Geraldi's | Authentic East Coast Style Deli — Restaurant in McMinnville

I’ve been here a few times and wanted to share my experience of finding a true, New York style pizza in McMinnville.

Imagine my surprise 😋😋😋

You can only get real, New York pizza 🍕 in New York. If you’ve done that you’ll know why. But…

I’ve had amazing New York “style” pizza at a little pie house in LA’s Larchmont Village. And I miss it.

Traveling here and there I’m always looking to get that satisfying, pie. San Diego has it and a few other locales as well, but it’s not easy to discover.

What do I look for in New York styled pizza:

For starters I like it to be local and easy to get to.

Next: it’s eye appeal, how does it look?

Also: the people making it.

At Geraldi’s they are passionate about the pizza and personal service maybe even more than I was.

There are many great pizzas and they can be made different ways. But What makes it a notable, New York style?

It needs sauce that is not too thin or sloppy or thick and globby.

The sauce needs to hold the cheese 🧀 to the crust. A great sauce means the center is done just as well as the outer edge and isn’t overpowering the crust or cheese. It cradles it softly.

And it’s gotta be crusty but not brittle.

Crust is key: also not to thick or thin and yes it needs to be cooked to the brink of burning but not charred or turned to charcoal.

The cheese needs good texture and flavor so you taste a quality that marries the sauce to harmonize with the crust.

A most import factor is the primal satisfaction you get when you eat it.

Geraldi’s pies gave me that.

And that’s paramount. When you eat-it, it should make you feel good.

Geraldi’s has that wow flavor earning them my personal: Pizza mojo rating!

Geraldi’s gets it all done ✅ right with some extra Mojo. Nobody knows what that mojo is because it’s impossible to describe. You taste it when it’s there and miss it when it’s not.

Other factors include: temperature. Each time I visit Geraldi’s regardless of how busy or the time of day my pizza is always pitch perfect.

Not so hot it fries my mouth or so luke-warm it leaves me wondering 💭 if it’s fresh?

Both times it was piping hot but didn’t burn the roof of my mouth.

What I love 💕 ❤️ most about about Geraldi’s?

That they take the three main themes: crust, sauce and cheese and elevate it to a level that inspires loyalty.

Final notes: the crust edge frames the pie and offers a way to hold the hot saucy cheese on the way to it’s destination with just a drizzle of oil and a hint of the cornmeal, dusted in.

It’s masterful!

Geraldi’s has the pie to satisfy my cravings.

No mo pizza blues because Geraldi’s downtown on 3rd has serious New York style pizza Mojo!!

Sum up: Great service, easy access, clean, personal and a pizza pie to satisfy the New York style.

Thanks you Geraldi’s for making my pizza dreams come true! I’ll...

Joe and John catered my sisters wedding rehearsal dinner, it was so delicious my kids and I went back to have dinner just a couple weeks later. The event was amazing and everyone LOVED amd RAVED about the food (barely any leftovers as most people went back for 2nd and 3rds lol) they were on time and the food was still fresh so I was impressed. Now fast forward to having dinner at the restaurant with my 3 kids. We were blown away by their hospitality and how attentive they were of their guests. Not just by the employees and the poor man who was trying to eat his lunch and kept hopping up with a sweet genuine smile whenever my kids and I needed anything, but the owners John was hilarious and entertained my kids like he was their uncle and Joe as soon as he got back came right up and asked how my sisters event was and brought us FRESH Alfredo sauce for our bread (and even got us extra bread since we had already ate the first batch, IT WAS SO GOOD!!) The food came out in a timely manner but not too quick since it's FRESH food and not just microwave reheated as some other restaurants have done. I had the chicken Alfredo and I would love the recipe as I can't even make fresh Alfredo sauce that good! Kids had pizza by the slice and couldn't even finish them as they were HUGE! My eldest had the Italian pasta with chicken added and she almost ate the whole thing! (Since the bowl was also huge she couldn't finish every bite lol) the prices are a little up there but not too bad and just remember, the food is FRESH and just made so you're paying for quality AND quantity and they DO NOT disappoint! But they also do have smaller sizes (the half size) for cheaper which is perfect for me as I don't eat very much. I got the antipasto salad to go with my dinner and they have ACTUAL leafy greens! Not just iceberg lettuce! All the good and nutritious stuff you want in your salad, it was all there 😊. I'm going to be back to get this just for my lunch sometime soon. Needless to say we are going back again tonight for the spaghetti since they made us feel like we were eating with family at their home and they make their food like it just came out of grandma's kitchen. Great job you guys, and especially John and Joe for their awesomeness 😁. (We live in Dallas about 30 mins away and it's definitely worth the drive 2 nights in a row.) We'll see you...

My husband and I stopped in Geraldi's a couple weeks ago for a pizza and a pizza bread, you know, what we were used to ordering from the Geraldi's that we last ate at over 2 years ago. We ordered our food, paid and while we waited we were in complete awe of the sandwiches being made behind the counter! While we were gawking over them the owner, Joe, brought us little tasters of the house made meatballs, spicy veggies, and beef. It was insanely good. All of it! We decided this wasn't the last they'd seen of us!! We'd be back to make a newly educated meal decision.

Today was the day!! I called in our take out order of two meatball sandwiches, a chicken Geraldi and 2 slices of cheese pizza. Paid over the phone and because I had my kiddos with me, they were kind enough to walk the order to my car once I arrived!!! (That alone is priceless) After enjoying our meal, we decided these were the best sandwiches in town, hands down! The portions are huge, the toppings are fresh, the meat is delicious and so flavorful. No need to bury anything in sauses! The kicker, while cleaning up the bags I saw the receipt and I realized they hadn't charged us for one of the sandwiches. So I called prepared to pay for it and the owner answered! He apologized for the error (I was like, no way, I owe you) then preceded to ask how the sandwiches were. When I told him everything was fantastic and we loved them, He said, 'thank you for your honesty and this phone call. Sounds like you got a free sandwich'.

Geraldi's wins!! They win at customer service, they win at best sandwiches ever, they just win at everything today! If ya haven't tried 'em yet, GO. Drop what you're doing and go get a Chicken Geraldi!! You wont...