Yes, Hoboken411 has it right: when we gathered for our Munchmobile pizza quest, I mentioned that a friend (GoOutJersey’s own dear John Busco) had recommended Giovanni’s pizzeria in Hoboken. Here’s why (with a possible dare to duel for Perry?) — Donna.

Have you ever eaten a large cheese pizza? All by yourself? I have…and I have done it more than once.

I don’t consider myself a large man—I’m 6’1”, 200 pounds. But I love my pizza. And, in particular, I love one specific place to get my pizza—H&S Giovanni’s.

Let’s get one thing out of the way first. I used to be a fan of Benny Tudino’s. A big fan. From the first day I moved to Hoboken (back in 2001), I was enamored with “Jersey’s largest slice.” With all the other cool sights and sounds of New York, the fact that I lived next to the place that served the biggest slice of pizza in the state of New Jersey—and for $1.75 a slice—was cool. Like arguing with your friends about the correct pronunciation of “Houston Street” or talking incessantly about subway service. Or thinking you’re the first person to eat at Gray’s Papaya or take a cell phone picture of the Gay St. sign and send it to all of your brothers at 3 a.m. Benny’s was cool. I’d go back home and tell people I regularly eat the largest slice in New Jersey.

And then, one day, hungry and in the rain, I went to Benny’s for two slices of cheese. I walked in, and it was chaotic. I hovered over the semblance of the end of the line, and waited patiently for my turn. And the counter guys kept skipping me. Looking to the other side and calling on girls before even giving me a sideways glance. I had been there for three months straight, and these guys didn’t even know me yet. I felt they had their chance; I waited fourteen minutes until I decided to walk out and run across the street to H&S Giovanni’s.

Ever see a love story? A great love story? It always involves rain. Guy runs out in the rain, finds girl, grabs her, and kisses her sloppily as drops fall on their faces and we lean forward in our seats to determine if we can see through the girl’s wet shirt. Giovanni’s was this wet shirt.

After my first bite, I was a fan. Their pizza—although smaller in size than Benny’s—was much more tasty. I would wager that Benny’s slices and Giovanni’s use the same amount of dough, but Benny’s spreads it thin, while Giovanni’s keeps it relatively firm. Their sauce is far superior to Benny’s—tastier, fresher, zestier—and the cheese just seems to melt better. I am not saying this because I am bitter at Benny’s for the day they kept me waiting for fourteen minutes to order, but rather because Giovanni’s is superior in every imaginable aspect.

The best way to have your pizza done at Giovanni’s is made-to-order. Call ahead, get a large cheese, and walk over to pick it up. Their regular slices are bigger, but there is something special and rich and extra-enjoyable about the freshly-made Giovanni’s large cheese pizza. I can’t explain it, science probably couldn’t explain it; but it’s one of the truths I live by—if I’m going to tell someone where to get a pizza in Hoboken, I will tell them to get a large cheese pizza at Giovanni’s. Not to go and get a slice (although the slices are on par or better than every other place in Hoboken), but the entire pizza. It’s that good.

The rest of the menu is definitely serviceable, too. Their roast beef subs are excellent, calzones are always bigger than they have to be and well-stuffed (Giovanni’s doesn’t cheat and push down the edges to make a hard, crusty edge to the calzone, thus giving the impression of more cheese and meat inside because your eyes see a larger calzone—what you see is what you get. Sausage cascades from the inside like a sliced-open fetal pig in 9th-grade biology class, and their salads are filling…at least, they are filling to girls I have dated who insist on getting one with their pizza. As for the rest of the menu? I honestly don’t know. In the six years I have lived in Hoboken, and the five years and nine months I have frequented Giovanni’s, I have not expanded my experience there beyond their pizza, calzones, subs, and salads. What’s the point of even trying anything else? Why would I get a veal plate if I could just have a sausage calzone? Do you cheat on your wife? Then why would I cheat on my roast beef sub?

If this were the Middle Ages, I would stand outside Giovanni’s with a sword and threaten anyone who spoke bad of Giovanni’s with instant death. Since this is 2007, I will simply say that our friend Perry at Hoboken411 should have let the Munchmobile roll through Hoboken, and allow the rest of the food bloggers experience (and take awkward pictures of) the large cheese pizza served up by the nicest pizzeria crew this side of the Hudson.

If the devil approached me tomorrow and offered to give me the secret to making the perfect pizza, offering me franchise rights and the recipe in exchange for a piece of my soul, and if I accepted, I would build a pizzeria in every city on earth except for Hoboken, just out of respect for H&S Giovanni’s. Great pizza…good pizza… excellent pizza… the choice is really yours to make. But the service, the honesty in their food and prices, and the way they welcome you when you come in, all add up to the best pizza-eating experience in all of Hoboken, New Jersey.

Giovanni’s
603 Washington St
Hoboken
(201) 714-4232 or (201) 714-4233

— by John Busco
John Busco, originally from upstate NY, has been living in NJ for several years, and currently calls Hoboken home.

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