Gorilla Pies in North Hollywood Review (Score: 7)

Gorilla Pies in North Hollywood is a spot that comes highly touted and was referred to me, not only as a pizza place, but as the Valley’s best wing joint. Seeing as a big plate of buffalo wings is my death row meal, Gorilla Pies was a must-try. Tucked into an obscure shopping mall in North Hollywood, the place has a small-town pizza place charm. It's the type of place you’d go to in your hometown after playing in a youth soccer game—cool, kitschy decor, fun staff. It seats probably fifteen people inside.

I ordered takeout and, for some reason, the smoky buffalo sauce comes on the side of the wings when you do it that way. The wing itself was beautiful, jumbo and breaded beautifully. Even without the buffalo sauce, the chicken wings are savory and delicious. That said, the smoky buffalo sauce was average. It was sweeter than it was smoky or spicy and kind of had a pinkish hue that threw me off. I must say that six wings for $16 is antithetical to what chicken wings are all about, but the ones here are big and specialty… so I guess I’ll give them a pass?

I also got a cheese pizza, which fell victim to the 10-minute drive home, but for all intents and purposes, was enjoyable. Garlicky crust, mouthwatering sauce, and good cheese. They have all sorts of meat and veggie topping options on the pizzas (one called the Big Papa with roasted garlic mashed potato, tater tots, ricotta, and house chips), but this is a pizzeria where straight cheese still flies. The personal pizza size option is definitely enough to fill up one person, especially if you add on some sides (they have mozz sticks, garlic knots, Caesar salad, etc.). Speaking of sides, the seasoned fries were actually my favorite dish of all. Sweet, salty, spicy, and totally delicious. Tack them onto whatever you get; they’re not expensive.

Final thoughts: Whoever is in charge of Gorilla Pies really cares about how their food tastes. I applaud them for that and will be taking out from them in the future, selectively.