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| - I came on a tuesday at 6pm. There was a 20 minute wait for a table, but the bar was empty so i sat there.
This is my 4th time at Grampas. Theyre the best pizza I've had in Madison so far.
I always start off my meal with the beet salad. I think their beet salad is heavenly. They follow the common base formula of cooled roasted beets, chevre (soft goat cheese), and pistachio, but I think they do it the best. The pistachios are pureed, the beets are diced on top of the puree, the goat cheese has truffle added before being dispersed in small lumps throughout the plate, and it's topped with pea shoots. Seriously, this thing is a masterpiece. The pistachio puree is creamy, smoky, and salty. The beets are cool, sweet, soft, and slightly chocolatey in my opinion. The chevre is tangy with an earthy, oily flavor (probably the truffle?). The pea shoots are like watercress that taste like pea pods with a certain crunchy sweetness. Get all of this in one bite for a flavor experience!
This time around, i ordered the Brassacre and the Jabroni.
The Brassacre is my favorite. Thick cube-like chunks of smoky bacon and hard italian cheese go over individual brussel sprout leaves with a drizzle of olive oil. The olive oil seems to carry the sweet flavor of the brussel sprout leaves throughout the pizza. Since the brussel sprouts are separated into individual leaves, you get some crispy burnt ones (my favorite) and some thin cabbage-like ones. These different textures really go well with the thick chunks of chewy bacon. I really cant describe why all these flavors work well together, but they do. Give it a try! I think the end pieces are the best for this one since the olive oil tastes better on the crunchy part of the crust.
The Jabroni is also great. Freshly sliced basil is the first thing you taste. Its bright, volatile flavor quickly descends into a dark, mysterious flavor coming from the sauce's mixture of pesto and tomato sauce with a peppery kick at the end. For this one, i like the middle pieces the best since the soft crust seamlessly matches the texture of the sauce.
I'm from Chicago, so I will always love Lou Malnati's the best, but this is excellent pizza too. Their flavors are so thought-provoking!
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