Menezes', Revisited

Way back in 2010, I did a blog post about Menezes' Pizza on Chili Avenue.  I aptly described it as a true neighborhood pizzeria, that goes back to the 1980s.

I liked the pizza, I liked the owners, but I hadn't been back in a long time. Too long.

I recently learned that Menezes has changed ownership, and I had a chance to sit down for a half hour or so with the current owner, Greg Wolfe. Before our conversation began, I ordered a large pie, half pepperoni, bacon and sausage, half peppers and onions. Here's a summary of our conversation, and a bit about that pie.

Greg has had a lot of work experience, in an array of fields, which did not include the pizza business. But about four years ago, as Greg was looking to transition to more self-employment, on his way to eventual retirement, Menezes' came up for sale. That especially fit with Greg's desire to stay in Rochester, his native city.

At that time, the business had somewhat lost its way, due to a variety of issues. Despite his lack of experience with pizza, Greg knew that the product was good and that the business was fundamentally sound. As important, there remained a core of experienced, reliable employees, and Greg also knew from his business background that good employees are a key to success. So he took the leap.

Since then, Greg has taken strides toward righting the ship, without changing the course. The pizza is the same, and Menezes' other big seller, the steak sub, uses the same premium beef as before. That will not change. And the core team of employees remains as well. As Greg put it, he's found that in any business, "It's always about the people."

After taking over, and after consulting with his employees, Greg made some modest changes. Some items that weren't selling, like cold subs, were dropped, but others were added. Those include a "massive" salad topped with grilled chicken, and Menezes' "Messy Meal," otherwise known to Rochesterians as a "plate." You can see the full menu here.

As I was conversing with Greg, I was waiting for my pizza. I took it home in my insulated pizza bag and my family had it for dinner.

The crust was medium thick, well browned underneath with light screen marks. The cheese, sauce and toppings were in good balance. The crust was chewy but not tough, with a firm underside. Cheese was smoothly melted, and the toppings were done right. It can be tricky, I think, to balance vegetable and meat toppings, but they pulled it off here. In short, this was Menezes' pizza, which is good, Rochester-style pizza.

Since taking over the business, Greg has faced some challenges, but he is optimistic that Menezes' has a bright future ahead. I'm inclined to agree. I believe in the principle that if you sell a better product, you'll succeed, more often than not. Menezes' is making good pizza, and I expect it to remain a mainstay of its neighborhood for a long time to come.

If you'd like to learn more about Menezes' Pizzeria, go to:

https://www.rochesterpizza.com/ and https://www.facebook.com/menezespizza/

Or just go there. Menezes' is at 445 Chili Ave. and is open Mon. - Thu. 11 am - midnight, Fri. & Sat. 11 am - 1 am. and Sun. noon - midnight. It's at 445 Chili Ave. Pnone: 585-328-3010
info@rochesterpizza.com

P.S.  Next visit, I'm getting a steak sub.

Salvatore's, Mt. Read

Three years between visits is long enough for any pizzeria, and so I recently decided to pay a return visit to Salvatore's, which I hadn't been to since April 2009, shortly after I started writing this blog. I don't go out of my way to try chain pizzerias, but if they're local chains, I will check them out. And even with some 23 locations (if I counted right), Salvatore's is still pretty much a Rochester area chain.
On my prior visit, to the East Main Street location, I faulted my slice mainly for being bland. It had a very crunchy exterior and a very soft, almost too soft, interior. I gave it a C.
This time, I stopped by Salvatore's at another city location, on Mt. Read Boulevard. My "slice" (a quarter of a pie, cut down the middle) was pretty thick - about 5/8" for the crust - with a pancake-like bottom, meaning that there were dark brown spots where the dough was in direct contact with the cooking surface (a pan of some sort, I suppose), and other lighter-colored spots where it had bubbled up. It was not greasy, though I did detect a faint scent of cooking oil. The underside was slightly crisp, the edge more so.
The sauce on this slice had a thick consistency, with a cooked-tomato flavor. It was reminiscent of tomato paste - not because it was made from tomato paste, but when much of the moisture from tomato sauce has evaporated, you're going to end up with something that is like tomato paste.
The cheese, which seemed to be all mozzarella, was well browned, and easily peeled away from the crust. It was a little overdone, for my taste.
This pizza was somewhat different from the one I had back in '09. The crust wasn't as airy as that one, and the underside, though not oily, had a bit more of a "fried" aroma and appearance.
I wasn't crazy about this pizza, but that doesn't mean I'm done with Salvatore's. I see from their online pizza menu that they do a "Thin-Thin" pizza that I'm curious to try. Salvatore's also now offers gluten-free pizza, which I don't plan to try, but I know some people do look for it.
This wasn't a great slice of pizza, in my estimation. I don't mean to bash Salvatore's - I mean, there must be a lot of people who like their pizza - but I would describe this as a little better than convenience store pizza, which it rather resembled. There were no glaring faults, but there were several minor ones, from the less than stellar crust to the overbaked cheese to the dried-out tomato sauce. I have to give this one a D.
Salvatore's, 433 Mt. Read Blvd., Rochester
458-5555
Sun. noon - 9:05 p.m., Mon. - Thu. 7:05 a.m. - 9:05 p.m., Fri. 7:05 a.m. - 10:05 p.m., Sat. 10:05 a.m. - 10:05 p.m.

A Genuine Neighborhood Pizzeria in the 19th Ward: Menezes Pizza

Menezes Pizza on Chili Avenue has been in business for 24 years, all under the ownership of Freddy and Jill Menezes (pronounced "men-EZZ-ez"). In a business in which both pizzerias and their owners come and go with some frequency, that's pretty impressive.
I recently had the opportunity to chat with both Jill and Freddy about what's kept them going all these years, and about how the pizza business has changed since they started out in 1986.
I'll refer you to Menezes' website for the story of how Menezes Pizza got started on Genesee Street and how it ended up at its current location, in the former site of a Pizza Hut carryout franchise (score one for the little guys!).
When I read that story prior to my visit, I was impressed by the Menezes' commitment to their 19th Ward neighborhood, and that very much came out during my conversation with Jill. With obvious affection for the area, she termed it a "very special neighborhood," both in its diversity of residents and because it is a very real neighborhood, where people still talk to each other.
That neighborliness has been a factor in the success of Menezes, which, without the kind of advertising budget that its larger competitors have, has had to rely to a great extent on word of mouth. Jill recalled that the day that Menezes opened after relocating from Genesee Street, they had 300 orders, despite almost no advance advertising, simply because word had spread among the customers and local residents. Clearly there's a symbiotic relationship at work here between Menezes and the neighborhood, many of whose residents found their first jobs at the pizzeria.
But it's unlikely that Menezes would have stayed in business for this long had they not turned out good pizza, and provided good service. And what was also apparent from talking to both Freddy and Jill is their commitment to both. She described Fred - who oversees most of the pizzamaking operations - as someone who has always striven to make the best product he can, adding that they were both determined from day one to "treat people the right way."
What has also benefited Menezes over the years is the contrasting yet complementary personalities of Freddy and Jill. He's a people person who takes a hands-on approach and is able to roll with the punches, while Jill, with an academic background in both art and economics, tends to look more at the big picture, trying to keep up with the latest technology and coming up with innovative approaches to business issues and marketing.
Freddy's passion for quality was evident in the frustration he expressed over some changes in the pizza business since he started out. Back in the day, he told me, the cheese and pepperoni were all hand-sliced. Today, workers' comp issues and customers' expectations of a fast turnaround time have made that impracticable. Even the sauce has changed over the years; as Freddy explained, cooking helps bring out the flavor of tomatoes, but these days the idea has taken hold that fresher always means better, so now tomatoes go from the vine to the can with minimal processing.
And while it's not exactly news that the government can make life more difficult, here's one that never would have occurred to me:  sauce is best kept at room temperature before it's spread on the pizza, so that it can cook in the oven; if it's cold when it's applied, precious minutes will go by in the oven just warming it up. But keeping sauce out at room temperature doesn't sit right with the Department of Health, whose inspectors insist that it be kept refrigerated when not in use.
There have been more serious challenges too, not the least of which is the recession and the continued sluggish economy. The deep-pocketed chain pizzerias have responded by slashing prices and spending heavily on advertising, neither of which small independent shops like Menezes can afford without going into debt, something that Freddy and Jill have always tried to avoid.
On top of that, there was a snafu earlier this year when the phone company printed the wrong phone number for Menezes in the phone book. That was eventually straightened out, but in a business that relies heavily on phone orders, that's more than just an inconvenience.
Clearly, then, running a successful pizza business is not as simple as one might think. With all the obstacles that are out there, the pizza had better be good, and consistent, and Menezes' pizza is both. I got a quick walk-through of the process, starting with the massive mixer (think KitchenAid on steroids), and moving on to the dough retarder, where the dough is chilled to allow for a slow fermentation. Eighteen-year veteran Jay Trudeau (seen in photo) was busy pressing out the dough and topping it with Menezes' house-made sauce and other toppings, and from there it was on to the ovens. Pizzas at Menezes typically go in to the oven on a tray (screens are  no longer used), then finished directly on the oven's stone deck. If  you, like me, prefer your pizza to be baked without the tray, just let them know when ordering, and they'll accommodate you.
Talking with Freddy and Jill gave me newfound respect not just for the real-life "moms and pops" out there who run our neighborhood pizzerias, but for small business owners in general. It takes both brains and heart, to understand the business but also to genuinely care about taking good care of your customers. At one point in our conversation, Jill made the comment that she and Fred "try our hardest every day to serve people the best we can." I think that as much as anything else, that sums up why Menezes has been in business now for 24 years and counting.
Menezes Pizza, 445 Chili Ave., 328-3010
Mon. - Wed. 11 a.m. - midnight, Thu. - Sat. 11 a.m. - 1 a.m., Sun. noon - midnight
Note:  Menezes Pizza will be participating in the Second Annual Taste of Chili Avenue Festival from noon to 6 p.m. on Saturday, July 24. The event will take place along Chili Avenue near Thurston Road. Other features include two stages of entertainment, a basketball competition, face painting and activities for kids. Parking will be available at HSBC, the Progressive Cathedral Church of God in Christ, and the Gardiner Recreation Center. Admission is free.

Nacca Bakery, Jay St.

Rochester has a bunch of old Italian bakeries, which are mostly well known locally, like Gaetano’s, Martusciello, and Di Paolo. Some, like Veltre (whose sign is still visible on the side of Roncone’s restaurant on Lyell Ave.), fall into the “gone, but not forgotten” category.
And then there’s Nacca Bakery, which sits on a mostly residential stretch of Jay Street, near downtown. I honestly don’t think I’ve ever heard of it, literally - I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone talk about it. But I’ve driven by it, and its red neon “BREAD - PIZZA” sign in the front window particularly caught my attention. My curiosity piqued, I finally stopped by one day around lunchtime to check it out.
Going in was a bit like one of those old Twilight Zone episodes where the character walks through a door and goes back in time. Nacca - which, it turns out, is also a deli - has an old-time feel to it, and with good reason. It’s been in business in that spot since 1966 (and for three years before that on Broad St.), and from the looks of it, hasn’t changed much in the four-plus decades since, thankfully.
The roughly square space is dominated by two large meat coolers, at a right angle to each other, with a vintage butcher’s scale on one end. The cream-colored walls are sparsely decorated, with a few family photos and religious images on one wall, and two clocks - one of which is yellowed and several hours off - on the other.
Above the photos is the menu, also yellowed with age, listing the various meats, sandwiches and pizza on offer. Turns out the only pizza available at Nacca these days comes in the form of “mini pizzas,” plain or with pepperoni, that come warm and sealed in plastic wrap.
I picked up a pepperoni mini pizza. Measuring 7 1/2" across, it appeared from its shape to have been baked in a small pan; in other words, it wasn't just a disk of dough that had been baked directly on the oven floor, but instead had an edge that conformed to the angled rim of the pan.
The crust - which is made from a different dough than Nacca’s bread - was crunchy on the outside and chewy inside, with an aroma that was faintly reminiscent of rye or sourdough bread, suggesting that it had gone through a long, slow rise. The crust was topped with a thin layer of sauce, and a transclucent layer of melted cheese. Several wide, lightly cooked slices of pepperoni lent a spicy counterpoint to the bready crust.
If you're not looking for pizza, Nacca has a wide variety of sandwich meats available. There's also a large soft drink cooler if you want to wash it down with something cold.
Nacca is a true mom ’n’ pop operation. It’s run by a couple hailing from near Naples, and I don’t mean the one in Ontario County. They took over the reins from the the original owner, who was also the husband’s uncle, in 1979.
Though business isn’t quite as brisk as it used to be, there’s still a core of regulars, some of whom no longer live in the neighborhood, but who make a point of swinging by for a sub or a pizza.
At some point, too, the owners cut back on their hours. Nacca used to be open several nights a week, but now it’s strictly a daytime operation. Along with that change, Nacca stopped offering full-size pizza, which is less in demand at lunchtime than it had been in the evening. Too bad. I wonder if they’d accommodate a special request and put together a big one for old time’s sake.
You know what? I'm not even going to give this one a rating. For one thing, to rate this compared with the other places I've reviewed is kind of like apples and oranges. It’s tough to compare the experience of eating one of Nacca’s mini pizzas with eating a slice or two out of a large pie.
For another, it would be hard for me to be objective. I just love these kinds of places. Distinctive, organic to their surroundings, timeworn yet timeless, with a venerable past but an uncertain future. If you share my affection for such places, and you find yourself in the area some weekday lunch hour, stop by and try it.
Nacca's Bakery, 463 Jay St., 436-5981

Meneze's, Chili Ave.

Menezes Pizza is on Chili Avenue in Rochester’s 19th Ward. They’ve been in business, at one location or another, since 1986, and at their current location since 1996 (there’s an extensive history of the pizzeria on their website).
I ordered a large pie, half pepperoni, half plain. It was a 16" pie, cut into square slices.
The crust was medium-to-thick, and appeared to have been baked on a screen, although the website describes Menezes pizza as stone-baked. I asked one of the owners about that afterwards and was told that the pizzas do start out on a screen and then are moved to the oven floor about halfway through baking, for reasons having to do with the high volume of orders they have to deal with. But if a customer asks for the pizza to be cooked on the oven floor throughout, Menezes will accommodate that request.
Getting back to the crust, it did have some exterior crispness. It was a relatively light shade of brown underneath, but had a darker, pretzel-like hue along the thick, slightly crunchy lip. Overall, the dough had a reasonably bready flavor and texture, which is especially important for a thicker-crust pizza.
Topside, the cheese was well browned, especially on the cheese-only half. It was fairly thick, and was baked to the point of coagulation - in other words, it wasn’t stringy, which was fine by me.
The sauce had a mild, tomatoey flavor. It wasn’t unnoticeable, but stayed very much in the background. The pepperoni was of the wide and thin variety, and had good flavor.
Menezes has a basic menu, with a modest list of pizza toppings and two specialty pizzas (Buffalo chicken and steak). They also offer wings and chicken fingers, hot and cold subs, burgers, fries, and salads. The wings, by the way, are nice and meaty, and although I ordered mild (to suit my six-year-old’s more delicate palate), they packed some heat.
Menezes is a takeout and delivery place, with a wide delivery area covering just about all of Southwest Rochester. The delivery map is on their website, which also features on online ordering service.
If you peruse Menezes’ menu and website, I think you’ll also sense a commitment by the owners both to turning out a good product, and to their neighborhood. That dedication to their craft is evident in the pizza as well, which had good flavor and texture, was well made, and, to me, typified that hard-to-describe, yet unmistakable “Rochester” style of pizza. For my taste, it would’ve benefited from just a bit of charring underneath to give the crust a nice, toasty flavor, and next time I’ll be sure to ask that it be cooked sans screen. But that one quibble aside, I enjoyed this one, and I’ll give it a B+.
Menezes Pizza, 445 Chili Ave. 328-3010
Mon. - Wed. 11 a.m. - noon, Thu. - Sat. 11 a.m. - 1 a.m., Sun. noon - midnight
Pizza Guy note:  for a profile of Menezes and discussion with the owners, go here.

MoJoe's, Genesee St.

Mojoe's Pizza is on Genesee St., about two blocks south of West Main St., in Southwest Rochester. It's kind of a fast-food-style operation, with counter service offering pizza and other, mostly fried items, though I believe they deliver as well.
I got a pepperoni slice, which frankly wasn't very good. The crust, which was on the thick side, was very soft, floppy, spongy, and wet, and fairly greasy as well. Only along the crunchy outer edge was it at all firm, and that was more of a greasy, fried crunchiness than genuine crispness.
The sauce was applied somewhat thickly, but had a thin consistency and not much flavor. The cheese was a bit browned and rather chewy. It was OK, but like the rest of the slice, fairly greasy, and it simply didn't blend or mesh well with the other components.
The pepperoni was actually the best part. It, too, was greasy, but that's more acceptable with pepperoni, particularly of the cup-and-char variety, which tends to form a little bowl that holds its own melted fat, and it was nice and crisp along the edges, with good flavor.
Besides pizza, MoJoe's offers fried chicken, chicken wings, burgers, hot and cold subs, and one item I've not seen at any other pizzeria, Jamaican patties (which I guess are basically meat-filled pastries, something like an empanada).
Perhaps the Jamaican patties or some of the other items are worth a visit to MoJoe's, I can't say. They did seem to be doing a steady business when I stopped by. But as far as the pizza goes, I can't recommend it. I'm giving MoJoe's a D-.
Mojoe's Famous Pizza & Chicken, 337 Genesee St. 235-3930