Pizza King, Dansville

In February 2012, I did a post about a place that I discovered in Belmont, Billy G's. You can read the full story at that post, but it turned out that there was a connection between Billy G's, The Pizza Stop, Joe's Brooklyn Pizza, Giovanni's and Pizza King in Hornell, and Pizza King in Wellsville. All of which make great New York style pizza, thanks in large part to the tutelage of Giovanni's owner, Bill Giovanniello.
Anyway - earlier this year, Billy G's moved to Dansville, and reopened as Pizza King. (I'm told that his former location in Belmont is now a non-pizza restaurant.) I'm down that way from time to time, so I made a mental note to stop in.
Which I did recently, following a hike here. And though I'm sad for the people of Belmont, their loss is Dansville's gain, as Pizza King is serving up some very fine pizza.
There are only so many ways to describe a good slice of NY style pizza, so I may find myself repeating what I've said about many of the places mentioned above, but we're talking here about a thin crust, crisp on the bottom, pliable enough to fold, and with a nice chew on the inside. The bottom wasn't quite charred, but was a medium brown, and dry to the touch.
As for the the toppings, the cheese was just slightly on the thick side, but not enough to throw things out of balance. It was processed mozzarella, nicely melted into a uniform coat. The sauce was reminiscent of slices I've had in the City, marked by a balance of sweetness, saltiness, and herbs, with a bright tomatoey flavor underneath it all.
Thin-sliced pepperoni lay atop it all. The pepperoni and cheese exuded a bit of grease, but not overly so, and about what I would expect from a NY style pepperoni slice. (Within reason, a little oiliness on top can actually enhance the sensory experience, as fat helps transmit flavor to your tongue. It's oil on the bottom that I dislike, and these had a nice, dry underside.)
My one quibble with these slices is the application of the toppings - the pepperoni was unevenly distributed toward the outer edge, while the area nearer the tips (i.e. the center of the pie from which they came) were devoid of pepperoni. And to really nitpick, the sauce and cheese at a couple of spots extended out all the way to, and even slightly beyond, the outer edge of the crust. But that's a matter of esthetics more than anything else.
You can see Pizza King's menu here, so I won't recite it all. I will note that their slices start at a very reasonable $1.65 (plus tax), and that they maintain what I understand to be the most widely agreed-upon distinction between calzones and strombolis, which is that the former contain ricotta in addition to mozzarella, and are served with sauce on the side, while the latter have sauce inside, but no ricotta. They also do wings and tacos.
As for these slices, I'm giving them an A-minus. I've mostly stayed away lately from pluses and minuses, but I think it's appropriate here. These were excellent slices, deserving of better than a B, but I've gotta knock off a style point or two for the uneven distribution of pepperoni, and the slight overhang of the cheese along the outer lip. Pretty inconsequential matters, yes, and they didn't detract from from my overall enjoyment of these slices, but enough to keep them from attaining absolute perfection.
Make no mistake, though, if I'm in the Dansville area, I'm stopping at Pizza King. I'll probably stop at Dansville's other pizzerias sometime for an update, as well. But Pizza King is on my go-to list.
Pizza King, 160 Main St., Dansville
585-335-8700

Mon - Thu: 11:00 am - 10:00 pm, Fri - Sat: 11:00 am - 11:00 pm, Sun: noon - 9:00 pm

Head to Head in Dansville: Tony's vs. Leaning Tower

I was recently driving through Dansville, and the sight of two pizzerias just a few doors from each other was more than I could resist.
The first one to catch my eye, and the first one I stopped at, was Tony's Pizzeria.
When I arrived, I saw a large pie behind the counter, half cheese, half pepperoni, cut into slices. When I asked for a cheese slice, the person behind the counter lifted one of them up to show me that it was enormous - about a quarter of a large pie - and asked if I wanted one of those, or a regular slice.
I still intended to check out Tony's competitor down the street, so I asked for a regular slice.
That oversized slice was quite thin, and I think that the employee did mention that it was Tony's "huge thin slice," but I was more focused on the surface area, so I was surprised to find that my regular slice was not only smaller, but much thicker.
But more about that slice in a moment. After getting my slice to go, I walked down the block to my second stop, The Leaning Tower. This slice took a little longer to come up, but I was not surprised, as a sign above the counter warned that they do not serve fast food - everything is made to order - although they do their best to serve your food fast. Fair enough.
This slice was quite thick as well. It was also a little bit bigger than the slice I got at Tony's (although in terms of surface area it still would've been dwarfed by Tony's "huge thin slice." (In the top photo, the LT slice is on the left, Tony's on the right.)
Although the Tony's and Leaning Tower slices were both about the same thickness, that's where the similarities ended. The Tony's slice was quite pale underneath, with just a little light browning. It was on the soft side, with a light, airy texture. In contrast, the Leaning Tower slice had a very dark brown underside, and was crunchy, though not oily, with a more substantial feel to it. The exterior was so crunchy, in fact, that the slice cracked and nearly broke in two when I bent it a little (don't even think about folding these - they're too thick for that).
The differences extended to the sauce and cheese. The LT slice was topped with considerably more sauce, which had a thicker consistency as well. It also seemed to have a more assertive, herbal flavor than Tony's sauce, but it's hard to tell if the flavor was really that much different, or if I simply noticed it more because there was more of it.
If you like smooth, creamy-textured cheese on your pizza, then the edge on that score goes to Tony's. Its cheese was nicely melted, if a little bland. The cheese on the LT slice was not so well melted, although it did have a bit of a tang, flavorwise.
Both Tony's and Leaning Tower have similar setups and menus, with counter service, some seating, and a more or less standard lineup of food offerings, including subs, wings, and sides. As for the pizza, well, I would like to go back to Tony's sometime and try a "Huge Thin Slice," but putting these two slices up against each other, I'd give the edge to Leaning Tower. Although the crust was a tad brittle, it was crisper, and had a little more flavor underneath. It also seemed better balanced, with a thick layer of sauce to match the thickness of the crust. Tony's cheese was more pleasingly melted, nice and smooth, but lacked flavor. Leaning Tower's cheese didn't have a great texture, but it did have more flavor, as did the sauce. In general the Leaning Tower slice was more flavorful overall, and more distinctive too. I'm scoring this one B-minus for Leaning Tower, C for Tony's.

Tony's Pizzeria, 140 Main St., Dansville
Tel.: (585) 335-8984, 335-5035
Hours: Mon., Wed., & Thu. 11 a.m. - 9 p.m., Tue., Fri. & Sat. 11 a.m. - 10 p.m., Sun. noon - 9 p.m.

The Leaning Tower, 124 Main St., Dansville
Tel.: (585) 335-2740
Hours: Mon. - Thu. 11 a.m. - 10 p.m., Fri. 11 a.m. - midnight, Sat. 11 a.m. - 11 p.m., Sun. noon - 10 p.m.