Giannamore’s Pizza

Giannamore’s is a friendly place that wants to make customers happy. If you ask, they will bake a pizza the traditional way, with the toppings already on. But what fun is that, since you can get that sort of pizza anywhere? This is an Ohio Valley-style pizza shop, which means the room temperature toppings are not applied until after the pizza is already out of the oven. It sounds counter-intuitive, but it is surprisingly delicious and much loved in the Steubenville/Wheeling area.

Ordering is simple. Tell the young lady with the pen and small notepad how many squares and which toppings. Soon after, a long tray of baked dough will emerge from the oven and three men will form a mini-assembly line. The first one cuts the pizza into squares, the middle man adds the pepperoni and any extra toppings, while the third man buries the pizza under an avalanche of provolone before boxing it up.

Although the height of the pizza can vary, even within the same tray, its crust is tall, feather-light, and airy, with audible crunch. The tomato sauce is rich and tangy. The heat of the pizza does melt the bottom layer of provolone, but most of the meat and cheese remains cool. The first few bites can be shocking if you aren’t used to it, but I quickly settled into savoring the contrast of temperatures.

There are a handful of parking spots in front of Giannamore’s, but they require you to back out on to busy Cadiz Road when leaving. We recommend driving down the short alley way and parking in back.