Joe's NY Style Pizza and Giangel's

We went out this week with two places in mind: Joe’s NY Style Pizza because it had been recommended to us from many people emailing in and Giangel’s, who we sampled at the Buffalo Pizza Bash. Although we tried Giangel’s at the Pizza Bash we really wanted to see how good it was fresh from the oven in their place.

Shrew and I were joined by our friend Gus again. It’s great to be accompanied by a well respected man about town.



We had been hearing for a while that this place Joe’s on Amherst Street was really good. It was exciting because there are very few places in the Buffalo area that serve authentic NYC style pizza. Even fewer are the places that serve good NYC style pizza. It’s located in the Tops Plaza at the corner of Grant St. and Amherst St across from The Sportsmen’s Tavern.

Walking in you could tell this was a NYC style pizzeria. It wasn’t just the food, it was the people. There was a large older gentleman screaming out pizza orders in a thick tri-state accent to a couple of girls attending the registers while manning the ovens. These girls then relayed the NYC slang gibberish to the customer standing there who then looked confused and handed money to them in an amount that was hopefully larger than what they owed and received change in return. Sound confusing? Yes it is. That is the ordering process at Joe’s. Once your food is ready you are handed a tray full of pizza with a smile. Confusing and almost comical the girls might be, definitely friendly they are.

We ordered some slices since trying to order a full pie just seemed confusing. They had the typical counter full of pre-made pies just waiting to be devoured and it looked delicious. Along with pizza they had a covered pizza, stromboli and pastelillos. The pizza was very, very tasty. I’m not generally a big fan of NYC style pizza but this was great. The dough was awesome; it was thin NYC style and firm. The large slice was crispy throughout despite not being that fresh. We are not sure if that’s an inherent quality with NYC style pizza or not. It seems that NYC style pizza keeps really well. The sauce was a flavorful red sauce. What is important about their sauce is that it’s there in proportion to the dough and cheese. Everything on this pizza was in great proportion. Nothing was too dominant, allowing all the distinct flavors to come through. The only complaint we had of this pizza is the pepperoni. It was the typical pepperoni used on most NYC style pizzas, thin sliced margharita style which we generally find bland. In addition to this it also seemed as though they had taken some slices of cheese pizza and thrown some pepperoni on them before putting it in the oven to heat. This suspicion was confirmed when I watched them do this while I was photographing the slice counter. This is something I have seen a lot with NYC style places. I suppose it makes sense to make use of what you have most efficiently. We also could have used a larger portion of bleu cheese, which was good by the way, but the two ounce cup wasn’t cutting it. Either way the bottom line was this pizza was great. We both unanimously agreed that we would go out of our way to come back. I walked up to the counter and spoke to the guy running the ovens and thanked him for his pizza and told him it was great. His face lit up; it looked as though I made his day. He told me, “It comes from the heart, the pizza comes from the heart, it’s my life. I appreciate it!”

That is the mark of a true craftsman. Pride in our work and perfection of one’s craft, something we seem to have lost in this day and age. I’m glad I was able to help him feel appreciated for his hard work.





For our second stop of the night we decided to go to Giangel’s (pronounced G-an-gels). We had sampled Giangel’s at the Buffalo Pizza Bash and were instantly blown away by the all around taste. With that in mind we wanted to see how well they did in their own place and felt it was worth another visit to expand upon that thought. It didn’t hurt that we really wanted to eat their pizza again too! Giangel’s is located on Seneca St. in Elma. It is about a half mile east of Transit Rd. on the right-hand side. A nice hidden gem, you notice this the minute you walk in. The dining room is cozy as it is dimly lit with tables draped in red and white checkered cloths. Gus noted that the server was very helpful and beautiful. They had the atmosphere thing down pat for sure.



We ordered a large cheese and half pepperoni. We let it cool for the standard 3-5 minutes while we scarfed down the bread that was served before our pizza arrived. Proper Gel Time must be attained before devouring. First bite into the fresh pie confirmed what we thought. This pizza is excellent. Without going any further, nothing else needs to be said but for the sake of writing I will continue... It is excellent. The sauce, cheese and pepperoni combined with whatever seasonings they top it off with make for one of the most delicious tasting pizzas we have had to date. It’s an amalgamation of everyday ingredients to produce one of the most unique tasting pizzas. It almost defies logic. You would think that with all of these standard ingredients you would get a typical flavor. Not here. Something about it, and we cannot put our fingers on it because we did try, is very unique. For once I won’t argue or try to analyze the shit out of it. I will take it for what it is and that is delicious. Only one thing stood out that could use some attention and that was the dough. The underside was a little greasy and probably could have used some extra time on the stone in the oven and put onto a different pan other than the one used to cook it initially as to avoid the grease already on the pan. Other than that, flawless victory! Only thing we can say is we will go out of our way for this. You should too!






Two wonderful pizzerias in one trip. We are happy to add more to the would go out of our way column! Keep it up Buffalo.