Leon Gessi Pizza ~ Colorado Springs, Colorado

Latest visit: Jan 2025

First visit: Feb 1995

Founded: 1974

Leon Gessi is getting an early revisit for 2025. Just like last year's update, I was in the area near lunch time, and a couple of slices sounded good. Since the sandwich didn't work out last time, I decided to go back to their pizza. For this visit I had a slice of meatball and another sausage. The ingredients weren't anything special, and they still don't use enough sauce. As for the crust, I had the opposite experience of the past - this time it was too chewy (though fortunately not doughy), but it was hot temperature at least. Seems like the slices were a little smaller too? I don't want to say they've gone downhill, it doesn't feel that way at all. But they are a bit inconsistent. I'm leaving it in the RJG Rotation, and I'm sure I'll get in at least one more visit this year. On the plus side their soda drink machine works perfectly. On the downside, they ask for an unearned tip for counter service.

---5/19/24 update

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; 1/3/25

Taste of Philly ~ regional chain : Colorado Springs, Colorado

Latest visit: Dec 2024 (South Academy)

First visit: Aug 2011 (Denver: S. Colorado Blvd.)

Locations: 23 total (+4 from last year); 7 in the Colorado Springs area (+1); 11 in the Denver metro area (+1), and 1 each in Loveland, Greeley, and Fort Collins. They also expanded out of Colorado to Tempe-AZ and Fargo-ND (coming soon). One of the few chains that is actually growing!

Happy New Year everyone! We enter our 18th year of the RJG! Hard to believe. And now we have our first entry of the year. It's a bit of a cheat, since technically I went two weeks ago, but close enough to get us started for 2025. I happened to be thrifting down south, so I went to our original Colorado Springs location versus the one closer to our house (Voyager). They've made some changes since I was last here a couple of years back. Gone is full service and you now order at the counter, like you do at our local store. It makes way more sense for a place like this. And they've opened a bar area. That's a bit odd, but maybe there was some demand for it. The taps are macro only, so I can't see craft beer lovers heading here. As for the sandwich, I went back to my standard Green Chile Philly, and it was excellent as always. Chewy bread, super hot temperature, slightly more spicy than usual, excellent meat. Taste of Philly remains in the RJG Rotation as we detailed a month ago. Going forward I will add that designation to the labels on your right.

---3/29/24 update

Back for our first visit of 2024, though I did sneak in a few extra ones last year given their proximity to Casa RJG. On this visit I was feeling traditional and got a philly cheese "wit wiz" as they call it. Which is backwards, as it should be "wiz wit" in Philadelphia jargon. I told them that once and was met with a blank stare. OK then, moving on. They asked if I also wanted white cheese with it and I said sure (75 cents that move cost me). I was also starving and went for the full footlong versus the usual 9 inch. Grabbed the sack to go, and unraveled the sandwich while watching a TV show (The Regime on HBO for those interested) during my lunch break from work. I supplied my own drink (Coke Zero). The size of the sandwich allowed me to pass on chips. Everything was perfect as noted below. Hot temperature, chewy bread, flavorful diced meat, gooey cheese. As reliable as they come in this day and age. We'll keep coming back.

---4/20/23 update

Alrighty finally back to our favorite Philly Cheesesteak place. But why the wait? Ah... well, they just opened across the street from us! In the same shopping center as Zapata and Zesty Thai. And what that means is more visits from the RJG. They had a soft open earlier in the year but had to shutdown temporarily due to some fire code issues. Those have been all fixed up, and we're good to go. We'd been to this exact address before, since it hosted a pizza place called Duca's. The chain still exists but in another location in Colorado Springs. I want to try again, but we didn't enjoy the one outing here (and it's not in the RJG). In any event, they reorganized the space quite well. 

Mrs. RJG joined me on this venture, continuing our win theme on experiences. Right from the get, I was happy to see they have this setup as an order at the counter versus a full serve restaurant, like the South Academy location below. This kind of food calls for quick service, even if the other wasn't slow by any means. We each ordered the Green Chile Philly. I haven't gone enough to explore the menu, but that's going to change this year I think. Wow - this is really great! Everything is better here than at the other location we used to frequent - and we loved that one too! The meat was piled high, the fries were crispy and flavorful, and the bread was both crispy and chewy, just as a good Philly calls for. Even the soda fountain drink mix was great. A+ from us. If you live far north like us, this a must stop. Go here.

Contrary to my original post, they do now seem more like a consolidated chain.

---3/25/22 update

For some reason I forgot to update this for its annual review that occurred two months ago. Well as you can see, it passed with flying colors. And while service has been a problem at so many restaurants, I had no such issues on this visit. The highest standards were met. This remains our favorite Philly cheesesteak spot in the Springs.

Taste of Philly has 4 locations in Colorado Springs and 11 others in the Denver / Fort Collins / Greeley metro areas.

---original 2/15/20 review

Over the years the RJG has covered many Philly cheesesteak places, including being a constant booster in the DFW area of places like Billadelphia's and Fred's Downtown Philly. Our first experience with Philly cheesesteaks goes back to Philadelphia itself, with business trips starting in 1999. But I have to say the best of them all is right here at Taste of Philly in Colorado Springs. Or to be more specific, this location on South Academy is our favorite. And I have to admit to veering away from Philly standards such as "Wiz Wit", though I've had that here as well. The two things that Taste of Philly always gets right - toasty but chewy bread (this is key) and sizzling hot chopped beef with grilled onions blended in (not oily and plopped on top nasty style). We've taken it even further and love their Green Chile cheesesteak - that's Colorado for you! And recently I even tried their pizza cheesesteak with some wonderful gooey provolone cheese and a piquant tomato sauce. It's sit down service or you can order at the counter to-go. One of the first post-lockdown places we visited that seemed comfortable to eat inside (i.e. no "leper table" feeling).

Taste of Philly is one of those disparate chains that doesn't share ownership and are loosely branded together. This is important to note as our first experience with Taste of Philly goes to Denver, which shares the name but not necessarily the same quality. Though we were always pleased there as well (south Colorado Blvd location - which is the original and still there). But for our pesos, we prefer this location (even though it's not even close to our cow pasture). In addition there's an ARC thrift store next door, so there's that incentive as well...

8/21/11; 2/15/20 (new entry); 1/30/21; 3/25/22; 4/20/23; 3/29/24; 12/9/24