Molten Monkey Pizza

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Molten Monkey Pizza is a Detroit-style pizza restaurant at 912 E. Johnson St., in the space that had been Salvatore's Tomato Pies. It opened on Friday, December 13, 2024[1]. The owner is Otto Dilba, a co-founder of the Ale Asylum brewery[2].

History

Dilba, from Tomahawk, co-founded Ale Asylum in 2006. The brewery closed in 2022 and its brands were bought by Karben4 in 2023. He spent about 15 months perfecting Detroit-style pizza at home before announcing Molten Monkey in June 2024[2]. It opened that December with chef Darrell Jensen, formerly of Blue Moon Brewing Co. in Denver[1]. In 2025 it was open Wednesday to Sunday, 4 to 10 p.m.[3]

Pizza

  • Detroit-style: rectangular pan pizzas with crisp, caramelized cheese edges[2], in two sizes[4].
  • Specialty pizzas include the Umami Bomby (shiitake, portabella, oyster and cremini mushrooms, caramelized onions, garlic, truffle parmesan zest; vegan on request), the Tik Tik Boom (tikka masala sauce, chicken, ginger-pickled red onions) and the Big Chungus, a meat lover's pizza[1].
  • The Piggly Figgly has Black Forest ham, fig jam, herbed goat cheese, arugula and a balsamic glaze; the What Up Dough is a double pepperoni pizza; Monkey Styx are garlic bread sticks[3].
  • Mildred Weaver's Fancy, with green bell and banana peppers, is named for a neighbourhood legend, Mildred of Mildred's Sandwich Shop[5].
  • A State Journal review in May 2025 found the edges overdone compared with the other Detroit-style pizzas in town, at Jet's and Lucille[4].

Trivia

  • Dilba said Molten Monkey is the first of the many pizza places at 912 E. Johnson St. to have a bar[1].
  • "Molten" refers to the cheese; "monkey" is a nickname Dilba uses for friends, family and pets[3].
  • The State Journal's list of 2025 openings included Molten Monkey, although it opened in December 2024[6].

Locations

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Kalk Derby, S. (2024, December 12). "Detroit-style pizza coming to Johnson Street in Madison." madison.com.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Kalk Derby, S. (2024, June 25). "Ale Asylum co-founder opening Detroit-style pizza place on Madison's Near East Side." madison.com.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Bosch, M. (2025, January 29). "What up, dough? Molten Monkey gives pizza a Detroit-style spin." The Capital Times. p. O32. Newspapers.com image 1166808816.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Kalk Derby, S. (2025, May 29). "Restaurant review: Molten Monkey's Detroit-style pizza is almost perfect." madison.com.
  5. ↑ (2025, January 22). Molten Monkey's "Mildred Weaver's Fancy" pizza. The Capital Times. p. O37. Newspapers.com image 1164264647.
  6. ↑ Kalk Derby, S. (2026, January 16). "46 restaurant, bar and cafe openings in the Madison area in 2025." madison.com.
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