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Thursday, May 26, 2011

Bocce's Pizza, Buffalo

No, I'm not going to start covering the Buffalo pizza scene, but I've had occasion to travel there recently, so of course I took advantage of that to check out some Buffalo pizzerias.
One that I wanted to get to, and did, was Bocce's. I lived in Buffalo for a few years a while back and I remember that Bocce's was a place I'd go to from time to time. It's also one of Buffalo's oldest pizzerias, dating back to 1946.
I got two pepperoni slices, which were pretty fresh. The underside was soft but not greasy. It was mostly brown, almost blackened in spots, though I wouldn't call it charred. It was medium thick.
The sauce and cheese were moderately applied, in pretty good balance with the crust. What was most distinctive was the sauce, which was slightly sweet. The cup and char pepperoni was nice and crisp and gave the slices an overall spicy flavor. The sauce was applied right up to the outer edge, which was rather crunchy, and the mozzarella was well melted, with a chewy texture.
Bocce's (whose "official" name is Bocce Club) has two locations. I went to the original on Bailey Ave. They have a full menu of pizza, subs, wings, and sides. If you really like their pizza, or if you've moved away and miss it, they can ship you a half-baked Bocce pizza; go to their website to order.
Since I don't plan to do any significant coverage of Buffalo pizzerias, I'm not going to rate this one. If I did, it would probably fall somewhere roughly in the "B" range, give or take a plus or minus. I wasn't thrilled with the crust, but this was a fairly distinctive pizza, and deservedly could be considered something of a Buffalo institution. It may not get the recognition level of the Anchor Bar, but it's been serving up its signature dish for longer, and is worth a stop if you're headed out that way.
Bocce Club Pizza, 4174 North Bailey Ave., Amherst. 716-833-1344
Also at 1614 Hopkins Road East, Amherst. 716-689-2345
Mon. - Thu. 11 a.m. - 11 p.m., Fri. - Sat: 11 a.m. - midnight, Sun: 11 a.m. - 11 p.m.

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