So Nickel City is a relatively new pizzeria…I think. I couldn’t find much online about it, but I don’t remember it being around for TOO long. It’s on South Elmwood just a little before Allen if you’re headed north. I pass it every day and decided today would be the day to review it. We got a first timer over here! 2 slices + pop = $6. Nice. Let’s take a look.

I was underwhelmed when I opened the box. You don’t get much more generic than the look of these slices. Very “stadium” thing happening. They look flat and a little boring, but on a positive note, that is some damn fine pepperoni coverage! I’m a little hesitant, but so far nothing much to go on. Looks can be deceiving.

As you can see the slice is very flat. We’ll talk about that more on the next pic. As for now, the pepperoni. Classic Buffalo and in high volume. The pepperoni, however, was not as satisfying as I thought it would be. VERY thin, to the point where even this quantity didn’t really allow it to come through. Maybe my tastes are changing due to that wild ass south buffalo pepperoni jerky, but this stuff was just ok.

…motherfucker. As soon as I opened the box I knew it looked like Allentown pizza, and this is why. QUIT POKING YOUR DOUGH LIKE A PROM DATE! The dough falls really flat and never has time to get any fluff. It becomes dense and crispy on the bottom with no chew and bad mouth-feel. Maybe stab a few holes so it wont blow up in the oven (admittedly, I’ve never made pizza so the mechanics might not be on here) but don’t aerate it like a golf course.

I was trying to find a shot that really showed what we’re working with, but I don’t know if this quite does it. I’ll just say it. This is extremely cheap cheese, and if its not, they’re paying too much. If I rubbed it between my fingers (which I did) it would disappear. The fat rendered out of it and the cheese broke/crumbled apart more than strung out in my mouth. Absolutely zero chew. It simply disappeared in the bite.

Nickel City’s sauce is unfortunately no better than its cheese. Very cafeteria-like taste. That is almost dead on if you have any memories of what that tasted like. That about sums it up. Let’s do it by the numbers.

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Dough🥖: (D) Lots-o-holes, dense, and a little crunchy.
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Cheese🧀: (D-) Looked and tasted cheap.
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Sauce🥫: (D) Odd, off-putting flavor, which was neither sweet nor savory.
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Pepperoni🍖: (B/B-) Nice distribution, but sliced little too thin.
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Overall🍕: (D/D+) This is hard, and I mean that sincerely. The people working were so kind, the place has wonderful charm and they’re clearly very Buffalo proud (judging on name and interior decorum)! I love small business and Buffalo, and I want EVERYONE to succeed, but I have to be honest with what I’m reviewing. The truth is I did not enjoy the pizza. I see people in there on my way home, and they were taking what seemed like a lot of orders over the phone, so clearly people are in to it! Maybe it’s me. At any rate, I wish you all nothing but success as I do every pizzeria, and hope business is great.