Fire Crust Pizza

As I mentioned on my Facebook page a few weeks ago, I noticed a new pizzeria opening on West Henrietta Road, under the name Fire Crust. I pass by there about once a week, so I've kept an eye on it. And when I saw last week that Fire Crust was open for business, I made a point to stop by for lunch, which I did, accompanied by a couple of friends.
This is another "fast casual" place, with an assembly-line type of operation. Choose your toppings, a la carte or from their list of available specialty pies, pay, and take your pizza to your table.
I decided to forgo my usual Margherita pizza, and instead opted for the Mediterranean veggie pie. The toppings of red sauce, feta cheese, tomato, red onions, banana peppers and black olives sounded too good to resist. One of my friends got a pepperoni pie and the other opted for the Aloha, a/k/a Hawaiian pizza, with red sauce, mozzarella, Canadian bacon, ham and pineapple.
Before I get to the pizza, let me say a bit about the preparation. As you can see in the photos, the crusts are prepared using a mechanical pizza dough spinner, and baked in what looks like a wood-fired oven, but which on this occasion showed no signs of fire. I should've asked, but I didn't. However I did notice that the temperature was set at, I think, about 750 degrees, which is 200 degrees hotter than most home ovens, and comparable to some wood-fired ovens.
As for the pizza itself, my pie was thin, but not super thin. The bottom showed a bit of charring and was dry to the touch. It was crisp but not crackly, and had enough interior chewiness to add some contrast. The cornicione was likewise slightly charred, not blackened, and chewy but not tough.
The toppings were pretty abundant, and tasty. For a pie that sells for $9.75 (before tax), I thought it was pretty good. There's also a $7.75 option called "Pi," but it's not clear from the menu what the difference is. I assume "pi" is just smaller, but I dunno. You can see the pizza/pi menu here.
I didn't sample either of my friends' pizzas, so all I can do on that score is pass along what they told me.  My friend who got the pepperoni pizza seemed satisfied -- at least he had no complaints to speak of -- and he agreed that for the price it wasn't a bad deal.
The friend who got the Aloha was much less happy. Her chief complaint was that the crust was soggy. I suspect that the pineapples were the main culprit. One more reason not to get pineapple on your pizza.
Besides pizza, Fire Crust has Pittsford Dairy ice cream available, and draft and bottled beer. I was going to order a soft drink, but was dissuaded by the $2.25 price, which seemed rather steep for a fountain drink. They also offer "fire roasted" wings, and panini and salads are promised to be available soon (maybe they are already, I just wasn't interested in either at the time).
So, some mixed results here. To summarize, I liked my pizza, especially for the price. Friend #1 thought his was satisfactory. Friend #2 didn't like hers and showed no inclination to go back. Given how recently Fire Crust opened and that array of opinions, I won't give it a grade, but based on my one experience, I'd say it's worth a try.

Fire Crust Artisan Pizza & Ice Cream, 4843 W. Henrietta Rd.
(585) 444-9086
Sun. - Thu. 10 a.m. - 10 p.m., Fri. & Sat. 10 a.m. - midnight

On the Web: http://www.firecrust.pizza/ (as of this writing, there's not much on the website)
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/firecrust/

Chuck E. Cheese's (yes, really)

A reader recently asked if I'd tried Chuck E. Cheese's new pizza menu. I will confess that I hadn't been keeping up with CEC's latest developments. Shame on me.

But I did recall seeing a story that they are trying to do more to attract an older crowd, or at least make the whole experience more tolerable for parents.

So I was intrigued enough to go, with my wife and teenage daughter, last Sunday to the CEC on Hylan Drive in Henrietta.

After passing through security, we went up to the counter. We opted for the #1 (Large) deal, which, for 35 bucks, gets you one large pizza, four soft drinks (there were only three of us, but it was still cheaper that way, I think, than a la carte) and 30 minutes of unlimited games. I ordered a "Thin & Crispy" pepperoni pizza. I noticed it's not available in a medium size, which leads me to believe the crusts are pre-made. But that hardly came as a shock.

I guess this qualifies as "fast casual," since we took a number and the food was delivered to our table. It took longer than I expected, 20 minutes, maybe, but when it arrived, well, the pizza wasn't bad  I'm not saying it was all that great, but it wasn't bad.

Now I should mention here that I was quite hungry. It was about 1 p.m. and I hadn't eaten since the night before. And my expectations were low.  But I tried to take an objective view of the pizza, and I didn't have much cause for complaint.

The underside was a little crisp, with some screen marks. Not crackly, but firm, with a chewy interior. The cheese was browned and somewhere between chewy and gooey. Pepperoni was average, sauce a bit sweet.

My biggest complaint was the saltiness. I'm something of a salt fiend, but this was too much for me, at least in some areas. I (and my daughter backed me up on this) got the impression that they dusted the whole thing with garlic salt at some point, with some spots getting way too much. Not so much as to make it inedible, but please leave the garlic powder and salt to me. Still, I have to admit, not bad in general.

As to non-pizza stuff: I noticed they do carry beer and wine, although I'm not sure if imbibing would make it more or less easy to deal with a bunch of screaming kids. I stuck with Diet Pepsi (they had caffeine-free, which I appreciated). The salad bar comprised fairly standard stuff, but looked pretty good, as salad bars go. The sneeze screen was too high to block kids' expectorants, but I doubt kids will be using it much anyway.

Once we finished our pizza, we moved on to the games. Our card's clock starting running with our first game, so we had 30 minutes to get in as much as we could.

I can recall going to a CEC a long time ago when a main attraction was the animatronic band that would come out and "play" music every so many minutes. This location had some vastly scaled down version of that way in the back, a nod to their past, I guess, but most of the entertainment space was taken up by games.

Many of those were clearly aimed at little kids. I was disappointed that they didn't have an air hockey table except for one that was so small, I would've felt embarrassed to be seen using it, unless I were purposely losing to a toddler at the other end. I did have some fun on the basketball free-throw game, but most of the games were aimed at the kiddie set.

I've wondered before why some of these arcades aren't regulated as gambling parlors, because with each game you get tickets, which are redeemable for cash. After this, I think I figured out why. After getting our fill of  skill-based games, we ended up on a game where you just hit a button and it spits out tickets. Kind of like a slot machine.  We walked  away with a boatload of tickets, which got us one small bag of cotton candy, for which we had to pay an extra 20 cents.  So that's why it's not like a casino. No matter what, or how well you do, you'll never walk away with more than you came in with, monetarily.

So was it worth it?  I guess. The three of us got a reasonably good pizza, some soft drinks, and 30 minutes of games, for 35 bucks. I won't be back soon, but honestly, the pizza was OK. Maybe that's damning with faint praise, but that's about it. It was better than I expected. I'll leave it at that.

Chuck E. Cheese's
1000 Hylan Drive (Jay Scutti Plaza)
Sun. - Thu. 11 a.m. - 9 p.m., Fri. 11 - 10, Sat. 10 - 10
(585) 292-6380

Joe's Brooklyn Report and Giveaway: Two Chances to Win!

I stopped last week for lunch at Joe's Brooklyn Pizza in Henrietta, one of my local favorites. One slice is often enough for me at lunchtime, but when I'm faced with Joe's array, it's tough to go with just one slice.
So I got two: a thin "Taste of the Old Neighborhood" slice, and a thick Grandma's slice. They made for an interesting pair. Both use the same basic toppings, with the addition of mozzarella on the thick Sicilian slice. Here's the rundown:
Old Neighborhood: tomato sauce, extra virgin olive oil, fresh garlic, shallots, fresh basil, and grated Pecorino Romano. Again, the Grandma's is the same, but adds aged, a/k/a processed, mozzarella.
Tough to pick a winner here. As for the TOTON slice, I find myself liking this kind of pizza, which harks back to a style that was prevalent in the early 20th century, before Americans starting blanketing all their pizza with mozzarella. Obviously if you like a lot of cheese on your pizza, or if you don't much care for red sauce, this is not for you, but to me, it's hard to beat the combination of tomato sauce, basil and garlic. Eating this is like enjoying a slice of bread that's been dipped into a pot of homemade spaghetti sauce, simmering on the stove. Delicious.
I'm sure I'd enjoy both these styles, on either a thick or thin crust, but I think going with thin for the Old Neighborhood slice and thick for the Grandma's was a good move. Sicilian pizza seems to call for a little something extra to balance out the thick crust, and the mozzarella/sauce combination does that well.
I guess I was enjoying these so much I forgot to get a photo of the undersides, but if you've been to Joe's or read any of my prior posts about Joe's, it should come as no surprise that both crusts were terrific. The thin slice was crackly, crisp yet chewy, the Sicilian breadlike, with just enough crunch underneath. (I did think to take a side view of the Grandma's slice, as you can see.)

Now about that giveaway. Proprietor Joe Staffieri has graciously offered to provide not one, but two $25 gift cards for me to give away to two lucky readers. To enter, send me an email at ROCPizzaGuy@gmail.com, with "Joe's" in the title line. The deadline to enter is next Friday, July 15, at noon. I will select two winners at random. One entry per person, please.

Joe's Brooklyn Pizza


1100 Jefferson Rd., Henrietta NY 14623

585-424-JOES (5637)


6720 Pittsford Palmyra Rd., Fairport NY 14450

585-364-0361


Mon - Wed 11 AM - 9 PM
Thurs - Sat 11 AM - 10 PM
Sunday noon - 8 PM

Uno Pizzeria & Grill, Henrietta

I don't often go to chain pizzerias, and I don't make it a point to review them. It's not simple prejudice; I just figure, reviewing a chain pizzeria is like reviewing McDonald's. Unless you just arrived from Mars, you already know what it's like, and there are scores if not hundreds of sites where you can get other people's reviews.
At the same time, this blog is a record of my pizza-eating experiences in the Rochester area. And I recently had occasion to dine on pizza at Uno Pizzeria & Grill in Henrietta, so I figured, why not do a review?
I was with a group of friends, and we shared two pizzas, as well as some sides. We got a "Numero Uno," topped with sausage, pepperoni, onions, peppers, mushrooms, and chunky tomato sauce, and mozzarella and Romano cheese. We also got a "Farmers Market" pie, with caramelized onions, spinach, sun-dried and plum tomatoes, eggplant, pesto, feta, mozzarella and Romano.
I thought about pushing for one of Uno's flatbread pizzas, but decided against it. I may go back and try it sometime, but this time around I wanted to stick with what their signature style.

As always, the starting point for me is the crust. There wasn't much difference between the two, so I'll describe it in the singular. The crust was more crunchy than chewy. It clearly had been made with some shortening--in other words, fat--but it was not oily or greasy. It was reminiscent of a pot-pie crust, only thicker and a little airier.
Which is not to say that I didn't like it. I don't want to get into the debate about whether deep-dish pizza is really pizza, or a casserole, but this crust had a nice light crunch, and made a good base for the toppings.
I can't claim to judge how good these were as Chicago deep-dish pizza, given my limited experience with the style. I'm not even sure that Chicagoans prefer it over Chicago thin-crust pizza. I think a lot of Chicagoans defend it, as a matter of honor, but also look at it as a style that's largely what tourists get, while the natives are enjoying thin-crust pizza.
All that aside, I liked this. As thick as it was, the crust wasn't dense, and it had a good mouthfeel:  a little crunchy, but not brittle or crumbly.
The toppings were good as well. I have an aversion to both mushrooms and eggplant (it's a texture thing), but I was willing to overlook that in deference to my compadres. I just tried to pick the slices without so much of either.
Both pies had a thick layer of well-melted cheese, and the other toppings were evenly balanced. The spinach leaves on the Farmers Market pie were wilted but not burned, and the sliced tomatoes were softened but not overly dried. And both pies had an appealing mix of flavors.
So both pies were pretty good. Despite my disdain for chain restaurants, that doesn't surprise me. I presume that Uno hasn't been as successful as it has without having done its research. They know what people like and what they don't, and they know how to replicate what people like, in multiple locations, with consistency.
I was a little surprised to learn that Uno's dough is made in house, as opposed to being shipped in from a central location. Of course it's made according to a recipe dictated by the corporation, but it was interesting to know that they don't simply get a truckload of dough every morning. The dough is made on site, and refrigerated overnight.
For what it does, Uno does a good job. I don't see it as a threat to local pizzerias, because deep-dish pizza will never take hold here as a dominant style, plus Uno simply has a different business model: it's primarily a casual chain restaurant, not a pizzeria.They've got the formula down, and they follow it well.
A grade? I think a B is appropriate here. This wasn't exceptionally good pizza, but it was enjoyable, and Uno is worth going to, if you're in the mood for this style. So a B it is.

Uno Pizzeria & Grill, 1000 Hylan Drive (across from Marketplace Mall)
Henrietta, NY 14467

585-272-8667
fax: 585-272-8719

Joe's Brooklyn Pizza Review and $30 Gift Card Giveaway

While I always look forward to trying new places - and I've got more coming up, soon - at some point I always return to old favorites.
Which is why the other day I stopped into Joe's Brooklyn Pizza for lunch with a couple of friends.
I always have a tough time at Joe's, deciding between its classic, New York style thin-crust slices and its thick-crust Sicilian squares. Add on top of that the stuffed-crust pizza and it can be a real, if happy, dilemma.
This time around, I went with a thin-crust "old fashioned" tomato pie slice, and a thick-crust grandma's slice. The toppings are similar: both include tomato sauce, extra virgin olive oil, garlic, shallots, basil, and pecorino Romano cheese, but the grandma's pizza adds processed mozzarella. Sometimes I want two contrasting slices, like a red and white slice, or a minimalist and loaded slice, but this time I went with my gut, and this is what I wanted.
I don't think I can say much about these that I haven't said before, because Joe's is consistently good. But this blog is an account of my pizza experiences, so I'll describe them.
The thin slice was crisp but foldable, black-blistered but not burnt. The toppings both balanced the crust and blended together beautifully. The red sauce built a base of tomatoey sweetness, offset by a sharp edge from the cheese. Add aroma and flavor from shredded basil, garlic and thinly sliced shallots, and I was in pizza heaven. 
As good as that slice was, it had a strong competitor in my "grandma's" slice. Although "New York style" is often thought to be synonymous with "thin crust," thick, pan-baked, Sicilian-style pizza is commonly found in NYC, and Joe's produces a fine example.
At my request, they cut this slice in half, because I thought I might save half for later, but that proved unnecessary, as I ended up eating both on the spot. But that's why it looks like two triangular slices in the photo.
A lot of "sheet" pizza is soft or oily, or both, underneath. This was neither. The underside was crisp and crackly, and the interior was chewy and breadlike. The addition of mozzarella added an extra dimension of flavor and texture that helped balance the thicker crust.
I didn't sample my friends' pepperoni slices, but I've included a photo. They've accompanied me on prior trips to Joe's, and they were as happy as ever with their slices. In fact, as I look at the photo, I'm Jonesing for a pepperoni slice.
This barely begins to describe the pizza options at Joe's. They also offer Buffalo chicken pizza, BBQ pork pizza, and several white pizzas. I've reviewed some of them before, here, for example, but I may tackle more of them next time. They also offer wings, which I have yet to try. That's another one for my to-do list.
The best way for you to sample Joe's offerings would be for free, right? So enter now to win a $30 gift card from Joe's. The card is good toward anything on Joe's menu, and it's good at both Joe's locations. I haven't been there yet -- yet another item on my list -- but Joe's has opened a second location at the corner of Routes 31 and 250 in Fairport.
To enter, send me an email at ROCPizzaGuy@gmail.com. Put "Joe's" in the subject line. Please include your name and address in the message. I will NOT use your information for anything but the contest, or give them to anyone else, ever. You may comment on this post here on the blog, but that will not get you entered in the giveaway.
I'll pick a winner at random, using random.org, on Wednesday, June 10, a little after noon. So email me by noon on June 10 to get your entry in. Win or lose, do yourself a favor and get to Joe's. And when you go, do me a favor by letting them know that you read about them on The Rochester NY Pizza Blog.

Joe's Brooklyn Pizza, 1100 Jefferson Road, Henrietta
585-424-JOES (5637)

Perinton Square Mall, 6720 Pittsford-Palmyra Road, Fairport
585-364-0361


Mon., Tue. 11 AM - 9 PM
Wed. - Sat. 11 AM - 10 PM
Sunday noon - 8 PM

Pi Craft, Henrietta

A few weeks ago, I spotted a new pizzeria in Henrietta, Pi Craft. It looked like it might be a chain pizzeria, though I'd never heard of it. But obviously I needed to check it out. So I  soon stopped by for lunch, with two friends, who are my usual, willing pizza guinea pigs.
Before I get to our food, a little more about Pi Craft. This is Pi Craft's second location, the original being in Tonawanda, just north of Buffalo.
The restaurant is part of the Develder Restaurant Group, which also owns Ember Woodfire Grill in Livionia. I reviewed Ember back in 2011, and was pretty pleased with it.

Pi Craft is aiming to tap into the "fast casual" trend. In their own words, "Pi Craft is dedicated to making healthy delicious menu items such as hand crafted pizzas, focaccia sandwiches and salads using fresh ingredients, served in a fast casual style. With our state of the art revolving pizza oven we can cook our American-Italian inspired fare in about 6 minutes. The toppings are unique and always fresh giving you thousands of topping combinations to create your own pizza for one price." So that's the concept.
You order your pizza at the counter. You can choose from a 12-inch round pie, or a smaller "Pi size," a 13 x 6 inch oval. Aside from its having a few digits in common, I have no idea whether or how that relates to the mathematical π, which is roughly equal to 3.1416. I'll leave that to the math majors to determine.
As you move along in line, to reach the cashier, you can see your pizza being hand-stretched, tossed, and put into Pi Craft's oven. The oven is an essential part of Pi Craft's formula, and again I'll let Pi Craft speak for itself:
"Our state of the art revolving stone oven reaches temperatures upward of 1000˚F, while the floor temperature typically ranges between 600˚ to 800˚ F. Because of this high temperature, we can cook pizza or sandwiches in about 3-6 minutes."
As I was standing in line, I could see that the oven uses a gas flame at the back of the oven. Kind of like a wood-fired oven, without the wood.
Pi Craft's oven also uses a revolving deck. I guess the concept is, with a flame in the back of the oven, you can cook several pizzas at once, without having to keep switching them around. But they still require attention from the pizzaiolo, i.e. the chef or oven attendant, who needs to rotate the pizzas, so that each pie bakes evenly.
I was surprised to see how fast Pi Craft's oven deck revolved. I don't have vast experience with revolving-deck pizza ovens, but I suppose that a faster rpm means that a pie won't burn too quickly along one side. But it's hardly foolproof, and still requires an attentive pizzaiolo to achieve optimal results.
I got my usual Margherita, and my friends got their usual pepperoni pies. We're not always the most imaginative folks when ordering pizza, but those pies do serve as useful benchmarks.
The crust was very thin, with a nicely formed, thicker cornicione along the edge. Aside from the cornicione, the crust was so thin that it didn't have much of an interior texture to speak of.
The undersides were generally pale with darker areas, and not very uniform in that regard, as you can see. Some areas were quite pale, others darker. It was dry to the touch.
On the positive side, the crust was crisp yet pliable. And the corncione was nice and breadlike, not just a "pizza bone" throwaway. So while the crust wasn't an exemplary work of the pizzaiolo's art, all in all it was decent.
The toppings were tasty, not applied in abundance, but in balance with the thin crust. The sauce was tomatoey and light on seasoning. The basil was good, as far as it went, but there wasn't much of it.
All our pizzas were topped with fresh mozzarella. To me, fresh mozzarella on pizza is best when it slightly liquefies in the oven. The trouble with that is, if it then cools, it tends to turn rubbery. And if it browns, well, it's overcooked.
This cheese had neither liquefied nor browned, and it wasn't rubbery. It was basically heated fresh mozzarella, and I liked it. But if you prefer your pizza coated with a blanket of melted, processed mozzarella, you won't find that here. The closest you can get is probably the white cheddar; your other options are ricotta and feta, or Parmesan.
You can peruse Pi Craft's menu here, but it's extensive, with an emphasis on creating your own pizza. There's a choice of sauces, meats, cheese, veggies, and the "afterbake," i.e. toppings added when the pizza comes out of the oven (like olive oil, fresh basil, hot sauce, etc.). Most items are included in the basic price, with a few premium items, like bacon, prosciutto, and blue cheese. Aside from pizza, Pi Craft offers a few sandwiches, salads and bruschetta.
In general, I think that Pi Craft's aim is to create handcrafted, "artisanal" pizza quickly, at a relatively low price, and to create a more or less foolproof method for doing so. I'm not trying to diminish the skills of the employees who make the pizza, but the setup seems to be based on an assembly-line system and a formula, which is typical of the fast-casual model. Based on this visit, I'd say the results are mixed. I liked this pizza, in some respects, but I wouldn't mistake it for a pizza made by a master pizzaiolo, from start to finish. It was, in short, about what I would expect it to be. Decent, but not stellar.
I generally don't rate places right after they open, and Pi Craft did just open recently. So I'll forego a grade here. I think my review speaks for itself, so I'll close by saying that if you're in the area and have a hankering for pizza, Pi Craft is worth a stop. You may not be blown away by the pizza, but I don't think you'll be too disappointed either.

Pi Craft Pizza
100 Marketplace Drive
Henrietta, NY 14623
(585) 424-2942

Open 11 a.m. - 9 p.m. daily

Joe's Brooklyn Pizza $30 Giveaway

It's been quite awhile since I ran a giveaway, but thanks to the generosity of the guys at Joe's Brooklyn Pizza, that's now remedied. One week from today, some lucky reader of this blog will win a Joe's gift card worth $30. That'll buy plenty off Joe's menu - say, a 19" large, classic cheese pie with a side of wings, or a 32-slice sheet of thick Sicilian pizza.
And don't ignore Joe's tempting lineup of specialty pies. On my latest visit, I tried one of Joe's latest creations: a white pie with black garlic and fresh figs.
I've seen figs on pizza menus before, and I've even tried them at home, with chopped dried figs, which turned out pretty well.
Now I know that not everybody's a fan of figs. But a lot of people are also only familiar with the dried variety.
Fresh figs are qualitatively different. It's like the difference between a plump, juicy grape and a raisin. You can find them, sometimes, in the produce section of the supermarket. They're expensive (I think I've paid $6 for four of them before), but worth it.
And they worked very well here. The figs were sweet, but not cloyingly so. They both complemented and contrasted with the aromatic and flavorful black garlic, making for a surprisingly good combination. I've said many times that great pizza is all about balance, and this one beautifully straddled the line between sweet and savory.

By the way, I should mention that, whatever you order, if you choose to eat it on the premises, Joe's now offers several beers on tap to enjoy with your meal, including locally brewed Naked Dove, and, of course, several offerings from Brooklyn Brewery. Look for the lineup to change on a regular basis.
Now about that gift card: I'll pick a winner at random in one week, on Friday, September 5, in the early afternoon. To enter, simply leave a comment at the end of this blog post, anytime before noon next Friday. You need not leave your full name here, but you cannot leave a purely anonymous comment. One entry per person, please.
I will announce the winner on this blog, on Facebook, and on Twitter. If you want, you can email me at ROCpizzaguy@gmail.com (or include your email address in your blog comment) and I will notify you directly if you win. Otherwise, it's your responsibility to check and see if you've won.
If you do win, you will need to get me your full name and mailing address, via email. If I don't hear from the winner after several days, I may award the card to another reader.
Finally, if you win, please let the guys at Joe's know, when you use the card, that you won it here. For that matter, anytime you go to a local pizzeria based in part on something you read on this blog, please mention the blog. I'd appreciate it. The more pizzeria owners know that people read this blog, the more apt they'll be to agree to do these giveaways.
OK, now let loose with those comments!

Joe's Brooklyn Pizza, 1100 Jefferson Rd., Henrietta
585-424-JOES (5637)

Mon. & Tue. 11 AM - 9 PM
Wed. - Sat. 11 AM - 10 PM
Sun. noon - 8 PM

Tony Pepperoni Buffalo Chicken Pizza, and a Giveaway

I happened to be in Henrietta the other day around noon, so I decided to stop in to Tony Pepperoni on West Henrietta Road, maybe a half mile south of Marketplace Mall. I've enjoyed their thin-crust pizza in the past, but it had been a few years since I was there.
I had forgotten how extensive an array of pizza Tony Pepperoni offers, but I was quite impressed with the selection and found it difficult to choose. I was particularly intrigued by one french-fry-laden pie, which I was told was the "Tony Plate" pizza, but in the end I went for a single slice of Buffalo chicken pizza.
I also took the opportunity to speak to owner Mark DiPaola. He and his brothers bought the business shortly after it opened, and he's been at it now for over ten years. As with any good owner, Mark's love and enthusiasm for the pizza business came through clearly in our brief conversation.
The pizza here is generally NY style. It's thin, and made with high-gluten flour, which allows the dough to be stretched into large pies, with a crisp, chewy crust. 
My Buffalo chicken slice was quite good, with a thin, crisp, crackly crust topped with medium hot sauce and unbreaded chunks of diced chicken. 
For this pie, Tony Pepperoni uses a blend of cheeses. I found a base of melted, processed mozzarella, topped with finely shredded cheddar, and I detected some blue cheese in the mix as well.There are different ways to go with Buffalo chicken pizza, but this was a good take on the style, that struck a nice balance between the flavor of Buffalo wings and the underlying pizza base.
Given its relative longevity in the highly competitive pizza business, Tony P's has clearly found a winning formula. When I asked about future changes, Mark told me that there may be some tinkering with the menu, to keep up with current trends. But the menu is already pretty extensive; I count 18 specialty pizzas, and they do wings, subs, salads, and more. A second location is also possible, down the road, but for the moment Mark's got plenty to keep him occupied, between his current operation and tending to a three-kid family at home.
Had I been hungrier, I would have availed myself of more of Tony Pepperoni's slice choices, but this slice alone was large enough to make for a good quick lunch. The rest will have to wait.
If you'd like to find out for yourself how good the pizza is here, here's your chance to do so for free. Mark was kind enough to provide me with two gift certificates, one for a large one-topping pie, and another for a large specialty pie.
To be eligible to win either, just leave a comment at the end of this blog post. If you have a preference as to which you win, please state your preference, and if I can, I'll honor it. I can't guarantee you'll get your preference, but I don't think you can go wrong either way.
Win or lose, stop by Tony Pepperoni's sometime and let the guys know that the Rochester Pizza Guy recommended it.
I'll pick two winners next Friday, June 6, a little after noon.

Tony Pepperoni, 4164 W. Henrietta Rd.
585-334-2830
Open 11 a.m. - 10 p.m. daily

Joe's Brooklyn Pizza Review and Giveaway

Last week I had lunch at Joe's Brooklyn Pizza in Henrietta. As usual, I was torn by what to choose from among their wide array of slices.
I don't typically eat a whole lot of pizza at lunch, but I ended up with two very big slices. First, I couldn't resist Joe's Grandpa pizza, topped with tomat sauce, pepperoni, sausage, sweet peppers, extra-virgin olive oil, garlic, shallots, basil, Pecorino Romano cheese, mozzarella, and Basil. It was a thick, pan-baked slice, as befit all those toppings, and it was very satisfying. I love a simple thin cheese slice, but this was something altogether different, and yet very good. Don't let anybody tell you that NY pizza means thin, because this is NY pizza. It's just a completely different approach, and the flavors and execution were right on. Crisp bottom, a harmonious medley of flavors, and despite everything going on, a well-balanced slice.
From there, I might've gone for the aforementioned cheese slice, but I was talked into trying a slice of the "Brooklyn Bomber," a stuffed pizza with tomato sauce, pepperoni, sausage, meatballs, bacon, Pecorino and mozzarella cheeses and spices. This is the subject of Joe's "Brooklyn Bomber Pizza Challenge," which gets you a a friend T-shirts and a picture on Joe's Wall of Fame if you can polish off an entire pie in an hour or less.
I couldn't even finish both these slices. Well, maybe I could have, but I ended up cutting them in half and taking the leftovers with me. But if you're a carnivore, the Brooklyn Bomber should make you more than happy. Despite all the meat, it wasn't at all greasy. It was just, well, meaty. And damn tasty, especially on Joe's always-good crust. But a slice of this is a meal in itself.
Why not see for yourself? I've got a $30 gift card to give away to some lucky reader. Just leave a comment at the end of this blog post and you'll be entered to win.
I'll pick a winner at random one week from today, Friday, April 25, in the afternoon. Leave your comment by noon on Friday to be guaranteed an entry. One entry per person, please.
If you win, I'll need your full mailing address. You can either email it to me now at rocpizzaguy@gmail.com, or wait to see if you've won. I will post the winner here, on facebook, and on Twitter.

Joe's Brooklyn Pizza
1100 Jefferson Rd.
Henrietta NY 14623

Mon & Tues 11 AM - 9 PM
Wed - Sat 11 AM - 10 PM
Sunday 12 PM - 8 PM

Friday Spotlight: Cosimo's, Marketplace Mall

I've written before about Cosimo's, which I consider a hidden treasure, in spite of, or because of, its location in the Marketplace Mall food court. I guess you could say that Cosimo's is a great pizzeria hiding in plain sight.
Go to any mall, any Thruway rest stop, any airport, anywhere there's a food court, and you'll find pizza. To be honest, the pizza at these places is probably better than it used to be. But I don't go to such places expecting it to be all that good either.
Cosimo's is an exception. I can't say it's the proverbial exception that proves the rule; it's just an exception, pure and simple. It's really good pizza where you'd least expect it, in a mall food court. So I guess it's an exception that seemingly breaks the rule, the rule being that you can't find good pizza in a shopping mall.
There's a reason, or at least a cause, for everything, and the reason why you can get excellent pizza at Marketplace Mall is that many years ago, the proprietor, Nick, arrived in the U.S. from Bari, Italy.
Well, that's the start. Nick started off in Brooklyn as a dishwasher at a pizzeria in Brooklyn. From there, he went to Long Island.
After that, he ended up at a chain restaurant. But along the way, he learned how to make pizza. Boy, did he learn.
Eventually, an opportunity came up to run a pizzeria at a mall in Henrietta, and he grabbed it. And so Cosimo's was born.
I'm guessing there aren't too many malls where you can get authentic New York style pizza, created by an experienced pizzaiolo from Italy, by way of Brooklyn. For that, I'm grateful that Cosimo's is here, and it makes trips to the mall, fighting Henrietta traffic, a little easier to deal with.
Cosimo's offers more than just pizza - they do wings too - but pizza accounts for, by Nick's estimate, around 80% of their business. And probably 80% of that is slices. But there's no reason not to stop by for a whole pie, whether at the end of a shopping trip or on your way home from work.
I love Cosimo's for its thin, NY-style pizza. But Nick wanted me to try his thick-crust, pan-risen pizza, and I'm glad I stuck around long enough to do so.
This pizza is made from the same dough as the thin-crust, but is simply allowed to rise longer on a pan.
I got a single veggie slice, and it was damn good. The underside was crunchy and well browned, but not oily. The interior was airy but not insubstantial, with enough chewiness to keep my interest and balance out the toppings. And the overall balance was good, with contrasting textures and a pleasant bready flavor. The toppings were added in proportion to the crust, with chunks of tomato, shredded spinach, a mild but fresh tomato sauce and nicely melted mozzarella.
But why take my word for it? Nick has given me a gift certificate in the amount of $15.88, which will cover a large one-topping pizza. Of course it's up to you how to use it, so you could put it toward a medium with a side of wings, or Cosimo's other offerings, which include calzones, panini, salads and more. But I highly recommend a stop, with or without a gift certificate, and whether you're shopping at the mall or not. This pizza is too good to be relegated to occasional visits to the food court.
(To be eligible to win the gift certificate, please go to the accompanying blog post and leave a comment. You may leave a comment here, concerning Cosimo's generally, but that will not qualify you to win.)
Cosimo's, 611 Miracle Mile Dr. (Marketplace Mall)
(585) 424-6444
Mon. - Sat. 11 a.m. - 8:30 p.m., Sun. noon - 5:00 p.m.

Fireside Grill, Henrietta

Restaurants often seem to cluster together, but some literally stand alone. And for a long time, there's been a solitary restaurant on East Henrietta Road, at the corner of Garden Parkway, just south of the Thruway overpass.
For many years, this was FDR's, which was basically a suburban prime-rib and fish-fry kind of place. The location has reopened, under new ownership, as Fireside Grill & Sports Bar.
Pizza is popping up on menus all over these days, and when I ran across a story about Fireside, and saw that they were offering pizza, I added it to my to-do list. So I stopped in for dinner recently, and zeroed in on the pizza.
There were seven specialty pizzas to choose from, and sixteen toppings. I went with a basic pepperoni pie, which is one of my default pizzas. It's as standard a pizza as there is in the USA, so I figure it makes a good benchmark.
Before I begin to describe the pizza, I want to emphasize something I've said before, which is that it's easier to criticize than to praise. It's simply easier to start from perfection, and to say how a thing falls short, than to start from awful and say why a thing is better than that. So while I do have a list of demerits, keep them in perspective, and keep in mind my summation at the end.
The crust on this pizza was thin, overall, and the perimeter was formed into a cornicione (which is a fancy way of saying "cornice," which is a fancy way of saying "edge") that was puffed up thicker in some spots than in others. In a way, I like that lack of complete uniformity, as it tells me that this was probably not a premade shell. Somebody back there shaped this by hand.
But I did have some issues with the crust. First off, it was a little greasy underneath. I've gotten arguments before about whether there's a difference between grease and oil. "Oil," I guess, sounds better, as it may be olive oil, or just "natural" oil that exudes from the full-fat cheese on top. "Grease," on the other hand, is, well, just some unappetizing slick substance that's more suitable for working on your car than for cooking. You can read more on the topic here.
From my perspective, foodwise, oil is something you add to food. Grease is the stuff that's left over after you're done cooking. Others may disagree.
But I digress. My only point was, this crust was a little greasy underneath. Or oily. Whatever. It had some crispness, but was somewhere between an oily crunch and a dry-baked crackliness. The underside was a dark brown overall, a little blackened here and there. 
There was also a little grit underneath. Not a lot, but some. It's common to use corn meal, or semolina, or ordinary flour to help a pizza slide off the peel, but it often turns into blackened soot in the oven, and the oven needs to be cleaned out regularly to avoid a buildup. There wasn't much on my pizza, just a little, but I'd be remiss if I didn't mention it; I could definitely detect some grittiness as I was eating this pie.
Topside, this pizza leaned toward the cheese, rather than the sauce. There was a thin layer of sauce, which had somewhat soaked into the crust. I wouldn't say that it had disappeared, but it definitely was in the background.
The cheese, though, was quite prominent. Not that the pie was overloaded with cheese, but cheese was the most dominant topping. It seemed to be processed mozzarella, nicely melted but with some oil exuding out. The cup and char pepperoni was very good and well crisped along the edges but not burnt.
The place itself was pleasant enough, and quite a change from FDR, which I'd been to once or twice. There's a gas fireplace in the dining room, which was rather brightly lit; with its white-painted walls, I'd turn down the lighting for dinner, just a bit.
The bar is in the same area as before, and is well separated from the dining room. I see from their website that Fireside keeps quite a few local brews on tap, which is nice.
I liked it here. The pizza was OK, not beyond improvement, but not bad. I'll take it over one of those restaurant or bar pizzas that's nothing but a premade, dried-out shell with a sprinkling of toppings just before it goes in the oven. I'd like to try Fireside in another couple of months or so, but for now I'll give their pizza a C.

Fire Side Grill, 3939 East Henrietta Road
486-4611

Mon. - Sat. 11 a.m. - midnight, Sun. noon - midnight

New Pizzeria Report: Hoagies, Scottsville Road

Not a full-blown review here, just a quick report. There's a new pizzeria/deli on Scottsville Road, just north of Jefferson Road (252), Hoagies. It opened around the beginning of this month, so while I did wnnt to check it out, I think it's too early to do a full review.

I got two slices of pepperoni from a pie that had just emerged from the oven. The crust was quite thin, even along the outer edge. It was pale underneath, with some flour visible.
The slices were saucy, with a good tomatoey flavor, and a few scattered dried herbs. On top was a proportionate layer of well-melted, stringy mozzarella and a few slices of thin, chewy pepperoni. The overall flavor was good, and the components were well balanced.
I could see, during my few minutes there, that the staff and management were still working on getting everything right. Not that anything went wrong, but their communication showed that they were learning how to work together and how to get things right. And everybody seemed to be united in that goal.
Hoagies is a fairly small place, and they offer a basic but complete menu of pizza, subs, wings, grilled items, hot dogs, salads and sides. As of now, they have four specialty pizzas on the menu, including "Mama D's Favorite," which comes with anchovies, onions, mushrooms, olive oil, garlic and parsley. I hope the mushrooms aren't an integral part of that pie, because apart from them, that sounds very intriguing.
I'll certainly stop back at Hoagies at some point, and do a more comprehensive review, but for now I wanted to give readers a heads-up that it's there, and a rough idea of what the pizza is like. It's worth a stop if you're in the area. Long-term, it's got some competition - there's a Salvatore's and Sylvio's just down the road - but if they can turn out consistently good pizza, subs and wings, there's no reason they can't succeed, and here's hoping they do.
Hoagies, 1615 Scottsville Road
436-SUBS (7827)
Mon. - Thu. 10 a.m. - 7 p.m., Fri. & Sat. 10 a.m. - 8 p.m.

Friday Giveaway: Joe's Brooklyn Pizza $30 Gift Card

There's  usually a lag time between my visit to a pizzeria in my posting of a review. And I do have a backlog of reviews of pizzerias I have visited in the past few weeks.
But I wanted to get up a new post quickly after my visit yesterday to Joe's Brooklyn Pizzeria, because Joe was kind enough to donate a $30 gift card for me to get awayto a lucky follower of this blog. I haven't done a giveaway in quite some time, and I like to start them on Fridays, when readership is high. This is also a fantastic way to resume giveaways, because I consider Joe's to be one of the best pizzerias in this area, and because, I think, this is the highest dollar value of any gift card that I have ever given away.
I stopped at Joe's for lunch, and got two slices, although between the two of them they were probably equivalent to an entire pie. At least my stomach told me so, as I was full - happily full - for the rest of the day.

If I had to pick one single type of slice to eat for the rest of my life, I would probably pick a plain cheese slice, New York style. But I've had those, and reported about those, at Joe's. So I was looking for something different this day, and my eyes were drawn to two particular pies, from which I chose a slice each.
The first was a grandpa's slice (on the right in the photo), which is topped with tomato sauce, pepperoni, sausage, sweet peppers, extra-virgin olive oil, garlic, basil, and Romano. This is a pan risen, Sicilian style slice. I have been accused of being prejudiced against thick crust pizza, but in fact,I love a good thick crust pizza, and Joe's is one of the best around.
One problem I often have with thick crust pizza is that it tends to be oily underneath, but Joe's Sicilian pizzas are dry and crisp on the bottom, and the texture of the well-risen crust has just enough "chew" to make it interesting without being "tough."
The grandpa's pizza is loaded, but not overloaded, with toppings - enough to pack a wallop in the flavor department but not so much as to overwhelm the crust. My side slice was huge, and I probably could've stopped there and had a decent lunch.
But I also really wanted to try a stuffed pizza that they had available, which was topped with bacon, spinach, garlic and mozzarella. I'm not even a huge fan of bacon (I like it, I just don't love it as much as some people), but it looked great.
It was delicious but filling. Imagine two of Joe's thin crust pizzas, with toppings, one on top of the other, and you'll get a good idea of what this was like. But again, it was well balanced, with plenty of flavor from the toppings, but with the excellent, crisp/charred crust taking center stage. And the combination of toppings was very good - the meat, spinach and garlic complemented each other very well.
That was more than enough for lunch, but Joe wanted me to try his latest creation, which is a white pizza topped with black garlic. I had never heard of black garlic, but Joe's food supplier introduced him to it. Apparently it's a Korean thing (Koreans seem to be big on fermented foods, kimchi being the prime example) in which garlic is left to ferment for several weeks, which not only turns a black, but which gives it a sweet flavor reminiscent of balsamic vinegar.
As of now, black garlic is only available on slices at Joe's. Depending on consumer reaction, it may be added as a topping option for entire pies. But it's expensive, so it remains to be seen if enough people will order it to justify adding it as a regular menu item. If you like garlic, though, or just like trying new things, look for it among the slices next time you're at Joe's.
Okay, so here's what you've all been waiting for. Joe not only let me try his new black garlic pizza, he also donated a $30 gift card, for me to give away to one lucky reader. Most of you probably know the routine by now, but here's how it works. If you would like a chance to win, leave a comment following this blog post, along with some identifying information. I will choose a winner at random next Friday, in the early afternoon. I will then mail the card to the winner.
If you are the winner, I will need some way of verifying your personal information, and making sure that I get the card to the correct person. So in your response, I either need some contact information, such as an e-mail address, or I need you to e-mail me at rochesternypizzaguy@gmail.com, with your name and postal mailing address. It would be great if, in your comment, you could include some comment about Joe's pizzeria, or about pizza in general, or about this blog, but that's not a requirement to win. Leave as many comments as you like, but multiple comments will not increase your chances of winning.
I love traditional, Rochester style pizza, and I certainly wouldn't want to see it displaced by the kind of pizza sold at Joe's, which is more indigenous to New York City than to here. That said, I still think Joe's is one of the best pizzerias in our area. And $30 worth of Joe's food (they do wings too) is, I think, enough to make any pizza lover very happy. So comment away, and look for the winner next Friday. I'll be announcing the winner on my Facebook page, and on Twitter as well.
Joe's Brooklyn Pizza, 1100 Jefferson Rd. Suite 23B, Henrietta, NY 14623
Mon. & Tue. 11 a.m. - 9 p.m., Wed. - Sat. 11 a.m. - 10 p.m., Sun. noon - 8 p.m.