It had been so long since The Pizza Snob was on an adventure to discover new pizza that I almost forgot what to do. With my lack of travel creating little in the way of opportunity, I had no choice but to get out of the house and check out a new local spot. Since Mrs. Pie was as eager to get out of the house as I was, we made a mid-week date of it and drove over to the fairly new Midnight Oil in West Nashville.

Over its relatively short tenure, I had noticed a few decent reviews of the place that spoke favorably of both their pizza and tequila selection. Also, how could I resist visiting a pizza joint whose name references both an Australian rock band and what a good and greasy pizza can produce late at night.

Following the map on my phone, we found the almost unnoticeable place tucked away in the corner of an old small strip center.  In the area they call the Nations, Midnight Oil is near to some of the spots’ glitzy area’s new development. In fact, Nicky’s Coal-Fired Pizza was just a peperoni’s throw away. We pulled in and parked right in front at the proper price of free.

Mrs. Pie and I were quite pleased to see that the Midnight Oil folks were highly COVID conscious. In fact, had not a kind gentleman sitting alone at the bar offer to move to rejoin some friends sitting at one of the few distanced tables in the small room, we would have been taking our pies home to eat. However, his thoughtfulness placed us at a cozy location in the corner of the bar safely secure all by our lonesome.

It soon became clear that the place was a cool neighborhood bar that served pizza and just a few other items. Looking to stock the fridge at home with some necessary leftovers, I over-ordered a large plain cheese pie for myself ($18) while my date ordered a small one of her desired design. (You’ll have to ask her about it.)

Our pies were delivered to us mighty quick and were placed on tall platforms in front of us at the bar. Looking at mine, I had that instant reaction I get that tells me I am going to be somewhat disappointed. Though it was thin and not fat and sloppy, the colorization of the cheese and its glaze of oil was a foreshadowing to its rather unspectacular taste which also prove to linger on afterwards.

It reminded me of the pies I’ve had at the Nashville Pizza Company who I had been told use some locally sourced cheese, and I suspect that the same could be true here. Whatever the case, the cheese, which they labeled as blended, was not to the Snob’s liking. Also, the Midnight Oil crust, while thin and foldable, was not crisp and was in fact more on the soft side, lacking any real crunch. If had had my say in the matter, a few more minutes in the oven might have cured that problem. Nothing really good or bad to say about the sauce. I did manage to eat about half of my pie before the taste of the cheese wore on me.

Nonetheless, for a local spot, they made a decent effort and I’ve had far worse pizza in my day. Together Mrs. Pie and I enjoyed out time together at this neat joint and I think it’s a place well worthy of a fun hang with some buds. But I wouldn’t send you there just to try the pizza.

As a postscript, it’s been over a month and I have yet to have a desire to pull those leftover slices out of my freezer.

PIZZA SNOB RATING ***Better Than Dominos
Midnight Oil
1310 51st Avenue North
Nashville, TN  37209
615-649-8917
www.midnightoilnash.com