Roybidoux's

Some months ago, a reader informed me of a new place, Roybidoux's, on Long Pond Road. This site was formerly occupied by Alloco's, which I reviewed in February 2015. Looks to me like Alloco's might've gone out of business sometime in 2016.
I often check out new places by stopping in for a lunchtime slice, but Roybidoux's doesn't open until 4:30, so I had to wait for a convenient occasion to bring home a pie.
I got a large, with sweet (green) peppers and onions on half, beef pepperoni and sausage on the other half.
First check, the crust. Medium thick, screen marks underneath, medium brown, firm but not crisp. Some separation of the cornicione from the rest of the crust.
Toppings were fairly ample. The pepperoni was nicely crisp. The crumbly sausage was a bit dried out. I'd prefer bigger chunks of sausage. The veggies were fresh but softened, just the way I like them.
The cheese was well melted and creamy. Bonus points there. The tomato sauce was noticeable, but basic, with a good sweet/salty balance.
But back to the crust. On biting into the pizza, I found that the crust had a very fresh, bready aroma. My daughter, on the other hand, thought it seemed "raw."
I can assure you, it was not raw. I think where she's coming from is, she likes the toasty aroma and flavor of lightly charred pizza crust. As do I, but I also enjoy pizzas that smell and taste like fresh-out-of-the-oven bread. This was closer to that.
You can find out more about Roybidoux's on their website, so I won't go on at length, but they offer over 20 toppings, and 14 specialty pizzas. Of note, they do a 14-inch, 8-piece pan pizza, which I would like to try.
Beyond pizza, there are wings (11 sauces), pasta, hot subs, "huge" calzones, plates, burgers, fried seafood ... well, check out their menu. There is ample seating inside, they deliver, and you can order online.
Sorry, for all you ratings lovers, but I'm not giving this a grade. If anything, this makes me realize once again the limitations of simple ratings, alphabetic, numerical or otherwise. But I'll recap. Crust was medium thick and bready, though the underside was underwhelming. Toppings were generally good, but the sausage could've been better. Cheese was well melted. Bottom line, I would go back.

Roybidoux's,
1742 Long Pond Rd., Rochester, NY 14606

Tuesday - Thursday 4:30 PM - Midnight
Friday & Saturday 4.30 PM - 1:00 AM
Sunday 4:00 PM - Midnight
Monday closed

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

GioVanna's, Geneseo

On a recent Sunday, my wife, daughter and I went to the Abbey of the Genesee in Piffard, which is just west of Geneseo. This is the place where they bake Monks' Bread. It's an active, living monastery, where the brothers devote their lives to the monastic life, which means round-the-clock work and prayer.
Regardless of your religious beliefs, it's a beautiful place to visit. Guests are welcome to sit in on services, or just to wander the grounds. It's a beautiful, peaceful place. (Plus the gift shop often has bread or other baked goods you won't find at other retail outlets.)
Afterwards, we had lunch at GioVanna's in Geneseo. I thought I had done a post on GioVanna's before, but I guess not.
GioVanna's had been located in the Genesee Valley Plaza, a few doors down from the Geneseo Wegmans. That's when I visited it before. It's owned and operated by John Pontillo and his wife Jennifer, and yes, they are part of the Pontillo family for whom the local chain was named. But this is not a part of the Pontillo's chain.
Recently, GioVanna's moved across the street and down the road. In doing so, they added a lot more seating (from about 12 to 100), and a wood-fired pizza oven.
On our visit, we sat at the bar, where we could watch our pizzas being prepared. We ordered two pies, a "Pizza Bruschetta" and a "White Traditional."
GioVanna's actually has two pizza ovens, one wood-fired and a conventional gas oven. I asked John about this, and he told me that if you want a wood-fired pizza, you need to specify that when you order.
I can understand the thinking behind that. They wanted to add wood-fired pizza, but they also need to please their long-time customers. But it seemed a little odd that we weren't advised of this when ordering, either by our server or on the menu.
I learned of this in time to change our order, so I asked for our pies to be one of each.
Our bruschetta pie was baked in the wood-fired oven. It was topped with garlic olive oil sauce, mozzarella, diced Roma tomatoes, onions and fresh basil.
The crust was thin, with an underside that was on the light side in color, with a few dark brown spots. The crust was firm on the surface, chewy, and a bit oily underneath. It wasn't excessively oily, but enough that my wife and I both noticed it. Perhaps some of the olive oil on top made its way to the bottom, or maybe it was just oil in the dough itself. But certainly the crust didn't have a "fried" flavor or texture, which can happen when the dough is baked on an oily surface, like a pan. And again, it was nothing excessive, just noticeable.
I liked the flavor, which was similar to that of a Margherita, with the addition of mild onions. Finely chopped basil provided a good accent over that of the diced tomatoes.
The "White Traditional" was baked in the gas oven. It was topped with mozzarella, ricotta, broccoli, spinach, and "garlic flavor." I'm not sure what to make of that last-listed ingredient, but I didn't notice it until I was preparing this review, so I didn't get a chance to ask.

The crust on this one was noticeably thicker, what I would call medium thick. There was just a bit of what I took to be cornmeal on the bottom. It was again firm, with a deep brown color underneath.
John informed me that he uses different dough recipes for the two different ovens. The primary reason is the difference in temperature. The wood fired oven gets close to 700 degrees. I didn't ask, but conventional gas pizza ovens typically run at about the same temperature as a home oven, in the low to mid 500s. In general, the WF pizza dough is made to be stretched thinner and baked more quickly. The "regular" crust was more of a traditional, Western NY style crust, no doubt reflecting the Pontillo family's deep roots in the area's pizza scene.
With abundant mozzarella and ricotta, the White Traditional was a was definitely a cheese lovers' pie. The al dente broccoli and wilted spinach were cooked enough to bring out their flavor, but they retained their bright green color. The overall flavor was enjoyable but mild, although I found that a shot or two of red pepper flakes and Parmesan livened things up quite nicely.
GioVanna's menu extends to pasta, hot and cold subs, a Fridays fish fry, calzones, grilled boneless wings and more. I know they plan to have a full bar, but I didn't notice if that had happened yet.
I'd like to go back and try a red pizza. With 30 toppings to choose from, the possibilities are virtually endless.
But would I get it wood fired, or not? That is the question. And frankly, I'm not sure. For me, both crusts were good, and there was no clear winner. The WF crust wasn't quite as charred or "leopard spotted" as some (although thankfully neither was it burnt), but it was enjoyably chewy, and the slices went down easily. The regular crust was well baked and more breadlike. So I guess I'll have to wait and see what I'm in the mood for at the time.

GioVanna's Pizza & Pasta, 4153 Lakeville Rd., Geneseo

(585) 243-2929

http://www.giovannaspizzaandpasta.com/

Sun. - Thu. 11 a.m. - 10 p.m., Fri. & Sat. 11 a.m. - 11 p.m.

East of Chicago, W. Henrietta Road

On a recent weekend, my wife, daughter and I, along with a friend of my daughter, stopped in to East of Chicago Pizzeria, which recently opened on West Henrietta Road in Brighton.
As I reported on my Facebook page, I had become aware of this pizzeria before it opened, so before we went there, I learned that East of Chicago is a chain, based in Ohio. Most of their locations are in or near Ohio. There are a couple in South Carolina and the Rochester location is their first in New York.
East of Chicago offers six crusts, which set off some red flags with me. I tend to think that a pizzeria that is trying to do too many things can't do them all well. But the proof is in the pizza, so I tried to keep an open mind.
East of Chicago offers the following crusts, the descriptions of which I quote from their website:

Pan - Our Signature Crust. Light and airy with a Crunch! "Best pan Pizza East of Chicago".
Crispy - A very thin crust with a distinctive crunch 12" & 14" only.
Thin - Hand tossed with a golden brown crust.
Square - Thin crust - 16" only.
Authentic Chicago Style - Seasoned pie crust filled with your favorite toppings, a generous layer of our blended cheese. Medium only.
Loaded Crust - Thin center with cheese & Pepperoni baked inside a folded edge.

Pizzas come in no less than seven sizes, from a six-inch "flash pan" pizza to a 32-slice sheet.  There are fifteen available toppings, not including extra cheese.
I figured, go with what they claim to do best, so we got a pan pizza. Sausage won the vote as a topping.

This is a "fast casual" place, where you order at the counter and they bring the food to the table, but it was a quiet day, so we were waited on at our table. The service was efficient, informative (we asked some questions about the different crusts) and friendly.
When the pizza came out, it looked good, with a medium-brown, well-formed cornicione, and nicely melted cheese. The underside was pockmarked with a bubbly pattern. It was dry to the touch, with just a trace of oil.
And all in all, it was enjoyable, if not exceptional. The underside of the medium-to-thick crust was crisp underneath but the slice was pliable. The interior had a mouth-pleasing chew and a faint breadlike aroma. The mozzarella cheese was well melted, slightly browned and gooey, but a bit bland. Thicker pizza tends, in my mind, for a little more assertive cheese, so the inclusion of some Provolone or Parmesan would've been welcome here.
Between the crust and cheese lay a basic, mildly seasoned tomato sauce, which was applied in good proportion to the other components. T chunks of sausage were thick and meaty, also mildly seasoned.
Besides pizza, East of Chicago  does wings, oven-baked subs, salads, sides, and a few sweets. There's a daily lunch buffet from 11 to 3, and a dinner buffet on Wednesdays from 6 to 9. Buffet prices vary (e.g. a kid's lunch buffet is $4.99, an adult's dinner buffet is $9.99).

This location has housed numerous restaurants over the years - Sai Gon, Thai Time, Portobello, Portofino, and I imagine some others. Frankly, if I were opening a restaurant, that would make me a little nervous. But maybe East of Chicago will prove to be a good fit.
As for the pizza, it was, as I mentioned, reasonably good if not outstanding. So don't take the following as an indictment, but just an explanation. 
I hope I'm not just being subconsciously influenced by my knowledge that East of Chicago is part of a chain, but I do think there was something "chain-like" about this pizza. That's not meant to be damning; there's no reason a chain pizzeria or other restaurant can't turn out top-notch food. But the pie seemed a little formulaic. The individual components were good, if a bit bland, but they didn't quite all meld together, nor did I pick up any of the subtle aromas, flavors or textures that mark first-rate pizza. For what it was, it was OK. It just didn't wow me.
I would like to try some of East of Chicago's other varieties sometime, though it does concern me a little when a place tries to do too many things. It's like when you go to a Chinese restaurant and they've got 500 items on the menu, from every culture in Asia. Now East of Chicago is certainly not in that category, but again I think it's somewhat typical of a certain chain-restaurant or corporate mentality to try to bowl over the American consumer with an array of choices.
Having said that, that marketing strategy must pay off, or so many companies wouldn't be doing it. And it must work with me too, because I will go back eventually to try one or more of East of Chicago's other crusts. I'll hold off on a grade until I've had a chance to sample some of those other pies, but consider this one on the high side of average.

East of Chicago Pizza, 2171 W. Henrietta Rd., Rochester 14623
585-272-0172

Sun. - Thu. 11 a.m. - 10 p.m., Fri. & Sat. 11 a.m. - 11 p.m.

Joe's Brooklyn Pizza Review and $30 Gift Card Giveaway

While I always look forward to trying new places - and I've got more coming up, soon - at some point I always return to old favorites.
Which is why the other day I stopped into Joe's Brooklyn Pizza for lunch with a couple of friends.
I always have a tough time at Joe's, deciding between its classic, New York style thin-crust slices and its thick-crust Sicilian squares. Add on top of that the stuffed-crust pizza and it can be a real, if happy, dilemma.
This time around, I went with a thin-crust "old fashioned" tomato pie slice, and a thick-crust grandma's slice. The toppings are similar: both include tomato sauce, extra virgin olive oil, garlic, shallots, basil, and pecorino Romano cheese, but the grandma's pizza adds processed mozzarella. Sometimes I want two contrasting slices, like a red and white slice, or a minimalist and loaded slice, but this time I went with my gut, and this is what I wanted.
I don't think I can say much about these that I haven't said before, because Joe's is consistently good. But this blog is an account of my pizza experiences, so I'll describe them.
The thin slice was crisp but foldable, black-blistered but not burnt. The toppings both balanced the crust and blended together beautifully. The red sauce built a base of tomatoey sweetness, offset by a sharp edge from the cheese. Add aroma and flavor from shredded basil, garlic and thinly sliced shallots, and I was in pizza heaven. 
As good as that slice was, it had a strong competitor in my "grandma's" slice. Although "New York style" is often thought to be synonymous with "thin crust," thick, pan-baked, Sicilian-style pizza is commonly found in NYC, and Joe's produces a fine example.
At my request, they cut this slice in half, because I thought I might save half for later, but that proved unnecessary, as I ended up eating both on the spot. But that's why it looks like two triangular slices in the photo.
A lot of "sheet" pizza is soft or oily, or both, underneath. This was neither. The underside was crisp and crackly, and the interior was chewy and breadlike. The addition of mozzarella added an extra dimension of flavor and texture that helped balance the thicker crust.
I didn't sample my friends' pepperoni slices, but I've included a photo. They've accompanied me on prior trips to Joe's, and they were as happy as ever with their slices. In fact, as I look at the photo, I'm Jonesing for a pepperoni slice.
This barely begins to describe the pizza options at Joe's. They also offer Buffalo chicken pizza, BBQ pork pizza, and several white pizzas. I've reviewed some of them before, here, for example, but I may tackle more of them next time. They also offer wings, which I have yet to try. That's another one for my to-do list.
The best way for you to sample Joe's offerings would be for free, right? So enter now to win a $30 gift card from Joe's. The card is good toward anything on Joe's menu, and it's good at both Joe's locations. I haven't been there yet -- yet another item on my list -- but Joe's has opened a second location at the corner of Routes 31 and 250 in Fairport.
To enter, send me an email at ROCPizzaGuy@gmail.com. Put "Joe's" in the subject line. Please include your name and address in the message. I will NOT use your information for anything but the contest, or give them to anyone else, ever. You may comment on this post here on the blog, but that will not get you entered in the giveaway.
I'll pick a winner at random, using random.org, on Wednesday, June 10, a little after noon. So email me by noon on June 10 to get your entry in. Win or lose, do yourself a favor and get to Joe's. And when you go, do me a favor by letting them know that you read about them on The Rochester NY Pizza Blog.

Joe's Brooklyn Pizza, 1100 Jefferson Road, Henrietta
585-424-JOES (5637)

Perinton Square Mall, 6720 Pittsford-Palmyra Road, Fairport
585-364-0361


Mon., Tue. 11 AM - 9 PM
Wed. - Sat. 11 AM - 10 PM
Sunday noon - 8 PM

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

Pontillo's, Mt. Hope

I've never intended to visit every location of every local pizzeria chain, but I have been slowly working my way to the various Pontillo's locations around town. I've heard time and again that different Pontillo's locations have better, or worse, or just different pizza, from others, and I pass by them often enough, and I've generally like their pizza enough, to want to try more.
Recently I stopped at the Mt. Hope Avenue Pontillo's. I got a cheese slice and a broccoli/tomato slice.
The cheese slice had a dry, firm underside that displayed some light charring. A little corn meal was visible underneath, as was a tiny bit of oven soot.
The crust was of thin to medium thickness, but this was a heavy slice. Some of the heft came from the thick, bready cornicione, but there was also a fair amount of cheese. It had migrated a bit away from one corner, due to the dough puffing up in the oven, but this slice was on the cheesy side, though not overly so. The cheese appeared to be all mozzarella, and had just slightly browned.

In contrast, the slice was relatively light on the sauce. It had been applied thinly and some of what was there had either evaporated or soaked into the top layer of the crust.

The broccoli/tomato slice was of comparable thickness, though with a cornicione that was thinner but more hollow and puffy than the cheese slice. The underside was well browned and crackly, though softer near the tip (not unusual, as whatever liquid there is on top tends to gravitate toward the center of the pie).  A little oil also seemed to have seeped in toward the middle of the pie on this one, perhaps after it was sliced, but it wasn't overly greasy.

The tomato slices were pretty flavorless, but I should've expected that. It's rare to get a fresh tomato at any sort of restaurant around here with much flavor. Your best bet is to look for smaller varieties, like plum, grape or cherry tomatoes.

The broccoli added more aroma and flavor. There wasn't a lot of it, but there was enough to notice. The cheese on this white slice was uniformly spread, and though it was a little oily on top, that's typical of a white pizza, which is often given a brushing or drizzle of oil before the toppings are applied. Even without that, melted fat that exudes from the cheese has no tomato sauce to mix with, so it's more noticeable on a white pizza.

To sum up, both slices were pretty good. The cheese slice could've used a tad more sauce, for my taste, and the tomato broccoli slice was a little on the bland side - good, but next time I'd give it a shot or two of grated Romano and red pepper flakes. Or I might go for a spinach and artichoke slice, which also looked good. These were better than average slices of pizza, and I'll give them both a B.
Pontillo's, 1687 Mount Hope Ave. 14620
(585) 442-6865
Hours: Mon. - Thu. 10 a.m. - 11 p.m., Fri. - Sat. 10 a.m. - midnight, Sun. noon -10 p.m.

Salvatore's, Mt. Read

Three years between visits is long enough for any pizzeria, and so I recently decided to pay a return visit to Salvatore's, which I hadn't been to since April 2009, shortly after I started writing this blog. I don't go out of my way to try chain pizzerias, but if they're local chains, I will check them out. And even with some 23 locations (if I counted right), Salvatore's is still pretty much a Rochester area chain.
On my prior visit, to the East Main Street location, I faulted my slice mainly for being bland. It had a very crunchy exterior and a very soft, almost too soft, interior. I gave it a C.
This time, I stopped by Salvatore's at another city location, on Mt. Read Boulevard. My "slice" (a quarter of a pie, cut down the middle) was pretty thick - about 5/8" for the crust - with a pancake-like bottom, meaning that there were dark brown spots where the dough was in direct contact with the cooking surface (a pan of some sort, I suppose), and other lighter-colored spots where it had bubbled up. It was not greasy, though I did detect a faint scent of cooking oil. The underside was slightly crisp, the edge more so.
The sauce on this slice had a thick consistency, with a cooked-tomato flavor. It was reminiscent of tomato paste - not because it was made from tomato paste, but when much of the moisture from tomato sauce has evaporated, you're going to end up with something that is like tomato paste.
The cheese, which seemed to be all mozzarella, was well browned, and easily peeled away from the crust. It was a little overdone, for my taste.
This pizza was somewhat different from the one I had back in '09. The crust wasn't as airy as that one, and the underside, though not oily, had a bit more of a "fried" aroma and appearance.
I wasn't crazy about this pizza, but that doesn't mean I'm done with Salvatore's. I see from their online pizza menu that they do a "Thin-Thin" pizza that I'm curious to try. Salvatore's also now offers gluten-free pizza, which I don't plan to try, but I know some people do look for it.
This wasn't a great slice of pizza, in my estimation. I don't mean to bash Salvatore's - I mean, there must be a lot of people who like their pizza - but I would describe this as a little better than convenience store pizza, which it rather resembled. There were no glaring faults, but there were several minor ones, from the less than stellar crust to the overbaked cheese to the dried-out tomato sauce. I have to give this one a D.
Salvatore's, 433 Mt. Read Blvd., Rochester
458-5555
Sun. noon - 9:05 p.m., Mon. - Thu. 7:05 a.m. - 9:05 p.m., Fri. 7:05 a.m. - 10:05 p.m., Sat. 10:05 a.m. - 10:05 p.m.

Cam's, Mt. Hope

A couple of people have asked me to review the Cam's on Mt. Hope Avenue near Elmwood. I've made a couple of stops there, so here's a report.
I have found Cam's to be pretty consistently good. As regular readers know, I'm no fan of chain pizzerias, but I have been impressed with the job that Cam's does of turning out reasonably good, New York style pizza, at numerous locations. And this was, generally, no exception.
On one visit, I got a cheese slice and a stuffed slice, something I don't remember seeing before at Cam's. It may have been there all along, I just never noticed.
The cheese slice was decent, with some spotty, light charring underneath. It did seem unusually thin, so much so that the crust lacked any bready interior, except along the edge. Maybe it was just me, that day, but although there was a bit of toastiness underneath, the crust also seemed a tad bland, as if there wasn't enough salt in the dough.
A good New York style slice should strike a balance between crispness and pliability. This came close, but the needle seemed to be tilting a little more toward the "pliable" end of the scale. So while the crust was OK, it mostly served as a platform for the sauce and the cheese.
Speaking of which, the sauce and cheese were pretty good. The sauce was slightly sweet, with some herbs in the background, and the slightly browned cheese had a slight tanginess that balanced it out well. (Cam's menu says that they use Grande® mozzarella, which many pizza connoisseurs consider among the best.)
Next up was a slice topped with cheese and pepperoni, and stuffed with sausage and pepperoni. As you can see from the cross-section photo, it wasn't as heavy, or thick, as it sounds. The bottom, and top, crusts were paper-thin, almost as if they'd managed to take the thin crust from my cheese slice and slice it in half horizontally. And the stuffing, while certainly noticeable, wasn't, well, overabundant. Don't get me wrong - it was a tasty, well-balanced slice. I'm just saying, don't confuse this with a deep-dish or casserole-type pizza.
That said, this was a heavier slice than the cheese slice, since it was mostly meat. The cheese layer was also thin but solid, covering the entire slice. Neither it nor the underside were as browned as on the cheese slice. The pepperoni slices on top were hardly necessary, but added some additional flavor.
On a separate visit, I got a Buffalo chicken slice, and a white-pizza veggie slice, which made for a more nutritionally balaced duo than on my other visit. The former came with finely diced chicken, tossed in a medium-hot Buffalo sauce, along with Ken's blue cheese dressing and mozzarella. A smattering of banana pepper rings added a vinegary edge and a bit more heat, although the overall flavor profile still hovered around medium. If you're tolerant enough of spicy food to be ordering one of these, then I'm sure you'd have no problem with the heat level on this one.
At first, I thought the veggie slice was Cam's take on a Margherita, but no, that's not basil, that's spinach, and that's feta, not fresh mozzarella.
Cam's veggie pizza is described as being topped with "fresh spinach on a bed of garlic butter & Grande mozzarella with your choice of tomatoes or artichokes, finished off with feta cheese crumbled over the top" (obviously this one had tomatoes). Those made for an enjoyable combination.
When I was a kid, I loved Popeye cartoons, but they never convinced me to eat spinach. In fact, I've long thought that Popeye cartoons were pro-spinach propaganda, but now I realize that they probably did more to turn me off spinach than anything else. I knew that if ate spinach (canned spinach, no less), my biceps wouldn't really blow up like a balloon, nor would I be able to turn an alligator into a matching set of luggage with one punch from my cinderblock-size fists, but I did get the impression from those cartoons that kids were expected to hate spinach, so I refused to touch the stuff.
Of course, the spinach on my family's dinner table at that time was usually the frozen kind, which is about as appetizing as the stuff you clean out of your gutter in late fall. So it was a revelation for me to discover, as an adult, that fresh spinach leaves are actually not bad. Not on my favorite-foods list, but not bad, and they contributed a nice flavor here, which was well complemented by the sharp, salty feta, garlic butter and tomatoes. Even the tomatoes were reasonably good - they looked to be Roma tomatoes, which in the off-season especially, are often a better choice than so-called "slicing" tomatoes.
I'm not going to individually rate all these pizza slices. I will say that in general, they were typical of Cam's - reliably good, if not quite top-tier, thin-crust pizza. The crusts were decent, reasonably crisp, with some light charring, and the toppings were of good quality and tasty. I'd say these average out to about a B-plus.
Cam's Pizzeria, 1290 Mt. Hope Ave., Rochester 14620
Tel.: 256-7437 (PIES)
Hours: Mon. - Sat. 10 a.m. - 11 p.m., Sun. noon - 10 p.m.