General Hoock's, Reborn

Readers of this blog will know how much I love Fiamma on Buffalo Road in Gates. But going there is always tinged by a hint of bittersweetness, because I'm aware that at one time, that site was home to another great, albeit very different, pizzeria.
For some years, at the spot where Fiamma sits today, you would've found General Hoock's All American Pizzeria. (And there was another pizzeria there before that; some places are just made to be pizzerias, I guess.)
The General, a/k/a Shawn, turned out good, distinctive pizza, and legendary breakfast food, in a place that was part diner, part pizzeria, part bar (minus the alcohol, if you can picture that).
Thanks to a recent edit on RocWiki,I learned that the General was back in operation, in, of all places, a convenience store/gas station on Buffalo Road.
I drove through a snowstorm (so what else is new?) to stop in on a recent midday. Upon entering, I found Shawn behind the counter of his own corner of the store. It's a small operation, but he makes the most of it.
To my initial dismay, or at least surprise, Shawn uses a conveyor pizza oven. But a skilled pizzaiolo can probably make a good pizza in an Easy Bake OvenTM, and Shawn is nothing if not a skilled pizzaiolo. Rather than simply slide the pie in at one end and wait for it to come out on the other, he tended to it, giving it a turn or two before it emerged, crisp and nicely baked.
Good pizza always starts with a good crust, and this crust was very good, crisp yet chewy and charred along the edge, which was formed into a narrow but high cornicione. The crust was on the thin side of medium in thickness. It was topped with a slightly sweet, thick but not dried-out tomato sauce, well-melted mozzarella, and sliced-and-quartered slices of spicy, meaty pepperoni.
I neglected to get or transcribe the full menu, but those of you who were fans of the General in the past will find a number of old favorites here. And old-time fan or not, consider his new signature item, the Infinity Pie, topped with green garlic sauce, rib eye, mozzarella, fresh mushrooms, bacon, pepperoni, ham, onion, jalapeno and cheddar. 
I don't do 'shrooms - bad experience at a rock concert in the early '70s (just kidding, I just don't like mushrooms), but I must try an Infinity Pie at some point.
Gradewise, this is a tough call. An A would suggest that it's as good as could be, but in spite of Shawn's efforts, I'm not sure that it couldn't be improved on, in a different oven. In particular, the underside was baked a bit unevenly. And yet it was very good, and distinctive, which is an attribute that I prize. So although I'm staying away from pluses and minuses, I'll give it an A-minus.
Will we ever see another stand-alone General Hoock's pizzeria? Maybe. The pizza here is fine, but as good as it is, it deserves a full-fledged pizzeria with true pizza ovens. Nevertheless, it's good enough as is to warrant a trip. Whether you want a loaded pizza or just a simple cheese pie, I'd recommend a drive to the corner of Buffalo and Coldwater Roads, for a slice or a pie from the General. His pizza is distinctive,original, and one that I look forward to trying again.

General Hoock's, 3095 Buffalo Rd. (inside Westen Mini Mart)
247-1849
(I'll try to fill in the details as to hours, etc. as soon as I can get them)

Pizza King, Dansville

In February 2012, I did a post about a place that I discovered in Belmont, Billy G's. You can read the full story at that post, but it turned out that there was a connection between Billy G's, The Pizza Stop, Joe's Brooklyn Pizza, Giovanni's and Pizza King in Hornell, and Pizza King in Wellsville. All of which make great New York style pizza, thanks in large part to the tutelage of Giovanni's owner, Bill Giovanniello.
Anyway - earlier this year, Billy G's moved to Dansville, and reopened as Pizza King. (I'm told that his former location in Belmont is now a non-pizza restaurant.) I'm down that way from time to time, so I made a mental note to stop in.
Which I did recently, following a hike here. And though I'm sad for the people of Belmont, their loss is Dansville's gain, as Pizza King is serving up some very fine pizza.
There are only so many ways to describe a good slice of NY style pizza, so I may find myself repeating what I've said about many of the places mentioned above, but we're talking here about a thin crust, crisp on the bottom, pliable enough to fold, and with a nice chew on the inside. The bottom wasn't quite charred, but was a medium brown, and dry to the touch.
As for the the toppings, the cheese was just slightly on the thick side, but not enough to throw things out of balance. It was processed mozzarella, nicely melted into a uniform coat. The sauce was reminiscent of slices I've had in the City, marked by a balance of sweetness, saltiness, and herbs, with a bright tomatoey flavor underneath it all.
Thin-sliced pepperoni lay atop it all. The pepperoni and cheese exuded a bit of grease, but not overly so, and about what I would expect from a NY style pepperoni slice. (Within reason, a little oiliness on top can actually enhance the sensory experience, as fat helps transmit flavor to your tongue. It's oil on the bottom that I dislike, and these had a nice, dry underside.)
My one quibble with these slices is the application of the toppings - the pepperoni was unevenly distributed toward the outer edge, while the area nearer the tips (i.e. the center of the pie from which they came) were devoid of pepperoni. And to really nitpick, the sauce and cheese at a couple of spots extended out all the way to, and even slightly beyond, the outer edge of the crust. But that's a matter of esthetics more than anything else.
You can see Pizza King's menu here, so I won't recite it all. I will note that their slices start at a very reasonable $1.65 (plus tax), and that they maintain what I understand to be the most widely agreed-upon distinction between calzones and strombolis, which is that the former contain ricotta in addition to mozzarella, and are served with sauce on the side, while the latter have sauce inside, but no ricotta. They also do wings and tacos.
As for these slices, I'm giving them an A-minus. I've mostly stayed away lately from pluses and minuses, but I think it's appropriate here. These were excellent slices, deserving of better than a B, but I've gotta knock off a style point or two for the uneven distribution of pepperoni, and the slight overhang of the cheese along the outer lip. Pretty inconsequential matters, yes, and they didn't detract from from my overall enjoyment of these slices, but enough to keep them from attaining absolute perfection.
Make no mistake, though, if I'm in the Dansville area, I'm stopping at Pizza King. I'll probably stop at Dansville's other pizzerias sometime for an update, as well. But Pizza King is on my go-to list.
Pizza King, 160 Main St., Dansville
585-335-8700

Mon - Thu: 11:00 am - 10:00 pm, Fri - Sat: 11:00 am - 11:00 pm, Sun: noon - 9:00 pm

New York Pizzeria, Trumansburg

With warmer weather, I've been indulging my passion for hiking a little more often, and since I prefer the hills of the Southern Tier to the flatlands of the Rochester area, this has given me an opportunity to check out some pizza places I wouldn't ordinarily get to.
After running across this website, I got particularly interested in checking out the pizza scene in Ithaca. On my last excursion, to this forest, I didn't make it to Ithaca, but I did stop in nearby Trumansburg, where I grabbed a couple of slices from New York Pizzeria.
To some extent, the very name of the place excited my taste buds, but I've also seen plenty of places that claim to make NY style pizza that fall far short. So I was hopeful yet wary. (I should add that Google doesn't always get it right - search for "new york pizzeria trumansburg" and you'll come up with a site for a franchise, which as far as I can tell has nothing to do with New York Pizzeria in Trumansburg, fortunately.)
My (cautious) optimism was more than justified. These were very good slices, and worthy of the "New York" name.
I was confronted with a nice selection of slices, both red and white, but opted for the most basic - two cheese slices. I also noticed that New York Pizzeria appeared to be just that - a pizzeria - no wings. no nuthin' but pizza. That kind of purism is admirable.
These slices were thin, and crisp, and upon folding, they cracked down the middle but didn't break. In other words, the bottom surface cracked, but the interior stayed whole. They nailed that part of a good NY slice.
The underside was pretty good looking, as well. There was a smattering of corn meal (which I haven't typically seen in New York City, but it's not a big deal to me) and some very nice charring. The bottom side was blackened enough to give the crust a nice flavor, but by no means was it burnt. And the thin cornicione along the edge was just a little browned, which is also good. Why? Because it means that the heat applied to the crust was mostly coming directly from the oven floor, or deck. That tells me that this was a genuinely hot oven, with a good, hot deck, so hot that the underside can blacken before the top side or the edge get overcooked.
And this pizza passed the conventional test for a good NY style slice:  I could hold a slice horizontally, folded, and the tip didn't flop down at all. The entire slice remained perfectly straight. In fact I think I could've done that without folding the slice completely, it was that crisp underneath. I should've taken a picture of that but I was too busy eating.
Oh yeah, the toppings. The sauce was tomatoey - not particularly sweet, salty, herbal, or otherwise seasoned, and added in good balance with the thin crust. The cheese was lightly applied, and took a back seat to the crust and to some extent, the sauce as well. It was OK, but it didn't quite have the silky creaminess of premium mozzarella cheese that I look for in a pizza, especially a pizza as basic and minimalist as a NY style slice.
That one minor shortcoming aside, this was excellent pizza, and to my Rochester area readers, I'd say you should try to stop here some time when you're next driving through the Finger Lakes. Beyond the pizza itself, Trumansburg is an interesting little place. On the surface, it's just another little blink-and-you'll-miss-it, back-road village, but it's got a funky, laid-back vibe that's more Sonoma than Upstate New York (not that there's anything wrong with Upstate New York - I'm just saying it's an interesting place to visit).
I'm still rethinking some of my ratings policies. I haven't been rating pizzas from beyond the Rochester area, and I may simplify my ratings, so I may revamp things at some point, but my gut tells me to give New York Pizzeria a rating, and that rating is an A-minus. This was near perfection, with the only quibble being that the cheese was only adequate, and not truly great. So with that minor demerit, I'll say that New York Pizzeria comes strongly recommended from me.
New York Pizzeria, 2 W. Main St., Trumansburg
607-387-3700
Hours unknown, I'll try to pin that down.

A Bit of Brooklyn in Belmont - Billy G's

I'm an avid hiker, and I tend to favor forests in the Southern Tier, which are bigger, more numerous, and more hilly than those around Rochester. Sometimes I use my excursions as an opportunity to check out far-flung pizza places in the small towns and villages along the Southern Tier Expressway, a/k/a Rt. 17, a/k/a I-86. 
After a recent hike in Coyle Hill State Forest in the Southern Tier, I ventured into the village of Belmont in Allegany County. I couldn't recall having been there before, but I assumed that Belmont, like any other small town, would have at least one pizzeria. (I think that's a constitutional requirement, in fact. Or if it's not, it should be.)
Sure enough, right on the corner, across from the stately, neoclassical Village Hall, there was Billy G's Pizzeria, in a two-story brick building that could've come out of an Edward Hopper painting. I wasn't sure if they'd have slices - small-town places are less apt to, as they tend not to get a lot of walk-in traffic - but I figured if they didn't, I'd get a sub instead.
On going in, though, I was pleased to see a sliced pie, half pepperoni, half cheese, behind the counter. I asked for a couple of  pepperoni slices to go.
After a brief reheating, my slices were slipped into a paper sleeve and handed to me. I took them out to the car, where I photographed them. They were thinner than I'd expected, but otherwise pretty unremarkable in their appearance.
I started the car, took a bite and drove away, left hand on the wheel, right hand holding a slice. I made it down to the end of the block before thinking, hmm, this is pretty good. I turned the corner and took another bite. Actually, this is very good. A little farther. Man, this is really good! I've got to write this up on the blog. ... No - I've got to turn around and go back and talk to this guy.
So what grabbed my attention, and my taste buds, this way? Partly, just the confounding of my expectations. Or should I say my lack of expectations? What I mean is, generally, when I've had pizza in small towns, it's, well, "eh." Nothing special. Actually, I don't know if it's truly a small-town thing, maybe that's just my perception, but I've come not to expect much from small-town pizzerias. Usually they run to the thick side, with kind of a soft crust, maybe a little oily underneath, a lot of gooey cheese on top - a good "value," if you equate value with the weight of your food, but rather generic. It might be good, but usually it's just mediocre.
The one thing I don't expect to find in a small town in a mostly rural area is good thin-crust pizza. I mean, I know you can find it, theoretically, but the fact is you rarely do. When I have had really good pizza in small towns, it's typically been pizza that's distinctive (it may have a unique sauce, for example), but more often that not it's on the thick side.
But this pizza was decidedly thin, with a crackly exterior and a bready interior. It was foldable, and when I folded one slice completely, the crust cracked open, but the gluteny interior stretched and held together. The crust had a faintly sweet, bready flavor, with subtle toasty notes. It wasn't far off, stylistically, from New York style pizza, although it wasn't advertised as such.
That crust is what got my attention. The toppings? Well, they were OK, if purely secondary to me. The sauce was slightly sweet and flavorful, with some herbs noticeable. The mozzarella was well melted, if a bit dry from being out of the oven for a while. But the components were well balanced, and the slice as a whole was very - surprisingly - good. A fresh pie might rate an A, but this was good enough for an A-minus.
So to get back to my story:  Right turn, right turn, right turn, and back. I don't know what the proprietor thought when he saw me walk in the door just minutes after leaving, but I told him about my blog, that I was impressed by his pizza. and that I was curious to know more about his background.
Billy G, a/k/a William Giovanniello, proceeded to tell me that his father owns Giovanni's Pizza in Hornell. Before that, he ran another Hornell pizzeria, Pizza King (which is still in business under different ownership), and before that, he was making pizza in Brooklyn and Long Island.
Now why did all that ring a bell with me? Because of an interview I did with with Jim Staffieri of the Pizza Stop over two years ago. Jim - whose place is a mainstay of New York style pizza in Rochester - told me that his brother Joe, who owns Joe's Brooklyn Pizza, another local favorite of mine, had learned his craft from a pizza maker in Long Island, who subsequently relocated to Hornell and opened a pizzeria there. Joe later moved upstate, again worked for the guy in Hornell, and eventually opened his own place in Rochester, as did Jim.
Yup, Billy's dad, Bill Giovanniello, is that guy. (You can read a bit of his story here.)
That certainly explained why I liked this pizza so much. It shares a close connection - a common ancestor, if you will - with both the Pizza Stop and Joe's Brooklyn Pizza.
Now I have to admit, this made me feel rather good about myself for recognizing something special, or at least reminiscent, about this pizza, enough to warrant going back to talk to the owner. More than that, though, this convinced me that I need to get down to Hornell and pay a visit to Giovanni's (and Pizza King). If this one guy has spawned three good pizzerias in Western New York, in addition to his own, he's already built quite a legacy. He deserves some serious recognition.
Billy, by the way, told me that he will be moving his shop to Dansville in the not-too-distant future. He'll have some competition up there, and I hope they all can survive, but I also hope, for the sake of Belmonters (Belmontians? Belmontese?), that somebody can move into the Belmont space and pick up where Billy left off. That would add yet another fine pizzeria to Bill Giovanniello's pizza progeny.

Tony D's Tomato Pie

During my recent mini-tour of Rochester pizzerias with fellow pizza blogger "Lapp" from WorstPizza.com, one of our stops was Tony D's in Corn Hill.
I've done a couple of posts now about Tony D's, the most recent being this past April. But I knew there were more pizzas on the menu that I wanted to try, so when Lapp mentioned that somebody had recommended Tony D's to him, I happily seconded the idea.
As things turned out, I made no further progress on the menu, though. As I was perusing said menu while sitting at the bar overlooking the open kitchen, a freshly made pie was briefly placed on a tray next to me, before being whisked off to a customer's table.
Sometimes when you're eating out, you see a dish, and you think, "That's what I'm getting." (Which is far preferable to seeing it after you've already gotten your food, and you think, "That's what I should have ordered.") This was one of those times. This pie looked simple but delicious.
I was able to corral a nearby server and found out that the pizza in question was that night's special, a tomato pie with sun-dried tomatoes, Romano and basil. It had sounded promising when our own server told us about it, but seeing one up close clinched it.
Lapp chose a 10-inch pie for his dinner (check out his review of his pie here), but I went with the large, which is 14 inches in diameter. But I didn't have to fly home the next day, so I knew I could take any leftovers home without much difficulty.
My pie tasted as good as I expected. It wasn't all that much different from Tony D's Margherita pizza, perhaps a bit more tomatoey, with a sharper cheese flavor, but overall there was a good balance among the tomatoes, cheese, basil and crust.
As for that crust - visually, it bore all the hallmarks of a great, crisp crust from a super-hot oven, with charring along the edge and underneath. In fact, in some spots on the bottom, the outer surface of the crust was charred right through (see bottom photo). And it did have a certain smokiness to it.
So it was a surprise to find that the crust was really quite soft. It wasn't mushy or spongy or anything like that, it was just not at all crisp.
Now before I go criticizing Tony D's about things I don't really understand, let me say that I have read that pizzas in Naples typically have a soft, pliable crust. It mostly has to do with the flour they use, which is relatively low in protein. Clearly heat wasn't the issue here, so it seems to me that it must indeed be the dough that resulted in this soft, pliable crust.
Technical matters aside, then, this crust may not be far off from "authentic" Neapolitan pizza. But for me there was still a bit of a disconnect between the appearance of the crust and its texture.
I must admit, though, that I prefer a crisp crust. And I guess I also expect to get a crisp crust from a place with a coal-fired oven (actually they were using both coal and wood on my visit, but no matter), which conjures up images of old-time pizzerias in New York City, with crusts that crackle a bit when you bite into them.
So that's where rating a pizza gets tough. I don't want to downgrade this pizza purely because of my subjective preferences, but it's hard to completely put those preferences aside.
I've given Tony D's an A-minus before, and I think I'll stick with that. As I've said in the past, the grades are no more than a rough guideline, and readers should focus on my descriptions to decide if they think they'd like the pizza at a given establishment. If I thought that Tony D's had been striving for something else here, but fell short of the mark, I'd lower the grade, but as far as I can tell, they simply use a dough that bakes up rather soft. I've downgraded places for soft crusts before, but generally only if the crust was greasy, spongy, or had some other defects. So with the caveat that Tony D's serves up a soft-crusted, but well-charred pizza, I'll again give it an A-minus rating.
I do have one thing to add, though.This 14-inch pie cost $18, while Lapp's 10-inch pie, with custom-ordered toppings, was less than half that amount, at $8. If you're going by surface area, his pie was a little over half the size of mine, and unless sun-dried tomatoes are more expensive than I thought, mine seemed pretty pricey. Cost doesn't figure into my grades, but I think it's worth making readers aware that if cost is an issue, ordering your toppings a la carte may save you a dollar or two.
Tony D's, 288 Exchange Blvd. 14608
Tel. 340-6200
Hours:  Sun.  4 - 10 p.m., Mon. - Thu. 11 a.m. - 10 p.m., Fri. 11 a.m. - 11 p.m., Sat. 4 - 11 p.m.

Ferrara's Potato Pizza

Pizza Guy Note: sad to say, Ferrara's appears to have closed. Mr. Sam's Pizza Kitchen is now in this location.
It's not exactly uncommon to see potato pizza on local menus, but usually that means an "American" version, typically a "stuffed" potato pizza that's overloaded with cheese, bacon, sour cream and other artery cloggers.
The basic concept, though, goes back to Italy, where potato pizza is - so I've read, at least - well known, particularly in Rome. (I first ran across a reference to it in Local Breads by Daniel Leader, which is a great book for bread bakers who would like to recreate various European-style breads at home).The Italian version is sparser and more subtle than the American, with no sauce, often no cheese, and typically includes a brushing or drizzle of olive oil and a sprinking of rosemary.
Fortunately, there are a few examples of the style around here that stay closer to their Italian forebears. Napa has a good one, and Pizzeria Americana in Greece used to; I don't see it on their online menu, but they might be able to do it for you on request. Local Breads The version you'll find at Vinny's in Fairport is a little different, but since Vinny learned his craft in Sicily, I am not about to call it inauthentic; maybe it's simply indicative of regional variations on the style within Italy itself.
Still, it's not something you see a lot of around here, so it was a welcome sight to see potato pizza on the menu at Ferrara's in Gates. I've posted before about my fondness for Ferrara's Margherita pizza, so I was keen to try their potato pie as well.
I've found that in general, good pizzerias make good pizza. That sounds silly, I know, but what I mean is that if a pizzeria does a good job on one style, it probably does a good job on others. And that was true here. This was a very enjoyable pizza.
The crust was fairly crisp, not crackly crisp like a classic New York slice, but firm on the outside, with some interior chewiness. It was simply topped, with a little olive oil, thin potato slices, finely chopped garlic, a smattering of Rosemary, and a little grated Romano. If that doesn't sound good to you, then you may as well stop reading this now, because to me that's a mouthwatering combination.
One of the things I liked about this pizza was that not only did the various components complement each other well, they also provided a range of contrasting flavors and textures. The potato slices were cooked enough to be soft, but not mushy; al dente is probably the most apt descriptor. The garlic, rosemary and Romano formed a winning trinity of flavor and aroma, all conveyed to the palate by just enough olive oil to bring everything together without turning the pizza greasy. The rosemary in particular was judiciously applied; with its assertive flavor and pine needle-like texture, it's easy to overdo, but in the right proportion - as here - it's a terrific partner for potatoes.
Although there are five separate toppings on this pizza, it's still the antithesis of the typical American "loaded" pizza. The toppings were flavorful yet subtle, were well balanced, and complemented each other without losing their individuality. All in all, this pizza was a study in restraint and balance, rather than in excess, like so many overloaded specialty pizzas today.
That, of course, does not make it better than a 10-topping meat-lovers' pizza with the works. That comes down to a matter of individual preference. If your tastes run toward pepperoni, sausage and hot peppers with extra cheese, you might find this pizza a little bland or boring. But for me, this was a delight. I couldn't see myself eating this day in and day out, but as an occasional change of pace, I thought it was terrific. I'll give it an A-.
Ferrara's Pizza, 485 Spencerport Rd., Gates 14606. 247-6777
Tue. - Thu. 4 p.m. - 9 p.m., Fri. & Sat. 4 p.m. - 11 p.m., Sun. 4 p.m. - 9 p.m. Closed Mondays.

Spot, East Ave.

About a month ago, Spot Coffee on East Avenue reopened after a six-month-long hiatus during which it was remodeled inside. In addition to the physical changes, Spot also expanded its food menu to include "gourmet" pizza.
I'm never quite sure what to make of that self-aggrandizing "gourmet" label when it's attached to anything, and all too often it's an unintended warning that what you are about to eat is not nearly as good as its description would have you believe. But after recently trying one of Spot's new Margherita pizzas, I am pleased to report that this was not the case here. This was actually quite good.
Like the "gourmet" moniker, the menu's misspelling of the 19th-century Queen of Italy's name as "Margharita" did not fill me with confidence, but my doubts were quickly dispelled when I got my pie. It had a nicely charred crust, thin in the center, encircled by a wide, thick, bready cornicione. There was some exterior crispness along the edge, and the interior of the cornicione was airy but chewy, in a bready kind of way. My fingertips detected just the slightest hint of oil along the edge, but it wasn't at all greasy.
This pie was pretty saucy, topped with a thick sauce in which some dried herbs were visible, although the flavor was more sweet-tomatoey than herbal. I always hate to complain about being given too much of anything, but for me this ran close to an excessive amount of sauce for such a thin crust.
Atop the sauce, the melted fresh mozzarella was just slightly browned, but still soft and stretchy, not rubbery. A smattering of shredded basil added good flavor, and appeared to have been added at the end (as it should be), as it was still green and fresh-tasting.
Spot offers five other pizzas, but no a la carte pies, although I can't imagine why you couldn't get a plain cheese pizza or a pepperoni pizza (which would simply be Spot's "New Yorker" minus the mushrooms). And they've got sandwiches, salads, breakfast selections, baked goods, and of course plenty of coffee drinks.
After some initial uncertainty, then, this pizza was a pleasant surprise. The crust was very good, though a bit short of perfection, and the other components were also very enjoyable, though I thought the generous helping of sauce threw the pie slightly out of balance. Those minor quibbles prevent me from giving this one my highest grade, but this was good enough to rate an A- from me.
Spot Coffee,200 East Avenue Rochester 14604. 613-4600
Mon. - Fri. 6 a.m. - midnight; Sat. 7 a.m. - midnight; Sun. 7 a.m. - 11 p.m

Ember Woodfire Grill, Livonia

Although a very few wood-fired pizza places in the Rochester area have been around for some time, the idea didn't really seem to take off until relatively recently; in the past two or three years, wood-fired pizzerias have been springing up around here like mushrooms after a summer rain.
For whatever reason, the trend has been confined almost entirely to the east side of the Genesee River. It's now spread south, although geographically the Great Divide continues.
Ember Woodfire Grill opened in late 2009 in a converted train station in Livonia, a few miles east of the northern tip of Conesus Lake (and well east of the Genesee, which meanders in a more southwesterly direction at this latitude, although the cultural divide represented by the Genesee in Monroe County doesn't extend this far south).
Ember is not primarily a pizza place, but it does offer pizza, baked in a wood-fired oven. Although Livonia's a little far south for me to travel for pizza, I'm willing to make an exception for wood-fired pizza, not because wood-fired pizza is necessarily better, but because it's still unusual, and because it ought to be better. If you're advertising wood-fired pizza, you're implicitly claiming to make pizza that stands out from the rest.
It doesn't always work out that way, of course. I've had wood-fired pizza that's just plain dried-out and burnt, and others that are indistinguishable from pizzas baked in a gas oven, and not even good examples of that, to boot.
But at Ember, I wasn't disappointed. This was a very nice, very enjoyable example of what can be achieved in a wood-fired oven.
Like most wood-fired pizzas, this had a thin crust, although this one might have been even thinner than most. It was crisp, crackly, and crackerlike, yet not wholly lacking in pliability.
The underside of the crust was well charred, in a spotted but more or less uniform pattern, and the edge was quite bubbly in a few places. The crust had a charred, very toasty flavor that I enjoyed, although I can imagine some people who aren't used to this style of pizza objecting that their pizza had been burned in the oven. I wouldn't call this burnt, but it did have a noticeable charred flavor.
There seemed to be a touch of oil on top of the crust, which might explain why it remained pliable, as oil will tend to soften the crust a bit. It was topped with tomatoes, mozzarella and shredded basil.
A lot of Margheritas I've had around here are dragged down by the tomatoes, which all too often are the hard, pale, tasteless baseballs you tend to find in these latitudes in the off-season. Ember largely solves that problem by using plum tomatoes, which on my pizza were flavorful and firm, neither hard nor mushy.
According to the menu, Ember uses fresh mozzarella on their Margherita pizzas, but this looked to me more like the aged, low-moisture stuff. It had a pale yellow color, rather than the pure white of fresh mozzarella, and it appeared to have been laid on in shreds rather than in the individual slices that you usually see with the fresh variety.
At first I thought the shredded basil was a bit sparse, but after a few bites I became aware of its flavor, which remained largely in the background, but which nevertheless supplied some welcome counterpoint to the sweet/acidic tomatoes and the mild, creamy cheese.
Embers offers five specialty pizzas, including a Mediterranean, chipotle BBQ chicken, steak pesto, and good ol' pepperoni. You can also create your own from among Embers' modest list of toppings.
Ember is far from just a pizza place, though. There's an extensive appetizer and tapas menu, which runs the gamut from braised pork belly to wood-fired mac 'n' cheese with bacon (I'm still scratching my head over how mac 'n' cheese can be wood-fired, though I'd love to try it). Each meal is also preceded by a selection of breads with a variety of dipping sauces and spreads.
Those looking for more traditional American fare will find offerings such as New York strip steak and pork tenderloin, often with a nouveau twist; the house meatloaf, for example, is made from a mix of veal, pork and beef, stuffed with roasted peppers and jack cheese, with a spicy espresso-brandy glaze. Each entree is accompanied on the menu by a suggested wine pairing, or a beer from Ember's well-chosen selection of microbrews.
For little ones, Ember can whip up a "classic" version of Kraft mac 'n' cheese, as well as a PB&J, corn dog, among other kid-friendly items. If you've got a tot in tow, Tuesdays and Wednesdays are good days to head to Ember, when kids get to make their own pizzas, for free.
My own young 'un wanted to get to the playground before dark, so I didn't have time to sample anything from Ember's dessert menu, but though short, it's tempting, and includes a raspberry chocolate truffle tart and oatmeal cake with chocolate peanut butter frosting. Like many of Ember's menu items, these are subject to change with the season, and are entirely house made.
Ember is located in a converted former train station, but you won't see any train memorabilia on the walls, as the owners have opted for a contemporary look, with neutral tones and a clean, even minimalist approach to the decor. The bar area is partially walled off from the dining room, but it was still pretty noisy throughout on my visit.
As I mentioned, wood-fired pizza can be a hit-and-miss proposition, as places either don't fully utilize the radiant heat of the oven, or go too far in the opposite direction and simply burn the crust. This pizza avoided both pitfalls, with a nice char and a crisp yet pliable crust. Ember's ultrathin, crackly pizza doesn't match my ideal pizza, which remains one with a thick enough crust to have a bit of chew, but the pizza, and the restaurant, are well worth a drive to Livonia. I'm giving the pizza an A-, and making a mental note to return sometime to sample some of Ember's other wares.
Ember Woodfire Grill, 21 Livonia Station, Livonia 346-0222 
Mon. - Wed. 11:30 a.m. - 9:30 p.m., Thu. - Sat. till 10 p.m. Bar hours:  Mon. - Wed. 4:30 p.m. -10:30 p.m., Thu.- Sat. till 11 p.m. Closed Sundays.

Amico Pizza: "The #1"

There are certain pizzerias I find myself going back to, partly because I like their pizza, and partly because there are particular items on their menus that I want to try. One of those is Amico on East Ridge Road.
I've tried Amico's regular pizza, and their white pizza, but their "#1" caught my eye - it's described on the menu as "[a]n Amico tradition since the beginning. Our homemade sauce covered with fresh ground Pecorino-Romano."
Now a pizza with nothing but red sauce and Romano cheese might not sound that interesting, but it is to me. I've come to think that in the early days of Rochester pizza, before the chains moved in and before pizza became homogenized into the standard American pizza of today, pizza, where it could be found, tended to be a very simple affair, with little more than, well, the aforementioned red sauce and Romano cheese. The more bland, but better-melting mozzarella seems to have come along later.

I've tried some other examples of this older style, such as Gallo's "Old World" pizza, Guida's "sauce pie," and Giuseppe's "Old Timer," which, with the addition of anchovies and cherry peppers is a little more complicated, but which is still based on the same foundation of red sauce and Romano. Despite their simplicity, these pizzas may be a little more challenging to the modern American palate, primarily because of the heavy dose of Romano, which nowadays is more often used as a sprinkled-on condiment - an afterthought, even - than a prominent, integral component.
Amico will be celebrating its 50th anniversary next year, putting it in the senior class of Rochester pizzerias, and no survey of this local style would be complete without a visit to Amico. So, when I picked up a medium #1 pie from Amico last week, I was eager to try their version of this old-school pizza.
The first thing that struck me about this pizza was its mouthwatering aroma in my car. The steam emanating from the pizza box carried with it the scent of freshly baked dough, tomato sauce and Romano cheese, making it difficult not to pull over and devour a slice or two before I got it home.
I was able to maintain my willpower, though, and waited until I got indoors before opening the box. I was a little surprised, though not disappointed, to see that the crust was considerably thinner than the pizzas I've gotten from Amico in the past. Amico's menu notes that you can get thick or thin crust on request, and while I didn't specify any particular thickness for this one, I think this would have to be considered a thin crust. I'm not sure if that's standard for the #1, but it might be. With such simple toppings, a thick crust might tend to overwhelm the sauce and cheese. This crust was thin enough to allow the full flavor and texture of the toppings to come through.
Similarly, the underside on this one wasn't as dark as on the pizzas I've gotten from Amico before. Now that could just be a random thing, or it might be by design too. Again, the Romano doesn't melt the way that mozzarella does, and this cheese was already turning a little brown in the center of the pie. Much longer in the oven and the cheese could easily have gotten overdone.
The thin crust still had the breadiness I've come to associate with Amico's pizza, but it was easily foldable. A napkin or two was called for here, as the sauce tended to ooze out the back end as I worked my way through each slice.
A little sloppiness was a small price to pay, though, for the flavor of this pizza. How good can a pizza be with nothing but sauce and Romano cheese? Very good, indeed. The thin but bready crust made a fine base for the contrasting yet complementary flavors of the sauce and cheese.
That cheese was laid on in some abundance, so much so that you might think its sharp flavor would simply be overpowering, but it wasn't. The comparatively sweet, vibrant flavor of the tomato sauce acted as a counterweight to the lactic tang of the cheese, and the time that the pie spent in the oven may also have taken a bit of the edge off the Romano as well. I didn't notice much herb flavor, but it was hardly needed here.
What was also striking about this pizza was its texture, particularly that of the cheese. While it was missing the chewy-gooey stringiness of processed mozzarella that most of us have come to expect, the Romano had something of its own to offer. Baking atop the sauce, the cheese here had developed a crumbly, almost cakelike texture that gave it an unusual but very interesting mouthfeel.
Having tried several of these "old timer" style pizzas now, I've formed some opinions about them. On the one hand, I can see why today's style of American pizza eventually supplanted these. In this land of supersized meals, it's not surprising that people came to prefer pizzas covered with thick blankets of mozzarella, loaded with toppings. And I have to admit that there's a certain richness that you get with melted mozzarella that you can't get from a grating cheese like Romano.
But I can also see why people fell in love with pizza in the first place, back when pies like this were closer to the norm. I'm guessing that even this style of pizza is more Italian-American that native Italian, yet it clearly owes a good deal to the pizzas of the Old World, which I think tend to be far simpler, more subtle affairs than their bold, brash American cousins.
And what a pizza like this shows is that simple doesn't have to mean boring, bland or insipid. For all its seeming austerity, this pizza had abundant flavor, and a beautiful harmonic balance of bright sauce, tangy cheese and bready crust.
This pizza may not be for everybody, and even for me, it probably wouldn't be an everyday kind of thing. As much as I enjoyed and appreciated it, my tastes in pizza were shaped by the dominant pizza culture of late-20th-century America, where processed mozzarella is king. But this is definitely a pizza I would go back to now and then.
If your idea of a good pizza is one piled high with pepperoni, sausage, and extra cheese, this may not be to your liking, frankly. On the other hand, if you enjoy diving into a plate of pasta drenched in tomato sauce, with a healthy dose of Parmesan or Romano on top, this one's for you. Me, I'm giving it an A-.
Amico Pizza, 859 E.Ridge Rd. 544-8380
Sun. 1 p.m. - 9 p.m., Tue. - Thu. 11 a.m. - 10 p.m., Fri. & Sat. 11 am - 11:30 p.m.

Cosimos Revisited

Last March, I reported on Cosimos Pizza in Marketplace Mall.  I was quite surprised by how good it was, considering my preconceptions of food-court pizza, and gave my two slices a B+.
Recently, I returned to Cosimos for a full pie. They only come in one size here, large (16 inch, I believe), and I got just a plain cheese pie.
I was again impressed. The crust on this pie was thin, but not at all floppy, and there was enough of an interior to allow for some internal chewy breadiness. The underside was firm and crisp, with some crackling near the outer edge. It was more dark brown than charred, but still crisp enough to have a nice crunch when biting into it, followed by a satisfying chewiness. The narrow, thin lip along the edge was also pleasingly bready.
The crust was topped with a moderate layer of tomato sauce, which had a mild, even bland, flavor. The cheese was also added in proportion, not in a thick, uniform blanket, but with small ponds of sauce poking through here and there. The cheese was well melted, and was smooth-textured but not stringy.
I can't say I had any genuine complaints about this pizza. For it to attain my idea of pizza perfection, it would've needed some high-heat charring underneath, with the toasty flavor and aroma that goes with that. I also would've appreciated a little more flavor from this sauce. I don't think a heavily seasoned sauce would be called for here, and I will say that the mild flavors of the sauce and cheese had the virtue of not getting in the way of the subtle breadiness of the crust.
But those quibbles aside, this was a very good, well-integrated pizza in the New York style. If you like a thick crust, heavy toppings, or bold flavors, it might not be your thing, but as one of the better NY style pizzas I've had around here, Cosimo's rates an A- from me.
Cosimos Pizza, Marketplace Mall (near West entrance to mall) 424-6444
Mall hours:  Sun. 11 a.m. - 6 p.m., Mon. - Sat. 10 a.m. - 9:30 p.m.

Guida's Sauce Pie

I've been intrigued for some time now by the basic, tomato-sauce-based pies that appear on the menus of some pizzerias around here. Often these are found at well-established places with deep local roots, and it seems to me that these pizzas come from an older tradition, before today's emphasis on heavy toppings took hold. Whether they go by the name or not, these pizzas, I think, are related to the "grandma's pizza" often found downstate. Though the specifics vary, this style of pizza generally deemphasizes the cheese, with a tomato sauce providing the dominant base for a few simple toppings, which frequently include a sprinkling of Romano.
One such pizza is found at Guida's. While Guida's does make a "Gramma's" pizza, they also offer something similar that goes by the simple name of "sauce pie." While that might sound like nothing more than a pizza with sauce but no cheese, this is in fact a little more than that. Any doubts on that score were removed when I opened the box, as my nostrils were greeted by an intoxicating aroma of tomato sauce, Romano and garlic, which is about as winning a combination of ingredients as there is.
That heavenly aroma again got me thinking about the term "grandma's pizza." I can imagine a lot of Italian grandmothers' kitchens smelling exactly like this, with a pot of sauce simmering on the stove. The name makes perfect sense now. And it's the addition of garlic that, I think, chiefly differentiated this pie from the Gramma's I'd had before at Guida's.
But what an addition it is. You could put this stuff over ice cream and I think I'd like it. Over pasta, it would be divine.
And aside from pasta, what goes with a good tomato-based sauce better than bread? And what is a pizza crust but a disk-shaped bread? (For that matter, bread and pasta are pretty close culinary cousins, apart from the inclusion of yeast in the former.)
Of course, not just any bread will do; ideally you want a nice, chewy Italian-style bread, and on that score Guida's delivers, with a crust that's firm on the outside yet chewy on the inside, with good bready flavor. That also differed from the Gramma's, which had a softer crust that seemed to have risen and been baked in a pan. Personally I love a very crisp, crackly exterior, which this didn't quite have, but it's hard to fault it nonetheless, as it was still firm, and had a mouth-pleasing chewy texture and good bread flavor.
The bottom of the crust was lightly dusted with corn meal, and there was a bit of oil underneath as well. While eating this, my lips and tongue picked up a faint hint of oil too, suggesting that perhaps the dough got a light swirl or brushing with olive oil before going into the oven, or maybe the oil came from the sauce or the garlic, I don't know. Whatever its source, that might also account for the crust being a little less crisp than some, as oil will typically tenderize bread dough. But it certainly wasn't what I'd call a greasy crust, and with its breadlike flavor and texture, it was more than just a vehicle for the toppings.
Speaking of which, the sauce was of course the star here, and, consistent with the overall simplicity of this pie, it had a straightforward character, with enough herbs to add some flavor accents but not enough to get in the way of the bright flavor of the tomatoes.
The same held true with the Romano cheese. With its sharp flavor, a little Romano goes a long way, and Guida's wisely avoided overdosing this pie; again, a plate of pasta comes to mind, with a sprinkling, but not a dousing, of Romano on top.
Frankly, I would've been happy with just the sauce and Romano, but things get even better with the addition of garlic. The garlic stood well out from the background, completing the trinity of toppings, and was assertive without being harsh; there wasn't the unpleasant aftertaste that raw garlic or garlic powder can leave behind. Finish all that off with the thick, bready outer crust and you've got one very good pizza indeed.
Having said that, this pizza might not be for everyone. If your ideal pizza is one that's covered with thick, gooey cheese, or loaded with toppings, well, this isn't it. But if you're one of those people who likes to sop up your pasta sauce with a thick slice of chewy Italian bread, then you'll love this pizza. It proves once again that for all the pizza ads you see trumpeting topping-heavy pizzas, with pizza sometimes less really is more. I'll give this one an A-.
Guida's Pizzeria, 440 Empire Blvd., Rochester 14609. 288-0590
Mon-Thu. 11 a.m. - 10 p.m., Fri. & Sat. 11 a.m. - 11 p.m., Sun. noon - 10 p.m.
Other locations at 1837 Penfield Rd. in Penfield, 166 W. Main St. in Honeoye Falls, 964 Ridge Rd. in Webster, and 736 Elmgrove Rd. in Gates.

Pizzeria Americana, Long Pond Road - Grandma's Pizza

Having recently done a post on Pizzeria Americana Ohana on Monroe Avenue, I decided that it was time to make a return visit to its erstwhile sister pizzeria on Long Pond Road in Greece. I say "erstwhile" because it's a word I don't get to use that often, but also because according to RocWiki, the two locations have been under separate ownership since 2007.
So, nearly a year and a half after my previous post on Kip's Pizzeria Americana, I returned there recently, primarily to try their version of "Grandma's" pizza. Prior to this, my only previous experience with this particular style of pizza was the Grandma's that I got from Joe's Brooklyn Pizza (although the Pizza Stop's meatball parm pizza is very similar, except for the addition of meatballs).
Kip's menu describes its Grandma's as consisting of "a thick crust with red sauce" and Romano cheese, topped with sausage, broccoli, and black olives." Contrary to that description, the crust on my pizza was not particularly thick, not that I'm complaining. The underside was crisp and nicely charred but not burnt, and the interior was bready.
Naturally, the sauce took center stage here. Yes, there is cheese, but since Romano has such a sharper flavor than mozzarella - and doesn't melt very well - it doesn't blanket the pizza, but is just added as more of a flavor accent.
The sauce on this was very tomatoey, with a slightly sweet, cooked-tomato flavor.
Next up, flavorwise, was the sausage, which was mild, with a pleasant, meaty flavor.
Despite its sharpness, the Romano stayed mostly in the background, as did the broccoli and olives. They were obviously visible, and I could taste them, but they came close to being overwhelmed by the sauce.
I also picked up a Margherita, which was pretty similar to the one I got at the Brighton location, except that Kip's used sliced rather than diced tomatoes, and the basil was not shredded as finely, nor was it as wilted from the heat of the oven as the Ohana Margherita. Again, this was not, as far as I know, a "classic" Margherita, which typically are topped with crushed tomatoes, fresh mozzarella and basil, but the flavors of the components here blended well together, with a prominent garlic flavor and the tangy low-moisture mozzarella forming a base for the fresh tomatoes and basil. The crust was crisp and bready.

As evidence of their common heritage, Kip's and Ohana share a lot of similar menu items, and there are still more specialty pizzas I'd like to try here, such as the "Rosemary," with olive oil, garlic, oregano, mozzarella, potato and rosemary, or the Mediterranean, with basil pesto, pine nuts, spinach, fresh tomato, mozzarella dn feta cheese.
Speaking of the menu, though, for whatever reason, the menu I picked up at Kip's last year lists 29 specialty pizzas, while the one I got this last time only has 19. The Grandma's doesn't appear on the newer menu, nor does the Mediterranean, although it does show up on the online menu.
I hope that doesn't mean that they're trying to phase out the Grandma's, because it was good pizza. Not an everyday pizza, or for everybody, but if you're a lover of red sauce, and don't mind a (nearly) cheeseless pizza now and then, you should enjoy this. With that nicely baked, crisp crust as a base, this was good enough to rate an A- from me.
Kip's Pizzeria Americana, 516 Long Pond Rd. (Carriage Stop Plaza) 227-9913
Mon. - Wed. 3 p.m. - 10 p.m., Thu. 2 p.m. - 10 p.m., Fri. 2:30 p.m. - midnight, Sat. noon - midnight, Sun. noon - 10 p.m.

Napa, S. Clinton

Last January, I did a post on Napa, a wood-fired pizzeria in Fairport. I gave it a B-, which isn't bad, but I did find some fault with my Margherita, particularly its lack of balance. I thought that the heavy layer of sauce overwhelmed the very thin, crackly crust. But I did give them credit for making effective use of their wood-fired oven, and not turning out a pizza with a wimpy, pale crust.
Napa recently opened a second location in the city on South Clinton Avenue, right next to Boulder Coffee. I had lunch there with a couple of friends, which allowed me to check out several varieties of pizza.
For myself, I chose a "Genovese," which, as far as I can tell, doesn't seem to be on the online menu, which is either outdated or only applies to the Fairport location. The Genovese comes topped with potato, rosemary and garlic. I've seen potato pizzas on menus around here, but they're often of the "stuffed potato skin" variety. I've been curious for a while to try a more authentic, Italian-style potato pizza, and this sounded like it might come close, even though from what I've read, potato pizza is more commonly found in Rome than in Genoa.
My companions selected a couple of red (tomato-sauce-based) pizzas, a "Corleone," topped with hot capicola, roasted red peppers, fresh basil and fresh mozzarella, and a "Rustica," with Italian sausage, caramelized onions, and green peppers.
As was the pizza at the Fairport location, this pizza was very thin, so much so that the crust had virtually no interior. Though the crust was charred, the charring here was more spotty than at Fairport, and the crust was much less brittle. It was certainly crisp, with a nice "bite" to it, but it was not crackly, and had just a bit of chew.
My Genovese was subtly flavored, with paper-thin slices of potato on top, accented by the rosemary and garlic. In its simplicity, I'm guessing that it wasn't too far off from something you might find in Italy, where the pizza is not typically overloaded with toppings, as in this country.
I was a little less impressed with the Corleone. The sauce on this one seemed lighter and less cooked than at Fairport, but it, too, was laid on rather thickly. Though it tasted fine, and I enjoyed the other toppings, I thought the sauce simply overwhelmed everything else on this pizza, crust included.
The Rustica may have been my favorite of the three. It was, perhaps, the closest to an "American" pizza (could that be a reason I liked it?), with its combination of sausage, peppers and onions (can you ever go wrong with sausage, peppers and onions?), plus the nicely melted, creamy cheese and the sauce, which seemed to be in better balance with the other components on this pizza.
The South Clinton Napa is in a converted house, and although it maybe hasn't quite fully settled in to its new digs, it's a pleasing space, with a modest dining room, small bar area (no alcohol yet), and a covered deck. Service was good, and I got the impression that the staff are trying hard to deliver a good product and please their customers.
I was pretty pleased with these pizzas. Starting with the crust, as I always do, these were charred but not burnt, crisp but not brittle. Though I tend to like my crust just a tad thicker, with more of a bready interior, that's strictly my subjective preference, and I can't fault Napa too much on that one. Plus, I understand that we're talking wood-fired pizza here, which is often going to be very thin.
When the crust is that thin, though, it's easy to overdo the toppings, and I think that was the case with the Corelone. Other than that, I had no real complaints, and I'm looking forward to my next visit, and some further samplings from the menu. I'll give Napa an A-.
Napa Wood Fired Pizzeria, 537 S. Clinton Ave. 232-8558
Mon. - Thu. 11 a.m. - 9 p.m., Fri. 11 a.m. - 10 p.m., Sat. 4 p.m. - 10 p.m., Sun. 4 p.m. - 9 p.m.

Humphrey House, Penfield

The Humphrey House has been serving food in Penfield for over 30 years now. It closed for a while in 2007, and reopened under new ownership in 2008.
Recently, the Humphrey House installed a wood-fired oven, which they use to create a variety of thin-crust pizzas. This of course necessitated a visit on my part.
I’ve had mixed results with wood-fired pizza around here, so I didn’t know what to expect. At one extreme are those pizzas that come out dry, thin, brittle and crackerlike. Me no like. At the other are pizzas that are so soft, chewy and pale that you wonder what the point was of baking them in a wood-fired oven. That’s kind of like buying a Ferrari and never driving it over 30 m.p.h.
But then there are the pizzas that fall in between, with a nice char on the outside, a whiff of smokiness, a crisp bottom and a chewy interior. Except for the smokiness, that can be done in any good pizza oven, but with the right technique, a wood-fired oven is perfect for achieving that result. So I was cautiously optimistic.
Of the seven pizza choices on the menu, I chose the Margherita, as I usually do for wood-fired pies. It’s a classic, and simple enough that the toppings won’t get in the way of the crust.
My pizza measured a foot across, and the crust was very thin, making it just about right for a satisfying lunch for one person. The crust was quite charred and heat-blistered on the bottom. The charring was a bit uneven, but was confined entirely to the underside - the edge was not charred at all.
As thin as the crust was, though, the charring was only on the surface of the underside. The crust was not burned through, and in fact it remained supple, even floppy, especially toward the tips of the slices. By all indications, then, this pizza had baked very quickly, at very high temperatures - long enough on the hot oven floor for the underside to char, but without burning the toppings or drying out the crust.
I’ve never been to Italy, sad to say, but that made me wonder if this was closer to genuine Neapolitan pizza than the really crisp pies turned out by a lot of wood-fired pizzerias in this country. Contrary to what I’d thought, I’ve read that most pizza in Naples has a rather soft crust, mostly because of the flour that they use, which is one reason that it’s typically eaten with a knife and fork. Again, I can’t confirm that from first-hand experience, but if that’s true perhaps this pizza was not too far from that mark, as far as the crust is concerned.
In more “American” fashion, though, this was a fairly saucy pizza. Instead of the fresh or crushed tomatoes found on some Margheritas, this was topped with a relatively generous layer of cooked sauce, which had a slightly sweet yet tangy flavor. It was almost too much sauce for such a thin crust, but I like sauce, so it was OK with me.
As I mentioned, the top side of the pie was not nearly as well-done as the bottom, and the fresh mozzarella slices were more softened than melted. The shredded basil was wilted enough to blend with the other components, but still green enough to retain its fresh flavor.
HH’s other pizzas include a “Traditional” pepperoni pizza, and yet another take on “Sicilian,” with pancetta, red onions, mozzarella and garlic sauce. You can peruse the rest of the menu on their website, but it’s wide-ranging, with steaks, seafood, chicken and pasta. A white-tablecloth dining room takes up most of the space, with a small, informal bar in a separate room in back.
It’s funny - in some ways, this wasn’t really the kind of pizza I like best - I like more of an interior in my crust, for one thing - but I think it was well executed, and I give credit to the pizzaiolo for not being afraid to make good use of the wood-fired oven, while avoiding the danger of simply burning the pizza and calling it “artisanal.” No doubt some people would take one look at the blackened underside and pronounce it inedible, but I found it well executed, and I’ll give it an A-.
The Humphrey House, 1783 Penfield Rd., Penfield, 267-7415
Mon. - Thu. 11:00 am - 9:00 pm, Fri. & Sat. 11:00 am - 10:00 pm, closed Sun.

Pizza Chef, Fairport: NY style pie

In June 2009, I posted a review of Pizza Chef in Fairport, based on one cheese slice that I got there at lunchtime. I liked their New York style pizza enough to give it a B+, but the crust was so brittle underneath that I couldn't give it an A.
As I said in that post, I had made a mental note to go back some time, and though it's taken a while, I finally got around to it. I picked up a cheese pie for dinner on a recent Friday afternoon.
The underside was a mostly unform brown, nearly charred in spots, and not greasy. The crust was very thin, with some interior chewiness. The perimeter of the pie was formed into a narrow lip, which was slightly toasty and crisp.
The crust was topped with a mild tomatoey sauce. I found it slightly sweet, with just a hint of herbs. The cheese was moderately applied, and both sauce and cheese were in good balance with the thin crust.
As a whole, this was a well balanced, integrated pizza. By that I mean that it was not a pizza where everything - the crust, sauce and cheese - seemed separate, either physically (such as a pizza where the cheese tends to separate from the crust) or on the palate. Everything was working together here.
Since my prior post described Pizza Chef in general, I won't repeat myself here. I'll just say that this was a very respectable New York style pie. I wouldn't put it quite on a par with the best New York pizza I've had around here - the crust didn't quite reach the heights of greatness for me- but it was certainly very good. I'll give it an A-.
The Pizza Chef, 7 East Ave., Fairport. Mon. - Sat. 11 am - 10 pm. Sun. 3-9 pm. 377-9690

Sully's Pub, South Ave. - CLOSED

NOTE: Sully's Pub is now closed.
At long last I made it to Sully’s Pub, which is on the South Avenue extension downtown. It’s the part of South Avenue that dead-ends, next to the on-ramp for 490 East. Maybe because of the warmer weather, Sully’s has just begun opening for lunch on Thursdays and Fridays, which made it easier for me to get over there.
Sully’s rather brief menu features pizza baked in a wood-fired oven. Although the oven is new, it seems like a good fit for this space. Several bars have come and gone in this spot, but the building itself goes way back, and has a charming, vintage industrial feel to it, with high ceilings and brick inside and out. There’s also a courtyard/patio in back, which is where my two companions and I sampled three of Sully’s pizzas: a three-cheese pizza with garlic and tomatoes, a mushroom pie with sauteed onions, and a “margarita” with pepperoni.
As expected, the crusts were thin, but not paper thin. There was a little oil at the center of my three-cheese pizza, and the tips of the slices were a bit floppy, but the crusts were mostly firm and crisp.
The crusts were formed into a thin lip at the edge, which varied in texture from chewy to very crunchy, and were a little puffy here and there. The undersides were nicely browned with a little bit of charring.
All the pizzas had good flavor. The three cheeses on my pie (I neglected to have them identified) were evident, as the pie had a complex blend of cheese flavors, and the garlic came through quite nicely as well. The bland tomatoes seemed like an afterthought, but what do you expect in early April?
I also sampled my companions’ pies. The margarita - which to me seemed more like a standard, cheese, sauce and pepperoni pie than a margherita - had a very “bright” tasting sauce, and the pepperoni slices were well crisped but not dried out.
Surprisingly - since I don’t like mushrooms - I really liked the mushroom and onion pie. The mushrooms didn’t have the rubbery texture that I find particularly offputting about mushrooms, and the onions added quite a bit of flavor that complemented the other components quite well.
As I mentioned, Sully’s menu is pretty short. They do offer burgers, cooked on an outdoor grill, wraps and a few other items, but the star here is the pizza.
And it’s good pizza. Three pizzas is a pretty good sampling, and all three of these were enjoyable, tasty and well made. I would’ve liked just a bit more crispness and maybe some toasty smokiness in the crust, but that’s about my only minor quibble. I’ll rate these an A-.
Sully’s Pub, 242 South Ave. 232-3960
Tue. - Sat. 5 p.m. - 2 a.m., Open for lunch on Thu. and Fri., 11 a.m. - 2 p.m.