Fiorella

Just over ten years ago, I posted a review of Fiorella, an Italian restaurant and pizzeria in Rochester's Public Market. I had some issues with the crust, which was unevenly baked underneath, but I otherwise enjoyed it. Since Fiorella had only recently opened I considered it "a work in progress," and worth checking out.

I guess ten years is enough time to allow for a revisit. So my wife and I recently went there for dinner.

We ordered a Margherita (plum tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella, basil) and one of that night's specials, a white pizza with mortadella, basil, oregano, roasted onion, fresh and smoked mozzarella, extra virgin olive oil, hot chili flakes, finished with grated Parmigiano cheese *whew* - there would've been still more had we not asked them to leave out the honey drizzle -- not a fan of honey on pizza.

Alas, while the flavor was good, the crust again disappointed. The problem this time wasn't so much an unevenly baked crust, but too ... what?

I want to say too soft, but that doesn't quite capture it. I've used "flabby" before, and that comes closer. But ultimately it just wasn't interesting. 

 As I've said before, I do not think that pizza necessarily needs an exceptionally crisp, crackly crust to be good. I've had terrific pizza that needed to be eaten with a knife and fork. But even a soft underside benefits from a contrast with a crusty cornicione. To me, it's that mix of flavors and textures that elevates pizza to greatness. This was just soft and chewy all the way around.

 Having said all that, I should add that I still enjoyed the pizza. The white pizza was flavorful, although I didn't detect the chili flakes.

The Margherita was pretty good, a bit heavy on the sauce perhaps, but the fresh mozzarella was softened just right. The fresh basil made a cameo appearance but I would've liked it to be a little more prominent. 

Fiorella's menu states that they make wood-fired pizza, with dough "made with 100% organic NY stone-ground wheat, water and sea salt only and naturally leavened for better health." All of which is great, but I was frankly hoping for more from this pizza. 

There were plenty of patrons at Fiorella eating pizza, seemingly happily, so maybe it's just me, but I was disappointed with our pies. That of course is a subjective judgment but my wife serves as a check on my idiosyncrasies and she pretty much agreed with me, so I don't think I'm too far off base. 

Baking pizza, like baking bread, involves a complex mixture of ingredients, time, handling and temperature. I've tried to describe objectively where this pizza fell short for me subjectively. To summarize, it was good. But I was hoping for better.

Fiorella

5 Public Market

Wed. - Sat. 11:30 AM – 2:00 PM 5:00 PM – 9:00 PM

 Sun. - Tue. Closed

DoughBoyzRoc/Sager-Stoneyard Pub

Partly at a reader's suggestion (always appreciated), I recently had dinner with my wife at Sager-Stoneyard Pub, to try DoughBoyzRoc pizza. 

Before I get to the pizza, or the beer, I want to say, come up with a shorter name, guys. I understand this is a collaborative effort among two breweries and a pizzeria, but come on. How about "SagyardBoyz"? OK, maybe that's not that great, but better that what you've got now. Shorter, anyway.

We ordered a Margherita (San Marzano tomatoes, basil, fresh mozzarella, Parmesan and EVOO), and a Comella, with (long list here) garlic oil, garlic confit, basil, mozzarella, provolone, sausage, peppers, onions, Parmesan, Sicilian oregano and olive oil.

Let's start with the crust, which is where it all begins with pizza. The DoughBoyzRoc website states that they use "naturally leavened dough" that "starts with this sourdough and ends with a gentle touch of imported olive oil."

Both pies had a thin crust, as I expected. The Margherita crust was nicely risen and flavorful, evidencing its long fermentation. 

Unfortunately, despite some spotting, the underside was mostly pale and soft. I'm not saying it should've been crackly crisp, and I know that Neapolitan pizza is not supposed to be crunchy underneath. But it seemed ti me that it would've developed more flavor had the underside come closer to matching the charring of the cornicione. The interior was nicely chewy, but a better-baked bottom could've put it over the top, if you follow me.

The overall flavor was good. The tomato sauce was a bit on the mild side for my taste, but that's purely subjective. The fresh mozzarella was softened without melting or browning. The flavor of the basil came through, although a few more sprinkles would have been welcome.

The Comella was quite flavorful. The cornicione was puffier than that of the Margherita. It was more blackened along the perimeter underneath, but otherwise the crust was similar to the Margherita's. Had that charring been more evenly distributed, it would've enhanced the flavor of the crust.

The Comella's list of toppings sounded appealing and indeed they complemented each other well. Although it was a long list, the individual toppings were applied sparingly, so the pie wasn't laden down, and they combined for a complex array of flavors, from salty to tangy to meaty.

That's it for the pizza. While there, I also enjoyed a Stoneyard Keller Pils. One of my beefs with a lot of craft breweries is that they try too hard to outdo each other in coming up with new brews, and in giving them names that tell me nothing about the beer, like "Evil Lizard," which turns out to be a dry-hopped sour papaya ginger stout. (I just made that up, but now that I think about it, it doesn't sound half bad. If any home brewers out there want to give it a shot, I'd be happy to review it.)

But keller beer, or kellerbier, or cellar beer (depending on your level of beer snobbishness), is a German style with a long pedigree, and although I'm not in a position to say how "accurate" Stoneyard's version was, it had the hallmarks of classic German beer, with a nice balance of malt and hops.

We also happened to come on Trivia Night (Thursday). Although we didn't actively participate, I daresay I would've done pretty well. Ironically, one of the few questions I missed was during the round on baseball, a subject on which I consider myself well versed:  "how many outs in an inning of baseball?" I scoffed at how ridiculously easy the question was, and although I wouldn't call it a trick question, my first, instinctive answer was wrong. (Answer below)

So:  a few quibbles aside, good pizza, good beer, and a good time. What's not to like?

Oh, the baseball question? I instinctively said, "rhree."  Three outs and you're done, right?  But the question was, how many outs in an inning, i.e. a full inning. There are three outs in each half of an inning. So the correct answer is six. DOH!

DoughBoyz, inside Sager-Stoneyard Pub

46 Sager Dr Suite E
Rochester, NY 14607
(585) 417-5404
doughboyzjim@gmail.com

Pizza available Tue. - Thu. 4pm - 8pm, Fri. 4pm - 9pm, Sat. 12 - 9pm

Pub hours: 

Mon - Thurs: 4pm – 9pm
Friday: 4pm - 10pm
Saturday: 12pm - 10pm
Sunday: 1pm - 7pm

Native

 On October 3, my wife and I had dinner at Native on South Clinton Avenue in downtown Rochester. They describe themselves as offering "a casual upscale dining experience," and they do pizza, so here we go.

I quite liked the place, which is in 3 City Center, at the corner of South Clinton and Woodbury Boulevard. It was a warmish late afternoon and the patio doors were open. We ate inside, which had a very relaxed feel. Dark walls but not dim, high ceilings. Very nice.

The pizza options were limited, but I understand this is not a pizzeria, just a restaurant that offers pizza. We passed on the "Blu Mela" (apple compote, bacon, mozzarella, blue cheese and pearl onions), which sounds unappealing for a number of reasons that I may get into on my Facebook page, but the more options the better.

 We decided to split a "Rossa" with house red sauce, mozzarella and pepperoni, and a "Senza Nome" (which translates to nameless or literally "without a name"), topped with white bean puree, leeks, NYS cheddar, shredded mozzarella, fried Brussels sprouts, and Gochujang sauce. I confess to having had to look up the latter, which AI tells me is a Korean chili sauce made from the fermented gochujang chili paste. "Chili sauce" on the description would've sufficed for me (or an explanation of what it means), but OK.

 Both pies had a thick, puffy corncione. The undersides were noticeably dusted with what I believe was cornmeal. 

The crust was chewy, and had some flavor; it wasn't just a vehicle for the toppings. For me, though, the graininess underneath diminished its impact somewhat. The Senza Nome was quite darkened, well beyond "spotting," but was still enjoyable. It also seemed puffy underneath, with visible dough bubbles.

The Rossa was, shall I say flatter underneath, had some dark spots and was crisp but more evenly browned.

 The cheese on both was melted quite nicely. Getting the cheese and the crust to come out right at the same time may be one of the trickiest aspects of making pizza, as so many variables are involved, but the cheese on both of these was right where I wanted it: melted just shy of being overdone.

I was also impressed with the toppings as a whole. The cheese melted beautifully and the tomato sauce was nicely balanced, with tomatoey sweetness and a hint of acidity. And although it would never occur to me to put a white bean puree on a pizza, this particular combination worked surprisingly well. It's not often I run across a pizza I prefer to a pepperoni pie, but I liked this one better. Kudos!

If I have a complaint, it would be about the crust.  The crusts were good but I'd like to see more consistency. And although I understand the use of cornmeal (or rice flour or whatever it was) underneath, there was a graininess on the bottom of this crust that got in the way of my enjoyment of it.

But I shouldn't end this on a bad note. It was good pizza and a good experience. Recommended.