Tomaso's, Mount Morris

I have occasion to pass through Mt. Morris from time to time. When I travel, my eyes and brain have become attuned to spotting pizzerias, and some months ago, I spotted a new place, Tomaso's Trattoria. It wasn't open yet, but every time I'd pass through town, I'd give it a look. Not open. Not open. Not open.
Eventually, I figured it just wasn't going to happen, but one day, the lights were on, and there were people inside. Pizza!
I've never been to Italy, but I gather that there, a trattoria is a relatively informal restaurant that offers takeout. But here in the U.S., such terms tend to get thrown around rather loosely, so I wasn't sure what to expect. What I found was a clean, well-lit, but fairly typical pizza/sub shop, with some tables in front and a counter in back. So I'm not sure Tomaso's would qualify as a trattoria in Italy.
But that's just an observation. In the end, I don't really care what they call themselves, as long as the pizza's good. I got a couple of cheese slices to go.
The medium-to-thick crust was pretty evenly browned underneath, dry to the touch, with a light dusting of what I think was corn meal (it could've been semolina, but I think it was too coarsely ground for that). It was crisp, if not quite crackly. The texture and flavor were pretty average, unobjectionable but unremarkable. Some chewiness, some toasty notes, no noticeable defects.
The slices were topped with a thick tomato sauce, with a detecatable flavor of herbs - oregano and basil among them, I believe. The cheese seemed to be straight mozzarella, and was spottily browned on top. It was just a tad overdone, for my taste, and had started to pull away from the edge.
Tomaso's offers 17 pizza toppings (plus extra sauce or cheese) and eight specialty pizzas, including the "Meat Overload" (sausage, beef, pepperoni, bacon and ham) and, at the other end of the scale, a white spinach-artichoke pie. They also offer a 10-inch gluten-free pie.
Tomaso's menu includes hot and cold subs and wraps, wings, soups, and salads. Apparently they will also have ice cream, in season, and sidewalk tables as well.
You can read about Tomaso's background here. It's another entrant in the ongoing makeover of Mt. Morris, as detailed by the NY Times back in 2011, and by the RIT University News last year. Tbe whole thing is really quite an intriguing story.
To get back to the pizza, these were perfectly acceptable slices of pizza, but I can't say they were exceptionally good either. Considering the thickness of the crust, I would've liked a tad more sauce, and a chewier, less-well-done layer of cheese. Then we might be talking classic Rochester style pizza. As it was, they had some pluses and some minuses,
Since they couldn't have been open for too long when I stopped in (they apparently had their "soft" opening on Feb. 1), I'll forgo a grade here, but these slices were, on the whole, of average quality for the area.

Tomaso's Trattoria
40 Main Street
Mount Morris, NY
(585) 658-1045


Monday – Thursday 11:00am – 9:00pm

Friday & Saturday 11:00am –10:00pm

Sunday Noon – 8:00pm

Leaning Tower, Mt. Morris

I'm not sure where the geographical range of Rochester pizza begins and ends, but according to the Census Bureau, Rochester's metro area includes Monroe, Livingston, Ontario, Orleans and Wayne counties. So I guess Mount Morris, in Livingston County, is not too far afield.
With that in mind, today I offer a report on a recent stop at Leaning Tower, a Mt. Morris pizzeria that has a sister establishment in Dansville, which I reported on last December.
On trips to the Southern Tier, I often get off 390 at Mt. Morris. If you go down that way much, you may know the routine already - 390 to Mt. Morris, 408 to Nunda, and then Short Tract Road to Rt. 17. This shaves about 20 miles off your trip, if you're headed to the southwestern part of the state, and the roads are nice and straight, and rarely heavily trafficked.
I wasn't so much hungry as curious to try this place, so I just got a single pepperoni slice. It had a browned, slightly puckered bottom marked by some lighter areas, typically where it had been punctured, or "docked" prior to baking, to prevent it from bubbling up in the oven. The crust was medium firm, with a nice crunch along the outer edge. It was not greasy underneath, but it was not exceptionally crisp either.
The toppings started with a sweetish tomato sauce, topped by a layer of shredded mozzarella that had pooled a bit toward one side, but which had not entirely melted together, so that some individual shreds were still visible. I wonder if this was a part-skim cheese, as it didn't have a particularly creamy texture.
The wide and thin slices of pepperoni were on the spicy side, which is fine by me. Thery were more chewy than crisp, which is typical of this variety. A light dusting of herbs was visible, but I can't say I noticed it on my palate.
This was a basic small town pizzeria - which every small town should have - along Mt. Morris's Main Street, which has gotten some media attention of late thanks to the efforts of one man to breathe new life into it. They serve the usual pizza, wings, subs, etc., and there's a little seating.
In short, this was OK pizza, not bad, not great. The crust was adequate, and the toppings were serviceable. There were no particular defects, but for me it was no better than average. So I'll give it a C.
Leaning Tower
25 Main Street, Mount Morris, NY
(585) 658-3600
Hours: Mon-Thu. 11 a.m. - 10 p.m., Fri. & Sat. 11 a.m. - 11 p.m., Sun. noon - 10 p.m.
Delivery: Mon. - Fri. 11 a.m. - 1 p.m., nightly 4:30 till close