Gianni Mazia's, Clarence

 OK, so a bit out of the geographic scope for a Rochester, NY Pizza Blog, but really not all that far, and this is a blog, after all, meaning a web log of my personal pizza experiences, wherever they happen.

My wife and I recently drove to Clarence to hit some antique stores. If you're not familiar with it, Clarence, which is about 20 miles east of Buffalo, is for reasons unknown to me a center for antique shops. You'll find antique malls and individual shops. Well worth the drive if you're looking for vintage items.

We thought we should grab some lunch, and my maps app came up with Gianni Mazia's On Main. We arrived about !2:45.

I was intrigued to see that Gianni Mazia's offers two basic pizza options:  "traditional" and wood-fired. I was tempted to get one of each, but we were thinking of going out for dinner later, so we decided to share just one pizza for lunch.

But which? That was a tough call, but we settled on a wood-fired "Native New Yorker," described as "sliced tomatoes and fresh basil on top of red sauce and fresh mozzarella."

It took some time to arrive--I wasn't timing it, but it seemed like a long time, considering that they weren't busy and that wood-fired pizza typically bakes very quickly--but that gave me a chance to take a peek at the oven. 

I saw a gas flame, and a temperature reading of 744 degrees, which is certainly high though well below what wood-fired ovens are capable of. There was a large wood pile outside, so I don't doubt that they use wood, but I didn't see any, nor did I pick up any whiff of wood smoke. I can't say for certain that there was no wood flame at the time, as I didn't see the entire interior of the oven, just that I neither saw nor smelled any indication of one. I suppose I could've asked, probably should have, but I'm naturally reticent so I didn't. Something I need to work on.

It hardly mattered, though, as the pizza was quite good. My one complaint is that is was extremely thin. Paper thin. I like thin crust pizza, and I expect wood-fired pizza to be thin, but this was as thin as could be. A teeny bit of interior would've been welcome.

That aside, it was still good. The underside showed some "leopard spotting," meaning blistered but not burnt. The outer edge was also nicely charred, which gave it an added depth of flavor. While insubstantial in terms of its weight and volume, the crust made a nice base for the toppings. 

Which were very good. I always say that pizza is all about balance, meaning all the components must complement and balance each other. This pizza was unbalanced, in the sense that the toppings were far more substantial than the crust, but it was still good. That doesn't necessarily disprove my premise, as I think I would've liked this even better had the crust been a bit thicker, to add some chewy substance. But it was the fact that the crust was good that made me want more of it.

Oh yes, the toppings. I don't know why they decided to call this the Native New Yorker, as I didn't see much particularly New Yorkish about it, but I'm not going to get too hung about about labels.

I'm a tomato guy. Red over white pizza every time. Red sauce vs. Alfredo? No contest. I'm even one of the few who prefer Manhattan clam chowder over New England. 

So while the crust fell short of greatness by my standards, the toppings largely made up for it. The sauce and tomato slices and fresh mozzarella (baked just to the edge of rubbery), and basil, were very tasty. Was it a Platonic ideal of pizza? No. Was it good? Well, I gobbled it up, so yes.

In evaluating pizza, I have to remind myself once in a while to stop thinking in terms of categories. It's not all about "authenticity," or how close the pizza came to some predetermined standard. Bottom line, did you like it? Yes, and I hope I've described it well enough that others can decide whether they might like it. 

As we go antiquing pretty often, and we find ourselves in Clarence now and then. Next time I want to go back and try the "traditional" pizza. One of these days.

Gianni Mazia's on Main

10325 Main St, Clarence, NY 14031

Mon. - Sat. 11 a.m. - 9 p.m.

Sun. 11 a.m. - 8 p.m.