Thanks to a reader, I learned about the recent opening of a new pizzeria in Mendon,
Pizza D's. (I try to keep up with pizza openings and closings, but I do rely a lot on readers to keep me up to date, so please let me know of recent discoveries.) Pizza D's occupies the former site of a
Pontillo's pizzeria.
I ordered an 18-inch large pie, half pepperoni, half sweet peppers and onions, along with some wings.
The crust on my pie was thin to medium, with a dry, firm bottom that I would call "nearly" charred. It had some dark brown areas that weren't quite blackened. I'm guessing Pizza D's individual slices would be good, as a reheating would give the underside a little more of a charred, toasty flavor and aroma. But it was pretty good as it was. The bottom was lightly dusted with corn meal, not much, but just enough to help slide it off the peel.
The crust was topped with a moderately flavored sauce. It was the type I call "middle of the road" - tomatoey, not too salty, not too sweet, not too "herbal". If you like an assertively flavored sauce, you might consider this on the bland side, but I liked it, and it also had a good texture, neither dried out nor watery.
The cheese was just a bit browned. Pizza D's uses whole milk mozzarella, with a pinch of Romano. I can't say that I tasted the Romano, but the mozzarella was pretty good, not stringy or gooey, but also not dried out or oily. The three parts of the pizza trinity here - crust, sauce, and cheese - were well balanced and blended well.
The extra toppings were good too, nothing remarkable, but good. The pepperoni slices were thin, with a slightly crisp texture and meaty flavor, and the veggies were fresh.
The edge of the crust was medium thick, and displayed some nice breadiness, as seen in the bottom photo. All in all, a good pie.
No photos, I'm afraid, but the wings were pretty good too, with a reasonable amount of meat on their bones and a true-to-style medium Buffalo sauce. I ordered mine regular, but Pizza D's also offers "Char-B-Q" wings, which are fried and then grilled for some extra crunch and grilled flavor. I plan to try those next time. Oh, and they serve celery sticks with their wings, which you don't always get anymore, but which I still like (and they were crisp, not bendy).
Which means I think there will be a next time. I often feel like "so many pizzerias, so little time," so I don't always get back to places as soon as I'd like, but Pizza D's will be on my go-to list. This was good pizza, a bit generic, perhaps, but well made. And considering that they'd only been open a short time when I went, that's pretty promising for the future.
If you go, you should know that Pizza D's offers a very wide range of toppings, including - and this may be a first around here - black truffle oil. By my count, there are 13 specialty pizzas available. I'll give a special mention to "The Godfather," which comes with red sauce, chopped garlic, mozzarella, and ... are you ready? pepperoni, capicola, salami, meatballs, pastrami and Italian sausage. I don't think that's for me, but it deserves note for the sheer abundance of meat on one pizza.
Pizza D's wings also come with several varieties of sauce, and they serve hot and cold subs, calzones, pasta, finger foods and salads. There is some seating, and they deliver for a $2 charge.
So - I liked this pizza. I won't give it a top rating, not because I didn't like it, but only because, as good as it was, it wasn't particularly distinctive, and so it wasn't something I would drive many miles out of my way for. If I lived on the other side of the county, I could probably find something roughly equivalent closer to home.
But, having said that, this was a well made, tasty pizza, and certainly a good option for folks in the Mendon area. That's good enough to rate a B+ from me.
Pizza D's, 1350 Pittsford Mendon Rd. (Mendon Commons), Mendon, NY 14506
Tel.: 582-6087
Hours: Mon. - Thu. 11 a.m. - 10 p.m., Fri. & Sat. 11 a.m. - 11 p.m., Sun. noon - 9 p.m.
