Brandani's

Back when I started this blog, one of my favorite spots was Brandani's on West Henrietta Road. I posted about it a number of times, and was generally impressed by its pizza. 

The original location closed some years ago, and when I stopped updating the blog I wasn't keeping track of places as closely as I had been, so I kind of assumed Brandani's had just gone by the wayside.

So it was with some surprise when recently I happened to notice Brandani's on Crittenden Road in Brighton, just off West Henrietta Road. It's in the former site of Piatza's, which I wrote about way back when. I'm sure I must've seen it before, as they've been open for several months (maybe longer, I neglected to jot that down in my notes), but it just never registered.

 They had a nice selection of slices, as I remember from when they were on West Henrietta Road, and the slices looked to have about the same thickness as before.

 I got two slices, a pepperoni & banana peppers slice (always one of my favorite combinations) and a mango-habanero slice. I don't typically go for sweet/hot combos, but it sounded intriguing.

I opted to have them reheated to crisp up the crust a bit, and then gave them an additional quick reheating on a cast iron pan when I got them home about 15 minutes later. 

The crust showed some internal air holes from the dough's rising, and the underside was dry in a good way, as in not oily. Thanks in part to the two reheatings, it was also crisp, with some spotty browning, but the cornicione was a bit more pale than I would've liked. I realize this wasn't baked in a wood-fired oven, so the perimeter is not going to get blistered and charred from direct exposure to a flame, but I found it a bit underdone and uninteresting. With great pizza of any type, I enjoy the "bones" as much as the interior. Not so much here.

The toppings were okay. The cheese was nicely melted, but not stretchy.  The tomato sauce was fine but very much in the background. Nothing wowed me, but it was ... okay.

The mango habanero slice was surprisingly good. The flavors both contrasted and complemented each other. 

 In writing this post, I went back and read my prior posts about Brandani's. In many respects, these slices were comparable to those I had before. So I don't know if my standards have changed, or if Brandani's pizza has changed, or both.  I dunno, but at some point I have to publish this post, so I will just admit to some personal uncertainty and leave it at that.

 Having said all that, I want to emphasize that this wasn't bad pizza by any means. For a medium-thick, tasty slice, not bad at all. But with acknowledgment of my subjectivity, it wasn't quite as good as I remembered. That's about all I can say.

Brandani's Pizza

1703 Crittenden Rd.

Rochester, NY 14623

(585) 272-7180 

 

 Sunday 12pm-7pm

Mon-Sat 11am-9pm

 

 

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CompTin

I have been working my way through pizzerias in and around Fairport, so that journey recently took me to CompTin Pizza & Provisions. According to one report, the name "is a portmanteau of the partners' current business ventures,'" i.e. Compané Trattoria  and  Tin Cup Social.

I got a large (16-inch) pizza, with cup-and-char pepperoni on half and sweet peppers and onions on the other half.

The crust was extremely thin. I wondered if they use the same amount of dough for a large that they do for a medium 12-inch pizza and just roll it thinner.

Frankly, the crust wasn't great. I ordered online and considered requesting "well done," but I'm glad I didn't, as this was heavily blackened. Charring is one thing, but this was blackened, and well, yeah, burnt.

The crust had also separated, top from bottom in some areas, so there was just a wafer-thin layer on top and underneath, with a gap in between. Not everywhere, but even where that hadn't happened there wasn't enough substance to the crust to make it interesting. I like a good thin crust as much as anyone but this was just thin.

Before I move on, I will note that the pizza was in the box (which I put in an insulated bag) for about 30 minutes before I got it home. That may have had some effect on the crust but obviously that had no effect on the thickness (or should I say thinness) or the heavily blackened bottom.

The toppings were good. Just what I ordered, and flavorful. The cheese was nicely melted, soft and stretchy. The cup and char pepperoni was well done, although some of the slices were upside down. I guess I never thought about it before but for some reason some slices were like upside-down cups. Were they applied the wrong way? Were they turned over after the pizza was done? This requires some thought and perhaps experimentation. 

Sometimes I write a post and it feels as if I've made the pizza sound worse than it was. This might be one of those times. It had some issues, for sure. Could've been better, no doubt. But somewhere in there was a good pizza, just waiting to burst out with better execution. CompTin, if you are reading this (and you may not be, because I don't claim to be an "influencer"), you can do better. 

 CompTin Pizza and Provisions 

1276 Fairport Rd, Fairport, NY 14450

(585) 203-1312

Fri. & Saturday    12–10 PM
Sunday    12–8 PM
Mon. - Thu. 12–9 PM

 

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