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

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 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

Rubino's, Webster

I've long been familiar with Rubino's, going back to when they had a location at the Midtown Plaza food court. I always thought they made pretty good subs, but Midtown's only a memory, and in recent years I kind of stopped paying attention to Rubino's. I think they also had a small place on State Street across from Kodak for a while, but that's gone too, and since I started this blog my sub consumption has declined precipitously.
So I owe some thanks to the reader who recently informed me that Rubino's has a place in Webster that serves pizza. Come to find out, their other locations do too, according to the menu on their website, but Webster's the one that I checked out.
I ordered a medium pepperoni pizza to go (the photos were taken immediately after I got it, so it was still fresh and hot). It had a thin to medium crust, with a soft pale bottom. It was a little doughy, and just a bit crisp along the edge. As is often the case with soft-crusted pizzas, I liked the crisp edge better than the soft middle.
The crust was topped by a thin layer of sauce, which had some herbal flavor, but was nonetheless on the bland side. The melted mozzarella was a little chewy and easily separated from the crust.
I haven't been to any of the other Rubino's, but the one in Webster is, I believe, unique among them in that it includes a sports bar. The atmosphere, at lunch anyway, was more deli than bar, and they close at 8 p.m., so it's not a place to go hang out all night, but the bar and numerous HDTVs make it a good option for watching a daytime or late-afternoon game over a cold pint and a pizza.
Or more likely, a sub. Rubino's is still primarily a deli, not a pizzeria, as one look at their menu confirms. It's dominated by the subs, which are far too numerous to list here, but they've got as wide a variety of hot and cold subs as you'll find in the area. And prices include up to seven toppings of your choice. I'm particularly intrigued by the "garlic subs" - which I guess means on a toasted, garlic-bread style roll. They also offer panini, pasta and salads.
The pizza? Well, it was OK. Not great, but good enough. But the subs are a better option here, and for pizza I'd probably go elsewhere. I'll give the pizza a C-minus.
Rubino's Italian Submarines and Sports Pub, 44 E. Main St., Webster
Tel.: 265-0870
Mon. - Sat. 10 a.m. -8 p.m.
Other locations at 343 East Ave. and 1659 Mt. Hope Ave. in Rochester, and 349 W. Commercial St. in East Rochester

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

Original New York Pizza, Empire Boulevard, Revisited

Note, Aug. 15, 2011: this establishment was formerly a second location of the downtown pizzeria, The Pizza Stop. It is no longer associated with the Pizza Stop and is now operating under a different name, although ownership and management remains (partly) the same as when it opened. The following review was written while this pizzeria was still operating under the name "The Pizza Stop" and remains here as a historial record. 
Last June, I did a post about the then-new, second location of The Pizza Stop, on Empire Boulevard in Penfield. Based on the two slices I had gotten, I wrote that "Pizza Stop seems to have pulled it off - opening a second location that's as good as the original. So once again, a solid A rating from me."
Well, I later learned that there had been some sort of split or schism between the owners and managers of the original Pizza Stop on State Street, and of the new location on Empire. I added a note to my original post to that effect in December of last year.
Since then, I've seen various postings about whether the quality had declined at Pizza Stop 2 ("Pizza Stop 2" is my terminology, by the way, just for the sake of convenience; both locations go by the same name). I meant to go back to check it out, but of course there are a lot of other places I wanted to visit too, so I never seemed to get around to it.
Well, about a week ago, a reader left a comment on my Pizza Stop 2 post stating that in reliance on my "A" rating, he went to Pizza Stop 2, and ended up with some of the worst pizza he'd ever had. That prompted a response from the owner of Pizza Stop 2, and some comments from other readers as well, both good and bad.
So that got me off my butt and back up to Pizza Stop 2, to see for myself. I've been there twice now in the past week, and gotten four slices in that time. Here's what I found.
On my first visit,I got a grandma's slice, and a white garlic slice with peppers and onions, which is almost the same as what I had the previous time, when my white slice didn't include the peppers and onions. I picked them out of a pretty wide variety of lunchtime slices.
The undersides were brown and very slightly charred. They were maybe a tad less charred that on my previous visit, but the crusts were good, with a very light dusting of cornmeal, and a crisp exterior with some surface crackling.

The white slice was a little greasy, but that's not uncommon with white pizza, which usually involves a brushing or swirling of olive oil, plus there's no red sauce to absorb any oil from the cheese as it melts.
Otherwise, both slices had good flavor and balance, and were close to what I had last time.
On my second visit, I got a Sicilian slice and a Buffalo chicken slice. The pepperoni slices looked especially good, but two slices are about my limit for lunch, and I really wanted to try these two varieties.
On both occasions, service was good, and this time around the server (who may have been the owner) let me select my Sicilian slice, which allowed me to choose a big side slice. It was appropriately quite thick, with a dry, firm bottom, a crunchy edge, and a somewhat dense texture with countless tiny air holes in the crust. The crust was just very slightly gummy on top where it met the thick, herbal sauce. Overall, again quite good, even if Sicilian's not generally my thing when it comes to pizza.
I think this was the first time I've ever tried a Buffalo chicken pizza from either location of The Pizza Stop, so in that regard I can't compare it to past examples. The crust on this one was very thin, even paper thin toward the tip of the slice. It was a bit thicker, with some breadiness, toward the outer edge, and the dough had good flavor. The tip was too thin to really have any interior, but near the edge there was some internal "airiness," if that's a word (well, it is now). It was topped with chunks of breaded chicken in coated with hot sauce, which was, well, pretty hot. There was no blue cheese, celery or tomato sauce, so the overall flavor here was of spicy chicken and mozzarella.
After reading some of the comments, I really wasn't sure what to expect on these visits to Pizza Stop 2. Would it be good, terrible, the same as before, radically different?
Well, in general, it was about the same as what I remembered, and close to the original. Was it exactly the same? Does it still deserve the A rating I gave it before?

That's a harder question. It may not have been quite the same, maybe not even quite as good. Then again, given the circumstances, I think I was approaching this one in a hypercritical way, looking for any subtly different nuance.
But in point of fact, if I hadn't had any reason to expect anything to be different, I don't think I would've noticed any difference, at least no significant difference. And the fact is that if you go get a slice of pizza at a particular pizzeria ten times, you're going to get ten unique slices. They may, and should, be pretty similar, but given the vagaries of yeast, temperature, humidity, etc., each one will be subtly different from the others.
So what I decided to do is approach this the way that football referees do on instant replay. Unless it's clear to me that the quality's changed, I'm going to stick with the same rating. That's not to say that each slice shouldn't be graded on its own merits, but if I'm going to change the grade, I need to be sure that I'm not doing it just because of things I've heard, or read, or because I'm subconsciously applying a stricter standard than I ordinarily would, based on what other people have said.

And again, this pizza was about the same as what I had before. I can't speak for others, and I have no firsthand knowledge of others' experiences. So if your experience with this or any other pizzeria differs from mine, feel free to leave a comment, preferably with some factual detail to back up your opinions. But based on these two recent visits, I'm again giving Pizza Stop 2 an A rating.
The Pizza Stop, 1773 Empire Blvd., Penfield 347-4050
Mon. - Thu. 11 a.m. - 9 p.m., Fri. & Sat. 11 a.m. - 10 p.m., Sun. noon - 8 p.m.

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.

Coliseum Pizza Roma, Webster

Coliseum Pizza Roma is on Empire Boulevard in Webster, though the location has seen several pizzerias come and go over the past few years. At one point there was a DiRosato's here, then simply "Pizza Roma," and now we have Coliseum Pizza Roma, which has roots going back some years to "SS Coliseum Pizza" on Dewey Avenue in Rochester.
Confusing, yes, but regardless of the name, this is a place I'd meant to get to for some time. Coliseum doesn't open until 4 p.m., so this wasn't a place I could go to for a lunchtime slice. I did finally get a pepperoni pie there recently for dinner.
When I opened the box, I saw what looked like a pretty good looking pizza, until I took a peek at the underside. It was very pale, and somewhat sooty. For whatever reason, the top had cooked just fine, then, but the bottom was quite underdone.I'm not sure exactly what the problem was, but I do know that I can get a better-baked crust in my home oven.
Anyway, the bottom was dry, at least, not greasy, and overall the crust was on the thick side of medium. The thickness was uneven, though, with some slices considerably thicker than others.
Not surprisingly, the crust had a doughy flavor, and a chewy texture. The edge was brown and crisp, a bit crunchy, and I think I would've enjoyed the crust quite a lot if it had been better baked.
The sauce on this one was moderately applied, with a tomatoey, slightly tangy flavor. This was a pretty cheesy pie, with a fairly thick layer of browned cheese. There were a few dried herbs visible, but I didn't detect a lot of herb flavor.
Coliseum offers a pretty basic menu, with a handful of specialty pizzas, hot subs and wraps, wings and fried appetizers, and chicken parm dinners. Perhaps what really separates them from the crowd is that they're open till 4 a.m. every night, and they deliver "anywhere" in the Rochester area.
Despite its flaws, this was OK pizza. The right components were there, and the flavor wasn't bad, but the problem was one of execution. So I'm going to call it average, and give it a C.
Coliseum Pizza Roma, 2225 Empire Blvd., Webster 458-1470, 671-8680
Open 4 p.m. - 4 a.m. daily.

Empire Pizza, Empire Blvd.

Note, Aug. 15, 2011: this establishment was formerly a second location of the downtown pizzeria, The Pizza Stop. It is no longer associated with the Pizza Stop and is now operating under a different name, although ownership and management remain (partly) the same as when it opened. The following review was written shortly after this pizzeria opened and remains here as an historical record.
It took 24 years, but earlier this month the Pizza Stop finally opened a second location, on Empire Boulevard in Penfield (though most people probably think of it as Webster). Naturally I was eager to try it, although I pretty much knew what to expect:  the same, authentic New York style pizza served at the original on State Street. While consistency can be an issue when a pizzeria has multiple locations, I didn't expect that to be the case here, as the new Pizza Stop is run by the son of Pizza Stop co-founder Jim Staffieri. And sure enough, the pizza here was, to my palate at least, virtually indistinguishable from the original.
Ordinarily, I would go for a cheese or pepperoni slice, or one of each, but on this visit, fresh slices of the meatball parm pie were available, and I could not resist. And, just to change things up a bit, I got a white garlic slice as well.
The crust on both slices was, of course, thin, although the meatball parm slice was noticeably thinner than the white. And both were nicely charred underneath.
As I was eating the white slice, it occurred to me that one hallmark of a great crust is that you can fold it in half without breaking it in two, but when you do, small surface cracks should appear on the underside. That shows the proper balance of pliability and crispness, and the white slice had that exactly.
That slice was topped by a uniform layer of mozzarella that was dusted with dried herbs. The top was bit oily though I'm not sure if that came from the cheese or from the actual application of olive oil. It was also quite garlicky, in a good way. I couldn't see any garlic, so I'm assuming it lay under the cheese (I gobbled it down too quickly to stop and check). But I'm pretty certain from the flavor that this was chopped garlic, not garlic powder.
Oddly, the white pizza doesn't seem to be on the printed menu, so maybe it was a daily special. Or maybe it just got left off the menu for some reason.
As I mentioned, the meatball parm slice was quite thin. With the relatively heavy toppings, it almost had to be folded, though the underside still had some outer crispness. I've described Pizza Stop's meatball parm pizza before, and this was essentially the same, so I won't repeat myself here. But it was very enjoyable, a great blend of flavors, a bit spicy, and quite moist - almost "juicy" - without being sloppy. And despite its thinness, the toasty, crisp-yet-chewy crust made a great base for the toppings.
The menu here is pretty close to the State Street Pizza Stop's, with some variations. The most noticeable difference is that wings are available here. There are also a few specialty pizzas that don't appear on the menu at State Street (although you could probably special-order them there, as all the toppings are available).
The space here is not huge, but there's fairly ample seating. And although they were fairly busy when I stopped, there was not the mad rush that you sometimes see downtown, so the atmosphere was a bit less hectic.
To get down to specifics, the white pizza here was rather minimalistic, with little more than dough, cheese, garlic, some herbs and perhaps some olive oil. That's really getting back to pizza's roots - tomatoes didn't arrive in Italy until after Columbus, remember -  but it was almost too minimalistic for me. Still, it was executed well, and that's just a matter of my personal preferences. And the meatball parm slice was, as I said, very enjoyable.
In more general terms, Pizza Stop seems to have pulled it off - opening a second location that's as good as the original. So once again, a solid A rating from me.
Pizza Guy note: as a reader pointed out, Joe's Brooklyn Pizza, which opened last year in Henrietta, is in the same family, literally and figuratively, as the Pizza Stop. Although the sauce at Joe's is a little different from Pizza Stop's, the pizzas are pretty similar, so you might consider Joe's as a third, unofficial branch of the same pizza family tree.
Pizza Stop, 1778 Empire Blvd., Penfield 347-4050
Mon. - Thu. 11 a.m. - 9 p.m., Fri. & Sat. 11 a.m. - 10 p.m., Sun. noon - 8 p.m.
Pizza Guy note, 12/22/10:  The Empire Boulevard Pizza Stop is no longer affiliated in any way with the original downtown location.
Pizza Guy note, 4/26/11:  for a more recent review, go here.