Empire Pizza Update and $25 Giveaway

I recently had lunch with a longtime reader, Craig Ephraim, at Empire Pizza, which serves New York-style pizza from its shop on Empire Boulevard. Yesterday I published a guest post by Craig, which you can see here.
I got a couple of slices. From the eight pies available, I selected a meatball Parmesan slice and a white slice with spinach, tomato and ricotta. Both were very good.
The crusts were a shade thicker than some New York pizza I've had, but still within the general parameters of the style. The undersides were well darkened, to the point of charring on the white slice.
Texturally, these were right on the mark. The bottom surface was dry to the touch and crackly, but the interior was chewy. When folded, the slices cracked but did not break. The thin corniciones were bubbly and crisp.
Both slices were also quite tasty. I loved the meatball parm's combination of meatball chunks, cheese, red sauce, and the all-important garlic. The white slice was a close cousin to Margherita pizza, with spinach and ricotta standing in for basil and fresh mozzarella. Both slices had been given a generous sprinkling of dried oregano.
Two slices are generally more than adequate for me, at lunchtime, at least if I hope to get any work done that afternoon, but owner Ken Fournier was kind enough to bring over a slice of one of Empire's latest creations, a BLT pizza. It's topped with ranch sauce, bits of real bacon, sliced tomatoes, and freshly shredded lettuce. I've liked BLTs since childhood, and the flavor here pretty much nailed it. My only caveat would be that this would best be eaten soon after it's made, while the lettuce is still crunchy, as it was here. In other words, this might not make for great leftover pizza the next morning, by which time the lettuce will have wilted. So eat it up when you get it.
I won't bother to recite Empire's entire menu, since you can peruse it here, but I'll give you the quick rundown: NY style pies (12", 14" and 18"), Sicilian pizza in half and full sheets, 22 toppings, and 11 specialty pizzas. They also do baked wings, salads, calzones and garlic twists.
If you haven't been to Empire pizza lately, keep in mind that they moved across the street in 2015. They are now in Sunrise Plaza, which is on the east side of Empire Boulevard.
So about that giveaway. Ken also generously agreed to donate a $25 gift card to one lucky reader.  By now, you probably know the routine. Send an email to me at ROCPizzaGuy@gmail.com, by noon, next Friday, August 5. Be sure to put "Empire" in the subject line. I'll choose a winner at random that afternoon. My thanks again to Ken and Empire Pizza for this donation.

Empire Pizza, 1778 Empire Blvd. (Sunrise Plaza)

(585) 347-4050


Tue. - Thu. 11 - 8, Fri. 11 - 9, Sat. 11 - 8, Sun. noon - 8
(Closed Mondays)

Pontillo's Webster: Interview and Giveaway

I sat down the other day with Jerry Fricano, owner and operator of Pontillo's in Webster. Jerry is a maternal grandson of Tony Pontillo, who with his brothers opened the first Pontillo's pizzeria in Batavia in 1947.
Pontillo's was one of the first pizzerias in our area, and it must've struck a chord in the local community, because it soon spread to Charlotte and elsewhere. Today Pontillo's locations can be found throughout the Rochester area.
The Webster location, though, holds the distinction of being one of the few that is still run by a Pontillo's family member. And Jerry still uses the original Pontillo's recipe.
Operating a Pontillo's was not a lifelong plan for Jerry. He went to college, got a degree, but then decided that he wanted to follow the family tradition. And so here we are, a couple of generations later, with the same pizza that made Pontillo's a local favorite.
In talking with Jerry, I saw what comes through with every good pizzeria, which is a passion for what he does. He learned the trade, the recipe and the method from his grandfather, and he takes well-deserved pride in sticking with that original recipe. I wasn't around in 1947, but I'm guessing that if Tony Pontillo magically walked in the door sometime, he'd recognize this as his own pizza.
You'll find Jerry at the store most days. With a young daughter at home (and I know how that is), he tries to limit himself to five days a week, but it's a full week, and he's developed a reliable staff to handle things when he's not at the shop.
The result of Jerry's faithfulness to the original recipe, as I can attest, is very good pizza. I was there at lunchtime, when they've got a wide variety of slices available, so going with my gut, I got a cheese slice and a white slice, each of which Jerry cut in half (the slices here are quite large).
The cheese slice had a crisp, slightly charred crust, while the white veggie slice was a little softer and more browned underneath. Each was medium thick, with a well-risen, chewy, breadlike interior, and a thick, puffy cornicione.
The cheese slice had a good balance of sauce and cheese, with a moderately seasoned, tomatoey sauce and nicely melted, slightly browned cheese on top. The white slice was quite tasty, thanks to three kinds of cheese (Ricotta, mozzarella and Romano), fresh tomato slices and chopped spinach.
But don't take my word for it - see for yourself. I've got a gift certificate to give away to one lucky reader, good for one large, two-topping pizza.
OK, you know the drill. To enter to win, leave a comment after this blog post. Any comment will do, as long as it's not completely anonymous. A screen name will suffice.
One week from today, on Friday, October 10, a little after noon, I'll pick a winner, using random.org. If you win, I will need to have your full name and mailing address to get the gift certificate to you. You can leave it in your comment, you can email it to me before next Friday, or you can wait to see if you've won and send it to me then, at ROCpizzaguy@gmail.com. Just remember, emailing me does NOT enter you to win. You must leave a comment here to enter.
If you send me your email address before next Friday, and you are the winner, I will let you know by email that you've won, but otherwise it's up to you to check back here to see if you've won. If you win and I don't hear from you in a few days, I'll award the gift certificate to somebody else. I'll also post the winner on my Facebook page and send it out via Twitter.
Win or not, if you're in the Webster area, stop by Pontillo's on Ridge Road. They carry a wide selection of pizza, as well as wings, subs, salads and sides. But do try the pizza.

Pontillo's, 807 Ridge Road (Webster Woods Plaza), Webster
(585) 671-1070

11 a.m. - 11 p.m. daily

Webster 99-cent slices: Martino's and Express Mart

I last reported on Martino's in Webster in April 2011.Prior to that I did a post on Martino's 99-cent slices offered on Monday and Tuesdays. I gave my 2011 pie a B and my 2009 slices an A-minus.
I returned recently for an update on those slices. But along the way I noticed that the Express Mart on Ridge Road was also offering 99-cent slices. Driven by hunger mixed with curiosity, I stopped in.
My pepperoni slice was, well, OK. The underside was pale but non-greasy, and showed that it had been baked on a perforated tray. It had a pleasantly bready aroma.
The crust was just a little crisp on the bottom surface, but otherwise soft. Not a bad crust, but not too good either. It brought to mind a soft breadstick, of the type you get at certain chain Italian restaurants.
The toppings were likewise not bad, but unremarkable. A thin but uniform layer of browned mozzarella, basic tomato sauce, thin-sliced pepperoni, and a sprinkling of dried herbs. 
OK, so on to Martino's.
Here I got two cheese slices. I was asked if I wanted them reheated, and I said yes. The minute or two in the oven yielded a crust that was not quite as crisp as what I'd gotten before, but it was still pretty good. The crust was on the thin side of medium, and had a very nice breadlike flavor and aroma. The medium-thick lip was satisfyingly crisp.
It was a well balanced slice as well. Perhaps a tad skimpy on the cheese, and I wondered if rising dairy prices were a factor. But with a thin slice, I don't like my pizza blanketed in a thick layer of cheese anyway, and for 99 cents a slice I couldn't complain.
The sauce was pretty middle-of-the-road, with a tomatoey flavor and a medium consistency. I detected some oregano, I think from a sprinkling of dried herbs.
Between the two of these, I'd say that Martino's emerged as the clear winner. These weren't world-class slices, but I had no major issues with them, and if price is a factor, you can't do much better for 99 cents. (The bottom photo, by the way, puts a Martino's slice and an Express Mart slice side by side.)
This time around, Martino's rates a B. Express Mart, a C.
Martino's Pizzeria
160 W Main St, Webster
872-4140

Mon. - Thu. 11 am – 10 pm
Fri. & Sat. 11 am – 11 pm

Sun. noon  – 10 pm

Express Mart, 819 Ridge Rd., Webster
671-7677

Friday Giveaway: TWO $25 Gift Cards for Empire Pizza

As promised, 2014 brings more reader giveaways, and here's another good one. Ken Fournier, owner of Empire Pizza on Empire Boulevard in Webster (or is it Penfield? whatever) has graciously agreed to give away two $25 gift cards to two lucky readers of this blog. Two cards, two chances to win!
Empire Pizza specializes in New York style pizza, with a wide variety of slices available all day, every day. I stopped in today and was faced with the pleasant dilemma of trying to choose from among an array of red and white thin-crust pies and a couple of thick, crusty Sicilian pizzas. I finally settled on a meatball parm slice and a white slice with spinach and roasted red peppers. Both had a terrific crust, crackly but not crackerlike, with some spotty charring underneath. The toppings were fine, added in good proportion to the crust, and the slices were fresh.

I also chatted a bit with Ken. Like most good pizzeria owners, he's dedicated to his business - stop in nearly anytime, and as likely as not, you'll find him there - but he's also benefited from a stable, steady group of employees, who can handle anything from delivery to manning the ovens and making pies.
Ken also expressed a commitment to customer service. One example is giving the customer an accurate estimate of how long it will take to prepare an order. If it's 20 minutes, it'll be ready in 20 minutes. If it's a busy night and it's going to take longer, he'll let you know that too. And if you stop in for a slice, you can expect it to be fresh; stale slices (sadly, but understandably) are tossed out.
The menu at Empire is solid but relatively basic, with ten specialty pizzas and 21 toppings to choose from. They also do baked wings, salads, calzones, and garlic twists, and there's a selection of cookies if your sweet tooth needs a fix. You'll find the entire menu here.
Why not find out for yourself how good Empire's pies are, with $25 to spend on anything you'd like? If you've entered these giveaways before, you know the routine. Just leave a comment following this blog post. Any comment will do. You don't have to leave your full name at this point, but anonymous comments will not be accepted, since I will need to be able to identify the winners. And if you do win, I will need your full name and mailing address. You can email me now at rochesternypizzaguy@gmail.com, or wait to see if you win. If you win, but I don't hear from you in a day or two, I'll pick another winner.
The winners will be selected at random one week from today, Friday, January 10. I'll pick the first winner shortly after noon, the second a little later. The winners will be announced here and on my Facebook page.
Whether you win or not, stop in to Empire Pizza sometime. Ken is an amiable guy who enjoys meeting people, and if he can spare a moment he'll be more than happy to talk with you. And if you do, please let him know that you read about his shop here on The Rochester NY Pizza Blog.

Empire Pizza, 1773 Empire Blvd.

(585) 347-4050

Tue. - Thu. 11 - 8, Fri. 11 - 9, Sat. 11 - 8, Sun. 12 - 8

The Filling Station, Webster

Little by little, I'm chipping away at my list of restaurants and bars that serve pizza. A couple of weeks ago I knocked one more off the list, The Filling Station in Webster.
Pizzas here come in two sizes, personal and large. There are 13 available toppings, and four specialty pizzas. I wasn't in the mood for meat, but I wanted more than just cheese, so I opted for banana peppers and onions on my large pie.
I was surprised, then, on opening the box after I got it out to my car to see pepperoni. I don't think I was charged for it, and I didn't feel like making a stink about it, so I let it go. If it had been something I can't stand, like mushrooms, I would've gone back. But this was no big deal.
I was less than thrilled with the crust, though. It was dry underneath, which is a good thing insofar as it wasn't greasy, but beyond that this was just plain dry, and not particularly crisp. On the thin side of medium, the crust was uniformly docked with pinprick holes. It struck me as a premade crust that had sat in a freezer for too long.
That's the bad news. The good news is that the toppings were good, and to some extent saved this pizza.
The sauce was ladled on generously, though not to the point of sloppiness (I like sauce, but I don't want it squeezing out on the sides every time I take a bite). I picked up a distinct flavor of oregano. That was topped with a nicely melted, chewy layer of mozzarella, as well as the aforesaid toppings.
Speaking of which, they were pretty good too. The pepperoni was of the basic, thin-sliced variety, uniformly applied, the rings of pepperoncini added some hot/vinegary punch, and the chopped red onion rounded things out.
Aside from pizza, The Filling Station's menu runs from standard bar food (burgers, wings, quesadillas, and such) to more substantial entrees like New York strip steak, pasta, chicken parm, and several seafood dishes. They also do prime rib on weekends, and there's a kid's menu as well.  The pub itself is a cross between a sports bar and a casual, neighborhood restaurant, and there's a spacious deck.
To sum up the pizza, I can't say much for the crust, but overall the pie was partially redeemed by the tasty toppings, even if one of them was something I hadn't ordered. All in all, this was decent, basic pizza, so I'll give it a C.
The Filling Station Pub & Grill, 1839 Ridge Road, Webster 14580
265-9282
Mon. 2 - 11 p.m., Tue. 11 - 11, Wed. & Thu. 11 - 1 a.m., Fri. 11 a.m. "till", Sat. noon till, Sun. noon - 10 p.m.

The Coach, Webster

As I continue to make the rounds of places that aren't pizzerias but that sell pizza, I stopped not long ago at The Coach in Webster. As you might suspect from the name, it's a sports bar, and it's a fixture in Webster - it's operated as The Coach since 1991, but it can trace its roots back to 1812, as you can read about here.
Unless they specialize in pizza or I have some other reason to think otherwise beforehand, I'm never expecting much when I order pizza at a bar or restaurant. Too often you get something that looks as if it came from the warming tray at your local convenience store.
But I was pleasantly surprised by my personal-size pizza that I got at The Coach. I'm not saying that it blew me away or anything, but it was pretty decent pizza.
That's partly because they make their own dough here, so this isn't just some premade pizza shell with some toppings thrown on. And the crust was in fact pretty good. It was thin, overall, although a little uneven in thickness. The underside was a deep shade of golden brown, with some floury areas, and some surface crackling, which is a good sign. It had a fresh-bread aroma and appeared to have good gluten development inside. On the downside, it was a little unevenly baked, with some very dark areas along the edge in spots, but much lighter in others. And it didn't quite have the crustiness of the very best pizzas I've tried - the kind of exterior crispness that you find with a great loaf of hearth-baked bread. All in all, though, this wasn't bad at all.

The crust was topped with a thin coat of orange-red sauce, which had a mild, middle-of-the-road flavor. Above that was a relatively heavy layer of well melted, gloppy cheese covering the pie, except for one big bubbled-up area. I photographed the pizza while the pie was still hot, and the cheese naturally did tighten up a bit as it cooled. The pepperoni was pretty good, a little crisp along the edges, but a bit unevenly applied.
The Coach offers pizzas in two sizes, with your choice of red sauce or garlic white pizza, as well as ten toppings to choose from. And the menu includes all the bar-food staples like wings (8 sauces), burgers, hot sandwiches, and plenty of fried sides.
I'm giving this pizza a C, which might not sound all that great, but it's not meant as a putdown. There was plenty to like about it, but it was a bit generic, and it had some imperfections too (a little heavy on the cheese and a little light on the sauce; a little uneven in thickness, the doneness of the underside, and the distribution of the pepperoni). Nothing major, mind you, but when I tally up the mental score, I'd say this was, for this area, an average pizza. Quite acceptable, though, and definitely worth ordering if you go and you're in the mood for pizza.
The Coach Sports Bar, 19 West Main St., Webster
872-2910

Mon - Sat: 10:30 am - 2:00 am
Sun: 12:00 pm - 10:00 pm

Mama Lor's Gourmet Pizza Corner, Webster

Way back in July 2009, I gave Union Hill Country Grill in Webster what was then only my third "Grade A" rating.Since then, UHCG closed, much to my dismay, but the site is now home to Mama Lor's Café, which includes the Gourmet Pizza Corner, which is open Wednesday through Saturday. I recently picked up a pizza.
I got a medium, with green peppers and onions. I wanted some toppings, but I wasn't in a meat-eating mood. And peppers and onions make a natural combination.
Sometimes when a new name goes up, the only thing new is the name. But this was definitely different from the pizza I'd gotten at Union Hill. The crust was thinner, and the underside was much lighter in color, from very pale to a light golden brown. The texture was noticeably different as well - not as chewy, and more biscuitlike, with some surface cracks visible underneath.
The pie was topped with an even layer of smooth, melted mozzarella, sprinkled with diced fresh green pepper and onions. Sandwiched between that and the crust was a thickish sauce, marked by some herbal notes.
Mama Lor's pizzas come in three sizes, and they offer 20 toppings and seven specialty pizzas. The café itself serves breakfast, lunch and dinner, with a full menu that leans toward traditional comfort food. The dining area is attractive and comfortable, and while this may not be the oldest pizzeria around, it may be the pizzeria in the oldest building - the structure, which originally housed a post office and then a general store, dates back to 1865.
To be frank, I was a little disappointed by this pizza, but only because the pizza I remembered from the Country Grill was so good. But in fairness, this wasn't bad. It was missing the toasty breadiness of its predecessor, but the overall flavor and balance were pretty good. All in all, it was about an average pizza, so I'll give it a C.
Mama Lor’s Café, 1891 Ridge Road, Webster
Sun. - Tue.: 6 a.m. - 2 p.m., Wed. & Thu. 6 a.m. - 8 p.m., Fri. 6 a.m. - 9 p.m., Sat. 6 a.m. - 8 p.m.
(Pizza Corner open Wed. - Sat. 11 a.m. - close)
phone: 545-4895
email: info@mamalorscafe.com

Dinner at Proietti's

I recently celebrated a birthday (I forget which one), and in advance of that, my wife asked me where I'd like to go for dinner. After some thinking, it hit me - Proietti's in Webster.
I first wrote about Proietti's in December 2009, in a post about Rochester's pizza history. I later did a post about Proietti's pizza in March 2010, after I had stopped in to pick up a pie.
I liked the pie well enough, but I really wanted to go to Proietti's to meet the owner, Whitey Proietti. I first knew about Whitey when he left on comment on my pizza history post, explaining that he and his dad started Proietti's Pizza in 1965 on N. Goodman Street, and that Whitey moved the business to Webster in 1970.
I've also known of Whitey Proietti through his nephew Tony, the proprietor of 2 Ton Tony's in Irondequoit and Spencerport, has told me before that if I want to learn about pizza - either its local roots, the business side, or the technical aspects - then by all means I should talk to his uncle Whitey.
It was sound advice. We had a fine dinner, and a very enjoyable conversation with Whitey.
I'll start with the food. Things began with a complimentary appetizer of zucchini in a marinara sauce, which was very tasty, and from there we moved on to a sampler of homemade gnocchi and ravioli. I had the former with an arrabbiata sauce, which was every bit as spicy as advertised, thanks to the inclusion of red pepper and jalapenos. I love spicy food (I've been known to carry my own hot sauce when dining out), and it was nice to have a genuinely hot-spicy sauce for a change, as so many restaurants in this area fail to deliver on foods that they claim are spicy.
The ravioli were outstanding. The only hard part was deciding which I liked best - I never did succeed on that one. From left to right in the photo, there's a wild mushroom raviolo (not to be pretentious, but I guess that's the correct Italian singular form) with a mushroom-tomato sauce, a butternut squash raviolo with vodka sauce, and a cheese raviolo with marinara sauce. The pasta had a melt-in-your-mouth texture, yet it wasn't mushy or overcooked, and the sauces both complimented the fillings and offered an interesting contrast to each other.
Next up was the pizza. Actually, I had not planned on having pizza that night - I thought it might be nice to take a night off from pizza, and try something different - but Whitey clearly was hoping to get my reaction to one of his pizzas, and when it comes to pizza, my arm is easily twisted.
Since I hadn't been thinking about it ahead of time, I had no particular topping in mind, so I blurted out, "pepperoni" when he asked me what I wanted on my pie. Though that might seem a boring choice, it too turned out to be a good one. For one thing, it was good pepperoni - meaty, a little spicy, and not at all greasy. And it gave Whitey a chance to expound a bit on the subject of pepperoni, as he explained that he uses a high-quality, lean, pork-beef blend that does not exude an oil slick when cooked.
Proietti's pizzas bake in a 550 degree oven - same as you can achieve at home - which is about right for their medium-thick crusts. This pie was well baked, with some light charring underneath (visible in the bottom photo, which I took after I got the leftovers home), and a touch of crispness that yielded to a bready interior. The mozzarella and red sauce balanced out the crust quite nicely, and the cheese was melted just to the point of a pleasing stringiness.
Now make no mistake, I love a good, thin, New York style pizza. And I like a crackly wood-fired pizza with a well-charred edge. But I also have fond memories of the pizzas of my youth, and some of my favorite pizzas around Rochester are its most traditional - medium thick, bready but well balanced pies that bring to mind an Italian grandmother's kitchen. Think of it as comfort-food pizza.
And that's what this was. No crackly-thin "artisanal" crust or exotic toppings here, but rather a satisfying pie, which Whitey assured me (and I don't doubt him a bit) was virtually indistinguishable from what you would've gotten from the original Proietti's back in the late '60s.
And that's typical of a lot of the food at Proietti's. They've found a winning formula, and they've stuck with it.
It's clearly working, as most of the tables were full on this Wednesday night visit.
A lot of those folks are repeat customers. As I was chatting with Whitey, one patron stopped by to see Whitey for a moment before leaving. He was, I learned, an out-of-towner who frequently travels to Rochester on business, and he's become a regular at Proietti's. On one recent visit, this gentleman was sorry to walk in and discover that the restaurant was closed for maintenance on the air conditioning system. Whitey immediately ushered the man to a table and prepared him an impromptu dinner, rather than see him walk out disappointed.
That kind of customer service seems to be a real hallmark of Proietti's, and it's considerably based on Whitey Proietti's firm belief that if you treat people well, then by and large they'll treat you well. As another example of that approach, Proietti's has given away countless free meals (through a direct-mailing campaign) over the years to newcomers to the area, and it's paid off in customer loyalty.
The night I visited, Proietti's chalked up at least two more regular customers - my wife and me. When my in-laws came up for a visit three nights later, we took them to Proietti's for dinner.
Whether you go for the pizza, one of Proietti's many other Italian dishes (my chicken saltimbocca the following Saturday night well justified the menu's claim of flavors that "jump in your mouth"), or one of Proietti's cooking classes, by all means go. And if you see Whitey - as you likely will - and he can spare a few moments - which he probably will - ask him to tell you the story of how he came to own the business. He'll tell it better than I could write it, but it's quite a story, and confirms that this was his calling in life.
Some 40+ years after it started, Proietti's remains a family business, with Whitey's wife, son, and sundry other family members - I couldn't keep track of them all - ably working together to keep things running smoothly, both in the kitchen and in the dining room. The result is a relaxing, welcoming environment, marked by attentive, gracious service and well-prepared, classic Italian-American food.
Like anybody who's lived in Rochester for a while, I've eaten at plenty of Italian restaurants, and I've liked a lot of them, but for its combination of fine food, excellent service and an enjoyable atmosphere, Proietti's has quickly jumped to the top tier. I give it an unqualified A.
Proietti's Italian Restaurant, 980 Ridge Rd. (Webster Plaza), Webster
872-2330
Sun. 4:00 - 8:00, Tue. - Thu. 4:00 - 9:00, Fri. & Sat. 4:00 - 10:00

Towpath Cafe, Fairport

While pizzerias are easy enough to find, there's plenty of pizza out there at local restaurants, where you wouldn't necessarily expect to find it. One such place is Towpath Cafe in Fairport.
This location was formerly Fairport Village Coffee, and like that establishment, Towpath Cafe features coffee, wine, and live music. But it's added pizza to its menu, which I don't think was offered in its previous incarnation.
The pizza, which is described as "fire grilled," comes in five varieties, which I'll let you read on the Cafe's menu. As I often do, I went with the "Margarita," which is topped with "garlic & oil, tomatoes bruschetta, mozzarella and fresh basil."'
My pizza had a very crisp crust that was on the thin side of medium. The outer edge was crunchy and a bit oily on the surface, with some interior chewiness. The underside bore prominent grill marks.
The menu's use of the term "tomatoes bruschetta" is a fairly apt description. This reminded me of bruschetta, the name of which comes from the Italian "bruscare," which means "to roast over coals," a reference to the bread, which is typically drizzled with olive oil and grilled, and topped with tomatoes, garlic, basil or other toppings. This was topped with finely diced tomato, bits of chopped garlic, and flakes of basil, on a bed of stringy, chewy cheese. I found the overall flavor quite good, with some herbs in the background. The tomatoes weren't fantastic, but they did have some tomatoey sweetness, which puts them ahead of a lot of fresh tomatoes around here at this time of year.
Besides pizza, Towpath Cafe offers burgers, paninis, wraps, and salads. The atmosphere is laid back and casual, kind of a cross between a coffee house and a restaurant, with outdoor seating overlooking the canal in the warm months.
This was decent pizza. It had a pretty good overall flavor, and the crust wasn't bad, with a bit of external crunch and some grilled toastiness. And importantly, it was distinctive. I'll give it a B-minus.
Towpath Cafe, 6 N. Main St., Fairport, 14580
Tel. 377-0410

Mon. - Thu. 8 a.m. - 10 p.m., Fri. & Sat. 8 a.m. - 11 p.m., Sun. 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Hooligans, Webster

Slowly but surely, pizza seems to be catching on as an addition to bar food menus around town. Some places do it on the cheap, with preformed crusts they simply add toppings to and throw in the oven. But other bars have gone the extra mile, with hand-stretched dough (which may be made off premises) and serious pizza ovens.
Count Hooligans in Webster among the latter group. I ran across a reference to its wood-fired oven some time ago, and decided to check it out.
I noticed, by the way, that the Hooligans in Greece - which I haven't reviewed yet - also serves pizza, but does not have a wood-fired oven. Also, the Greece Hooligans website doesn't even mention the place in Webster. So I'm not sure how much of a connection there is between the two.
I visited the Webster Hooligans on a Monday at lunch time. The place was pretty dead, and I was the only patron when I arrived, although a handful of guys showed up before I left.
Be that as it may, I ordered a Margherita pizza. I thought about getting a basic pepperoni pizza, but Margheritas have become my benchmark for wood-fired pizzas.
Had I noticed it sooner, I would've taken a seat near Hooligans' oven. I had thought this was a Doughpro oven, based on Hooligans' listing on the Doughpro website, but I'm informed that it's not (see the comments below).
At any rate, I sat some distance from the oven, and I was too lazy to move closer, but I did take a look at it on my way out. Somewhat to my surprise, I did not see any wood in the oven. (I say "somewhat" because I didn't smell any wood smoke either, so I wasn't totally surprised.) There was nothing but a gas flame emanating from inside the oven.
Well, I don't get too worked up over the equipment, it's the final product that counts, so I wasn't particularly miffed about that. At least the dough here is hand-stretched - no frozen shells - although my guess is that it's actually made off premises, as few restaurants or bars have the means to prepare large batches of pizza dough. Again, I really should have sat near the oven, so I could've peppered the pizzaiolo with these questions, but I didn't think of them until later, I'm afraid.
But back to the pizza - it arrived hot, with a thin crust that was fairly crisp and well browned underneath, with a few small charred spots. The coating of corn meal on the bottom was a bit of a surprise, as I just haven't seen that much on wood-fired pizzas, but it was not objectionable (and of course, this was not truly a wood-fired pizza). The crust had a decent texture, not exceptionally crisp but with a bit of bite, and some internal breadinesess, particularly in the thin but puffy lip, or cornicione, along the edge.
The pie had an unmistakable aroma of garlic, and visually was dominated by a thin layer of creamy, almost liquid fresh mozzarella. A few shreds of fresh basil added some flavor, and the slices of pale bland tomatoes - which I've unfortunately come to expect around here - provided some color but not much else.
This may not have been the best Margherita I've ever eaten, but it was reasonably good. The pie as a whole wasn't on a par with top-notch wood-fired pizzas, but the gas-powered oven did a pretty good job, and for a pizza at a sports bar, this was better than you might expect. I wouldn't mind trying Hooligans' pizza again sometime, and I wonder whether on a busy weekend night they might actually throw some wood in the oven, which could give the pizza a slightly smoky edge and perhaps a bit more crispy, charred crust. Right now, I wouldn't say that the pizza is a clear choice over more traditional bar food like wings, but this was good enough to pique my curiosity about some of Hooligans' other pizza varieties. I'll give it a B.
TC Hooligan's, 809 Rdge Rd., Webster 671-7180
11 a.m. - 2 a.m. daily

Martino's, Webster, Revisited

My favorable review of Martino's in Webster last September generated some comments who found Martino's pizza lacking in flavor, doughy, and other bad stuff. This left me wondering if I just happened to go there on a good day or if this was just a matter of individual taste.
To try to find out, I went back recently for a large pie, pepperoni on half. Like the slice I got last time, it had a thin crust, but whereas my slice (which had been rewarmed prior to serving) had a very well charred underside, the bottom on this one was much lighter in color. It bore just the faintest signs of charring, but was mostly a medium shade of golden brown. It was dry, with no screen or tray marks, and firm though not especially crisp. The medium-thick lip had a nice, bready texture and flavor.
The cheese was nicely melted, though it lacked the creamy texture of the cheese on my slice last September. Although the cheese was applied in moderation, it had a prominent, tangy flavor.
Sandwiched between the crust and the cheese, the sauce added a mild tomatoey flavor. It too was moderately applied, and it, the cheese and the thin crust were in good balance with each other. The evenly distributed pepperoni was OK but unremarkable.
All in all, pretty good, more or less NY-style pizza, though not quite as good as last time. One thing that came through in some of the comments was a lack of consistency at Martino's, and maybe this is evidence of that. Then too, I think at some - though not all - pizzerias, you're better off getting slices rather than a whole pie, because the slices improve when they go back into the oven for reheating. That's particularly true with thin crust pizza, since a minute or two is all it takes to heat the slice all the way through and give it a nice, crisp crust.
After two visits to Martino's, I'm still not sure where some of the criticisms are coming from. I didn't find this "tasteless," to quote one reader. Admittedly, the sauce was on the mild, even bland side, but with a thin crust I don't like my sauce too heavily seasoned; a bold-flavored sauce seems more appropriate for a pizza with a thick, bready crust. Still, this was a bit of a comedown from last time, and I'll give this pizza a B.
Martino’s Pizzeria, 160 West Main St., Webster. 872-4140
Mon. - Thu. 11 a.m. - 10 p.m., Fri. & Sat. 11 a.m. - 11 p.m., Sun. noon - 10 p.m.