Wegmans, Calkins Rd.

I have occasion to stop at the Wegmans on Calkins Road fairly often, and when I walk through the hot-food section, my eyes are often drawn to the pizza.
Now I suppose my eyes would be drawn to the pizza, no matter what, but in this case it's partly because the pizzas always looked pretty good to me.
I've reviewed Wegman's pizza before, and I was in no hurry to try any more. It's not that the ones I had before were bad; but they weren't outstanding, either, and I'm generally not eager to try chain pizza or supermarket pizza. And Wegmans pizza is both.
But the sight of those pies finally got to me. So the other day I picked up a cheese slice and a Buffalo chicken slice.
The former had a thin, pliable crust. The underside was firm but foldable, well browned and dry, with some corn meal visible.
The slice was topped with a thin layer of cheese that easily separated from the crust. A thin oily layer, that may have been from the cheese itself, the sauce, or another source, seemed to be the main cause.
The cheese seemed to be all mozzarella, and was melted just shy of browning, though it was a bit congealed by the time I got it to my car.
There was a fair amount of sauce on this slice, but it was particularly noticeable thanks to its very tomatoey, lightly seasoned flavor, which gave it a pungency not found in sweeter or more heavily seasoned sauces.

It didn't take me long to work my way to the outer edge, which was marked by a thin, narrow cornicione that was somewhere between crisp and crunchy.
My Buffalo chicken slice was topped with unbreaded chunks of chicken, which had been given a light coat of seasoning. The chicken was not exactly abundant - some here, some there - but it wasn't skimpy either.
This was essentially a white pizza with seasoned chicken. It had a very mild flavor overall, there was no tomato sauce, and I didn't notice any hot sauce. It was rather oily on top, so maybe the crust got a drizzle or brushing of oil.
Or maybe the oil came from the cheese. There seemed to be a mix of cheeses on this one, including both mozzarella and blue, perhaps some Provolone or a sharper cheese in there as well. There was just enough blue cheese - a few small chunks scattered about - to add some faint background flavor.
The crust on this slice was similar to the cheese slice, but seemed a little softer and more pliable. Parts of the underside were well browned, and again there was some corn meal visible.These weren't bad. If you're doing some grocery shopping here and you're hungry, and the food samples aren't enough for you, these are OK.
But while they're not as convenient to eat on the go, I'd take one of Wegman's subs over these. These were roughly New York style slices, but judged against that standard, they didn't quite measure up. The crust wasn't terrible, by any means, but it was a bit limp and lifeless. And since the first thing that hits your palate is the underside of the crust, the crust is the key to a great slice. These were good enough, but not great, and I'll give them a C.
Wegmans, 745 Calkins Road, Henrietta 14623
334-4010 (store), 444-2015 (pizza)