Buffalo-Style Pizza

Despite spending the first 17 years of my life in Western New York, until recently, I'd never heard of "Buffalo-style pizza." I was familiar with thin crust and thick crust, but was completely unaware that just an hour or so down the Thruway there was apparently a third style.

I learned that Buffalo style is a hybrid between thin and thick crust pizza. It features a sweet tomato paste-based sauce, lots of mozzarella, and what they call "cup and char" pepperoni. They're called that because the small, slightly thicker-than-usual slices of pepperoni curl up into a cup shape and the edges char in the hot oven.

That all sounded great, so I gave it a try. While I enjoyed it very much, I quickly realized I'd had this pizza before. It was remarkably similar to what we used to call "party pizza" as kids. Most of the pizzerias where I grew up offered a large rectangular sheet pizza with a crust somewhere between thin and thick. It featured a fairly sweet sauce and lots of cheese, and pepperoni, which while not as "cupped and charred," was pretty close.

So, what the kids today are calling "Buffalo-style" pizza, is really what many Americans (not living in New York City and Chicago) enjoyed growing up all across the country. In fact, beyond the local pizza shop, this is pretty much what most homemade pizzas comes out like. It's good to know it finally has a name. Enjoy!

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