Latest visit: May 2024
First visit: Feb 1995
Founded: 1974
I happened to be in this part of the Springs on Thursday, and Leon Gessi offers an early lunch. It's about 10:30, time for an annual update. I've been once each of the last three years and one visit that goes back to my first tour here in the Springs. I was determined to try one of their baked subs and went forward with the meatball sub. The experience was like the below in terms of ordering, etc... Grabbed my table and waited. A few minutes later out comes the sub. Hmmm... Not quite as hot as I expected, though certainly hot enough for most I would suspect. I'm looking for bubbling mozzarella cheese, preferably charred. I wanted the bread to be more crispy. They cheated on the meatballs. I expected full homemade meatballs. What I got was meatball pizza toppings thrown inside of the bread. So no, that's not going to work. It wasn't bad of course, just not what I would want from a quality baked sub. It tasted exactly like it reads - a meatball pizza inside a sub. On the plus side they gave me a side of their sauce to douse it in. That did come out hot and it's very flavorful. I'll stick with pizza next time. Leon Gessi remains in the rotation.
---3/19/23 update
It's been exactly a full year since I last stopped by Leon Gessi, with the below review representing my last. Seems I'm in a pizza mood lately with Parry's and Walter's303 also getting some focus. As with the last visit, the slices were a bit stiff - seems a bit overdone in the oven. Though Mrs. RJG would like it this way! And because they may have been reheated one too many times, the sauce seems cooked out. On this visit I had one sausage and one meatball, and the toppings were generous. Maybe not the best pizza in town, but certainly worthy of an occasional visit. Seems if I order a full pizza, it might be better. Also eyeing their baked subs. For next time.
---original 3/19/22 review
Based on the dates above, you might think we've been long time regulars to Leon Gessi. But nope - this was only my second visit. The first was when my Old Man came into town during my first residence here in the Springs. I recall little about the experience. But I did recognize the building. It's a classic RJG styled old fashioned hole in the wall. Apparently they've been in business since 1974, and I would guess at this location. When you walk in, it looks like a Baltimore shotgun styled place. There's tables that line the window, and you order up at the counter. They give you a number and that's because there's ample more seating in the spacious back room through the hallway (again, recalling Baltimore) and there's also plenty of benches to enjoy outside. I ordered two slices - one plain cheese, the other with sliced Italian meatball. Both came out crispy and piping hot. The crust should probably have been a bit more pliable, and I never seem to get enough sauce, so it was a tad dry. I could see that changing visit to visit. Certainly a place worth adding to the annual repertoire, and probably more than that. We'll be back sooner than 27 years at the very least - we hope.
1/28/95; 3/19/22 (new entry); 3/19/23; 5/16/24
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