I recently became a fan of NY style pizza. My wife and I spent a couple of days in NYC and we hit the streets looking for the perfect slice. What we found was truly exceptional, and more importantly I now know where the NY-style pizza snobs are coming from when they rant and rave about the stuff. In recent years Buffalo has landed a couple of NY-style pizza joints that do a pretty good job when it comes to creating decent NY-style pizzas, but I’m not sold on any one restaurant in particular. Last night I decided to try out a new Elmwood pizzeria called Gino’s, and after opening the box and taking a few bites I’m happy to say that NY-style pizza lovers will be pleased. Not to say that we’ve struck gold and we can finally rest knowing that we’ve got the best NY-style pizzeria in the state, but when looking for a fix, this is a good place to fulfill your craving.
To start with, a Gino’s slice has a perfect golden crisp handle to hold onto, and when I picked up the slice there was hardly any bend. The cheese stayed in place and there was not a huge greasy residue under each slice. There was a perfect sauce to cheese ratio and I could see and taste the oregano blended in with the cheese. Ultimately I added my own oregano to enhance the flavor (see photo below). After my third piece I declared the pizza a winner and stored the menu away in my kitchen drawer.
Gino’s is related to the Gino and Joe’s located in the Food Court of the Main Place Mall – the business has been around for 25 years. The Elmwood location also sells heroes, wings, wraps, pasta, salads, calzones, lasagna, meatballs with homemade sauce, tacos, fries and rings and eggplant parm (among others). I was happy to find the interior of the business wasn’t as sterile as many pizzerias can be, and the guys working the counter and cooking were friendly. I was also happy to see the small building (the original Pano’s) get a new paint job with warmer colors. Gino’s is a nice operation, and if you’re asking yourself if Elmwood really needs another pizza joint, I can only tell you that these guys displaced a pizzeria that was in the same place.
Gino’s NY Pizza
1009 Elmwood Avenue
Buffalo NY 14222
716-885-1777