Falbo Bros Pizzeria — Restaurant in Madison

No stars... I ordered a pizza from Falbo Bros (N. Sherman Avenue) in Madison last July. The usual-- thick, dense, not good gluten free crust . Very dense. I ordered another one on October 7th. Same deal. I ordered another pizza from them on October 20th and was shocked by the crust-- light, thin, not dense, and it was AMAZING. But, it was too good to be true-- my boyfriend (non celiac) tasted it and said it tasted just like his regular crust.

I emailed the company that night and asked them if they had changed their crust recently. I told them if they had not changed it, that their kitchen had made a very serious mistake and needed to be much more careful in the future. They emailed me back on October 22nd saying they'd changed it and asked if I liked it. Of course I did-- it was amazing.

So... I ordered another one on October 23. (PS: I am recovering from major surgery so I have been ordering in more than usual.) October 23 was again, a wonderful crust-- and my boyfriend said it tasted just like his. My skin was itchy and I spent a lot of time trying to figure out where the gluten poison had come from but figured they had no reason to lie in the email and certainly, they would not have made the same mistake twice.

We had a coupon so last week, I ordered TWO gluten free pizzas. Amazing, wonderful pizzas. And I ate them both. And, my skin was itchy, my skin developed deep infections, and I really started to wonder where on earth I was getting into such horrible gluten ingestion. And as with any celiac, I got tired because I was unable to absorb my nutrition properly.

I really didn't believe the pizza thing... so I set out to order some gluten free home test kits. In the mean time, we ordered pizza Monday night for the Packer game... and what should they deliver but their old, usual, dense crust gluten free crust that tasted horrible.

I wrote them a scathing email-- that they lied about a recent crust change (they had the same crust in July), that they did not ask their kitchen to be more careful, that they charged me extra for gluten free, and that their careless and negligent attitude could seriously sicken someone with severe celiac (though, no celiac would order a gluten free pizza from a gluten kitchen, I am sure.)

No email back after I called them out on it. Email copies available upon request. Will do no future business with them after their careless attitude about...

I would like to extend gratitude to an employee named Josh working at this location on the evening of 6/8.  I asked for an update without downloading the "app" Falbos prompted me for, but I still received an update and a phone call as requested.  Not only that, he was there when I picked up my order and informed me when I requested crispy Bacon (online) that he did it separately to ensure it was of quality.  It was excellent.  He was also so friendly and courteous which has been hard to come by these days with everyone being short staffed (yet Josh went out of his way).  I feel that this should be acknowledged and appreciated.  I of course did this verbally (and financially), but feel that it should be acknowledged and rewarded within the business.  It is important.  I am requesting that you pass this along to the powers that be and I am hoping I get feedback.  Thank you Josh for making my day with the little things.  I had a very stressful almost considered bad day today, and you made mine a little easier and better.  You deserve to know that and be appreciated for it because you and the way you executed your job made mine better!

Sincerely,

Brittney...

This was my first time eating Falbo Bros pizza. Ordered the Chicago style. It was missing toppings, had so little cheese I didn't think there was any, and the inside was watery - like thawed out, frozen vegetables were used. The sauce on top was dried out and salty, like they were trying to cut corners and use as little as possible. The bottom crust was hard and tough. It required a knife and significant effort to cut through, like what happens when using frozen dough. Over all it was like a frozen grocery store pizza that was thawed out before baking. They claim to make their pizza "from scratch", but I doubt anything is used the day it's made. Despite all the problems, it tasted ok and wasn't greasy. If they cared about the preparation and cooking they might be at least a 3 star place. As they are now, I'm not inclined to...