Open wide! Last month Madison Yelpers celebrated central Wisco's champions of cheese, sauce and crust during Yelp's Big Bite Pizza!, and we're ready to recap this month long exploration of cheese makin', cow milkin', veg pickin', dough
rollin',
meat smokin' and beer drinkin'. Scroll through for delicious deets on 10
incredible experiences… with links to reviews, photos and (in some cases)
video at these awesome events!
CHEESY DOES IT
Chef Jon and the team at Luigi's kicked off Yelp's Big Bite with a mozzarella making class where students squeezed, stretched and pulled the perfect mozz. Slices of
signature pies and mozz-based apps assisted in staving off hunger, and pitchers of sangria kept mozz-makers hydrated! Read the REVIEWS. See the PHOTOS.
HEROES IN A HALF SHELF… PIZZA POWER
It seems everyone (reptiles included) can get around the idea of putting back
perfection in pizza form. Yelp Elites gathered on State Street for a
sampling of the wacky discs that Ian’s is known for, in addition to an ice cream tasting from Calliope, craft soda's from Sprecher's and amazing aged cheddar from Hook's Cheese. Glitter To Gore helped us play the part with body paint and ActionBooth.com made ninjas out of us all. Cowabunga
dudes! Read the FULL RECAP. Read the REVIEWS. See the PHOTOS. See the ActionBooth PHOTOS.
"P" PARTY
Minds out of the gutter, not that kind of P… we're talking Potluck, Ponzi Vineyard Pinots, a tour of Production spaces, a Play (The Two Gentleman Of Verona), and Palatable Picnic additions in the form of Pizza with locally milled wheat flour crust and locally sourced toppings from The Kitchen at Arcadia Books all at American Players Theatre. (Whew!) Read the FULL RECAP. Read the REVIEWS. See the PHOTOS. See the VIDEO.
YELP GETS SCHOOLED
Casein class was in session when the folks at Fromagination took us on a shop tour and in-depth look at popular products, where they're sourced and how they've managed to curate such a
special collection. We learned how to assemble the perfect cheese plate on a budget or with crazy amounts of cash, then wrapped up our evening of learning with bite-sized samples of their popular sammies! Read the REVIEWS. See the PHOTOS.
IN 'ZA WE CRUST
After chit-chat about the history of Neapolitan pizza and what they're
doing to carry on that tradition, the Pizza Brutta bunch demonstrated how
to stretch fresh mozz by hand and then led a dialogue
about dough. Yelpers had an opportunity to knead
it, ball it and open it by hand, at which point they topped rad rounders and popped
'em in the oven to cook! Read the REVIEWS. See the VIDEO.
RIPE FOR THE PICKIN'
Pizzas don't just top themselves, so we set our sights on Sun Prairie for a "meet and eat" at
Salvatore's with Emerald Meadow Farms, Farmer John's Cheese, Fraboni's, Grande Cheese, Lonesome Stone Milling, NessAlla Kombucha and Underground Meats. A lot of local
hands go into growing, harvesting, raising and curing the awesome meats,
veggies and dairy that top Sal's tomato pies and Yelpers learned about
the impact of buying local and sampled slices featuring the things these
farmers and purveyors are so passionate about. Read the REVIEWS. See the VIDEO.
LIFE 'ZA BEACH
Nothing says summer like short-shorts and flip-flops. Oh, and bold summer flavors from the new menu at Roman Candle Willy Street! A little bit of rain didn't stop Yelpers yearning to savor sizzling slices like the The Hot-Wai-In (fireworks sauce, house
blend cheese, Canadian bacon, thin green peppers, red onions, and topped
with a drizzle of pineapple-Chipotle puree). There were dough tossing demos, a Potter's Crackers and salsa pairing and a collection of local craft beers to wash everything down! See the REVIEWS. See the VIDEO.
IMPROVI[ZA]TIONAL COMEDY
Monkey Business Institute insists pizza's a laughing matter. It's why we descended upon the downstairs basement at Glass Nickel on Atwood for a private comedy show featuring some of Madison's funniest improvisers and sampling of far-out pies. GN owners chatted about the concept and how it came to be, and gave us some info about their new store opening in Milwaukee this fall. Read the REVIEWS.
YELP DOES A BODY GOOD
Lovers of lactose hit the road and discovered Sassy Cow Creamery in Columbus isn't that far! Yelpers took a tour
of the creamery then made Yelp's Big Bite ice cream flavor
contest winner; Bee Ours, Love Yelp! a lavender and lemon ice cream with
ribbons of honey, submitted by Bobb S. We got up close and personal with everyone's favorite sassy cows
on an outdoor excursion to the family farm and post tour sampled our fierce flavor and had an opportunity to ask questions about the famous
cows that make utterly delicious treats! Read the REVIEWS. See the VIDEO.
THE GODFATHER OF ALL PIZZA EVENTS
spaghetti and meatballs + signature slices + Coppola wines + a Coppola film = unfagettable!
Roman
Candle Fitchburg helped us conclude Yelp's Big Bite by sampling some awesome
pies paired with Francis Ford Coppola reds and whites. In addition to a discussion about dough, folks were on hand to chat about the local business that contribute to the amazing 'za, like RP's Pasta and Potter's Crackers. Just as peeps finished pizza, staff brought out a behemoth amount of pasta and meatballs, which folks plated and ate as the sun went down and we took seats on the patio for a screening of the
Godfather. Read the REVIEWS. See the VIDEO.
Yelp's Big Bite: Pizza! would not have been possible without the generous support of the fine establishments that hosted an event, the local vendors and purveyors that joined us in our celebration and the creatives that captured the action on film. (Click on their links!)
ActionBooth.com, American Players Theatre, Calliope Ice Cream, Emerald Meadows Farm, Farmer John's Cheese, Fraboni's, Francis Ford Coppola Wine, Fromagination, Glass Nickel Pizza Co, Glitter To Gore, Grande Cheese, Hooks Cheese, Ian's On State, Jen Dederich Photography, Lonesome Stone Milling, Luigi's, Monkey Business Institute, Nancy Potter of Potters Crackers,
NessAlla Kombucha, Pizza Brutta, Ponzi Vinyards, Roman Candle Pizzeria – Fitchburg, Roman Candle Pizzeria – Willy Street, Salvatore's, Sassy Cow Creamery, Sprecher's Soda, Stephanie Kluz Photography, The Kitchen At Arcadia Books, Tiffany Kenney of Locavore Roar, Underground Meats, Wirtz Beverage, Yelptern – Izzy D… and to the Yelp Madison Community that supports these locally owned businesses and their partners with your hard earned dough, and by spreading stellar word of mouth online and in the community… thanks for your contributions!
Madison Community Manager
