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Friday, February 20, 2015

Alloco's, Long Pond Road

New pizzerias continue to spring up, and one of the most recent is Alloco's Restaurant and Catering, on Long Pond Road, in the former site of Martino's (that former Martino's, by the way, was NOT associated with the Martino's in Webster, which is still in business, and as far as I know, is still going strong).
I recently picked up a large pizza from Alloco's for a family dinner. To satisfy the disparate tastes of my wife and daughter, I got half ham, half sweet peppers.
I got the pizza home quickly, and it looked good on top. I then checked the bottom, which was a uniform dark brown, with screen marks and some visible flour.
That didn't look so promising. Based on my past experience with pizza displaying similar characteristics, I was expecting a firm but lifeless crust, more pliable than crisp, with an aroma of cooking oil.
So I was pleasantly surprised to find that the crust was quite good: crisp on the outside, with a toasty aroma. The surface of the underside cracked a little when the slices were folded, which was also a good sign, as I generally prefer a pizza that's both crackly and chewy. Good pizza is all about balance, and that's one aspect of it.
I mentioned seeing some flour on the bottom. It was detectable to the touch, but not excessive, and I didn't taste any raw flour. The edge was shaped into an attractive cornicione, with a series of indentations along the edge. The thin-to-medium crust had a good, bready flavor and a nicely chewy texture. And it was well complemented by the toppings.
I was struck by the brownish color of the peppers, almost as if they'd been tossed with balsamic vinegar, but I didn't get any such flavor. I think they had just caramelized a little along the edges, perhaps when they were par-cooked before being applied to the pie. Though their appearance was unusual, the peppers tasted good, neither raw nor overly cooked.
Now to the ham side. I like ham, though I don't rank it among my favorite pizza toppings. But this was good ham, thin-sliced and more meaty than fatty, and not too salty.
The cheese was somewhat obscured by the other toppings (which is why, for evaluation purposes, I often order plain cheese slices), but seemed to be all mozzarella; I didn't pick up any tanginess or other flavors that would indicate otherwise. The cheese was not abundant, but I generally don't like cheese-heavy pizza, and it was added in good proportion to the other components. The underlying sauce was basic, tomatoey, with a medium consistency. As you can see, it was applied quite close to the edge of the pie.
Alloco's offers some 30 toppings, nothing terribly exotic, but just about any standard topping you can think of. They also have 17 specialty pizzas, which you can see on the menu, which I've included here. Besides pizza, Alloco's does calzones, subs, wings, pasta, seafood, quesadillas, and a variety of grilled and fried items.
As I said, I was pretty pleased with this pizza. Overall, it was well balanced, with straightforward ingredients and a decent crust. It was difficult to pigeonhole - kind of a cross between a traditional Rochester pizza and a New York style pizza - but it was good. I'd go back, and I think I will, at some point, so I'll give it a B.

Alloco's Restaurant & Catering, 1742 Long Pond Rd.

(585) 426-TOGO (8646)

Mon. - Thu. 8 a.m. - 11 p.m., Fri. 8 a.m. - 1 a.m, Sat. 10 am.m - 1 a.m, Sun. 11 a.m, - 10 p.m.

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