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

The PIzza Shoppe

When I first read about "Detroit style" pizza a few years ago, I was skeptical. My gut instinct said, the pizza industry needs to keep coming up with new styles to sustain interest and drive business. And I wasn't sure whether Detroit pizza was genuinely a style unto itself, or just a marketing gimmick.

Since then, I've come around to realize that yeah, OK, it's a real thing. I've never been to Detroit, I've barely been to Michigan (and didn't have any pizza on my one brief foray), but I've read a fair amount about the parameters of the style, and I've had some versions of Detroit-style pizza locally. Some have been very good, and based on what I know, seem to come close to the definition of Detroit style. (I won't try to lay it all out here, but here and here are descriptions as good as any.)

So it was with some interest that I got around recently to trying The Pizza Shoppe in Penfield, which bills itself as "your casual neighborhood spot for Detroit-Style Pizza," "with that iconic thick, airy crust, crispy caramelized edges, and bold toppings." It opened in 2022, but I have had it on my to-do list since then.

I ordered a single (10"x14") pizza, half cup 'n' char pepperoni, half sweet peppers and onions, for pickup.

Upon inspection, in some respects it hit the mark, with a thick crust and toppings that extended to the edges. So far, so good.

In other respects, however ...

Let's talk about the crust. Detroit style pizza should have a thick, but light, crunchy crust.  The underside shouldn't be particularly oily, but should have an almost fried quality from baking in an oil-coated, dark steel pan.

This crust, I'm afraid, fell short in that department. If I didn't know what it was supposed to be, I would've said it was what around here we know as sheet pizza. I mean, it was okay, but it certainly wasn't crisp. Granted, it took me about 20 minutes to get it home, but even allowing for that, it just didn't have the crisp surface I expected. The creases evident in the photo also indicated that in spots, it wasn't making full contact with the pan.

Another marker of Detroit style pizza is that the crust should have a light texture:  thick, but not dense. The Pizza Shoppe's website itself references its "airy crust."

In that respect too, this pizza didn't fit that description. I wouldn't describe it as dense, but it was quite chewy, and lacked the multitudinous tiny air pockets that are associated with the style.

Moving on to the cheese, with Detroit-style pizza the cheese is typically laid directly on the dough, then sauce is layered over the cheese during or immediately after the bake. This allows the cheese to adhere to the crust, and also creates a barrier between the crust and the sauce, which helps keep the crust from getting soggy.

I was frankly not concentrating on that aspect while eating this, and with the additional toppings it's a little difficult to tell from the photos, but I believe that the cheese was applied on top of the sauce. Again, that's more typical of ordinary sheet pizza than Detroit-style pizza. 

Not to get nitpicky, but I'll mention that purists will also tell you that authentic Detroit-style pizza uses Wisconsin brick cheese. The Pizza Shoppe uses a mozzarella blend with a little Parmesan. I won't hold that against them, because brick cheese is hard to come by in these parts, although there may be a better substitute than straight mozzarella. (I could swear, by the way, than when I was growing up down in the Southern Tier, my dad, who always kept our fridge stocked with a variety of cheeses, would buy brick cheese on occasion. Where he bought it, I have no idea, but I can still remember what it looked and tasted like.)

Finally, and again to quote The Pizza Shoppe's website, Detroit-style pizza is also typified by "a crunchy, caramelized cheese edge," thanks to the application of cheese all the way to the edge. The cheese melts and essentially fries in its own fat as it comes into contact with the sides of the pan. If you've baked pizza on a baking sheet, you know that a little cheese often ends up on the sheet as it bakes, and if you're like me those bits are like a bonus treat when the pizza comes out of the oven. This pizza did display some of that caramelization along the edge. Not to a great extent perhaps, but it was there, certainly.

I realize I've dinged this pizza on a number of aspects, and it may sound as if I didn't much like it. That's not the case. I repeat that I have never had Detroit pizza at its namesake place of origin, but with that caveat I've tried to describe the extent to which this pizza measured up, or fell short of the parameters of the style. In short, it checked some boxes but not others. I liked it well enough; treating it as a sheet pizza, it was fine. I'm just not too sure that a Detroiter would consider it authentic.

The Pizza Shoppe

1601 Penfield Rd #19 (Panorama Plaza), Rochester, NY 14625

(585) 203-1122
 

Menu: tpsroc.com 

Mon. - Fri. 11 am - 7 pm
Sat. noon - 7 pm
Closed Sundays