Fire on the Lake, Canandaigua

I didn't think when I resumed this blog that I'd be falling behind so soon, but here I am. Before I get back to my road trips, let me get to something closer to home.

My wife and I recently went to Fire on the Lake in Canandaigua.  It opened in September 2024, and it's been on my to-do list since then.

Fire on the Lake is housed in a modern building near the lake with high ceilings and tall windows facing the lake. Nice space.

We ordered  at the counter and found a table, where the food was delivered. I guess that makes it "fast casual." 

We decided to split one "Canandaigua" pizza, described as topped with basil. Stracciatella cheese, red sauce, extra virgin olive oil, cherry tomatoes, roasted garlic, and flaky salt. 

(We also split a Caprese salad, which was very good, but I'm not here to write about salad. But trust me, it was good.)

While waiting for our pizza, we were able to watch it being baked on a video screen in the dining area, showing the pizza oven, which was pretty cool and is something I'd like to see adopted by more pizza restaurants. 

The pizza was quite good. I had a few quibbles with it, though. Well, one quibble, which I'll get to in a moment.

Upon arrival at our table, the pizza looked great. A bit heavy on the toppings perhaps, for a thin-crust pie, but it's hard to complain about "too many" toppings.

Those toppings were indeed tasty. You could've put them in a bowl and I would've happily made a meal of them. The cheese was soft and creamy, the tomatoes were sweet, and the basil was cooked just enough to be wilted. Add the olive oil, garlic and salt, and what's not to love?

Which brings me to the crust. It had some charring underneath, but it wasn't crisp, and it wasn't particularly flavorful or texturally interesting. To me, for a pizza to cross the line from good to great, the crust has to be good enough to stand on its own, sans toppings, and this didn't do it for me. It wasn't bad; it just fell a little short.

I think the chef may have taken note of my interest in the pizza-making operations, or maybe he just does this, but he came to our table to see how we liked the pizza and to answer any questions. 

I learned that the oven is kept at 750 degrees, that it uses a revolving deck, and that he keeps a close eye on the pizza to know when it's done. It typically takes about two and a half minutes for the pizza to be ready to come out. 

He also told me that the dough they use is not made in house, but comes from a supplier in Rome (New York, not Italy). I asked him if he thought that worked well, and he said that it's a matter of getting to know the dough: how to work with it and how it will bake depend on a lot of factors and the pizza maker needs to know from experience how to bring it to its best.

This was good pizza, baked by someone with an obvious passion for pizza. Given my tastes, the pizza fell a little short of greatness, but I don't mean to damn it by faint praise. I've stopped assigning letter grades but Fire on the Lake certainly falls on the side of the line that says, "Go. Check it out." 

Fire on the Lake

58 Lakeshore Drive, Canandaigua 14424 

 (585) 412-6116

Wed. - Sun. 1–9 PM

Macri's, Canandaigua

I happened to be in Canandaigua on a recent Saturday, so, ever on the hunt for new pizza places, I stopped into Macri's Deli & Cafe.
Macri's opened in 2013, but I just recently learned that they offer pizza, and I figured it was worth a stop. And indeed it was.
Macri's sits at a corner of a strip mall, along the same general stretch as the Canandaigua Wegmans. The exterior shares the look of the other retail establishments nearby, so I wasn't sure what to expect. Might be good, might be just another uninteresting, feels-like-a-chain place.
Inside, I found a large, high-ceilinged space, with tables near the windows, and a long food counter. I headed straight for the pizza counter.
Macri's offers "pizza al taglio," which initially meant nothing to me. Turns out, the Italian phrase just means, literally, pizza by the slice, or more specifically, by the cut. But apparently it implies more than that. According to Wikipedia, pizza al taglio is a variety of Italian pizza baked in large rectangular trays, and generally sold in rectangular or square slices by weight. The concept, and style, began in Rome, but has spread throughout Italy.
On my visit, there were three varieties available. The veggie pizza included mushrooms, which ruled it out, for me. The pepperoni looked good, but I zeroed in on the Margherita.
Technically, I guess this wasn't true pizza al taglio, because all Margherita slices are four dollars each, regardless of weight, although they were cut to generally the same size. But I had no complaints.
And technically, this wasn't a classic Margherita, which I associate with thin-crust, Neapolitan pizza. But labels aside, it was good. Really good.
My corner slice was thick - about an inch, at its thickest point - with a bottom that was golden brown, with a dark brown ring along the edge. It was crisp, with a faint hint of oil, as one would expect from a pan-baked pizza, but not overly oily at all.
The crust had a bready aroma and a tight crumb. Not just a base for the toppings, it had the flavor of freshly-baked bread. The well-formed edge was crunchy on the surface.
On top, the generous layer of sauce was proportionate to the thick crust. It had a rich, tomatoey flavor, with a hint of salt.
The shakes of grated Parmesan, though a bit nontraditional for a Margherita, added some welcome contrast to the slices of fresh mozzarella. The latter were just melted, not quite melt-in-your-mouth liquidy, but not rubbery either. The bits of torn basil were wilted just enough to maximize their flavor, and added an extra layer of complexity overall.
According to their menu, Macri's offers eight varieties of pizza al taglio, though obviously they're not all available, all the time. They've also recently added "New York Style Thin Crust Pizza," but for now that's only available by the pie, not by the slice. They also do paninis, subs, soups, salads, and breakfast items, as well as a wide variety of sweets. Wine and beer are available too, and there's a full coffee bar.
I was, frankly, quite impressed by this pizza. So much so, that I really couldn't find fault with it. Nice balance, good flavor, and well made. I can't see any reason not to give it an A. I intend to go back, to try the New York pizza, and some of the other pizza al taglio. I suggest you do the same.

Macri's Deli & Cafe, 699 S. Main St., Canandaigua

(585) 905-0866

Mon. - Thu. 8 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Fri. 8 a.m. - 7 p.m.
Sat. 8 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Sun. closed

Dobber's, Canandaigua

I don't get to Canandaigua too often, but I consider it to be in the Rochester area, so I try to stay current on the Canandaigua pizza scene.
With that in mind, I recently got a pizza from Dobber's. It's on Lakeshore Drive, just east of the lake.
Dobber's bills itself as a sports bar and grill, rather than a pizzeria as such, but pizza is on the menu. I wasn't sure what to expect, since they only offer one size, which generally suggests the use of premade crusts. And I think that's what I got, but more on that later.
Dobber's offers three pizzas: the "classic cheese and pepperoni," with a garlic base, marinara, pizza spice, tomatoes, peppers, and Parmesan; the "veggie lover's," with a garlic base, mozzarella, pizza spice, tomatoes, peppers, onions, mushrooms, banana peppers, black olives and jalapenos; and a Buffalo chicken pie, with a garlic base, mozzarella, pizza spice, diced chicken tossed in the sauce of your choice.
I got the veggie lover's, sans mushrooms. I don't have many dietary taboos, but I don't do mushrooms. I don't eat anything that grows in caves, or that's a fungus, or that has the texture of rubber. Or that tastes like mushrooms.
In a nutshell, the toppings were pretty good; the crust, not so much. It was medium thick, generally pale, and somewhat dry. It could've been hand formed - the underside didn't have a machine-made look to it - but it did not have a freshly-baked aroma or texture. It wasn't crumbly or brittle, it simply was not much more than a base for the toppings.
And the toppings were good, as far as they went, but they literally didn't go very far. There was quite a gap between the toppings and the edge of the pie. Had the crust been exceptionally good, that wouldn't have mattered so much, but it wasn't.
On the plus side, where the toppings were applied, they were pretty good. The olives were canned, but I've always been OK with canned olives. The conglomeration of sliced and chopped veggies, atop a layer of well-melted mozzarella, was rather tasty, with a nice interplay of flavors - salty olives, hot, vinegary pepperoncini, milder green bell pepper, and decent chopped tomatoes, atop a bed of smooth melted cheese.
But it just wasn't quite enough to elevate the pizza as a whole. Some people (I'm not one of them, in case you hadn't guessed) are more concerned with the toppings on their pizza than with the crust. If that's you, then you want the toppings spread close to the edge of the crust. And these weren't.
I care about the toppings, certainly. It's the combination of the crust and toppings that makes pizza more than just bread. But for me the crust is where it all starts. And my test is, when I've finished the "topped" part of a slice, to I want to eat what's left - the "pizza bone"? The answer here was no.
I genuinely dislike giving a place a bad review, especially when it's not just a pizzeria.. So again I will emphasize that I am rating Dobber's pizza, not Dobber's as a whole. Dobber's offers way more than just pizza. As I waited for my pizza, I saw a plate of chicken wings go by, and they looked and smelled heavenly. The menu covers all the bar basics, and then some. They occasionally do a "pizza soup," which I would love to try. And there's a wide selection of beers, including their own house brand, Three Huskies.
Pizza aside, I came away with a good impression of Dobber's, overall. The place was clean and well maintained, the service was good, the patrons were friendly, and my impression was of a local bar and grill, in the best sense of that term. I think you could feel equally comfortable going there for a drink, or for a casual dinner with family or friends. (There is no physical divider between the bar and the dining area, and I imagine things may get a little more raucous as the evening goes on, so keep that in mind.)
So, bottom line. I'm giving the pizza a D. This was below-average pizza.
But I hasten to add that if I were in the area, looking for a place to stop into for a drink, meal or both, alone or with my family, I'd have no problem stopping at Dobber's. I just wouldn't order a pizza.


Dobbers Sports Bar & Grill, 401 Lakeshore Drive, Canandaigua, NY 14424

Monday - Friday 11 am - midnight
Saturday 11 am - 1 am
Sunday noon - 10 pm

Bee Hive, Canandaigua

In addition to watching for new pizzerias, I'm always on the lookout for pizza popping up on restaurant menus. Recently I learned of one such example, the Bee Hive Brew Pub in Canandaigua. It's located in a converted train station, which it shares with Twisted Rail Brewing Co. My understanding is that there's no direct connection between the two, but Twisted Rail does make some house beers for Bee Hive.
While Bee Hive does carry an impressive lineup of beer, my sights were set on the pizza. There were several interesting selections to choose from, but I opted for "Ann's Favorite Pizza," which is topped with tomatoes, artichokes, mozzarella and garlic aioli, which is a fancy way of saying sauce. It sounded good to me to begin with, and its identification as a house favorite tipped the balance for me.
This was a personal-size pie, about 12 inches across. The medium-thick crust was dark brown underneath, and slightly oily to the touch. It was firm but not crisp, and the interior was likewise right down the middle, texturewise: not dense, but not puffy, with a moderate chewiness.
Aside from the diced tomatoes, this was a white pizza, in other words, no tomato sauce. As with most white pizza, the cheese played a prominent role, and played it well. It was nicely melted and stretchy, smooth but slightly chewy, with just a bit of lactic tanginess.
The cheese was well complemented by the toppings. I'm guessing that there are people out there who don't like the taste of artichokes, but I'm not among them. Their sharp, almost citrusy flavor works well with cheese, and here it was also well balanced by the background of garlic and olive oil, making for a tasty combination. By comparison, the tomatoes were, if not quite an afterthought, less important. They weren't the rock-hard, flavorless chunks that you often find, but they weren't particularly sweet, and their contribution was comparatively minimal.
As I mentioned, Bee Hive has an interesting pizza menu, with options for both carnivores and herbivores. That's in addition to the rest of their menu, which includes salads, sandwiches, wraps, burgers, and various sides and appetizers. From what I've read, they're particularly renowned for their burgers.
Getting back to this pizza, I enjoyed it, but rating it is a tough call. It was tasty and distinctive, but I can't say it was so good that I'd drive out of my way to get it. I'd have no problem ordering this again, or trying another of Bee Hive's pizzas, but if I'm holding them to the same standard as I would any pizzeria, I'd have to say that this pizza was somewhat, but not a lot, better than average. So I'll break my own rule about not using pluses and minuses, and give this one a B-minus.

Bee Hive Brew Pub, 20 Pleasant St., Canandaigua

(585) 919-2471

Open 11 a.m. - 1 a.m. daily

Casa Italiana, Canandaigua

Pizzawise, few things get me as interested as finding out that there's been a pizzeria around for a long time that I never even knew about.
So I was very pleased to learn recently about Casa Italiana in Canandaigua.
Occasional visitors to Canandaigua could easily be led to think that everything of interest is on Main Street or near the lakeshore. But you'll find some gems on the side streets as well.  And Casa Italiana is one of them.
Casa Italiana comprises two side-by-side places, a deli and a pizzeria. Most of what you'll find on their website relates to the deli. 
Since I didn't have a menu, I just showed up and ordered in person. I had planned to order a pepperoni pie, but upon seeing a Margherita on the chalkboard menu, I impulsively went with that. A classic Margherita is one of my favorite styles of pizza, and though I often go with a simple cheese, or maybe pepperoni pie, a Margherita sounded good.
And it was good, although it had a few, relatively modest shortcomings.
The underside bore some screen marks, which in general raises a red flag with me. In my experience crusts with those telltale cross hatches have often been soft, but this one was not. In fact, it was rather crisp, with surface crackling.
Nonetheless, I would've liked this crust a little darker. Not necessarily charred, but at least a darker shade of brown. As dough darkens, it develops more complex flavors and aromas. Now, I've had pizzas with dark bottoms that tasted and smelled unpleasantly of oil, so darkness does not always equate to good flavor, but this crust wasn't at all oily, so I don't think that would've been an issue here.
The crust was thin, as was the outer edge, or cornicione. The dough didn't seem to have risen much. I like some crackliness, but this was a bit brittle for my taste, and a little more chewiness would've been welcome.
Having said all that, this wasn't a bad crust, overall. A bit too stiff, for me, but it wasn't crumbly, and it was certainly preferable to a soft, greasy crust.
On top, this was an unusual Margherita in that the greens consisted of spinach rather than basil. But stylistic matters aside, it was pretty good. I like spinach (I've come a long way since childhood), and this was tasty indeed. The spinach was wilted but not burnt.
The scattered slices of fresh mozzarella were not silky smooth, but neither were they watery or rubbery. So pretty good, there. The sliced fresh tomatoes weren't especially flavorful (think typical supermarket tomatoes), but the moderate layer of sauce was pleasant, with a straightforward tomatoey flavor. A light smattering of chopped garlic added additional aroma. I'll rarely complain about the addition of garlic.
This is a tough pizza to grade. I liked it, and I'd like to go back, so a C seems a little low to me. But I had some issues with it, and a B seems a tad high. Therefore I'm going to depart from my usual avoidance of pluses and minuses, and give this one a C-plus. And I'm intrigued enough to go back, for a more standard pie.

Casa Italiana, 40 Parrish St., Canandaigua
Pizzeria: 585-396-3670
Deli/store: 585-396-0411

Pizzeria hours: Wed. & Thu. 11-7, Fri. & Sat. 11-9, Sun. 12-7

Deli hours: Mon.-Fri. 8-7, Sat. 8-6, Sun. 8-4

Morey's, Canandaigua

I thought I'd mostly covered the Canandaigua pizza scene until I ran across a reference to Morey's, which is on a side street and had thus far escaped my notice. So off I went, around dinnertime with my daughter.
I got a small (9") pepperoni pie, and my daughter got a sub (which she liked, as she usually does).
The medium-thick crust was pliable but on the crunchy side, with a pale golden-brown bottom. Morey's offers pizzas in several sizes, on up to sheets, which suggests that they make and stretch their own dough, but this wasn't a great crust. It may have been made from fresh, just-stretched dough, but it was more reminiscent of a frozen or parbaked crust.
As for the toppings, they were generously but not overly applied. The healthy dose of tomatoey sauce helped provide some liquid to the slightly dry crust.
The cheese, which seemed like straight mozzarella, was well melted and stringy, but slid off the crust quite easily, probably because of all the sauce underneath. It was slightly browned and was concentrated toward the center of the pie, leaving a strip of sauce between the cheese and the outer crust. The pepperoni was pretty basic, I had no complaints, but it was nothing out of the ordinary.
Despite its name, Morey's Pizza & Subs isn't just a pizza/sub shop. It's more like a diner that serves pizza. Or maybe it's a pizzeria that serves diner food.  The pizza is available in 9-, 12- and 16-inch sizes, plus 12"x16" sheets and "party" pizzas twice that size. A relatively modest ten toppings are available, and they do four specialty pizzas.
Morey's also does wings, hot and cold subs and sandwiches, and breakfast items until 11 a.m. I'd be happy to go back sometime for some of those, but I don't think I'd get the pizza again. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't particularly good. The crust just didn't do it for me, though it was redeemed, a little bit, by the ample tomato sauce and the nicely melted cheese.
I've been trying not to use pluses and minuses in my pizza grades, but I'll make an exception here. I can't say this was an average pizza for this area. It was a little worse than that. But it wasn't quite a "D," either, which means, it's really pretty bad but it's good enough to eat, once you've paid for it. This wasn't that bad. So I'll give it a C-minus. Next time at Morey's, though, it's a burger and fries for me.

Morey's Pizza & Subs
113 West Ave., Canandaigua, NY 14424
394-4410 or 394-4939

Faro's, Canandaigua

I stopped not long ago at Faro's in Canandaigua.  I posted about Faro's before, in 2012, but they've moved since then, from East Lake Road to Main Street. So I wanted to see if the move had made any difference in the pizza, which was good enough before to earn a B+.
I got a cheese slice and a pepperoni slice. They could be described as NY style slices, with a thin crust and narrow lip. The undersides were dry to the touch, and reasonably crisp, though somewhat weirdly cracked horizontally, i.e. perpendicularly to the pie's radius (I knew geometry would come in handy someday).
The crust was good, but not exceptionally good. It didn't have quite the outer crisp, crackly, slightly charred surface that I look for in NY style pizza. But it had a nice chew, a medium-dense crumb, and some breadlike flavor.
The components of these slices worked well together, and the toppings were added in good proportion to each other and to the crust. The cheese was slightly browned, not as smooth or creamy as last time, but not dried out either. The thin slices of pepperoni were pretty basic, but OK. Below the cheese, the sauce added just enough tomatoey sweetness, and was well bonded with the top surface of the crust.
These slices were a little different from what I got from Faro's last time, not radically, but a little. On the plus side, the cheese more evenly covered the slices, and had not migrated toward the center of the pie. But the cheese was a tad more brown, without the semi-liquid texture that it had before. The crust was decent, and the sauce was pretty good.
So some things were a little better this time around, some things a little worse. All in all, I liked this a little less than before, but not enough to bump them Faro's down a full grade. This was reasonably good pizza, and since I've mostly stayed away lately from pluses and minuses, I think it deserves a B.
Faro's Pizzeria, 395 S. Main St., Canandaigua, NY 14424
(585) 396-2840
Mon. 11 am - 9 pm, Tue. - Thu. 11 am - 10 pm, Fri. & Sat. 11 am - 11 pm, Sun. noon - 9 pm

The Green Front, Canandaigua

Finding pizza in unexpected places is one of the best things about doing this blog, and so I was excited recently to run across a reference to pizza at The Green Front in Canandaigua. Pizza in an old-time tavern/restaurant dating back to 1928 - what's not to like?
I stopped in for a lunchtime visit just before Christmas, and found the place packed. The interior was attractive, with a metal-topped bar up front and tables in the back. The current owners seemed to have done a good job of updating the space while preserving its essential character.
Though I was sticking with Diet Coke, rather than one of The Green Front's local microbrews on draft or other adult beverages, I was glad to find an empty bar stool, as I was dining alone and wouldn't have wanted to hog even a small table for myself.

Although I usually like to keep it simple, I also gravitate toward a place's specialties, and the pizza to order here seemed to be the Polimeni, which is topped with mozzarella, tomato sauce, crumbled Italian sausage, sauteed green peppers and onions, and Parmesan cheese.
This pie had a very thin crust, with slices that were supple, even floppy, though the underside was crisp on the surface. They were well browned and dusted with corn meal underneath. Though not particularly bready, the dough had a subtle but pleasing flavor.
The pie was topped with a moderate helping of smooth, stringy cheese, and a thin layer of bright-tasting tomato sauce. The sausage was mild in flavor but nice and meaty, and the sauteed peppers and onions were soft but not mushy. A very thin, crisp and crunchy lip along the perimeter finished off each slice.
The Green Front offers pizzas in 12- and 16-inch sizes, with 10 toppings available. In addition to the Polimeni, they offer one specialty pizza, a white garlic pie with fresh tomato and basil. The rest of the menu is rounded out with basic bar food staples, including burgers, wings, chili, and Italian sausage, plus a few less common items like fried bologna and deep fried green beans.
I liked it here, and I liked their pizza. I've been in enough bars to know that they're not always good places, for the people inside them or for their neighbors. But a well-run tavern can also be a valuable neighborhood asset, and they're an American institution that goes back to colonial times (stop once in a while to read those roadside historical markers and you'll see what I mean). This was just one brief visit, but from what I saw, The Green Front is a well-run tavern, and a true neighborhood meeting place.
And this was good bar pizza. I do think that bar pizza is a particular breed of pizza, not so much geographical as cultural. This was a good example - thin, pan-baked but crisp, and tasty. It rates a B from me.
The Green Front Restaurant, 35 Niagara St., Canandaigua
(585) 394-7015
11 a.m. - 1 a.m. daily

Wally's Pub, Canandaigua

Like anybody else in the Rochester area, I find myself in Canandaigua from time to time, but it's not an everyday thing, so on a recent foray into Canandaigua, I hit up two pizza places. The first was Pizano's, which I posted about recently.
But prior to going there, I discovered online that Wally's Pub, a bar just off Main Street, sells pizza to go, so after picking up my pizza from Pizano's, I swung by Wally's and grabbed a pepperoni pie.
(I did not, by the way, eat two pizzas in one sitting. I had a couple of slices of each - they were small slices - and saved the rest. Even I have my limits.)

This provided an interesting contrast to Pizano's, and showed how a dish as simple as pizza can vary so much from one place to another. Wally's crust might've been a tad thicker than Pizano's, with a more uniformly browned underside that was reasonably crisp. The dough had clearly been "docked," meaning punctured with small holes to prevent it from bubbling up in the oven. The crust also had a certain crunchiness that suggested perhaps the presence of oil or other shortening in the dough, though the crust itself wasn't noticeably oily.

The toppings were also markedly different, though not necessarily better or worse, than Pizano's. A uniform layer of melted mozzarella was almost gooey, in a good way. The abundant cheese meant that my leftovers benefited well from reheating (which led me to discover that putting frozen slices into a 400 degree toaster oven for about 8 minutes, followed by 30 seconds in the microwave, does a remarkably good job of bringing leftover pizza back to life. The oven crisped up the bottom, and the microwave melted the cheese quite nicely).

While I enjoyed the stringy mozzarella, the other toppings played prominent roles as well. The sauce, though not applied to excess, was nonetheless noticeable for its very tomatoey flavor. And the pepperoni was generously laid on, several slices thick in spots, as you can see in the third photo.

Aside from pizza, Wally's offers the usual selection of bar food (you can find their menu here), and from some online reviews that I've read, the Wally Burger is held in no little renown. Though not much to look at on the outside, Wally's is a pleasant spot, a classic neighborhood tavern with just enough room for its U-shaped bar, which on this occasion was about half full of locals enjoying lunch and some friendly conversation.

It's unfortunately rare to find bars around this area that serve pizza, and rarer still to find bars that serve good pizza. So Wally's was a pleasant surprise. There was nothing particularly subtle or sublime about this pizza - it was saucy, cheesy and meaty, with a serviceable crust - but it was good, solid pizza, with a lot of flavor and textural contrasts. The almost biscuitlike, crispy crunch of the crust, the well melted cheese, tomatoey sauce and abundant pepperoni combined to make a very distinctive pie that rates a B from me.

Wally's Pub, 16-18 Phoenix St., Canandaigua

(585) 394-2718

I'm not sure of the hours, but don't go by the listing on Facebook, which shows Wally's as closed on Mondays and opening late on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. I called them one morning when the Facebook listing showed them being closed, and not only did someone (presumably the bartender) promptly answer, but when I told him I was just checking to see if they were open, he replied, with a tone of surprise, "Of course! We're always open." And according to the menu, the kitchen is likewise "always open," so if you're inclined to go, just go. They'll be open.

Pizano's, Canandaigua

On a recent foray into Canandaigua, I got a medium pizza from Pizano's, which adjoins the Villager restaurant and the V Pub (you can read a little of the background here).
Pizano's menu advertises pizza dough that is "fresh and made hourly," which I don't think could possibly mean that they literally make a fresh batch of dough every hour, from scratch. Pizza dough isn't like coffee; you don't want to use it, or eat it, right after it's been made. Unbaked dough needs time to achieve optimal flavor and texture before it does in the oven. So my guess is that they mean that they bake pizzas at least hourly, so that if you get a slice, you know it hasn't been sitting there all day drying out under a heat lamp. But since I ordered a pie, the freshness of Pizano's slices wasn't a particular concern of mine.
This medium pepperoni pie had a thin crust, with a pale bottom that was firm but not crisp, and dry, not greasy. Though the bottom was pretty dry - which is a good thing - the top was a different story. It wasn't drenched in grease, but some areas were coated in a thin layer of orangey oil, which may have come from the cheese, the pepperoni, or both. Some of the oil had soaked into the top side of the crust, though not too deeply. I wasn't thrilled by the pale underside, but there was some nice breadiness near the edge, with some good-sized air holes created by the yeast.
Though the cup-and-char pepperoni was fine, the most prominent component here was the cheese. It had a tangy flavor, and very much predominated over the thin layer of mildly-flavored sauce. A light sprinking of grated cheese added to the overall cheesy flavor of this pizza.
Pizano's offers six specialty pizzas, including a "Tuscany Valley" pie topped with roasted red peppers, pepperoni, onions and Genoa salami. I think salami is an underused, underappreciated pizza topping that is well worth trying, if you haven't done so yet (but it's got to be good, hard salami, not the wimpy stuff that shows up on your average sub sandwich). They also do wings, calzones, sandwiches, salads, pasta, ribs, and (mostly fried) seafood. It's a pretty full menu of standards. They also do catering.
As for this pizza, I found myself liking it in spite, or because, of what seemingly should've been considered flaws. What I particularly liked about this pizza was its distinctiveness. It had a combination of flavors and textures that was subtly, yet definitely, different from other pizzas I've tried. And the overall flavor and texture, was, I thought, rather enjoyable. Somehow, the firm, chewy crust, the oil-slicked cheese, and the ever-so-slightly burnt pepperoni worked together, to make for a good pie.
I made a note, while eating this pizza, that despite its seeming flaws - the almost underdone crust being foremost among them - my impression at the time was that it deserved a B, with the caveat that this pizza would not be to everyone's taste. If you demand a pizza with a crisp, crackly crust, you might be inclined to give it a D. But I do prize distinctiveness among pizza, and to me, this is one to at least try. So I'm sticking with my initial impression, and giving it a B.
Pizano's Pizza, 243 S. Main St., Canandaigua
(585) 393-0690
Open 10 a.m. - midnight daily

Pizza San Giorgio, Canandaigua

With this post, I begin a look at some Canandaigua-area pizzerias. No particular reason, just a combination of happenstance and my discovery of a couple of places out that way that I'd never been to.
In the case of Pizza San Giorgio, on East Lake Road, I had to travel out that way recently, so I stopped by. It's a deli/convenience store, but also a full-fledged pizzeria - there's a kitchen with pizza ovens, unlike many convenience stores where the pizza seems to emerge out of nowhere.
I got a couple of cheese slices, which were reheated in the oven. The crust was medium thick, with a soft texture, and indented underneath with screen marks. The underside was also somewhat oily, and in some areas an oily sheen was visible.
I'm not sure if that oil had exuded from the dough itself, or was on the pan it had rested in, or seeped down from the top. I don't think it was the latter, because although the top also showed some oil, it was that orangey kind of oil that you see on top of some pizzas, that I think exudes from the cheese. And the oil underneath wasn't orange.
But speaking of which - this was very cheesy pizza, and frankly it didn't seem to be great cheese. Maybe if I'd gotten a freshly made pie, or stopped in right after this pie had come out of the oven, things would have been better, but this was more chewy than creamy or gooey (hey, a mini-poem!).
Maybe it was mostly the abundance of cheese, but the sauce kind of got lost in the mix here. I tried to taste it separately but it really seemed overwhelmed by the cheese and to a lesser extent the crust. I did pick up a hint of garlic powder, the presence of which might have explained the light layer of black dust on the cornicione.
Pizza San Giorgio offers nine specialty pizzas, and fifteen toppings, including dill pickles, which is so out there that I really want to try it. They also do wings (in a wide variety of styles, including a black pepper-based "Pepe Nero" wing that they claim you won't find elsewhere this side of Malaysia), subs, calzones, sides, breakfast sandwiches, and ice cream. There are tables in the back, and a diner-type counter. And a small grocery section stocked with snacks and drinks.
So I like the place. The staff was friendly, and it seemed like a great spot for local residents and visitors heading down to the east side of Canandaigua Lake.
But I have to be honest - I didn't care for this pizza. Now again, maybe things would have been different had they been fresher, but I always say that if you offer slices, then it's fair for me to rate the slices.
The overall flavor of these slices was OK, but they really weren't that great. The crust was soft, they were unbalanced - too high a cheese-to-sauce ratio - the cheese itself didn't seem to be the best, and they were oily, top and bottom. I wish I could rate them higher, but I have to give these slices a D. In spite of that, I would stop back, but probably for a sub, snacks, Pepe Nero wings, or maybe to try a dill pickle pizza.
Pizza San Giorgio, 4502 NY Rt. 364, Canandaigua
585-394-4817
Mon. - Sat. 7 a.m. - 9 p.m., Sun. 8 a.m. - 9 p.m.

Road Trip: Cam's in Penn Yan, Faro's in Canandaigua

As I've mentioned before, hiking is one of my pastimes, and our recent warm weather has sparked the hiking bug in me. This past weekend I headed down to Connecticut Hill. After my hike, I'd planned to swing by Ithaca, where I intended to check out a couple of places I'd read good things about, Finger Lakes Flat Bread and Shortstop Deli, although after running across this site I may have to rethink my priorities, as some other pizzerias look good too.
As it turned out, I didn't stop at any of those places, for hiking or pizza. What looked like decent roads on the map turned out to be more of a challenge for my car than the Finger Lakes Trail would've been for my legs. After breathing a sigh of relief at getting out of the forest with my undercarriage intact, I headed home, frustrated, but with a vow to come back and try again, next time parking just outside and walking into the forest instead of trying to drive in and starting in the middle. (Mental note: next vehicle will have 4WD and a relatively high ground clearance.)
But all was not lost. I did manage to climb a couple of anonymous hills on the way home, after which I continued on my way, which took me through Penn Yan and Canandaigua. Both afforded me an opportunity to stop for pizza.
My first stop was a place in Penn Yan. I'm a sucker for any pizzeria with "New York" in its name, and I'm sure I've seen this spot before. In fact, I think I've stopped there before.
What I had forgotten, though, is that upon closer examination of the sign on the building, you'll see, in small letters, the name "Cam's." That's right. This is a Cam's Pizzeria.
Now that's not a bad thing, exactly. I like Cam's. They do a good job at turning out New York style pizza at multiple locations. But I was thinking that I'd unearthed a little independent gem of New York pizza in the heart of the Finger Lakes. Instead I'd found an outpost of a growing regional chain.
Well, as it turns out, this is, according to their website, one of the oldest Cam's Pizzerias, dating back to 1982, just two years after Cam's started. So that was some consolation. Kind of like finding a McDonald's that still has the giant arches along the sides of the building.
I got a cheese slice, which was pretty good - no surprise there, as I've never had a bad slice from Cam's. The thinness of this slice did surprise me, though; while Cam's basic pizza is always thin, this was the thinnest I've had yet. Almost paper thin, with virtually no interior. Basically, just a bottom crust, with sauce and cheese on top.
Which is not necessarily a bad thing, I guess - it depends on what you like. If you think the crust is just there to hold the sauce and cheese, you'd have loved this. I liked it, but I could've used a little more backbone and interior in the crust, and a bit darker underside. Still, it was tasty enough, and, my appetite whetted by some climbing in the hills to the south, I downed it quickly.
I hadn't planned on any more pizza that day, but on coming up East Lake Road south of Canandaigua, I ran across Faro's, whose sign is emblazoned with the magic words, "New York Pizzeria."
After making sure that the name "Cam's" wasn't hidden in there somewhere, I went in for a slice. Although it was the middle of the afternoon, I assumed that they'd have slices ready - any place that advertises New York pizza should have slices, all the time. And they did.
At first, though, I was taken aback at seeing a couple of sliced pies on racks, in an unlit warmer, especially after the guy put a slice on a plate for me without rewarming it. I was afraid they were going to be stale. But on getting the slice out to my car, I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was quite fresh, and still hot enough that the cheese was semi-liquid.
That cheese elevated this pizza above the usual slice. I'm a crust guy, and this crust was good, with some char spots and a nice, crisp surface underneath. But the cheese was excellent - not just stringy, but smooth and creamy. Unfortunately it had migrated toward the center of the pie, i.e. the point of the slice, but it was thoroughly enjoyable. I have to confess that it distracted my attention from the sauce, so I can't tell you much about that except that it was moderately applied, in proportion to the thin crust.
Both of these slices were good. I'm not trying to pick a winner here, but Faro's was a real find. Outside of people on the east side of Canandaigua Lake, it's not exactly convenient to the Canandaigua area in general, but based on this one visit, I'd say it's well worth a drive.
While a trip to Ithaca remains on my to-do list, this excursion served as a reminder that good pizza is to be found all around us. You've just got to keep your eyes open, and be ready and willing to pull over when something catches your eye.
Grades? I'm not sure where to draw the geographic line - I generally don't assign grades to places outside the Rochester area - but I'll grade these. The Cam's gets a B. Cam's has in the past gotten a B+ from me, but this was a shade too thin, and a shade, literally, too light underneath. But it was still good.
Faro's gets a B+. This was close to an A-minus, at least, but with only half the slice covered with cheese, I have to deduct a little. Still, very good pizza, and next time I'm down that way I'll stop in again.
Cam's New York Pizza, 25 Main St., Penn Yan
315-536-3065
Mon. - Thu. 10 a.m. - 11 p.m., Fri. 10 a.m. - 2 a.m., Sat. 11 a.m. - 2 a.m., Sun. 11 a.m. - 11 p.m.
Faro's Pizzeria, 3530 East Lake Road, Canandaigua
(585) 396-2840
Tue. - Thu. 11 a.m. - 8 p.m., Fri. & Sat. 11 a.m. - 9 p.m., Sun. 11 a.m. - 8 p.m.