Caraglio's, Hilton

I've previously written about Caraglio's on Dewey Avenue in Greece. I thought that the slice I had there wasn't bad, but could've been much better, and gave it a C+.
There are two other Caraglio's, one on North Greece Road and one in Hilton, at the former site of a Piatza's pizza shop. I stopped at the latter, and again, I got a pepperoni slice.
One other note about the location - the Hilton Caraglio's is just around the corner from a Carbone's location. I almost have to wonder if there's a law that says that Caraglio’s and Carbone’s have to locate near each other? There's a Carbone's across the street from the Dewey Ave. Caraglio's, and another Carbone's on - guess what? - North Greece Road.
While this shared some characteristics with the slice I got on Dewey Ave., it also had some things in common with the former occupant of this site, Piatza's. It was another huge, mega, jumbo, whatever you want to call it slice, quite thin, and, not surprisingly, quite floppy. The bottom was lightly singed, with distinct screen marks, and a slightly doughy aroma exuded from the crust.
The surface of the slice was rather greasy, more than I would have expected from the relatively modest amount of cheese and pepperoni. I was able to saturate most of a napkin soaking up the orangey oil.
The moderately applied sauce had a straightforward, middle-of-the-road flavor; it was neither particularly salty, sweet, nor herbal. But it had pretty good flavor and blended well with the slightly tangy, nicely melted mozzarella. Topping it all off were small slices of cup-and-char pepperoni, which were crisp but few in number; I'm of the opinion that on a pepperoni pizza, every bite should include some pepperoni, but here there were some relatively large, pepperoniless areas.
Eventually I worked my way to the outer edge, which would only be worth finishing if you're still hungry after consuming the rest of the slice. Like the rest of the crust, it was rather bland, with what I would describe as a dull flavor. But at least it was dry and a little crisp; the underside was a little wet in spots, making it even softer than it otherwise would have been. I don't think it was oil, but rather water that I assume had condensed from the slice itself. I removed the slice from its sleeve within a minute or two after getting it, so my only guess is that the pizza was put onto a tray right after coming out of the oven, and that some steam from the bottom condensed underneath. It certainly wasn't what this already floppy slice needed, and the soft, somewhat undercooked crust really couldn't hold up even to the moderate amount of toppings on this slice.
, edge not bad, kind of chewy but dull flavor
decent flavor but bad texture, wet and soft, undercooked crust couldn’t hold up to even moderate toppings
Caraglio's menu is available on their website, so I won't go into detail describing it. Perhaps most noteworthy is the "Big Tony," which measures a full 28 inches in diameter. (I assume this slice was taken from a Big Tony.)
As with the slice I got on Dewey Ave., I was disappointed with this pizza, yet there's still something about it that I liked. Maybe there's just something inherently good, or satisfying, or enjoyable, about a big, floppy, slice of pizza. But the crust just brought this one down. A better, crisper crust would probably vault this pizza up a full grade or more, but I'm giving this one a C-.
Caraglios Pizza, 7 Main St., Hilton, 392-9000
Sun. - Thu. 11 a.m. - 9 p.m., Fri. & Sat. 11 a.m. - 10 p.m.