Argyle Grill at Eagle Vale

I'm not sure what or who first alerted me to this, but some time ago I discovered that the Argyle Grill at Eagle Vale golf course has pizza on its menu. So I made a point to go there, and I eventually did, on a lunch date with friends.
I opted for the "Margarita," and one of my friends got a pizza as well - the "Argyle Classic." The menu described the latter as having a thick crust, so I asked if that meant that the Margarita was not thick, but our server informed me that all the pizzas here are made with the same thick crust.
Our pizzas arrived, nicely presented, arranged in two rows of wedges on our plates. The crusts were indeed thick, and were reminiscent of French bread pizza. They had a crunchy exterior and a golden brown underside.
The Margarita (I'll defer to their spelling) was, even apart from the thick crust, nontraditional, topped with roasted tomatoes, pinenuts, balsamic vinegar and oil, greens, and dried basil, as well as a lot of melted mozzarella. It was not my idea of a Margherita, which is usually topped with nothing but fresh mozzarella, tomatoes and basil, but it was tasty and enjoyable, and the flavors worked well together.
My friend's Argyle Classic was topped with tomato sauce, cheese, pepperoni and sausage. There was quite a bit of sauce, though that was appropriate for the thick crust. It tasted fine, though compared with my Margarita it seemed a little uninteresting.
Argyle Grill's other pizza options include a "Chicago Classic" and a Buffalo chicken pizza. I apologize for my failure to jot down the components of a Chicago Classic. But as I mentioned, all the pizzas come on the same, French-bread type crust.
Interestingly, the Glengarry Inn, a more formal restaurant at Eagle Vale that is open for dinner only, also offers pizza, but it sounds like a different sort altogether - the website describes it as "brick oven pizza," and the toppings are different from the Argyle Grill's pizzas. So I'll have to make a trip here some evening if I want to try those.
While these weren't exactly what I'd expected, or necessarily hoped for, they weren't bad. Leaving aside memories of frozen French bread pizza, the crust had a nice crunch, and though it was a bit dry inside, it provided a reasonably good base for the tasty toppings. At the same time, I should mention that my second friend's "Tuscan" panini, which I got a taste of, was very good, and huge to boot. If I return, I'd probably opt for that over the pizza.
This is a hard pizza to rate, as it was rather unlike just about any other pizza I've had around here. That alone gets is some points from me. But this wouldn't be a default option for me, either. I'm going to peg it at just above average, and give it a C+.
Argyle Grill at Eagle Vale, 4344 Nine Mile Point Rd., Fairport. 377-5200
Mon. - Sat. 11 a.m. - 10 p.m., Sun.: noon - 8 p.m. Closed Mondays December through March. Opens at 4 p.m. on Sundays February & March.

Little Venice Revisited

It's been over two years now since I reviewed Little Venice Pizzeria on South Avenue. I found a few flaws with the slices that I had then, and gave it a C-minus.
But it has been a while, and I figured it was high time to go back. So back I went, and ordered a small pepperoni pie.
This had a thin to medium crust, with a soft but dry underside. The bottom was browned and there was a tiny bit of oven soot (soot was an issue for me last time as well, although this wasn't as bad).Though the underside was soft, the edge had a bit of crunch, and was singed in a few spots.
A thick layer of melted mozzarella cheese gave this pizza a chewy texture. It was well balanced by the slightly herbal tomato sauce, which seemed to be more of a presence this time around, either because there was more of it or because this was a fresh pie (as opposed to reheated slices) and the sauce hadn't had time to dry out. The thin slices of pepperoni were a bit crisp along the edges, but quite greasy, which necessitated some mopping with a napkin.
This was not bad. Not something I'd go out of my way for, but very serviceable pizza, certainly. And though it was, compared to other local pizza, about in the middle of the pack, it was an improvement on last time. It still loses a point or two for the soft crust, slight oven soot, and for the very greasy surface, but overall the flavor and balance were good, so I'll give it a C.
Little Venice Pizzeria, 742 South Ave. 14620. 473-6710
Mon. - Thu. 11 a.m. - 11:30 p.m., Fri. & Sat. 11 a.m. - 12:30 a.m., Sun. 1 - 11:30 p.m.

Ferarra's: Pepperoni Pie

NOTE:  This establishment is now closed.
As I've explained before, I was happy earlier this year to learn of the opening of Ferrara's on Spencerport Road in Gates, because I well remember going to its predecessor of the same name on Titus Avenue back around 1990. It was there that I first tried a Margherita pizza, and it was love at first bite.
That establishment closed years ago, and since then I thought that all I had left of it was my fond memories. So to find out that Ferrara's had been reborn in Gates was truly exciting news for me.
Since its reopening earlier this year, I've published posts about Ferrara's Margherita and potato pizzas. Recently I went back yet again, for a simple half-pepperoni pie, but this also gave me the chance to speak for a few minutes with Jimmy, the owner.
I learned from him that Ferrara's was in business for 23 years in Irondequoit, and that it was founded, owned and run by Jimmy's brother Angelo. Their parents moved here from Sicily, where Angelo was born - Jimmy was the first, and only child born in the States. (Methinks I see a research topic here - how many local pizzerias are run or were started by Italian immigrants?) Angelo started off here as a barber - another venerable Italian-American profession (next good question - why does barbering seem to be such a peculiarly Italian trade?) but eventually got into the pizza business, fortunately. I appreciate a good barber, but with all due respect to barbers, a good pizzeria, for me, is to be treasured.
I always wondered why a pizzeria as good as Ferrara's closed, and the simple explanation is that Angelo decided to retire. Pudgies went into that spot for a while, but has since left, and now the space is used by some other, non-pizza-related business.
In the meantime, Jimmy, who spent a number of years in various food-related jobs, most recently as Sam's Club, decided to resurrect Ferarra's. He had been involved in the earlier incarnation, and with Angelo on board as an informal consultant, Ferarra's was reborn, to my great delight.
Now all that wouldn't mean much if the new Ferarra's weren't as good as, or simply were different from, the original. But as faulty as human memory can be, it is, from what I've read, remarkably accurate where our senses of taste and smell are concerned. And as far as I can tell, Ferarra's hasn't missed a beat.
Now as I mentioned, my prior experience with Ferarra's was pretty much limited to their Margheritas; I'm not sure if I ever tried anything else there. But I loved the potato pizza, and this was a winner too.
I don't like to order half-plain, half-topping pizzas, because often either the topping half don't get cooked enough, or the cheese half gets overcooked, but when you're feeding a family you sometimes have to make compromises. But this was pretty good, with thin sliced pepperoni that was just a little crisp along the edges, and cheese that was just slightly browned. High marks also for the non-greasy pepperoni.
The crust was on the thick side, with a dry, somewhat floury bottom. It was very bready, and a little crisp along the edge. A thick bed of mozzarella lay atop a sweetish layer of sauce, which had a cooked-tomato flavor. The toppings and crust were well balanced.
This was, for me, not quite the standout that Ferarra's Margherita or potato pizzas are, but that's no knock on this pizza - given its style and toppings, it simply falls more within the mainstream of American pizza, whereas the other two are more distinctive and unusual.
But for what it was, this was very good pizza, in what to me is the classic Rochester style - somewhat thick, with generous helpings of cheese and sauce, and square cut (not that the cut affects the flavor, but it just seems to me that most traditional pizza around here is cut into squares, rather than pie wedges). And most importantly, the crust was spot on, for this style - not greasy, just a little crisp, with a bready interior. This pie was a fine example of this local or regional style, and was well above average generally for local pizza, so I'm giving it a B+.
Ferarra's Pizza, 485 Spencerport Rd. 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.