Winner!

We have a winner! Dave B., who sent me an email on July 29, is the winner of a $25 gift card from Empire Pizza. Dave, I'll need your mailing address, so please send that to me at ROCPizzaGuy@gmail.com and I'll see that your card gets out to you soon. Thank you to everyone who responded and to Ken at Empire Pizza for this donation.

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)

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

Merchants Wood Fired Pizza & Bistro - Report and Giveaway

My daughter and I had a very enjoyable dinner a few nights ago at Merchants Wood Fired Pizza & Bistro, which opened this past November on Merchants Road in Rochester. I first spotted it last fall, before it opened, and I held off going until they'd been open for a little while, to allow them to get on their feet. Based on my visit, co-owners Stephen Costanza and Donna DiMarzo have achieved that, and then some.
First impressions. There's a comfortable-looking bar to one side, where a few patrons were gathered. The rest of the space is taken up by the dining area, which has a relaxed, casual feel. It was busy but not packed when we stopped in, with a mix of families and couples.
We soon got our menus, which included some interesting items, but I was there for the pizza. And while ordinarily, on a first visit, I would order a pizza off the regular menu, the daily special pizza sounded too good to pass up. It was a white pizza topped with arugula, red onion, fresh tomatoes, prosciutto, mozzarella and sharp Provolone.
The crust was charred - a little unevenly - along the perimeter, and spottily charred underneath. It was thin and crisp, but not brittle; despite its thinness, the pizza retained some interior chewiness. The charring of the underside also showed a good use of the wood-fired oven. What I mean is, the pizza had clearly been baked on a very hot oven deck, unlike some pizzas I've had that were pale underneath and just given a quick, direct exposure to the flames of the oven to blacken the edge.
So a good crust, to start. But it was elevated by the toppings.
This was a very tasty pizza. With a thin, fast-cooking pizza, you have to take care not to pile on too may toppings, but this pie hit the mark. The melted mozzarella and sharp Provolone played off each other quite well, and the salty prosciuto, sweet tomatoes, savory onion and slightly bitter arugula added further complexity, yet they complemented rather than competed with each other. It took a degree of self-control on my part to save two slices to take home, but they didn't survive the next 24 hours.
My daughter had pan-seared salmon with shiitake and king oyster mushrooms, which she loved. As a dedicated sushi lover, she was amazed, to paraphrase her words, that "cooked salmon could taste as good as raw." And we shared a plate of mussels in a tomato-based pan sauce, which we both enjoyed. She ate most of the mussels, while I sopped up the sauce with the complimentary bread.
You can take a look at Merchants' menu here, but it includes five pizzas and a modest but well-balanced variety of other dishes. Now that I've had a pizza, I look forward to going back to try something else (I do eat stuff other than pizza), like the Bucatini with shrimp, artichokes, and capers in a lemon-wine sauce.
The best way for you to discover what Merchants Wood Fired Pizza & Bistro has to offer is to go there yourself. And to help you do that, I've got a $10 gift card to give away to one reader. To enter, just email me your name and mailing address at ROCPizzaGuy@gmail.com by noon on Friday, January 22, and I'll pick a winner at random. Just make sure to include "Merchants giveaway" in the subject line. As always, rest assured that I will not use your personal information for any other purposes, or give it to anyone else. 

Merchants Wood Fired Pizza & Bistro, 564 Merchants Rd., Rochester, NY 14609

Tue. - Sat. 4 p.m. - 10 p.m., bar service 3 p.m. - close

Scotch House Pub Report and Giveaway

I recently had the pleasure of chatting with Paul Smith, one owner of The Scotch House Pub on Goodman Street in Rochester.
Over the years, this location has housed several establishments, but the Scotch House just passed its two-year anniversary, which I think puts it over the hump in the bar and restaurant business, where most businesses fail 
But The Scotch House also had just passed what for me was a more significant anniversary:  two weeks of serving pizza.
The drink side of things seems pretty well established at this point. When I arrived at around 5 p.m., shortly after they opened, the place was quiet, but I was told that the Thursday crowd would begin to arrive soon for the "Mug Night" special ($1 beers, $2 wells).
But Paul, who's something of a foodie, would like to get more into the food side of things. And that's where the pizza comes in.
When I got there, Paul had just put a pepperoni pizza in the oven. After we chatted for a few minutes, he brought out the pie, which I was happy to sample.
The first thing I noticed, aside from its general appearance, was the fresh-bread aroma of the crust. The crust was on the thin side of medium in thickness, and a little browned underneath with some screen marks.
The underside was browned in spots, but a little pale. To his credit, though, before I could offer an opinion, Paul opined that he should've left the pie in the oven a minute or two later. As an avid home baker who's my own worst critic, this told me that he's striving never to be simply satisfied.
And truth be told, the crust was pretty good. When I folded my slice, it cracked on the surface, underneath, but did not break clean through, which to me is a good sign. Surface crackling, chewy interior - that, to me, is a hallmark of good pizza.
I could also tell from our conversation that Paul has, and continues to, put a lot of effort into the business. Prior to opening The Scotch House, Paul worked in the computer field, but eventually decided to get into business for himself. That led to The Scotch House, which he owns with a silent partner.
Having become pretty well established, Paul wanted to expand his scope and he settled on pizza as a focus of the menu. Local pizza lovers should be glad he did.
Again, I could see that he was not one to plunge into something casually or without putting in the time and effort.  I got a look at the kitchen, which houses a stainless steel-topped prep table and a Blodgett pizza oven.
They also make their own dough at The Scotch House, unlike a lot of bars and restaurants that buy their dough elsewhere or use premade pizza shells. Not that you can't make good pizza that way, but making it in-house shows a certain dedication to the craft of making pizza. And this is good dough.
After settling on pizza as a major addition to the menu, Paul went through a bunch of dough recipes before settling on what he uses now. The dough goes through cold-temperature retardation to bring out its flavor, before going into the oven. And Paul, who's very much a hands-on owner, is learning all about his oven, including how to deal with "hot spots." That's why our conversation was interrupted a couple of times, as he excused himself to go check on and rotate the pizza.
I asked Paul if he'd considered doing wood-fired pizza. I know, certainly, that wood-fired pizza is not inherently better than pizza made in a gas or electric oven. But wood-fired ovens are "hot" right now - pun intended - so I wondered if he'd given it any thought.
He had, but decided he wasn't ready to go that route, at least not yet. I was happy to hear that. It's all too tempting for an owner to jump on the wood-fired bandwagon without doing one's homework. And frankly, I think the local market for wood-fired pizza is pretty close to the saturation point. 
It had been a long time since I was inside this building - I think I came in once for lunch when it was an Asian noodle restaurant, and years before that, when it was a bar - but it was obvious that there'd been a lot of work done inside. Dark wood paneling, a well-appointed bar and dining area, and plenty of TVs make for an attractive, comfortable setting. Again, I got there shortly after they opened, but it seemed to me that the bar area was well set off from the tables, providing some separation between diners and the bar crowd.
Now back to that pizza ... it was well balanced, and topped with a straightforward red sauce, nicely melted mozzarella, and just-crisp slices of pepperoni. The sauce is not made in-house, although they do tweak the sauce a bit to customize it.
The Scotch House's pizza menu includes ten toppings, two sauces (red or white), and seven specialty pizzas, including Buffalo chicken, a "Scotch House Plate" pie, Philly cheesesteak, and mac 'n' cheese pizza. They also serve slices, as any bar/pizzeria should. Other menu items include wings, sandwiches, wraps, quesadillas, salads and sides.
If you'd like to check out The Scotch House for yourself, what better way to do it than with $25 to spend, on the house? I have a $25 gift certificate to give away to one lucky reader, courtesy of The Scotch House. This is good for anything they offer, food or drinks.
Because of the upcoming holidays, I'll run this a little longer than usual.  Email me your name and mailing address at ROCPizzaGuy@gmail.com by noon on Monday, January 4, and I'll pick a winner at random. Just make sure to include "Scotch House giveaway" in the subject line. As always, rest assured that I will not use your personal information for any other purposes, or give it to anyone else.

The Scotch House Pub, 373 S. Goodman St., Rochester 14607

Mon - Wed: 5 PM - 2 AM
Thurs & Fri: 4 PM - 2 AM
Sat & Sun: Noon - 2 AM

New Giveaway! $25 Alloco's Gift Card

One of the things I like about writing this blog is being able to give away free pizza to my readers. Most of the time, that involves me approaching a pizzeria owner and asking him or her to donate a gift card or certificate.
But thanks to the generosity of a local business, SEMtech Systems, I have two $25 gift cards to give away for Alloco's. Alloco's, on Long Pond Road between Ridgeway Ave. and Rt. 31, offers pizza, pasta, wings and subs. Check out their Facebook page here.
First let me tell you a bit about SEMtech. It's a small commercial and residential access control/multimedia company located in downtown Rochester.
What does that mean? Well, on the commercial side, SEMtech services and installs the parking machines in the downtown parking garages. They recently finished installing new equipment at the new Midtown parking garage.
For residential customers, SEMtech installs front-door keypad locks, video doorbells, smart thermostats, smart lighting, and home theaters. You can read more about the services SEMtech offers here.
I may look into SEMtech's services myself. I misplace my keys all the time, and I do get annoyed fumbling around for the right key when I arrive home after dark. The fewer keys I need to carry, the better.
But back to the giveaway. SEMtech has graciously paid for two $25 gift cards for me to give away to my readers (I get nothing out of this, by the way, other than the satisfaction of making free pizza available to my readers).
I'll give away the first $25 gift card next Monday, June 29, a little after noon. To make things interesting, I'll hold off on giving away the second gift card until two days later, on Wednesday, July 1, around the same time. You won't have to enter twice to win - one entry will get you in for both drawings - but this will give anybody who missed the first one a chance to get in for the second.
To enter, just send me an email at ROCPizzaGuy@gmail.com. Include "Alloco's giveaway" in the subject line. Winners will be chosen at random, using random.org. Please include your actual name and mailing address in the body of the message. I will not use your information for any other purposes than this giveaway, and I will not provide your information to anyone else, ever.
Thanks again to SEMtech for making this possible.

Alloco's Restaurant and Catering
1742 Long Pond Road
Rochester, NY 14606
585-426-TOGO (8646)

SEMtech Systems, LLC
46 Mt. Hope Ave. #4
Rochester, NY 14620
Steven Benz (585) 285-5312
Earl Paige (585) 402-4014
support@semtechsystems.com

T.C. Hooligans Giveaway

Thanks to the generosity of the folks at TC Hooligans in Greece, I've got a $25 gift card to give away to a lucky reader.
My daughter and I shared a couple of pizzas at Hooligans recently, and I came away impressed. Their menu prominently features wood-fired pizza, and they do a very nice job.
I got my usual Margherita, which Hooligans tops with fresh tomatoes, mozzarella, shredded basil, olive oil and garlic, while my daughter got her usual meat lovers (mozzarella and red sauce, bacon, pepperoni, ham and sausage). (Check out their other pizza offerings here.)

We sat at the bar, where we were able to watch our pizzas being prepared. The (gas-assisted) oven was blazing away with a hardwood fire, registering about 700 degrees F.

The results were good indeed. The crusts on both our pies were thin, crisp but pliable, with some charring underneath and along the edges. The toppings were tasty and well baked. All in all, they made effective use of their oven, to achieve pizza that was evenly charred, neither pale nor burned, and crisp but still bready.

Hooligans' menu is extensive, and includes, beyond pizza, wings, "hand pressed" burgers, sandwiches, wraps, salads, and a range of sides and specialties, including "pickles and peppers" (fried pickle chips and banana pepper rings, served with cajun ranch dipping sauce) and mac 'n' cheese. My daughter doesn't yet have quite the tolerance for heat that I do, so we enjoyed a side of fries, which were nice and crisp.

As I said, we sat at the bar, right in front of the pizza oven. There's a separate dining area, but at dinner time on this evening, I had no problem sitting at the bar with my daughter. I don't know how things are later in the night, but the atmosphere was lively but civilized.

I'd go back, maybe to check out some of the other items on the menu. Those pickles and peppers sound very intriguing. But I'd also like to explore the pizza menu a little further. Based on this visit, they're doing a good job.

Why not see for yourself, on the house, to the tune of $25? To enter to win, simply email me at RocPizzaGuy@gmail.com, before noon next Friday, May 1. I will announce the winner here, on Facebook and Twitter, and directly by email. I will not use your email address for any other purposes. If you win, I will need your full name and mailing address.

The $25 gift card is good toward anything on TC Hooligans' menu, so you need not use it on pizza, but I highly recommend that you do. My thanks again to TC Hooligans for their generosity!

TC Hooligans, 134 Greece Ridge Center Drive (at Greece Ridge Mall)

585-225-7180

Mon. - Sat. 11 a.m. - 2 a.m., Sun. noon - 2 a.m.

Bella Pasta Review and $25 Gift Card Giveaway

I learned a few weeks ago that Romeo's on Ridgeway Avenue, a wood-fired place that I've reviewed before, had closed, and that Bella Pasta had moved into its space.
Bella Pasta is not new; it opened in March 2009 on West Ridge Road in Greece, and its roots go back to the fondly remembered Portico restaurant on St. Paul Boulevard in Rochester. I reviewed Bella Pasta's pizza in December 2009, giving it "a solid B+."
This move does give Bella Pasta more room, with a large dining room on one side and additional seating adjacent to the spacious bar on the other. More importantly from my perspective, Bella Pasta is now using the wood-fired oven for its pizza.
I had lunch there recently with two friends, and was able to sample three pies. I was not in a carnivorous mood that day, so I went with a "veggie" pie. I opted out of the mushrooms, which left artichokes, onions, peppers, and broccoli, along with garlic sauce and mozzarella. One of my companions got a "meat lovers," with meatballs, pepperoni, and sausage, and the other got a pepperoni pie.
The crusts were dotted underneath with dark brown spots, indicating a quick bake at a high, but not super-high temperature. So these weren't quite charred, in the way you'd get from an extremely hot oven (which not everybody likes), but neither were they burnt or pale, two faults I've run across at some wood-fired places. The crusts were pliable, with a chewy but not tough texture and a pleasantly bready flavor.
I found my veggie pizza quite flavorful and satisfying, thanks to the tasty mix of vegetables, which were fresh tasting and not overcooked. Where a red sauce might've overwhelmed the flavor of the toppings, the garlic sauce on this pie complimented the toppings nicely.
At the other end of the spectrum, the meat lovers' pie offered plenty of meaty flavor. While the toppings were certainly not skimpy, the pie was - wisely - not overloaded either. Like most wood-fired pizza, Bella Pasta's pies are thin-crusted, and the toppings here were added in good proportion to the crust - enough for flavor, but not so much as to throw the pizza out of balance.
I also tried a slice of my friend's pepperoni pie, which was likewise tasty, with a scattering of crisp pepperoni slices and a light dusting of grated Parmesan. Both it and the meat lovers' pie were also topped with a tomatoey red sauce, and the mozzarella on all three pizzas was nicely melted, with a good balance of stringy and chewy.

So yes, these were three good pizzas. But don't just take my word for it, see for yourself, on the house. I've got one $25 gift card, compliments of Bella Pasta, to give away to one lucky reader.

In the past, I've had readers enter by leaving a comment on the blog, but there have been some problems with winners not realizing that they'd won. So to ensure that the winner gets notified, I'm going to try something a little different this time. To enter, email me at RocPizzaGuy@gmail.com. Leaving a comment here will NOT get you entered; you must email me. One entry per person, please. The deadline to enter is next Friday, January 30, at noon. I'll pick a winner at random shortly after that, and email the winner directly. If you win, I'll need your full name and mailing address, but I will not publish those or use them for any other purpose but to mail you your gift card.

Thanks to Bella Pasta for this generous donation. Whether you win or not, do check them out sometime, for pizza or otherwise. And when you do, please be sure to mention the Rochester NY Pizza Blog. Now send me those emails!

Pontillo's Winner

Tracy, who left a comment here on October 4 at 12:44 a.m. has won a gift certificate from Pontillo's in Webster, good for one large two-topping pizza. Congratulations Tracy!
All I need from you now is your name and mailing address, and I'll drop it in the mail. You can email me at rocpizzaguy@gmail.com.
Thanks again to Jerry at Pontillo's for this donation. To those who didn't win this time, stop by Jerry's store sometime at 807 Ridge Road West in Webster for a taste of authentic Pontillo's pizza. And don't forget that I'll be giving away a terrific pizza book next Friday, so be sure to enter for that. Watch for more giveaways to come!

Book Review: Pizza: A Slice of American History, and a Giveaway!

I recently received a review copy of Pizza:  A Slice of American History, by Liz Barrett. Actually I received two copies:  one for my bookshelf, where it is going to remain, and one to give away to one lucky reader.
And I do mean a lucky reader, because this is a terrific book. Barrett, who's an editor at PMQ Pizza Magazine, and the author of EatingOxford.com, has written one of the best all-around books on pizza I've come across.
There are some recipes and cooking tips in here, but it's not a cookbook as such. This is a broad-based exploration of pizza, its history and its place in our culture.
Barrett got my attention on the very first page of her text, where she writes about her memory of her first taste of pizza. I can't say that I remember my first pizza, but I do have fond memories of the pizzas of my childhood, which I suspect is true of many pizza lovers.
From there, Barrett provides a capsule summary of pizza history, and she then canvasses all the major styles, from the biggies like Neapolitan, Sicilian, and deep-dish, to less common styles such as New England Greek pizza and Ohio Valley pizza, which I'd never even heard of before. Our upstate neighbor Utica also gets a mention for its contribution to the development of "tomato pie."
There are also chapters on pizza crust, cheese, ovens, side dishes and beverage pairings, and even a movie trivia quiz. You'll find interviews with several prominent pizza experts, like author and baker Peter Reinhart, and Adam Kuban, the founder of Slice, America's foremost pizza blog. The text is accompanied throughout by both color and historic black-and-white photographs, and even a few New Yorker cartoons.
After receiving the book, I emailed Liza a few questions, to conduct a kind of virtual interview. Here they are, with her responses.

Have you tried all the styles you describe in the book?

- I've tried all of the main styles and most of the styles mentioned in the "More Pizza Styles" chapter. There are still a few from that chapter I need to experience.

Do you have any particular pizza goals on your to-do list (places to go, styles to try etc.)?
- There are dozens of pizzerias I still have on my list, but specific styles I'd still like to try include the grilled pizza at Al Forno in Providence Rhode Island, and the Colorado-style Mountain Pie at Beau Jo's in Colorado.

Based on all your travels, what would you say is the best city for pizza? Is there one city or pizzeria that should be on every pizza lover's bucket list?
- New York City is definitely the place to go if you want to try several styles of pizza, and really feel the history of pizza in America. Just strolling down a street in New York you can smell the pizzas cooking. Walking into one of the order-at-the-counter pizzerias and seeing the pizza maker tossing the dough and sliding the pies into the oven...there's nothing else like it in the world. On the same block, you can try New York-style, Sicilian, Grandma, Tomato Pie, Neapolitan and more. Whenever I want to just immerse myself in pizza, I always head to New York.

You wrote a little about your background, but how did you end up in pizza journalism?
- It was really by accident. I moved from Los Angeles to Oxford, Mississippi, in 2006, with plans for some laid-back southern living. But after about of year of freelancing, I got a little restless and wanted something else to do. That's when I picked up the paper and saw the ad for an associate editor at PMQ Pizza Magazine. Within three months I took over the editor-in-chief position. After five wonderful years, I hired the talented Rick Hynum as our managing editor, hoping that he would eventually replace me. When he did in 2012, I became PMQ's part-time editor-at-large, freeing up time for projects such as Pizza: A Slice of American History.

I've often said that to me, great pizza is all about balance:  among the different components, the crispness and chewiness of the crust, and so on. And that came to mind in reading this book. It balances history with recipes, interviews, pop culture, and great illustrations. Pizza: A Slice of American History is a fun yet informative read, that belongs on the bookshelf of any serious pizza lover.

Here's your chance to add it to your own bookshelf, for free. I'll be giving away one copy of Pizza: A Slice of American History, totally free, to one reader of this blog.

Same as always, to enter, simply leave a comment here, following this blog post. You need not leave your full name and address now, but you cannot leave a purely anonymous comment. If you win, I will need to get the book to you, so I will need your name and mailing address at that time.

I will pick a winner at random one week from this coming Friday, in other words, on Friday, October 17, 2014, a little after noon. I will post the winner here, on Facebook, and on Twitter. IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO CHECK AND SEE IF YOU'VE WON. You can send me your email address now if you'd like, at rocpizzaguy@gmail.com, or include it in your comment, and if you do, I'll email you directly if you win. Otherwise, you must check back here on October 17 to see if you've won. And remember, emailing me will not get you entered. You must leave a comment here to enter.

If you're reading this blog, you must like pizza. So you'll like this book. If you don't win, it's available on Amazon (click on the photo above to go straight there). Let the comments begin!

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

The Winner Is ...

singletrackmind, who left a comment on August 29, 2014 at 4:09 PM, has won the $30 gift card to Joe's Brooklyn Pizza. singletrackmind, please email me at rocpizzaguy@gmail.com with your name and address and I will get the card in the mail to you.

Thanks to all for participating, and thanks to Joe's Brooklyn Pizza for this generous donation. Keep following the blog for future giveaways and remember when you order or pick up pizza to let them know you read about them here.

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

Pizza Stop Winner!

Diane Gelose, who entered a comment here on July 11 at 1:15 p.m., is the winner of two $10 gift certificates to The Pizza Stop. Congratulations, Diane!
All I need you to do is send your mailing address to me at rocpizzaguy@gmail.com, and I'll get them in the mail asap.
Thanks to everyone who participated and thanks for reading The Rochester NY Pizza Blog. Keep watching for more giveaways in the future.

Pizza Stop Giveaway!

I stopped in to The Pizza Stop on State Street in downtown Rochester for a couple of slices today. I decided to keep it simple this time:  a Sicilian (thick) and a Neapolitan (thin) slice, each with pepperoni.
Both were up to The Pizza Stop's usual standards, which is to say, pizza that is every bit as good as what you'd find in New York Ciry. There's a false perception that New York pizza is the same thing as thin crust, just as there's a false perception that Chicago pizza always means deep dish.
In fact, in any decent pizzeria in NYC, you'll find thin and thick crust pizza, and The Pizza Stop does a great job on both. The thin-crust pies have a nicely charred, crackly-crisp bottom with some chewiness, while the thicker-crusted Sicilian pizza avoids the all-too-common, overly-oily pitfall of its Americanized and bastardized cousin, the "sheet" pizza. That's why, when I go to The Pizza Stop, I usually get one of each. As much as I like thin-crust pizza, it's just too hard to pass up their Sicilian slices.
But don't take my word for it. I've got two $10 gift certificates to give away, so you can see for yourself. And both are going to one lucky winner. That will get you plenty of pizza.
To enter to win, all you need to do is leave a comment here, after this blog post. I'll pick a winner, at random, in one week, on July 18, a little after noon. You don't need to leave all your information now, but I will need to be able to identify you as the winner, and I will need a full name and mailing address if you win.
Check back here next Friday to see if you've won. I'll also post the winner on my Facebook page, and I'll send out a tweet. If you enter, you can also send me an email immediately at rocpizzaguy@gmail.com, to identify yourself, and I'll contact you if you win.
Lastly, if you win, when you use your gift certificate, please let the folks at The Pizza Stop know that you got it through the Rochester NY Pizza Blog. For me to continue to offer these giveaways, pizzeria owners need to know that it's worth their while. Thanks, have a great weekend, eat some pizza, and good luck!


The Pizza Stop
123 State Street
Rochester, New York 14614

(585) 546-7252

Monday - Thursday, 10 a.m. - 7 p.m.
Friday, 10 a.m. - 8 p.m.

Winners!

Matthew Lynn, who left a comment here on May 30 at 9:15 a.m., and AL, who commented on May 30 at 9:49 a.m., are the winners of gift certificates for Tony Pepperoni in Henrietta!
Please send me your mailing address at ROCPizzaGuy@gmail.com and I'll get them out to you. Thanks to all who participated. I have no giveaway this week but I do have some interesting stuff in the works. Have a great weekend and eat some pizza!

Voula's Winner!

Beth Scheinman, who left a message here on May 30, 2014 at 9:37 AM, has won a $15 gift certificate to Voula's Greek Sweets!
Beth, please send me your mailing address at rocpizzaguy@gmail.com and I'll get it out to you. Congratulations and thanks for participating. And thank you again to Voula at Voula's Greek Sweets for this donation.

Voula's Greek Sweets, 439 Monroe Ave.

(585) 242-0935
Mon - Fri: 11:00 am - 7:00 pm
Sat: 10:00 am - 4:00 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

Pizza Stop Winner

Rebekka has won a $10 gift certificate for The Pizza Stop! I've already contacted her and she's responded, so Rebekka's prize will be going out today.

In the meantime, don't forget to enter the giveaway for a $15 gift certificate to Voula's Greek Sweets, which I'll be giving away next Friday.

Thanks to all my readers for following the Rochester NY Pizza Blog, and I wish you all a great holiday weekend.

Voula's Greek Sweets Review and Giveaway

Pizza shows up on menus in unexpected places, so when a new restaurant opens, I always try to check the menu to see if it might include pizza.
Greek, or more broadly, "Mediterranean" restaurants often have pizza on their menus, and so it is that I found myself recently at Voula's Greek Sweets on Monroe Avenue.
Despite the name, Voula's offers more than just sweets. Yes, you'll find those, from the expected baklava to less familiar, but equally enticing cakes and pastries. But Voula's also has a substantial menu of more savory dishes, including pizza.
As an aside, this touches upon the subject of so-called Greek pizza. The term can mean a couple of different things, as explained here, and there is some debate about whether the Greeks should get credit for inventing pizza.
Those are topics for another day. But whether "authentic" or not, a fair number of Greek restaurants around here offer pizza, or some variation thereof.
Voula's take on pizza consists of house-made lagana bread, a yeast-risen, focaccia-like Greek bread, which includes olive oil in the ingredients. After the crust is parbaked, toppings are added and then the pizza is finished in the oven.
Pizzas are offered as a daily special, with the toppings varying from one day to the next, although certain pies show up with some regularity. On my visit, the pizza du jour was topped with skordalia (a garlic-based sauce), onion, vine-ripened tomatoes, flat-leaf parsley, and mozzarella, feta and Kaseri cheeses. One stray Kalamata olive also sneaked in, which was fine with me.
The crust had a light golden brown underside, a crunchy exterior, and some chewiness inside. The edge was crunchier still, with a slight oiliness that was just detectable on my fingertips.
I found this, on the whole, a well balanced and flavorful pie. The crust had a pleasing, bready aroma, and was nicely complemented by the toppings. The melted mozzarella provided a textural contrast to both the crust and the feta and Kaseri cheeses, which also imparted some salty, lactic tanginess. With hints of garlic and the addition of fresh parsley (obviously added after the pie came out of the oven), this made for a tasty and enjoyable lunch.
I'm not going to rate this pizza, for a couple of reasons. One, it falls outside the mainstream of pizza that you typically find around here. It's hard to compare this to an ordinary pepperoni pie. So to some extent, it's an apples-and-oranges situation.
Second, I've spoken to Voula herself, who graciously agreed to provide a $15 gift certificate for me to give away to one lucky reader. And to avoid creating the impression that I'm trading good grades for gift certificates or other favors, I'll not assign any letter rating to this pizza. But I think I've accurately described it and I can honestly say that I enjoyed it.
Now, about that gift certificate: regular readers know the routine by now. Just leave a comment after this blog post. You don't have to provide your full name at this point, but purely anonymous comments will not be eligible to win.
I will pick a winner, at random, in one week, Friday, May 29, shortly after noon. The winner will be announced here, on Facebook, and via Twitter. If you win, you'll need to send me your mailing address at rocpizzaguy@gmail.com.

Voula's Greek Sweets, 439 Monroe Ave.

Mon - Fri: 11:00 am - 7:00 pm
Sat: 10:00 am - 4:00 pm