse than places like Pavlov's or Roman Candle.

[Heather]

Granted - Glass Nickel is no Roman Candle - they still have some good attributes. If you like spicy foods - their Border to Border pizza is a tasty treat.
Their pizza is good for the vegetarian/vegan in the family too because unlike Domino's/Pizza Hut - they use a vegitable stock to make their sauces. My friend who is a vegitarian always wondered why Pizza Hut made her sick - the answer is that they use a beef based stock to make their sauce.
I do have to concur with the consensus that their crust is a little too bready - but as a New Yorker - I like my crust thin and foldable.

[Timmy]

Totally bummed that I called Pavlov's for delivery and they've apparently closed down. Was the best pizza in Madison!