Sully's Brickyard Pub: Sully's Plate Pizza

NOTE: Sully's Pub is now closed.
I recently had lunch at Sully's, where I shared a "Brickyard plate" pie with a companion. This is a pizza topped with the makings of what most of us refer to generically as a garbage plate, but since Nick Tahou's owns the trademark for that term (which officially describes "prepared entrees consisting primarily of one of the following, hot dogs without buns, hamburgers without buns, steak, pork chops, sausage, ham, fish or eggs and processed potatoes and processed beans"), the word "plate" has come to be known around here as shorthand for something along those lines.
This isn't something I would typically order - it was actually my friend's choice - though now and then I do like to try something out of the ordinary, just for fun.
Sully's Brickyard pie comes topped with, according to the menu, ground beef, oven roasted potatoes, mozzarella, meat hot sauce, and mac salad. But let's start with the crust.
Thin in the middle, puffy along the edge. Blistered from the heat of the wood-fired oven, but unevenly, with some areas blackened, and the opposite side pale, this could've used a turn, or at least a sooner turn, in the oven. Still an enjoyable crust, but I've seen better execution.
The toppings were good, I guess, though I'm no connoisseur of "plates." The presentation was as artful as could be expected, with a substantial mound of seasoned ground beef in the center, topped with an ice-cream-scoopful of mayonnaise-laden pasta salad.
That left a wide ring of the unadorned cornicione of the crust, which was pretty good if not outstanding. The crust had a good, breadlike flavor, but the unevenness of the cooking detracted from it a bit. The underside was also heavily blackened in some areas, but still pale in others.
As for the toppings, well, again I'm no expert in this area, but I could've used more seasoning. The ground beef was generously laid on, but I didn't get a lot of the flavor of traditional Rochester "hot sauce" (a term that's always puzzled me, as it's not particularly spicy - does it refer to the temperature at which it's usually served, to distinguish it from relatively cold condiments?). The mac salad was OK, but the smattering of potatoes was barely noticeable, as was the cheese. They were simply overwhelmed by the meat. Thankfully, "processed beans" (to quote the trademark document) were absent.

I'm not going to assign a grade to this pizza, because it's simply too unlike traditional pizza to make a grade very meaningful. Nor do I have enough experience with "plates" to assess the quality of the toppings, as compared to others of this ilk. Purely from my own subjective standpoint, I will say that this kind of pizza falls into that category that doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me, in that, if I want a "plate," I'll get a plate, and if I want a pizza, I'll get a pizza. Combining them just doesn't work for me.
But I don't hold that against Sully's. To do so would be like ordering a mushroom pizza and then giving it a bad review because I hate mushrooms.
What I can say is that this pizza pretty much lived up to its name and description. Think g___ plate on a flatbread, and you'll have a good idea of what it was like. If I could've changed anything about it, I would've liked a more evenly baked crust. And, in hindsight, I would've asked for ketchup. If ever a pizza would benefit from ketchup, this was the one.
Sully's Brickyard Pub, 240 South Ave., Rochester 14604
Open Tue. - Sat. 3 p.m. - close
232-3960