The Pizza Stop

From the time that I started this blog, and many times thereafter, I published posts about The Pizza Stop, primarily the original location on State Street. That was no coincidence, as it was (1) close to my workplace and (2) the made terrific New York style pizza, which is my favorite pizza style.

The original owner, Jim Staffieri, sold the business in 2023, at which time I was taking an extended break from blogging. 

After resurrecting this blog in 2025, I got a query from a reader asking whether I'd been back to The Pizza Stop, as some folks claimed that the quality of the pizza had slipped. I hadn't, largely because I retired last year, so it's no longer convenient.

But spurred by the reader's inquiry, I recently went back, for a lunchtime pizza to share with a friend. I ordered a medium pie, half regular pepperoni and half beef pepperoni. I also asked for it well done, thinking that since I wasn't planning on reheating it after getting it to my friend's house, the bottom would be a bit more crisp.

After picking it up, I put the pizza in an insulated pizza bag and got to my destination in about ten minutes. In general, it looked like the Pizza Stop pizza I remembered. But I suppose I gave it more scrutiny than I ordinarily would, so I did notice a few things.

The baking was just a bit uneven, with one side of the pie noticeably more charred underneath. Not to a great extent, but a bit. Not a criticism, but an observation. A few seconds is all it takes in a pizza oven, so I'm not faulting them.

The crust was crisp, but not crackly, with some charring, and quite thin. The sauce and cheese weren't skimpy, but not over-applied either, and balanced each other and the crust. The sauce had a basic, cooked-tomato flavor, without much in the way of herbal notes, which is as I recall from before. The cheese was melted and slightly browned, not stretchy but not congealed, as one finds with some lower-quality cheese.  

As for the pepperoni, I was intrigued by the choice of both regular and beef pepperoni. I've seen beef pepperoni, but never gave it much thought. It's like bologna: there's regular (usually a combination of beef and pork) and all-beef. Never really thought about it, frankly. I guess it's primarily for people who don't eat pork, for religious or cultural reasons. Or if you just prefer it.

I found the beef pepperoni chewier and meatier than the regular, which was saltier and oilier. It would be difficult to say I preferred one over the other. The regular was more what I would expect from a New York slice, and I did sop up some of the exuded oil with a napkin. The beef pepperoni had more flavor without the saltiness, but it wasn't "classic" NY style pepperoni.

So, how does this compare with The Pizza Stop pizza of old?

Alas, I cannot honestly say.  Memories fade, and nostalgia takes over. All I can do is describe my current impressions. I've re-read some of my old blog posts, but even so I can't fairly compare this to what I had so many years ago. Even having re-read them, some Pizza Stop pizzas looked a bit different from others.

With that in mind, this was good, for sure. As I said, it's been too long to compare it to pizza I last reviewed over nine years ago, but I enjoyed it. Despite my nitpicking from scrutinizing it more than I ordinarily would, it's still good NY style pizza.

The Pizza Stop

131 State St., Rochester

 Sunday 1:00PM - 6:00PM
Monday - Thursday 11:00AM - 6:00PM
Friday 11:00AM - 8:00PM
Saturday 12:00PM - 8:00PM

(585) 546-7252  

 

 

GG's, East Rochester

During my long hiatus from updating this blog, I never stopped wanting to try new pizzerias around Rochester, and I maintained a to-do list, which I updated any time I found out about a place I hadn't tried before. Although I would occasionally manage to cross one off the list, it wasn't often enough to prevent the list from getting longer and longer.

Now that I'm back to blog writing, I'm hoping to whittle down the list. My current goal is to visit at least one establishment a week. Last week, I got to work on that goal by ordering takeout from GG's Pizza in East Rochester, which came highly recommended by a friend and former coworker. 

Deciding what to order was a bit daunting, as they offer various specialty pizzas and 26 different toppings, as well as several options like well done, par bake (for reheating at home), square cut, thick crust, thin crust, etc.  

My first time trying a place, I try to keep it relatively simple, so I went with a large, half cup 'n' char pepperoni, half onions and green peppers. I did not specify any other options, and as to crust thickness the first time around I always want to try their default crust. 

Got it home in about 20 minutes, for family dinner. The three of us polished off eleven of the twelve slices (I'm not sure which of us was the slacker who only ate three.) 

As I mentioned, GG's offers thin and thick crust options, and this was indeed medium. Thick around the edge, quarter inch maybe inside the perimeter. 

I was a bit disappointed at the underside, which was heavily screen marked and a splotchy brown. It was firm but not particularly crisp underneath. But that was a relatively minor matter as the crust was quite good. 

My litmus test for pizza crust is, is it good enough to eat on its own? And this was. It was bready (which my autocorrect insists is not a word, but it is in my vocabulary), meaning it had the texture, aroma and flavor of freshly baked bread. 

The sauce was slightly sweet and applied in good balance with the crust. Another test that pizza has to meet is the balance test. The crust and whatever is on top of the crust, be it sauce, cheese, or other toppings, need to stay in balance. Now if you want to pile on the toppings and get five kinds of meat and extra cheese, go right ahead. I'm not about to tell you you're wrong. But that's not how I evaluate a basic pizza. 

The cheese was also good, nothing but processed mozzarella as far as I could tell, but it seemed to be a good quality cheese as it was nicely melted, without a lot of exuded fat. Pepperoni was crisp, and the onions and peppers were nicely done, and would have been quite at home on an Italian sausage sandwich.  

My takeaway was that this was a great example of Rochester-style pizza. Not that we have a particularly unique style of pizza; by "Rochester style" I mean, the style that came to be predominant around Rochester. A little thick on the crust, a little sweet on the sauce, a bit heavy on the cheese. In many ways, it's the template for what became American pizza. 

I'd certainly like to go back to GG's, to explore their other options, but as I said at the start I have a long list to get to, so it may be a while. Next time I might ask for the pie to be baked directly on the oven deck, to crisp up the bottom. A slice I reheated at home on a cast iron skillet was nicely crisp. I could also go with the par-baked option but generally I don't want to have to finish baking an entire pizza after I get home.

That, however, is a minor quibble in light of how enjoyable this was. For classic Rochester style pizza, I can well recommend GG's.

 GG's Pizzeria, 326 W. Commercial St., East Rochester

585-360-2050

Mon. - Thu.11:00 AM - 7:45 PM

Fri. & Sat. 11:00 AM - 8:45 PM

Sun. 12:00 PM - 7:45 PM

Pizza Stop Pub and Bistro, Pulteneyville

 On March 5, 2009, I posted a review of the Pizza Stop on State Street in Rochester.

A lot of water has passed over the bridge and under the dam since then. The Pizza Stop is still on State Street, despite suffering through a lengthy construction project, but it's also opened and closed some other locations.

One of which is in Pultneyville, a hamlet in the town of Williamson, on Lake Ontario about halfway between Webster and Sodus Point. I have an aversion to the term "underrated," but Pultneyville may be underrated. It's an off-the-beaten-path hamlet with a small inlet and a few historic buildings, and it was the site of a battle in the War of 1812, in 1814 (the result of which is disputed, but as far as I'm concerned, we won, dammit).

The Pizza Stop opened its first full-scale restaurant and bar in Pultneyville in 2020. You can read the story here. It also seems to go by the name of the Local on the Lake. I think they're trying to be known as more than just a pizza place. 

After many years of it being on my to-do list, I made it there recently,
with wife and 22-year-old in tow. 

It's in what I assume must be a very old building next to the inlet. There was a takeout counter on the first floor. We were dining in, so we made our way upstairs. We passed the small bar area, which was populated by what seemed like a few regulars, and got seated at a table near a window looking over the inlet and the lake in the distance.

We ordered three pizzas:  a small chicken/bacon/ranch, a medium Grandma's, and a medium NY style cheese pie. 

All were good; all tasty. But they were, I'm sorry to say, not as good as the original, i.e., the State Street location.

Why? The crust. To be fair, this pizza came to us straight out of the oven. When I've been to the Pizza Stop, it's often been for a slice, which gets a brief reheating, which crisps up the crust. New York "slice joints" do it that way on purpose--take the pie out a little short of doneness, so you can put slices back in for a quick heat-up.

But if you're serving a whole pie, maybe give it an extra minute or two. That would've helped here. With a thin crust, you're not going to get a lot of interior, so you really need that external crunch and char, and that was lacking here. Also, even a thin crust can have some complexity from a long, slow rise, and I didn't get that either. 

Now--we did take the leftovers home, and I reheated them in the oven, on a well-heated steel, and they were much better. So the potential was there. But that's the thing with pizza. Timing can be everything. 

It was an enjoyable experience and the pizza was good. I'd go back, but next time I might ask for the pizza "well done."

The Pizza Stop & The Local on the Lake

4135 Lake Rd., Williamson, NY  

 315-904-4407

Wednesday    4–10 PM
Thursday    4–10 PM
Friday    4 PM–midnight
Saturday    11 AM–midnight

 Read more about them here.  

PizzaPie Pizzeria

After getting a haircut at the barbershop I've been going to for 30+ years, Winton Hair Stylist (I get no remuneration from them, they don't even know about my blog), I decided to stop by a nearby pizzeria that was on my to-do list, PizzaPie Pizzeria.

They opened at noon on this Tuesday, and I got there around 12:10. No slices available just then, but there were some on the way. I got a cheese slice to go.

The first thing I noticed was how thin it was. It passed the fold test (I could fold it without it flopping down), and there was a bit of crackling underneath, but it was so thin that I could easily fold it onto itself. It was fresh out of the oven, so it didn't get a re-crisping, but I think the reason it passed the fold test is that it weighed so little. 

The sauce was so lightly applied it might've been painted on with a brush, but it had a pleasantly tangy flavor, and it was in good proportion to the thin crust.  The cheese, I wasn't so impressed with. It was also lightly applied, which was OK, but instead of melting had dried out and shrunk along the edges of the shreds. I think it was part-skim (not the best choice for pizza, in my opinion), and it did add a bit of flavor but it didn't enhance the slice the way that well-melted, quality mozzarella would.

Having written all this, it seems to me that it comes off as if I didn't like this pizza. That's not the case. For what it was, it wasn't bad. 

The shortcoming, to me, is what it was, which was a bare-bones, dare I say "cheap" slice. Super-thin, to the point that there was no interior to speak of. Not much sauce, and what cheese there was struck me as the budget stuff. It reminded me of the "dollar" slices you can find in New York City. Not bad, really, but not bad for the price. (I don't recall exactly what I paid for this slice but I think it was around $3.50.)

This was just one visit and one slice. Maybe another visit, or an entire pie would yield a different result. And I must re-emphasize that I didn't dislike this pizza. It was OK. But just OK.

PizzaPie Pizzeria, 1827 East Ave., Rochester

585-448-0141

 Monday Closed
Tuesday 12pm - 8pm
Wednesday 12pm - 8pm
Thursday 12pm - 8pm
Friday 12pm - 9pm
Saturday 12pm - 9pm
Sunday 12pm - 8pm

 

Red Zone

This story starts in the first decade of the 20th Century. Well, sort of.

In 1904 or thereabouts, a building was built on East Main Street in Rochester, that became home to Sibley's department store. 

For those who are too young to know, department stores were places where they sold a bunch of stuff--in person, not online--arranged by "departments." They were sort of like Walmart except they had high-end stuff, and nobody was embarrassed to admit they bought their clothes there. And they were often located right in the middle of cities. Where did people park, you might ask? On the street, maybe, but many shoppers didn't have to worry about parking, because there was good, reliable mass transit. 

Eventually Amazon and Walmart drove everyone else out of business, and all the buildings that used to house department stores became vacant or fell into disrepair, everyone who had the means to do so fled to the suburbs, and so on. (OK, I'm oversimplifying, but I'm trying to get to the point, which is to get us back to the Sibley Building.) 

Sibley's was huge for many years, but then declined, got bought by another company, and closed in the 1990s. So now we had this beautiful, historic building in the heart of downtown Rochester with its namesake tenant gone. 

In 2012, the building was bought by Winn Companies, which has since redeveloped the building for multiple uses, including retail, office and residential space. 

Part of that includes "Mercantile on Main," which I suppose could be described as a food court, but that wouldn't really do it justice. Yes, there are a number of walk-up, takeout places, but there's also a bar serving Spanish and Mediterranean dishes, the setting of the Sibley Building atrium is quite pleasant, and you won't find any national chain establishments. I believe they are all local and one of a kind.

To my way of thinking, no food court, high-end, low-end or otherwise, is worth a damn without pizza.  In Mercantile on Main, we have Red Zone, which offers a variety of thin-crust slices.

First time around, I like to stick with the basics, so I got a cheese slice. 

Hmm. There were things I liked, and things I didn't. It resembled a New York-style slice, but judged by that standard it fell short. It passed the fold test, meaning I could fold it and hold it horizontally without it flopping over, and the underside was dry, not oily (a good thing), but it was more browned than charred and it was not at all crackly. I could not only fold it, I could roll it up (not a good thing). Although it's easy to overlook the crust--which is why pizza chains make such a big deal about overloading their pizza with toppings and stuffing the crust, to distract you from how crappy the crust is--the crust is the backbone of every pizza, and this crust didn't wow me.

No complaints about the sauce or cheese. They balanced each other well. The cheese was nicely melted and both were added in good proportions to each other and to the crust. The sauce seemed a bit on the sweet rather than acidic/tangy side.

This is an observation rather than a complaint, but the slice had a prominent flavor of what I will generically call "Italian" herbs. I didn't attempt to dissect them into individual components (oregano, basil, etc.), but it was quite noticeable. At first I thought it was the sauce but there were visible dried herbs on top, so maybe someone just had a heavy hand with the herb shaker. Again, I'm not necessarily complaining, as it didn't overpower the other components and it certainly gave the slice a distinctive flavor. And where pizza is concerned, I appreciate distinctiveness.

I came away from this thinking, this was good, but it could've been a lot better. Red Zone is relatively new, and far be it from me to tell them how to make pizza, but I think a few tweaks would be all it takes to elevate their pizza significantly. 

Just some thoughts, but I wonder about the oven temperature. For thin crust, you generally want high temp, short baking time. Could they crank up the temp a bit? 

I frankly didn't notice what type of oven they use, but for personal reasons I find myself in the Sibley Building occasionally so next time I'll take a look. That may affect what they can do, temperature-wise.

Dough preparation is also a question. Again I will defer to the pros but a long ferment is generally going to result in a better crust. If a pizzeria advertises that they make their dough every day, on the same day that they bake it, that's not a good thing. Dough needs time.

And maybe take it easy on the herbs. If you want to make that a part of your signature, fine. I was good with it. But I'd solicit some opinions from your customers.

I enjoyed my pizza, make no mistake. I just thought, a little bit of adjustment and they can go from pretty good to very good or great.

 Red Zone Pizza, at Mercantile on Main

240 East Main St., Rochester

Mon. - Fri. 11 a.m. - 2 p.m.

Leo's Bakery and Deli, East Rochester

My wife, daughter and I had lunch on Sunday at Leo's Bakery and Deli in East Rochester. It's a local institution going back to the 1940s, but I believe this was my first visit.

My main reason for going there was to try their pizza. My understanding from news reports is that it's a reincarnation of Surace's pizza, which used to exist on West Commercial Street. Surace's, which I reported on in 2009, suffered a devastating fire in 2015.

I say that's my understanding because I haven't found any mention of it on Leo's website. And when I called Leo's some weeks back I was told, rather curtly, that no, it's not officially on the menu. I got the impression that they seemed to be de-emphasizing the pizza, or at least the Surace's connection. That's all I can tell you.
In terms of the physical layout, Leo's has a bakery/grocery side, adjoining the dining area and food counter. Both were clean, attractive and comfortable.
We entered through the bakery side, and headed for the food counter, where I spotted three pizzas available for slices: cheese, pepperoni and Buffalo chicken. I got a cheese slice.

Based on my 2009 Surace's review, it was pretty similar to what I had then. Thin, firm but not crackly underneath, with a light dusting of flour on the bottom. And as before, some oil toward the tip of the slice, i.e. the center of the pie, which probably seeped down after the pie was sliced. But it wasn't greasy, and the crust had a pleasant aroma of fresh bread.

The slice was a bit on the salty side, from the sauce, I think. I didn't especially mind it, as I like salt (probably more than I should), but it was noticeable. Overall, think more salty than sweet. The cheese struck a nice balance between melted and chewy, with some lactic-tangy flavor.

My wife and daughter opted for a wrap and sub, respectively. I didn't try either so I can't say much about those other than that everybody seemed to like what they got. 

Aside from what we had, I was struck by the breadth of Leo's offerings. The cookie display was particularly impressive, but they also had a variety of breads and pastries, cold cuts, sausage, and imported foods. You can read about all their offerings on Leo's website.

In 2009, I gave my Surace's slice a B-minus. When I assign grades these days, I try to avoid pluses and minuses, as I think that gives a sense of exactitude that is unwarranted for something this subjective, but I feel comfortable giving this slice a B. It was good, basic pizza, fresh and flavorful.

Leo's Bakery and Deli

101 Despatch Drive, East Rochester

Tel. (585) 249-1000

Fax: (585) 249-9231

 

Mon. - Sat. 8-8, Sun. 8-6

Peppino's, Revisited

It's hard to believe that it's been about five months since I posted on Facebook about a slice that I got at Peppino's, which is in Chili, just off Chili Ave./33A. Peppino's was recommended to me by a reader, whom I thank once again. I enjoyed the slice, and made a mental note to go back for a full pie.
A couple weeks ago, I finally made good on that, and picked up a pie to go.
The first question was what to order. Peppino's has some interesting specialty pizzas on the menu, including a potato pie and my old standby, the Margherita, but this was a dinner pizza for my family and me, and since it was Thanksgiving eve, we didn't want leftovers. So I went with half pepperoni and half green peppers and onions. My daughter likes the former, my wife the latter, and I'll eat either.
Allow me to digress for a moment and say that I would also have been happy with half of either, and plain cheese on the other half, but in my experience that's a bad decision. The toppings tend to act as a blanket on the cheese. So a half-cheese/half something-else pie never comes out right. Either the extra toppings don't cook enough, or the cheese gets too brown.
This pie had a thin crust, with a darkly browned but not charred underside. The crust had a pleasant chewiness, and a crisp cornicione. The bottom was a little oily in spots, but I think that was due to oil that had seeped down after the pie was sliced, and mostly came from the cheese and pepperoni on top. It too about 20 minutes to get this pie home, which was likely a factor as well.
The balance and flavor were good. This wasn't a particularly cheese-heavy pie, but the cheese was a standout; nicely melted and smooth.
The sauce was pretty straightforward, with a tomatoey-sweet flavor accented by a bit of saltiness, and was applied in good proportion to the other components. The pepperoni was crisp but not overdone, and the peppers and onions were cooked enough to be softened, but they retained a bit of bite.
Peppino's pies come in medium, large and half-sheet sizes, with 22 toppings to pick from, including house-made ground sausage, fresh mozzarella, sun-dried tomatoes, and anchovies (which are all too rare on local pizza menus). The menu is rounded out with a mix of wings, several types of arancini (rice balls), sandwiches, and, incongruously but welcome, deep-fried, Southwest corn fritters, which are made with jalapenos, bacon and cream cheese.
To get back to the pizza -- my overall impression was that this pizza could be described as broadly in the New York style. Since Peppino's doesn't claim to make New York style pizza, I'm not going to judge it against the parameters for that style. It's a thin-crust pizza, and a good one. This was a cut above average, so I feel comfortable giving it a "B."

Peppino's Pizzas
25 Chestnut Ridge Road
(585) 247-8600

Tue. - Thu. 11 a.m. - 9 p.m.
Fri. 11 a.m. - 10 p.m.
Sat. 3 - 10 p.m.
Sun. noon - 10 p.m.
Mon. closed

Papa G's, Penfield

I saw an ad recently for a new pizzeria, Papa G’s, on Linden Avenue in Penfield. The site has been home to several pizza places over the years, including Bonafede’s and Gianna’s. I’ve also seen a reference to a place called Linden Hill Pizzeria & Deli at the same location, but if it ever existed, I wasn’t aware of it at the time. Most recently, this spot housed Lisa’s Quality Catering and Café, which I believe is still an ongoing enterprise, but which is now strictly a catering business. At any rate, I don’t think Lisa’s ever offered pizza. Point is, the site has seen a lot of businesses come and go.

Ordinarily, I’d have to wonder why somebody would plunge in where so many others have come and gone, but I’m not sure that all of those places literally failed. People can sell a business, retire, or otherwise move on, for all sorts of reasons. But if somebody else wants to go in and offer pizza, I’ll be there, eventually.

Sometimes, when a place changes hands, not much changes other than the name. Not so here. I reviewed Bonafede’s in 2010, and Gianna’s in 2011, and the pizza was qualitatively different both times.

That pattern continues to hold at Papa G’s. I got a single pepperoni slice (the only variety available during my lunchtime visit), and that was plenty for a satisfying lunch. The slice was quite thick, much more than at Bonafede’s or Gianna’s. The screen-marked underside was rather pale, but the interior had a pleasant, breadlike aroma, flavor and texture. The corncione had a good exterior crunch and that same bready interior. I liked it but I was wishing I'd asked for a cup of dipping sauce.

Topside, the crust was covered with a moderate layer of sauce. A few bits of dried herbs were visible, but this wasn’t a highly seasoned sauce. It had a good balance of saltiness and tomatoey sweetness.

Atop that lay the cheese, of mostly uniform thickness, with a few small pockets of sauce along the rim and near the tip. It was OK, but the texture wasn’t particularly smooth or “melty.” I can’t say for certain what it was, but I think a full-fat, whole-milk cheese would have improved things.

The pepperoni slices were thin and mildly spicy.

So, some pros (nice interior on the crust, toppings well balanced, sauce had a pleasant flavor) and a couple cons (pale bottom, cheese could’ve been better). But all in all, not a bad slice by any stretch, and an interesting contrast to the pizza that was served here by Papa G’s predecessors.

Papa G’s Catering & Café, 514 Linden Ave., Penfield (just off Rt. 441)

585-673-2949 (café) 585-203-2090 (catering)

Café open for lunch Mon. - Thu. 10 a.m. - 3 p.m., Fri. 10 a.m. - 9 p.m. (catering hours may differ, I don’t know)

The Pizza Stop, One More Time - And a Giveaway to Boot

When I started this blog in 2009, one of the first places I reviewed was The Pizza Stop in downtown Rochester. That was no accident, because The Pizza Stop was one of my favorite pizzerias. And it remains so.
Interestingly, that post, which I published on March 5, 2009, remains one of my most read posts of all time (oddly enough, the most-read is a post about a patent for a pepperoni-making machine).
As I wrote recently, I have decided to stop writing The Rochester NY Pizza Blog on a regular basis. There will, I think, be a few more posts in the future, but I wanted to do one last review, before I hang it up. So what better way to do it than to go back to The Pizza Stop?
This review actually encompasses two recent visits. A few weeks ago I picked up two pies at The Pizza Stop: a Chicken Spinoccoli, which is a white pizza, and a red pie with chicken, pepperoni and bacon. My wife and daughter made those selections, respectively. But I was happy with both.
On the second visit, I got back to basics, with a large pepperoni pie that I shared with two friends for lunch. I'll get to each in turn.
If I could only eat red or white pizza for the rest of my life, I'd choose red, hands down. That said, I like a good white pizza now and then, and this was very good indeed. The underside was crisp and charred, and the toppings were flavorful and well complemented each other. The mozzarella was melt-in-your-mouth smooth, and the other toppings, chicken, broccoli, spinach, extra virgin olive oil and garlic, made for an outstanding combination. I can't say I missed the tomato sauce.
My daughter selected the three-meat pie. I'll have to admit, it's gratifying that I haven't raised a tofu-eating vegan (just kidding!). But to be honest, while I am a full-fledged carnivore, I generally do not much like meat-heavy pizza. That said, this was tasty, not greasy, and well executed. The trio of meats that my daughter chose seemed odd to me at first, but the thick chunks of chicken held their own quite well against the spicy pepperoni and the smoky bacon. And I did grab a second slice before I was done.
On my more recent visit, I got a large pepperoni pie, pictured at top. Since I've written at length about The Pizza Stop's pizza in the past, I won't go on at length about it, other than to say that it was a fine example of The Pizza Stop's usual, reliable, classic New York style pizza. Well balanced and flavorful, with a thin, bready, crisp crust.
While I was waiting for my pie to come out of the oven, I had a chance for a brief conversation with owner Jim Staffieri. Business continues to be good -- no surprise there -- but fans should take note of The Pizza Stop's frozen stuffed pizzas, which are made in house and are currently available only in house. Eventually you may see these in your local supermarket, but for now you'll have to buy them at The Pizza Stop itself.
Having decided to take a respite from keeping up this blog on a regular schedule, I may find myself going back to The Pizza Stop more often than in the past. In fact, I expect to hit several of my old favorites more often than I used to, now than I don't feel the pressure to keep up with the newest pizzerias. And I may post about them, now and then, either here or on my Facebook page. But for now, let me sign off on my regular reviews by saying what I said in 2009. For its classic New York style pizza, The Pizza Stop remains one of my all-time favorites.
Anyone under the age of 40 (maybe 50) may be unlikely to get this cultural reference, but as Lt. Columbo used to say, "Just one more thing."  Jim graciously agreed to donate a $20 gift certificate for me to give away to a reader. So as in the past, all you have to do to enter to win is to shoot me an email at ROCPizzaGuy@gmail.com. Put "Pizza Stop" in the subject line. I'll need your name and mailing address too, which I will under no circumstances share with anyone else.
I usually run these for a week, but since we're coming up on Thanksgiving, I'll extend the deadline to Monday, November 28, at noon. I'll pick a winner shortly thereafter. Until then, eat good pizza!

The Pizza Stop, 131 State St., Rochester
(585) 546-7252

Monday - Thursday, 10 a.m. - 7 p.m.
Friday, 10 a.m. - 8 p.m.
Saturday, 2 p.m. - 8 p.m

Pizza Paul's, Reconsidered

Way back in 2009, I did a post pitting against each other two Geneseo pizzerias, Mama Mia's and Pizza Paul's. In that post, I gave Mama Mia's an A, and Pizza Paul's a B-minus.
Since then, I've generally considered Mama Mia's my go-to place in Geneseo. But on a recent Sunday afternoon, when I was in Geneseo with my wife and daughter, I decided it was time to stop back at Pizza Paul's. And I'm glad I did.
I got one pepperoni slice. It was markedly different from the slice that I got back in 2009. Or at least it seemed so to me.
That slice, at that time, seemed like a poorer version of Mia's pizza. This time around, it struck me as qualitatively different from Mia's, but equally good.
The crust was between thin and medium thick, with a big, puffy cornicione. It had the flavor and texture of freshly baked bread, right out of the oven, which is basically what it was. I tore the crust open to get a picture to show the interior.
The toppings well complemented the crust. The smooth layer of mozzarella was nearly covered by the thin slices of pepperoni,  and the medium-thick sauce was noticeably present.
The underside was more browned than charred (sorry, I neglected to get a photo), as was the cornicione. I know that at times I (and other reviewers) wax rhapsodic about charred undersides, but I do not think that every pizza needs to be charred underneath, anymore than I think that every loaf of bread should be charred or crackly on the outside.
What I don't like is pizza that's oily or flabby or lifeless. And this was none of those things. The uniformly browned crust allowed some of the nuances of the baked dough to come through, and made me realize, again, that pizza is not a one-size-fits-all proposition.
We also got an order of Nutella-dipped nuggets, which I think had a humorously suggestive name. If you like fried dough and/or Nutella, you'd like these.
Pizza Paul's pizzas come in 10, 13, 16 and 18 inch pies, as well as sheets. They offer 17 toppings and 7 gourmet pizzas. They also do regular and boneless wings (7 sauces), subs, "subzones" (a cross between a sub and a calzone), and a bunch of fried sides, including an interesting array of "gourmet fries," including Buffalo Blue, Greek and taco fries. Check out the full menu here.
Now I find myself in a bit of a quandary when I'm in Geneseo, wanting pizza. But it's a good quandary to be in. New York style at Mia's, or a breadier, WNY style at Paul's. Local residents and students should consider themselves fortunate that they have two A-rated pizzerias, across the street from each other.

Pizza Paul's, 110 Main St., Geneseo
(585) 243-3690
Sun. - Thu. 11 a.m. - 11 p.m., Fri. & Sat. 11 a.m. - midnight, till 3 a.m. while college is in session

Second location at 5808 Big Tree St. in Lakeville, (585) 346-2680

Pie Time, Lake Ave.

I stopped recently at Pie Time, just off Lake Avenue in Charlotte. The site has been home to several pizzerias over the years.
I got there around lunchtime, and a pie was just coming out of the oven. It was a half-cheese, half-pepperoni pie, and I opted for a slice of the latter.
First impressions. Pizza tends to be at its most aromatic when it's freshly baked, and with this one I caught a whiff of garlic. Overall, not a bad looking slice, at first glance at least.
A check of the underside revealed a couple of things. It was unevenly browned,with some areas dark brown and some pale.
The crust was also uneven in terms of thickness, as shown in the bottom photo. One side of the slice, paper thin, the other rather thick, probably close to an inch. Even on the thick side, though, it did not seem to have risen much; it wasn't dense, in a heavy, leaden kind of way, but it wasn't bubbly either. The interior was what I would describe as cottony.
The edge was formed into a cornicione of uniform thickness. It was browned on top, pale underneath, with a crunchy exterior. There was a smidgen of oven soot along one part of the underside.
On top, the cheese was a little browned and congealed. It was chewy, but not very smooth or stretchy.
There wasn't much sauce to speak of. What there was had a thick consistency, with a generous amount of dried herbs (although I can't say whether the herbs were in the sauce to begin with or were sprinkled on after the sauce was applied).
The cup and char pepperoni slices were well crisped along the edge, tasty and not overly oily.
Pie Time pizzas come in 10-, 12- and 16-inch sizes, as well as sheets. They offer 16 toppings. A cheese slice will set you back $3, not bad for a slice this big.
They also do wings, calzones, stromboli, subs and wraps, fish fry, "plates," a few dinners (chicken parm, spaghetti and meatballs and the like), and the usual sides:  fries, onion rings, etc. Although Pie Time's website still shows them opening at 3 p.m., the menu I picked up has them open daily from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. As I mentioned, I got there around noon and a lunchtime pie was in the oven.
Reading back over what I've written, I get the sense that this review makes this slice sound worse than it was. I started with my first impressions, and I'll close with my overall impression. It wasn't bad, but there were a lot of flaws. No one defect stood out or ruined this slice for me, but put all the little stuff together and you've got a slice that just wasn't too good. I have to give this a D.

Pie Time, 4410 Lake Ave.
434-4766 (phone) 434-5464 (fax)

Open daily 11 a.m. - 11 p.m.

Arthur Jaxon

I stopped the other day at Arthur Jaxon, a new, family-run place on West Ridge Road. It's in a small stand-alone building in West Ridge Plaza, a little west of Dewey Ave. It's pretty much a takeout place, for now at least.
The establishment's full name is Arthur Jaxon Slice & Scoop, which reflects its two main offerings:  pizza and ice cream. On this occasion, I only sampled the pizza.
They had plain cheese and pepperoni slices available; I opted for the former. For $2.50, it was a pretty hefty slice.
The crust was generally on the thin side, with a lightly browned bottom, crisscrossed by screen marks. The interior had a pleasant, fresh-bread aroma, flavor and texture, which was most noticeable in the thicker area near the outer edge. It wasn't as crisp as I would've liked -- a couple minutes' reheating would likely have helped on that score -- but it tasted good, and it wasn't soggy.
Balance is key with pizza, and the crust, sauce and cheese on this slice complemented each other well. The sauce had a bright, tomatoey flavor, with a salty edge. A moderate layer of processed mozzarella was well melted and creamy. It was good cheese, as the individual bits had melted into each other to form a smooth whole, rather than pulling apart and exuding oil, as the lower-quality stuff tends to do. Pockets of exposed sauce added some interest with each bite.
Arthur Jaxon offers pizza in 14", 18" and sheet sizes, with an impressive variety of options:  white or whole wheat crust; red, pink or white sauce; four cheeses; ten meat toppings; eleven veggie toppings; and eight specialty pizzas. They also do baked chicken fingers and boneless wings (five sauces), calzones, a few other baked sides, and the aforementioned ice cream. The ice cream comes from Perry's, which I love, as I've said before.
This was a good slice of pizza. If I have any issues with it, it would just be that I'd have liked the crust a little crisper. Next time I'd ask for my slice to get rewarmed to medium-well. All in all, though, a very nice slice, and well-made pizza. Arthur Jaxon is off to a good start on what I hope will be a long-running business.

Arthur Jaxon Slice & Scoop, 630 West Ridge Rd. (in West Ridge Plaza)

(585) 581-0222

Open daily 11 a.m. - 9:30 p.m.

Empire Pizza Update and $25 Giveaway

I recently had lunch with a longtime reader, Craig Ephraim, at Empire Pizza, which serves New York-style pizza from its shop on Empire Boulevard. Yesterday I published a guest post by Craig, which you can see here.
I got a couple of slices. From the eight pies available, I selected a meatball Parmesan slice and a white slice with spinach, tomato and ricotta. Both were very good.
The crusts were a shade thicker than some New York pizza I've had, but still within the general parameters of the style. The undersides were well darkened, to the point of charring on the white slice.
Texturally, these were right on the mark. The bottom surface was dry to the touch and crackly, but the interior was chewy. When folded, the slices cracked but did not break. The thin corniciones were bubbly and crisp.
Both slices were also quite tasty. I loved the meatball parm's combination of meatball chunks, cheese, red sauce, and the all-important garlic. The white slice was a close cousin to Margherita pizza, with spinach and ricotta standing in for basil and fresh mozzarella. Both slices had been given a generous sprinkling of dried oregano.
Two slices are generally more than adequate for me, at lunchtime, at least if I hope to get any work done that afternoon, but owner Ken Fournier was kind enough to bring over a slice of one of Empire's latest creations, a BLT pizza. It's topped with ranch sauce, bits of real bacon, sliced tomatoes, and freshly shredded lettuce. I've liked BLTs since childhood, and the flavor here pretty much nailed it. My only caveat would be that this would best be eaten soon after it's made, while the lettuce is still crunchy, as it was here. In other words, this might not make for great leftover pizza the next morning, by which time the lettuce will have wilted. So eat it up when you get it.
I won't bother to recite Empire's entire menu, since you can peruse it here, but I'll give you the quick rundown: NY style pies (12", 14" and 18"), Sicilian pizza in half and full sheets, 22 toppings, and 11 specialty pizzas. They also do baked wings, salads, calzones and garlic twists.
If you haven't been to Empire pizza lately, keep in mind that they moved across the street in 2015. They are now in Sunrise Plaza, which is on the east side of Empire Boulevard.
So about that giveaway. Ken also generously agreed to donate a $25 gift card to one lucky reader.  By now, you probably know the routine. Send an email to me at ROCPizzaGuy@gmail.com, by noon, next Friday, August 5. Be sure to put "Empire" in the subject line. I'll choose a winner at random that afternoon. My thanks again to Ken and Empire Pizza for this donation.

Empire Pizza, 1778 Empire Blvd. (Sunrise Plaza)

(585) 347-4050


Tue. - Thu. 11 - 8, Fri. 11 - 9, Sat. 11 - 8, Sun. noon - 8
(Closed Mondays)

La Paloma, Alden

Always on the lookout for pizzerias I haven't been to, I stopped recently at La Paloma in Alden, which is about an hour west of Rochester. No, I didn't drive all that way just to go to La Paloma. I happened to be in the area, and I was hungry, so when I saw that magic word, "Pizzeria," well, ...
I got two pepperoni slices. They were average size, and what I'd call medium to thick. The undersides had a pancake-like appearance, but were reasonably crisp and not oily to the touch. The crust was OK, with a nice chew and a hint of fresh bread in the aroma. The cornicione was crunchy, with a toasty flavor.
The slices were topped with a fairly thick layer of mozzarella, which was nicely melted, if a bit congealed. It was applied in good proportion to the thick crust. The sauce, however, seemed to get a little lost between the crust and the cheese. To the extent that I could taste it, it seemed like a pretty basic, mildly flavored tomato sauce, a little sweet but not overly so. The pepperoni was fine, if unremarkable. A faint hint of oregano on my palate rounded things out.
La Paloma's menu includes pizza, pasta, subs, wings, and salads. No specialty pizzas, but they do offer 18 pizza toppings, and white or red sauce.
"Square" pizza seems to be something of a specialty at La Paloma. Their website says that they are "the only place in town to get 4 different size square pizza's [sic] if you like a thick crust square is the way to go."
I just stopped in for a couple of slices, so I chose from what was available, none of which was square. Even these were on the thick side, so presumably the square pizzas are quite thick indeed. But they do emphasize that they can make whatever kind of pizza you'd like. I quote again from their website:

Pizza made the old fashioned way, hand tossed using a recipe that has been handed down through the family for years. Do you like a thin New York City style crust or is a deep dish, thick crust pizza your preference? Is it cheese and pepperoni, or fresh veggies, white or traditional? Square or round, small, or large spicy cup and char pepperoni or traditional? No matter what your taste LaPaloma's will make it your way.

If I lived closer to Alden, I'd go back before long and try some of those other styles. But I don't, so I'll have to satisfy myself with these, which weren't bad at all. I'd characterize this as straightforward, basic WNY pizza, and there's nothing wrong with that. 

LaPaloma Pizzeria
13268 Broadway
Alden, NY 14004

Phone: 716-937-9151

Tue.- Fri: 11 a.m. - 9 p.m.
Saturday: 3:00 - 9:00
Sunday 1:00 - 8:00
 
Lunch Hour Specials Tue. - Fri.,11 am - 1:30 pm

Email: lapalomapizzeria@yahoo.com
Facebook: facebook.com/LaPalomaPizzeria
Twitter @lapalomapizza
Instagram @lapalomapizza

John and Mary's, Batavia

A few weeks ago I was in the Batavia area, so I stopped in to John and Mary's for a slice. I've seen the name before, but knew little of the history or the details of this place, which has several Buffalo-area locations.
The Batavia location apparently opened in 2014, but according to one site, John and Mary's traces its origins back to a hot dog stand opened in 1952 by John and Mary Guida. I don't see any connection to the Rochester-area Guida's pizzeria chain, and my pepperoni slice was dissimilar from the pizza I've had from Guida's.
This slice, which I had rewarmed in the oven, was on the thick side. From the appearance of the underside, which was a spotty mix of golden-brown and paler areas, it looked to have been baked in a pan. It was faintly oily to the touch, which also suggests the use of a pan.
The bottom surface wasn't overly oily (although it did leave a sizable oil mark in the box, so maybe the box had absorbed some of the oil), but it was more crunchy than crisp. When dough is baked directly on a hot oven deck or pizza stone, it tends to get crackly crisp. On an oiled pan, it tends to develop more of a crunch, especially where the dough is in directly contact with the pan.
On top, the mozzarella cheese was nicely melted. It was generously added, in good balance with the thick crust. I liked its smooth, stringy-stretchy texture, though it didn't add much flavor. A bit of Provolone or Romano would've been a welcome addition.
The sauce wasn't skimpy, but it was a relatively minor player. Some of it had been absorbed into the top of the crust. What remained seemed to be a pretty straightforward, slightly sweet tomato sauce, but honestly I couldn't much taste it. The wide slices of pepperoni were good and crisp, and added a nice flavor punch.
Turning to the menu (available on their Facebook page), John and Mary's ten specialty pizzas incorporate toppings that aren't among the nine a la carte toppings. The Hawaiian pizza, for example, includes ham, but ham is not listed among the extra toppings that you can request on a basic cheese pizza. I'm not sure how they would handle it if you asked. Hopefully it wouldn't turn out like the diner scene in the Jack Nicholson classic Five Easy Pieces.
Aside from pizza, J&M does wings, burgers, salads, tacos and fried seafood. They also offer "subs" and "hoagies." The main distinction appears to be that "subs" include lettuce, tomato, cheese and dressing, while "hoagies" do not, although they may include other items. So for instance a steak sub comes with lettuce, tomato, etc., while a steak hoagie comes with cheese, fried onions and sweet peppers. (Just read the menu.) There are daily specials, and they deliver all day, every day.
My pizza slice was reasonably good. The crust was OK, although I confess I tend to prefer the crackly, toasty, slightly charred variety over the golden brown, pan-baked type. But plenty of places do it like this, so presumably many people like it this way.
That aside, the cheese was good, the pepperoni was crisp and flavorful, and the components were well balanced. It was a solid, if unspectacular, example of WNY pizza. I'd give it a C.

John & Mary's Restaurant, 3711 W. Main St. Rd., Batavia
(585) 343-2101
Sat. - Thu. 11 a.m. - 9 p.m., Fri. 11 a.m. - 10 p.m.