As we all know, Buffalo’s preference for pizza is somewhere in-between the NYC thin crust and the Chicago deep dish, with sweeter sauce and crisped pepperoni. I learned this early on in life, growing up in the Elmwood Village when I was first introduced to Mister Pizza. To this day, the Mister Pizza phone number is one of the only ones that I can remember from my youth, along with my best friend’s number. That’s how devoted I have been to Buffalo pizza. I remember trying other styles of pizza, but never quite understanding what made them so great.
Later on in life I did find a couple of pizzas in NYC that rivaled/bested Buffalo’s style of pizza, but in the end I always came back to the pizza that I was so fond of in my youth. There’s something truly comforting about a slice of Buffalo pizza, especially on game day.
Just the other day, a friend of mine from California sent me a note saying that he had read about Buffalo’s unique style of pizza in USA Today. The article spotlights Bocce Club, a place where I have never eaten, but imagine is very similar to Mister Pizza, or Just Pizza (my wife’s favorite Buffalo style pizza). The USA Today writer seriously enjoys the style of pizza and gives Bocce Club a ranking of Yum! ranking. The writer also does a great job of breaking down the pizza’s subtle and not-so-subtle nuances, compared to pies in other cities. I especially like the way he describes the pepperoni as “cup and char”. That’s a new one, even for me.
Along with chicken wings and beef on weck, maybe we have overlooked another hometown hero that deserves to share the culinary spotlight?