Jioio's Restaurant Greensburg - January 13, 2023

Friday afternoon while prepping to try another pizza place with our friends Jim and Beth, Chip and I talked about how astonished we were that we've lived in this area for 26 years and have never tried Jioio's. A little research revealed that Jioio's was founded in 1950 in Latrobe by the grandfather of the current owner Tony Jioio. Jioio's Greensburg was recently voted 2022 Best Pizza in Westmoreland County, so we were excited to finally make the pilgrimage.

We arrived a little before 6 pm, and the parking lot was already packed and the lobby full. I quickly noted that another spot on my list, Giannilli's, is catty-corner to Jioio's so we had a second option if the wait was too long. But we realized as soon as we walked in the door that the majority of folks were in the take-out line. There were only two tables ahead of us to dine in.

As we were waiting in the lobby, we giggled over this caution sign posted right next to the dining room entrance. 

We only had to wait about 15 minutes, and landed a great table in the corner where other guests didn't have to traipse by us to get to their tables or the restroom. The dining room was surprisingly small, reinforcing our impression that the majority of their business - at least on a Friday night - carries out. The walls were covered with Westmoreland County history, most notably several photos, menus, and other paraphernalia related to Jioio's itself.

The menu was impressive, with appetizers, pizzas, pastas, sandwiches, and burgers. We asked the waitress if they had a specialty other than their pizza, and she said that their spaghetti/homemade sauce was well loved. None of us wanted spaghetti, so we opted for cheesy garlic bread that came with a side of sauce. We also ordered fried zucchini (which also came with sauce).

Our friends ordered a veggie pizza, with roasted red peppers, mushrooms, and black olives. I ordered our standard sausage and mushroom pizza, and Chip wanted to try the fried fish sandwich. They also had a small selection of domestic and imported bottled beers. Italian beer seemed appropriate so I opted for a Peroni.

We waited under 10 minutes for our zucchini and maybe 5 more for our bread. The zucchini was cut into rounds, and the breading was excellent. However the rounds were pretty thick, and when I bit into one the zucchini slid out of the breading. The sauce, however, was really good. It was savory and you could taste a wonderful meld of Italian spices. 

We all raved about the bread. It was slightly chewy, had just enough garlic not to be overwhelming, and the cheese - oh, the cheese! I learned from perusing the menu that Jioio's uses brick cheese rather than mozzarella or provolone. It was a little sweet and a little salty, and the cheese pull was perfect. The bread made us excited to try the pizza.

We weren't surprised to see rectangular, thin-crust pizzas arrive because we'd seen the pizza delivered to the next table. What we weren't prepared for was the size of the medium. The menu specifies 8 cuts but no dimensions, so I was astonished to see the size of those 8 cuts.

Chip's fish sandwich was also well proportioned, with a large battered fillet on a hoagie roll. He declared that it was good but not excellent - but he found the coleslaw too runny and flavorless.

My first few bites of pizza reinforced my initial reaction upon seeing it - this was really good pizza. The sausage had an ever-so-slight bite, and the mushrooms were fresh and delicious. Jim and Beth agreed that the veggie pizza was tasty and fresh. But here's where it gets strange. The sauce on the pizza tasted a little sweet to us, NOT like the sauce that came with the bread. I don't know if they really have two different sauces for pizza and pasta, or if the sauce interacts with the brick cheese in a way to make it seem sweeter. It wasn't unlikeable, but unexpected. 

The crust was also different but delicious. It was a non-rising crust and was flexible rather than cracker crispy, but also had an unusual sweetness to it. According to the article linked above, it takes days to perfect the crust. I believe it. The crust was also pretty sturdy. It held the toppings, which were plentiful without being overwhelming, without anything sliding off.

I had two ample slices, which left me feeling overly full since I'd also had a beer, a zucchini round, and a piece of cheesy bread. As we rolled out the door of Jioio's, we all declared this pizza outing a success and one that I'd like to repeat. 

Next year.