Iverson's Pizza, Subs & Wings

Recently I happened to be driving up North Winton Road when my eyes fell across a sign for Iverson's Pizza, near the corner of Blossom Road. It was around lunchtime, so why not?

This was previously a Bay Goodman Pizza location, and it's adjacent to the Boot Room Pub, which is on the site of a previous bar, which was on the site of a previous bar, ... it's fair to say the building has seen a number of tenants over the years.

 I arrived in the early afternoon. I was hoping to get a slice or two, but they don't offer slices. So I ordered a small cheese pie, which took about 15 minutes. That was fine, as it gave me some time to chat with a couple of the people working there. 

 

I won't endeavor to lay out their background, which has been well set out here. But as my pizza was baking, I spoke with Griff, who explained that he learned the craft of pizzamaking in a 20-plus year stint at Menezes on Chili Ave., which has since closed but was a fixture on Chili Ave. for many years (read my last blog post about it here). I have fond memories of Meneze's, and it would surely have been a fine place for the education of a pizzaiolo.

I took the pie home, but not before a quick look and sample in the parking lot. The bottom was firm, well browned and screen-marked underneath. 

 As I have said many times, to me with pizza, balance is key, and the crust, cheese and sauce were in good balance here. The cheese was nicely stretchy, the crust had a bready flavor, and the sauce was neither too sweet nor too salty, and complemented the other components well. To nitpick, the crust seemed a tad dry, and the cheese was a bit too browned for my taste, but I had no trouble finishing off the entire pie.

 Griff told me that the oven temp is 475, which strikes me as a bit low, unless you're talking about a thick pizza. I'm sure he knows far more than I do about baking pizza, but I wonder if a higher temp and faster bake would be worth a try. 

Overall, I enjoyed this pizza. At the risk of being presumptuous, I think a tweak or two might bump it from good to great. But Iverson's is off to a good start, and I plan to revisit. 

Iverson's Pizza, Subs & Wings 

198 N. Winton Rd.

(585) 287-6054

Open daily 11 a.m. to midnight

Peels on Wheels Pizza Garage

During my lengthy hiatus in writing this blog, there are places I visited but didn't review, on the blog at least (I occasionally posted reviews elsewhere). One such is Peels on Wheels Pizza Garage on Culver Road. Peels on Wheels started as a food truck in 2019, and opened a brick-and-mortar location in 2021. 

In 2025, the owners of Peels on Wheels put it up for sale. That never resulted in a deal, and they have decided to remain open. 

When Peels on Wheels started, they were shooting for a cross between traditional Neapolitan and New York style pizza. They have now modified and expanded their offerings, as I discovered on my recent visit. Pizza options currently comprise NY style, Sicilian, Grandma, and Detroit. All are baked using flours and oven temperatures appropriate to the particular style. (Read more about that here.)

On my visit, all of those were available by the slice, as seen in the photo, but I had previously ordered a large NY style pepperoni pie, which was plenty enough for me.

While waiting for my pizza, I looked around a bit, and was impressed that the slice stack had a list for each pie stating what time it came out the oven and what time it should be discarded. I also could see that the five employees were all hard at work, at various stages of preparing various pizzas.

I got my pizza to go, and it took me about 30 minutes to get it home.

Overall impressions:  very thin overall, especially in the center, with a rather thick cornicione. I would've liked a little thicker interior throughout. To me, a classic NY pizza is not super-thin, but should have enough thickness to give it some chewiness and visible air holes, and the cornicione should be just thick enough to hold in the toppings and make for a nice finishing touch. But stylistic concerns aside, the crust was good, with some crackling and charring underneath. The cornicione, thick as it was, was crisp but chewy, and I could appreciate the results of their use of naturally leavened dough, with its more complex flavors and good gluten development.

So much for the crust. Let's move on to the toppings.

The individual toppings were good, although for my taste the pie could've used a little more sauce. I don't want my pizza slathered with a heavy layer of sauce, but this pie struck me as a bit dry, with just a few dollops on top of the cheese. And when the sauce is on top, it's going to evaporate more in the oven. Great pizza, of whatever style, is about balance, and this seemed a little out of balance in that regard.

Having said that, the cheese was very good, with a combination of processed and fresh mozzarella, and a little Parmesan. The trio made for a nice blend of flavors and textures.

I wouldn't say the cup 'n' char pepperoni was sparsely applied, but this pizza was certainly not blanketed by pepperoni. That was fine by me, as I like the occasional bite of pepperoni rather than pepperoni in every bite. If you're a pepperoni lover, I would ask for extra when ordering.

Lastly, the few shreds of fresh basil were a nice touch, and added some visual appeal and subtle addition to the overall flavor. 

I enjoyed this pizza, even if it had some minor shortcomings in my opinion. The pluses certainly outweighed the minuses. And I would like to try their other styles, for sure. They are clearly dedicated to their craft, and Peels on Wheels will remain on my to-do list for a future visit.

Peels on Wheels Pizza Garage

1157 Culver Rd., Rochester NY 14609

 https://peelsonwheelspizza.com/

 Wed.-Sat. 11am - 8 pm

 

3 Daughters Pizzeria

May 2026 saw the opening of 3 Daughters Pizzeria on East Avenue, in the former location of Big City Deli & Pizzeria (which I never got around to trying). I happened to be in the area recently around lunchtime, so I stopped in to check it out.

It's a small place with a modicum of seating (two tables, as I recall), so I got a couple slices to go. 

They had four varieties available:  cheese, pepperoni, Margherita, and the "113 East Ave Special" (garlic pesto marinara base, sausage, pepperoni, onions, peppers, finished with hot honey drizzle). I opted for a cheese slice and a Margherita slice. The counter person / pizzaiolo rewarmed them prior to handing them over. 

Both were thin-to-medium, from about a quarter-inch thick near the tip to a half inch nearer the outer edge. They had a chewy interior and a very crisp bottom. Much of the latter was surely due to the reheating, but the Margherita slice was crisp enough that I could hold it horizontally without folding and with no "flop" at the tip. When I did try to fold it, it cracked down the middle. All of which is OK with me; I'll take that over a soft, limp crust any day, and while well browned, these weren't burnt.

The cheese slice was covered with a layer of what I took to be mozzarella and cheddar. It was nicely melted and stretchy. This is purely subjective, but I would've been happy with a lighter application of cheese, as it overwhelmed the sauce, which was rather tasty, with some subtle notes of garlic and herbs. But I was only able to taste it near the outer perimeter where the cheese was absent.

(As an aside, I should note that if you look closely you may see what appear to be creases in the cheese. That resulted from the server putting both slices in the same bag, and the cheese slices was on the bottom, so it did indeed get some indentations from the wax paper separating it from the Margherita slice above. It's more of an esthetic issue, so I didn't mind, but it's some indication of the thickness of the cheese.) 

I noticed when making my selections that I didn't see any basil on the Margherita, which seemed odd, but I almost always go for a Margherita when it's offered, and it looked pretty good regardless.  When it came out the oven, the server gave it a drizzle of some sort of sauce. I need to learn to speak up more, because I should've asked what it was, but I didn't, and all I could make out from the label on the bottle was "Glaze."

I'm still not sure what it was. I thought perhaps it was some sort of basil-infused condiment, but I didn't detect any basil notes. It was sweet but not spicy, so it wasn't hot honey. I was thinking balsamic, and the color was consistent with that, but I didn't really pick up any vinegar. To confuse matters further, the menu describes the Margherita as topped with "red sauce, fresh mozzarella, Roma tomato, oregano, finished with olive oil and fresh basil." No fresh basil here, and the glaze was not just olive oil, I'm certain of that. So for now it remains a mystery.

Regardless, I enjoyed the slice. It was definitely heavy on the tomatoes, with a thick layer of sweetish tomato sauce (some of that sweetness might've been from the mystery glaze), as well as slices of Roma tomato. The fresh mozzarella was applied over the tomato slices, and tended to blend in with them rather than stand out as distinct islands of cheese, but overall the slice had a good flavor, particularly if you like your pizza on the tomatoey side. Margherita? Mmm, no, but nomenclature aside, I liked it.

Aside from the four sliced pies available that day, 3 Daughters' pizza menu has some interesting choices, many of them sandwich-inspired, including a BLT pizza, a Cuban pizza (garlic base, carnitas, ham, salami, mozzarella, Swiss, pickles, Cuban creamy creole mustard drizzle), a Reuben pizza, and a Spicy Pickle pizza (garlic Cajun base, mozzarella, cheddar, jack, dill pickles, and house pepper ranch and Sriracha drizzle), which despite my predilection for pizza purism, sounds intriguing enough that I wouldn't mind giving it a try.

I should also mention that 3 Daughters Pizzeria is next door to 3 Daughters Tap & Tavern, which has a separate food menu (which includes flatbreads but no pizza). The bar is in the space formerly occupied by Temple Bar & Grill, although it appears that 3 Daughters' owner retained most of Temple's staff, and 3 Daughters' website still refers to it in spots as Temple Bar & Grill, so I gather there is a certain amount of continuity there.

All in all, I was pretty happy with my two slices. I could quibble about a few things. Both seemed a little out of balance to me:  the cheese sauce was almost too cheese-laden, and the Margherita was heavy on the tomatoes, but I know that where pizza's concerned, a lot of folks have a more-is-better attitude, so maybe that's just me. And then there was the whole no-basil Margherita thing, but hey, it tasted good. I don't get downtown as often as I used to, but 3 Daughters has earned a spot on my options list when I do.

3 Daughters Pizzeria

113 East Ave, Rochester, NY 14604

(585) 355-4027
3daughterspizzeria.com 

NOTE:  the hours listed below were lifted from a Google search result. I strongly suggest calling to confirm before going. 

Friday    11 AM–2 AM
Saturday    11 AM–2 AM
Sunday    12–10 PM
Monday    11 AM–11 PM
Tuesday    11 AM–12 AM
Wednesday    11 AM–12 AM
Thursday    11 AM–2 AM