Clark S.
Yelp
After a fun day drinking and walking around downtown Buffalo with family, we worked up a good appetite for dinner. Now, since it was Saturday, I like to grab a pizza for dinner. This particular Saturday though, we wanted to try somewhere we haven't been before. Looking at my "Pizza Places to Try" Yelp Collection, I saw Jay's Artisan and knew immediately where dinner would be. In short, we had an excellent experience and look forward to coming back again!
Two of us arrived a little after 5:00pm on a Saturday and parked on a side street kitty-corner to Jay's. The street parking spots out front were filled but the side streets had plenty of spots and it also appeared that there was a small parking lot behind the restaurant but we didn't investigate that. We walked in and there was a small line of people waiting to pick up to-go orders. As we looked over, we saw there were a good number of tables already occupied but there were a few free and the foot-traffic was moving pretty regularly and smoothly. We placed our order with the courteous, friendly woman behind the counter who did a great job making sure we knew the menu and everything and she gave us a number as we found a high-table near the kitchen. As soon as we sat down, another woman brought over a couple of glasses and filled them up with some ice water and we sat and soaked in the ambiance of the restaurant. There were a couple employees walking around the dining area making sure waters were topped off and bringing out food and a little music was playing overhead, just enough to be heard and drown out the conversations at the other tables. It took a little time for our pizzas to come out of the oven as we ordered off their Detroit-style menu, which really wasn't bad - maybe 20 minutes or so. We both agreed the food was well worth the extra few minutes wait!
For dinner, I ordered the "Red Top" from their Detroit Style Square Pizza menu, a 8"x10" square pizza with garlic, a cheese blend, cup-n-char pepperoni, tomato sauce on-top, and finished with oregano and Parmigiano Reggiano and I personally asked for them to drizzle their chili honey on top too. Of all the pizza styles there are out there, Buffalo-style and Detroit-style are neck and neck. But wow, this pizza was amazing! I like a thicker dough, and Detroit-style serves that in spades with the center being incredibly soft, airy/doughy, and not too much chew. The outer crust though has this awesome crunch with cheesy charring all around it - a delicious blend of soft and crispy/crunchy. Each slice had plenty of that cheese blend on the bottom and was tastefully topped with the tomato sauce, which to me was fairly neutral, not too sweet or too spicy/savory with maybe a slight lean towards sweet, but to hammer the point home, not sweet like the Buffalo-style red sauce I've had before. The cup-n-char pepperoni was delicious, and I thought they put on the right amount of pepperoni without it overpowering the other ingredients. The oregano and Parmigiano Reggiano cheese generously grated on top of their tomato sauce added a nice flavor on the end and added some visual flair to the pizza itself. I was really pleased I asked for their chili honey to be drizzled on top as it only elevated the pizza by adding a little bit of spice and a little sticky-sweetness (I love Mike's Hot Honey though so "your mileage may vary" :) ). The size of their Detroit Style pizza is perfect for a hungry person, or to share, but if you've read some of my other Buffalo pizza shop reviews, you know I had no problems finishing this pizza. haha I finished my pizza and felt perfectly satiated.
On a quick note, I did try a slice of their Fig Jam + Prosciutto Detroit Style Square Pizza (cheese blend, gorgonzola, fig jam, prosciutto crudo, saba, and topped with Parmigiano Reggiano. This was a surprisingly sweet pizza, I genuinely liked this as something different from my normal.
After this visit, I say Jay's Artisan Pizza lives up to the hype! The staff were friendly and accommodating, the dining area was clean and foot-traffic moved in and out regularly so there always seems to be at least one or two tables available, and the pizza, both the quality and quantity are excellent! I can check them off my list of "Pizza Places to Try" and add them to my "My Top Pizza Spots" collection on Yelp now!