Thursday, June 16, 2011

Pizzeria 5, Ridgeway Ave.

Pizza Guy Note, 9/14/12: Pizzeria 5 is now closed. The space is now home to the second location of The Pizza Stop.
About a year ago, I did a post about Chili pizzeria Good Guys' second location on Ridgeway Avenue in Greece. I thought it was pretty good (as is the pizza from the Chili location) and gave it a B.
For whatever reason, though, Good Guys on Ridgeway has closed. Maybe it's a cursed spot for a pizzeria - Good Guys replaced another pizzeria, Constantino's - but yet another pizzeria, Pizzeria 5 (not sure what that means), is going to give it a shot.
I stopped by last week and got a couple of slices, one cheese, one Buffalo chicken. They were pretty thin, except for the very thick cornicione along the edge, which was quite puffy on the Buffalo chicken slice.
The undersides differed between the two slices. The cheese slice (bottom two photos) was dusted with cornmeal, and the underside was dry and what I can best describe as bumpy. The Buffalo chicken slice (second photo from top) was rather greasy underneath, which is not unusual for Buffalo chicken pizza, and which is one reason why I'm not a huge fan of this style. The cheese slice in particular was somewhat bready on the inside, and both showed signs of having risen nicely.
Though floppy, both slices tasted pretty good. The sauce on the cheese slice had a slightly herbal flavor, and the mozzarella was moderately applied, while the Buffalo chicken slice was topped with a few chunks of breaded chicken, a thin layer of oily, medium-hot sauce, and oily melted cheese. It was noticeably heavier than the cheese slice, not just from the chicken, I think, but because of the oil as well.
Pizzeria 5 offers 8 meat toppings, 9 vegetable toppings, and 6 "other" toppings (pineapple, garlic, black or green olives, anchovies, and extra cheese), plus 7 specialty pizzas, none of them too exotic or unusual. They also do wings, strombolis, burgers, plates, sides, and some sweets, including cinnamon buns, cookies, and ice cream by the pint.
This was, as I said, pretty good pizza. I did like the cheese slice better, and even taking into account my natural predilection toward "regular" pizza over Buffalo chicken pizza, it just seemed to be a better-made pizza, with a better crust and far less oil. But both crusts showed some good signs of a slow rise and internal breadiness, and both tasted decent enough. They were a little floppy, but still enjoyable, and I'd peg them at a B-minus.
Pizzeria 5, 2532 Ridgeway Ave. 225-5552
Mon. 11 a.m. - midnight, Tue. - Sat. 11 a.m. - 2 a.m., Sun. 1 p.m. - 9 p.m.

3 comments:

  1. i love them and think they have the best buffalo chicken slice ive ever had

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  2. the name pizzeria 5 came from the owner's son who played on a sports team and was assigned the number 5 - I asked

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  3. their pizza and wings kick ASS.

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