Leo's Bakery and Deli, East Rochester

My wife, daughter and I had lunch on Sunday at Leo's Bakery and Deli in East Rochester. It's a local institution going back to the 1940s, but I believe this was my first visit.

My main reason for going there was to try their pizza. My understanding from news reports is that it's a reincarnation of Surace's pizza, which used to exist on West Commercial Street. Surace's, which I reported on in 2009, suffered a devastating fire in 2015.

I say that's my understanding because I haven't found any mention of it on Leo's website. And when I called Leo's some weeks back I was told, rather curtly, that no, it's not officially on the menu. I got the impression that they seemed to be de-emphasizing the pizza, or at least the Surace's connection. That's all I can tell you.
In terms of the physical layout, Leo's has a bakery/grocery side, adjoining the dining area and food counter. Both were clean, attractive and comfortable.
We entered through the bakery side, and headed for the food counter, where I spotted three pizzas available for slices: cheese, pepperoni and Buffalo chicken. I got a cheese slice.

Based on my 2009 Surace's review, it was pretty similar to what I had then. Thin, firm but not crackly underneath, with a light dusting of flour on the bottom. And as before, some oil toward the tip of the slice, i.e. the center of the pie, which probably seeped down after the pie was sliced. But it wasn't greasy, and the crust had a pleasant aroma of fresh bread.

The slice was a bit on the salty side, from the sauce, I think. I didn't especially mind it, as I like salt (probably more than I should), but it was noticeable. Overall, think more salty than sweet. The cheese struck a nice balance between melted and chewy, with some lactic-tangy flavor.

My wife and daughter opted for a wrap and sub, respectively. I didn't try either so I can't say much about those other than that everybody seemed to like what they got. 

Aside from what we had, I was struck by the breadth of Leo's offerings. The cookie display was particularly impressive, but they also had a variety of breads and pastries, cold cuts, sausage, and imported foods. You can read about all their offerings on Leo's website.

In 2009, I gave my Surace's slice a B-minus. When I assign grades these days, I try to avoid pluses and minuses, as I think that gives a sense of exactitude that is unwarranted for something this subjective, but I feel comfortable giving this slice a B. It was good, basic pizza, fresh and flavorful.

Leo's Bakery and Deli

101 Despatch Drive, East Rochester

Tel. (585) 249-1000

Fax: (585) 249-9231

 

Mon. - Sat. 8-8, Sun. 8-6

Atlas Eats

One place that's been on my to-do list for some time now is Atlas Eats in Irondequoit. For whatever reason, they only offer pizza on Sundays, and since I don't live near there, it's been difficult to work it into my Sunday schedule. But I was downtown on a recent Sunday, so I made a short trip up Clinton Avenue to check it out.
I chose what was effectively a Margherita pizza (though I don't think they call it that), with red sauce, cheese and shredded basil. Like all the pizzas here, this was a personal-size pie, and came unsliced (I sliced it later at home).
The underside was a dark, mostly uniform brown, and deeper brown along the edge. It wasn't particularly crisp, but it was firm, and neither soggy nor oily. There was a light dusting of flour underneath.
On olfactory inspection, a pleasant, toasty, breadlike aroma greeted my nostrils. The crust was medium thick, with a chewy texture and a few bubbled spots near the edge.
For all its simplicity, this was a flavorful pizza. The tomato sauce had a fresh, bright flavor, and the cheese, though not heavily applied, was tangy and sharp; not overpoweringly so, but enough to balance out the other components. I'm not sure what kind of cheese they used - I suspect it was a blend - but it was a good example of how a pizza doesn't have to be heavily laden with cheese if the cheese has some flavor.
I like basil, and I wouldn't have minded a bit more, but there was enough here to add flavor. It was wilted just enough to mellow it a bit, but not dried out or burnt.
As I indicated, Atlas Eats is not a pizzeria as such; they only sell it on Sundays. But they do offer breakfast and lunch Thursday through Sunday, as well as some very good bread. On a prior weekday visit (before I knew they had no pizza during the week) I bought a baguette, which was excellent. And pay attention for their "Edible Atlas" Dinner Series, when they put together some terrific meals; currently upcoming is a "tour of New Orleans" featuring Cajun and Creole cuisine.
As for the pizza, it was very good. I'm not putting it in the top rank of Rochester pizza, but it was better than average, with a good crust and flavorful, well balanced toppings. So I'll give it a B.

Back to Vinny's

With, I don't know, 200+ pizzerias around Rochester, and new ones opening all the time, it's often a long while before I get back to some of the places I love.
One such is Vinny's Bakery & Deli in Fairport, which I last visited in January 2012. Over a year is too long not to return to Vinny's, which turns out great pizzas in both Sicilian and American styles.
I do love Vinny's Sicilian pizza, but on this occasion, I was just after a plain old pepperoni pizza for dinner. 
And that's what I got - a simple pepperoni pizza, and yet as I was sharing it with my wife and daughter, it struck me that as ordinary as this pizza seemed on the surface, it was really very, very good, in subtle ways.
What I mean is that this was just fundamentally good pizza, prepared in a straightforward American style. It all starts with the crust, and I did enjoy this crust. It was bready and flavorful, with a slightly crusty bottom. Unfortunately my camera's flash tends to wash out the undersides of pizza slices, so the picture doesn't do it justice, but the bottom surface of this pie was dotted with char spots from the oven deck. It had a slight surface "bite" but was pliable, with a nice, weblike interior from the risen dough.
The crust was on the thin side of medium thick, and was proportionately topped with a flavorful tomato sauce and aged mozzarella cheese. The pepperoni was just slightly crisp along the edges.
All of that sounds so ordinary. So why was this a great pizza?
Well, this pizza showed me that a pizza can be more than the sum of its parts. At its most elemental level, yes, it was a basic American style pizza. But it almost perfectly embodied that style. I couldn't find a fault with this pie. The crust was good, the sauce, the cheese, the pepperoni - it was kind of the pizza equivalent of a world-class pianist tossing off Beethoven's "Für Elise," which is famous but relatively easy to play. Impressive? Not really. But flawless? Absolutely.
So while Vinny's Sicilian pizza remains its forte, by no means should you overlook their "regular" American-style pizza. And of course there's the potato pizza that I've reported on before. For that matter, I should mention that Vinny's also offers stuffed breads, arancini (fried rice balls), and homemade panelli wraps, as well as all the other treats you'd expect from a good Italian deli and bakery, from bread to subs, soups and sweet treats like cannoli, biscotti and cookies. It's a local treasure, and its only drawback, from my perspective, is that it's not closer to my home or office.
Vinny's Italian American Bakery & Deli, 1350 Fairport Road, Fairport
585-377-4200
Open daily 8 a.m. - 8 p.m.

Livingston County Pizza Co., Avon

When I started this blog and researching local pizzerias, I kept finding references to a place on Rochester St. in Avon, but it was apparently an instance of an outdated listing, because anytime I checked,the place was closed.
Recently, though, I saw what looked like a new listing for a pizzeria at the same location, by the name of Livingston County Pizza Company. I recently took a drive down to check it out.
The pizzeria is in a small building on what, further north, becomes East River Road. The spartan setting consists of a small counter and a few booths, one of which, near the window, butts up against an industrial-size mixer.
LCPC emphasizes its gluten-free menu, which includes not only pizza, but cakes, pies, cookies, and bread, plus gluten-free versions of their burgers and other hot menu items. I was tempted, for a moment at least, to try the gluten-free pizza, just out of curiosity, but I thought for my first time I should go with the regular pizza. I got a 13-inch "small" plain cheese pie. (They also offer 8-inch "personal" and 16-inch "large" pies.)
This had a dry bottom that was rather soft. The crust was thin, and a little gummy. The dough didn't seem to have risen very much, and I couldn't see any air holes in the cross-section.
That's the bad news. The good news is, it tasted good. There was plenty of sauce and cheese - maybe a little more than necessary for such a thin crust - but the sauce and cheese themselves were well balanced and complemented each other well.
With a cheese pizza, the sauce usually is the strongest-flavored component, and if there's much sauce, it'll be very prominent. This sauce was up front but not overwhelming, with a nice mix of salty, sweet and tangy notes. It had a concentrated, cooked-tomato flavor, reminiscent of a long-simmering tomato sauce.
The cheese was well browned but not burned or dried out. It seemed to be straight mozzarella, nothing too complex, but pretty good, with a pleasantly melted but chewy texture and no grease.
For a small place, LCPC has a big menu. Besides the 12 available pizza toppings, they offer eight specialty pizzas, calzones, wings, hot and cold subs, sandwiches, panini, salads, pasta, and various grilled and fried items. It was only after I left that I noticed that many of the menu selections have a baseball-themed name, such as the Babe Ruth and Ripken burgers, the Ballpark pizza (pepperoni, ham, bacon and sausage), and the Triple Play sub (ham, roast beef and turkey).
And that doesn't even include the gluten-free menu. You can get gluten-free pizzas in 10- and 13-inch sizes, chicken tenders, a Friday fish fry, and just about anything on bread or a roll, all gluten free.
As they say on the infomercials, "but that's not all" - LCPC also offers gluten-free baked goods, from  bread to buns to cookies, cakes, pies, and frozen pizza crusts. I know there are people out there looking for gluten-free baked goods, and this should be on your list of go-to places. It's got as extensive a gluten-free menu as I've ever seen.
As for this pizza, frankly I wasn't thrilled with it. I probably give more importance to the crust than most people, and this wasn't a particularly good crust. It wasn't gluten-free, but like some gluten-free crusts I've tried, it just didn't seem to have risen much. I may have preferred the gluten-free crust, if that's what they do best here.
But to some extent, the lackluster crust was compensated for by the other components, which tasted good and complemented each other well. Considering the pizza as a whole, it was roughly average for pizza in this area, so I'll give it a C.
The Livingston County Pizza Co., 212 Rochester St., Avon
Mon. - Thu. 11 a.m. - 8:30 p.m., Fri. & Sat. 11 a.m. - 9:30 p.m., Sun. noon - 8 p.m.

Giuseppe's Neapolitan

I've written several times before about Giuseppe's, a West Side bakery/restaurant/pizzeria that traces its origins back to 1927, making it arguably (everything about pizza history is arguable) the oldest pizzeria in Rochester. (Read more about Rochester's pizza history here.)
On one visit, I picked up a small flyer advertising Giuseppe's "Naples Style Pizza," described as "thin & crispy traditional pizza." This was advertised in two styles:  the "Margareta," with tomato sauce, Pecorino Romano, mozzarella and fresh basil; and the "Bianco," with fresh garlic, extra virgin olive oil, Romano, mozzarella and basil.
Both sounded good, but I opted for the red pie - given a choice, I'll almost always go with the tomato version, unless I've tried it before.

These pies come in two sizes, small (12") and large (16"). I got the small.

When I ordered, I was informed that on that particular day, they were out of fresh basil. To Giuseppe's credit, they gave me a break on the price, charging me just $5 for what would otherwise have been an $8 pie.

I was fine with that, but I wondered if it indicates that they don't get orders for these pizzas too often. I didn't notice any other menu items with fresh basil, so maybe they don't always keep it on hand. Or maybe they simply ran out. But it is a good thing to keep handy, as I generally do at home. It's inexpensive, and a basil leaf or two adds a nice touch to a lot of different entrees, not just pizza.

But to get back to my pizza, the crust was indeed thin and crispy, as advertised, with a brittle edge and some surface crackling underneath. Giuseppe's regular pizza tends to be on the thin side of medium, with a somewhat soft bottom and a faint feel of oil underneath, but with this, it was as if they'd made an effort to show that they can do a super-thin, almost crackerlike crust. 

Atop the crust was a layer of sweet, thick tomato sauce. It was full-flavored, and while I liked it, it threatened to overwhelm the thin crust. The cheese was applied more sparingly, with melted, irregularly shaped, thin slices of mozzarella interspersed across the surface of the pie. That allowed some of the moisture of the sauce to evaporate in the oven, so that despite the abundant sauce, this wasn't a sloppy or soggy pie. I frankly didn't notice much Romano flavor.

It's a little hard to judge this pizza, without the basil. I think that would've added a dimension of flavor that was missed here. And a more noticeable presence of Romano would've been welcome too. Both of those would've helped balance out the sauce. But I did enjoy this pizza, for its thin, crackly crust and its very simplicity. In short, this was a distinctive, easy-to-eat pie from one of Rochester's most venerable pizzerias, and for that I'll give it a B.
Giuseppe's, 40 Spencerport Rd. 14606

426-3397
Take-Out:
Mon. - Thu. 9 a.m. - 9 p.m., Fri./Sat. 9 a.m. - 10 p.m., Sun. 8 a.m. - 9 p.m.
Dining Room opens at 11 a.m. Mon. - Sat. and 4 p.m. Sun.

Vinny's Bakery: Potato Pizza

Last August, thanks to a helpful reader, I discovered Vinny's Bakery & Deli in Fairport. I got a pepperoni slice, which was OK, and a Sicilian slice, which I really liked.
The other day, I returned to Vinny's, and got to do the two things I set out to do:  try their potato pizza, and have a chat with the owners.
Vinny and his cousin Venera came here from Sicily 50 and 40 years ago respectively, and have been in the bakery/pizza business since the 1970s. For many years they had a place in East Rochester, and moved to their present location on Fairport Road last year.
While baking is a family tradition in Sicily, Vinny also learned his craft outside the home. After some years of formal schooling, he went through hands-on vocational training in a number of areas, including farming, winemaking, construction (some of which involved the use of high explosives), and baking.
After arriving in this country, Vinny spent some time in the construction industry before opening his shop. I've no doubt he was a good construction worker, but I think we're all the richer for the switch. One look at the breads, cookies, and other delectables on the shelves and in the refrigerator case at Vinny's, and you'll likely agree.
Not to toot my own horn, but on my prior visit to Vinny's, I had a definite sense that their Sicilian pizza was the real deal, even before I found out that Vinny and Venera do in fact hail from Sicily. I was curious, then, when I spotted potato pizza on the menu posted on the wall (it doesn't appear on the print menu, but you can order it), because from what I've read, potato pizza is a style associated with Rome, not Sicily.
Well, apparently Sicily has a version all its own, because Vinny assured me that this would be a very typical pizza to find back in Sicily. And in fact it's nothing like the photos I've seen of Roman-style potato pizza.
The most striking thing about this pizza (which I got in a quarter-sheet size, the smallest available) was that it had both a top and bottom crust. The bottom was more browned, with a few bits of burnt cheese (which I actually like, as long as it's not blackened, which this wasn't), but both top and bottom were firm and well browned, with no excess oil.
You could, I suppose, eat this one crust at a time, but that wouldn't give you the full effect, so I at mine sandwich-style (which makes it a very filling pizza, so keep that in mind).
Working our way down this time, the underside of the top crust had been given a light coating of tomato sauce, which did not taste heavily seasoned, although flecks of dried herbs, including rosemary and oregano, were visible. That was followed by a relatively thin layer of mozzarella cheese, and finally a thicker stratum of sliced, al dente potatoes and slivers of onion.
Between the crust and the potatoes, this is clearly not a pizza for anyone on a low-carb diet. But it sure was good. The aroma alone had me hooked, and it got better with the first bite.
Bread and potatoes may not seem like an obvious pairing, but they worked very well here together, making this pizza something like a cross between scalloped potatoes and a grilled cheese sandwich. It brought to mind the neverending debate about what is or is not "true" pizza (usually in the context of a discussion of Chicago-style deep-dish pizza), but whatever you want to call this, I liked it.
Now as I mentioned, there's a lot more to Vinny's Bakery than potato pizza. There's that Sicilian pizza, which is topped with tomato sauce and Pecorino, a variety of bread loaves, meats (which you can try in a sub made with one of Vinny's fresh-baked rolls), and cookies, which are a treat in themselves - I'm a particular fan of the almond cookies, but just trying to pick a favorite is half the fun.

In speaking with Vinny, it became evident that he has a strong belief in himself, and a certain pride in what he and Venera have accomplished. Asked what he thinks of most American pizza, Vinny said with a smile that it's "giving [him] a bad name," as it's just not up to the standard of what he considers good pizza.
While that might sound like Italian chauvinism, Vinny was almost equally disparaging of the current state of pizza back in Italy, where, he said, the younger generation no longer wants to learn the craft, and - it pains me to say it - chains are moving in.
In some people, such an attitude could easily slide into arrogance, but Vinny's plainspoken manner dispels any such impressions. He turns out good pizza and he knows it, that's all. And it's a good thing he knows it, because without that touch of attitude, he probably would have tried to adapt his menu completely to American tastes, with or without success, and I wouldn't be sitting here writing about how good his potato pizza is.
I can't promise you're going to like it as much as I do, but Vinny's potato pizza should be on any local pizza lover's must-try list. While I hesistate to rate a pizza in a style that I'm not too familiar with, I don't think Vinny's potato pizza could be much improved upon, and I'll give it an A.
Vinny's Bakery & Deli, 1350 Fairport Road, Fairport 377-4200
8 a.m. - 8 p.m. daily
Free delivery for orders of $50 or more within a 5-mile radius.

Martusciello's - Full of Surprises

Last February, I reported on the array of pizzas available from Martusciello Bakery's display case.While I wasn't completely bowled over by the pie that I got, I did love the sheer number of choices, and the visual appeal of all those different pizzas, ready to go.
But that still left me wondering what a fresh, made-to-order pizza from Martusciello's would be like, so the other day I ordered a pie to go.
I was met by several surprises along the way, beginning with the ordering process. After asking for a medium pepperoni pizza, I was asked what else I wanted on it. I'm not sure what my exact response was, but I must have expressed some confusion, because the girl had to explain that she meant, what else did I want besides pepperoni? Did I want sauce as well? Cheese?
This was a first for me, and I answered yes to both questions. That was followed up by another - did I want mozzarella? Initially I said yes, but then inquired what my choices were. The answer was the standard deli list, provolone, Swiss, cheddar, etc. I settled on a combination of mozzarella and provolone, with a little Romano thrown in for good measure.
The next surprise came when I picked up the pizza and was handed a big, sheet-pizza style box. I was afraid that perhaps there'd been a mixup, but as it turned out, the box contained a normal size, medium pizza, with plenty of room in the box to spare. Either they were out of smaller boxes, or they mostly sell sheet pizzas and don't bother to stock smaller boxes.
A visual inspection of the pizza yielded still more surprises. First off, I'd been expecting something along the lines of what I'd seen in the display case, but this really didn't resemble those pizzas much at all. It was roughly square, for one thing, and the cheese was on top, with the pepperoni underneath.
There was quite a bit of cheese, too. Maybe I got more cheese than normal because I asked for three varieties, but this was a cheesy pizza (I didn't notice if I was charged for extra cheese, though I don't think I was).
The crust was pretty thin, and tended to break apart, from itself and from the cheese, when I attempted to extricate a slice.
The underside was not especially greasy, although the bottom of the box was soaked with oil, and the underside did have the telltale yellow-brown tint of oily dough. There was also some yellowish oil visible on top that apparently had exuded from the cheese.
The crust was firm, but not all that crisp. There wasn't much evidence of the dough having risen, either visually or in terms of the texture, which lacked the bready chewiness of some crusts.Along the edge, the crust was formed into a crunchy, thin lip.
The cheese was well melted, but not to the point where it had all melted together. The provolone had been applied in full slices rather than shreds, and I was easily able to separate it from the mozzarella and peel it off in individual slices.
Under the cheese, there was an abundance of pepperoni slices, of the wide, thin-cut variety. It had a somewhat spicy flavor.
What was most remarkable about the pepperoni, however, was how much of it there was. In many spots, it was 2, 3, 4 or more slices deep. Had each slice been applied separately, it would easily have covered the entire surface of the pie.
A thin layer of sauce came next. It had a fairly thick consistency, and a cooked-tomato flavor. I could detect some herbs in the background, but otherwise it was pretty middle-of-the-road, neither very salty nor sweet.
Underneath it all lay the Romano, which had been sprinkled on in a relatively moderate amount, but enough to add a distinctive, sharp tanginess. Good idea there, putting it on first, as Romano, having little moisture, tends to dry out completely if it's baked on top of the pizza.
All in all, this was a very unusual pizza. I liked it, more perhaps than I would've expected. It was rather messy to eat while hot, with the crust breaking apart and all, but it tasted good. And the leftovers may have been even better the next day, eaten cold. The cold tended to firm up the crust a bit - probably from the oil hardening - and although the cheese had dried out a bit, it was still tasty.
As I was eating this pizza, I found myself thinking, "I shouldn't be liking this," given the unspectacular crust and the heavy layer of cheese, which to me tends to throw a thin crust pizza out of balance. But sometimes good is good, regardless of one's preconceptions about what pizza should be like, and I did enjoy this one. I don't think this would be my go-to pizza on a regular basis, but I'll give it some props for flavor and sheer uniqueness, enough to rate a solid B from me.
Martusciello's Bakery, 2280 Lyell Ave., Rochester 14606, 247-0510
Mon. - Fri. 7:30 a.m. - 7:00 p.m., Sat. 7:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m., Sun. 7:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. Last orders accepted one hour before closing.

DiPaolo's

As I’ve mentioned before, Rochester is blessed with some great old Italian bakeries, and one of the oldest is Di Paolo. Its roots go back to 1910, when an Italian immigrant couple set up shop on Ontario Street, just north of where the Inner Loop is today. Ten years later, the bakery moved into an old church building on North Plymouth Avenue, then known as Frank Street. The original building was torn down in the 1950s and replaced by a new, modern facility (which sadly did not include the original’s coal-fired ovens - *sigh*), where it remains today, still owned by descendants of the founders.
In addition to a full range of breads and rolls, Di Paolo makes pizza, slices of which are available at lunchtime. On a recent visit, there were two types available: plain cheese, and pepperoni with sausage. I got a cheese slice.
The crust was medium thick, with a cratered, browned underside. It was a bit crisp underneath, and the outer edge was very crunchy, but it was not quite the kind of crunch you’d find on a loaf of crusty Italian bread. It seemed to me more reminiscent of a bread or roll made with an enriched dough, in other words a dough made with oil or some other fats, which tends to produce a softer crust.
The dough had clearly risen some, but the interior was not especially bready. The air holes were tiny, and the crust lacked the subtle yet complex flavors you’ll typically find in doughs that have gone through a long, low-temperature fermentation.
(Let me pause here for a second and say that I don’t pretend to know how Di Paolo or anybody else actually makes their dough. Nor do I claim to have anywhere near the experience or knowledge that the professionals do, where baking is concerned. These are just the impressions and speculations of an amateur baker who’s eaten a lot of bread and pizza over the years.)
The slice was topped with a heavy layer of browned cheese. It was a bit overcooked for my taste. I wondered if Di Paolo’s had used part-skim mozzarella, as it lacked any creaminess or smooth texture, and had hardened along the outer edge, not so much, it seemed, from burning as from losing liquid through evaporation during the baking process.
The sauce was moderately applied. It was a basic tomato sauce, and was thick and concentrated.
My overall impression of this pizza was that, well, it was OK for a quick lunchtime slice, but that’s about all. The flavor and texture just weren’t quite there, and the crust, cheese and sauce weren’t what I would call great, any individually or collectively. It wasn't bad, exactly, just kind of disappointing coming from a good Italian bakery.
Now don’t get me wrong - Di Paolo’s is a fine bakery, with a proud history, and they produce some excellent breads. If you haven’t been there, I can honestly recommend that you check it out sometime and pick up a loaf. I just wasn’t crazy about the pizza.
Funny thing is, Di Paolo is not the first Italian bakery where I’ve been let down by the pizza. You’d think it would be a no-brainer: good bakery, good bread, good pizza. But for some reason it doesn’t always seem to work that way. I don’t want to speculate on why that is, and after all, just because I’m not crazy about it doesn’t mean that somebody else might not think it’s the best stuff they’ve ever eaten. But for me, the pizza at Di Paolo rates a respectable, if disappointing, C.
Di Paolo Baking, 598 N. Plymouth Ave. 232-3510
Mon. - Fri. 6 a.m. - 6 p.m., Sat. 6 a.m. - 2 p.m.

Gaetano's

Gaetano's Bakery is one of those old Italian bakeries with which Rochester is so richly blessed. Although I have to admit that Wegmans bakes some pretty good bread, I'll often skip their bakery section and make a special stop at one of these places for a loaf of Italian bread, just to help keep them in business. These places are local treasures that we too often take for granted until one day you're driving by, or watching the local news, and you learn that one of them is closing.
Since pizza dough is essentially bread dough, it's a little surprising that more of them don't do pizza in addition to bread. I suppose space constraints may play a role, among other factors.
But Gaetano's does do pizza. In fact, their menu describes Gaetano's as "more than just a bakery," with a "full menu of homemade quality food!" So on a recent day when I had occasion to be in the area, I stopped in and grabbed a slice. I would've preferred trying a whole pie, to get the fresh-out-of-the-oven experience, but it was lunchtime, so that will have to wait for another day.
My pepperoni slice was medium thick. The underside was not very crisp, but the outer edge, which had a fairly thick lip, was quite firm, so much so that the slice successfully resisted my attempts to fold it. No matter, as this was not a big, floppy slice in need of folding anyway.
“Medium” also best describes the color of the underside; not charred, but not pale, either. It was punctured here and there with tiny holes, which I’ve seen before elsewhere. Perhaps they serve the function of avoiding large air bubbles building up. I’ll have to ask sometime.
The crust was chewy, but not in a particularly bready way; the dough didn’t seem to have risen all that much, and was fairly dense, which I found surprising for a pizza that had been made at a bakery.
The sauce had a thick consistency and a cooked-down flavor, and was moderately applied. The cheese was well browned, and became easily separated from the crust. Gaetano’s menu states that they use 100% whole milk mozzarella, but this slice didn’t have any of the excess oil that sometimes seems to result from using whole-milk cheese, which of course contains more fat than the part-skim variety.
As I mentioned, the outer edge was formed into a pretty thick lip, which made a nice finish to the slice, with its crunchy, breadstick-like flavor and texture.
Gaetano’s offers a full range of pizzas, and four specialty pizzas, including a Sicilian, which is topped with oil, black pepper, fresh garlic, parsley, romano cheese and basil. You can also buy pizza dough (which I think you can do at a lot of pizzerias, it’s just that most don’t advertise it), either regular or whole wheat.
Other items on the menu include hot and cold subs, calzones, wings, “homemade” soup, and a few sides. (Their catering menus are much more extensive, and can be viewed on their website.)
And of course bread. Lots of breads, from basic Italian to baguettes, ciabatta, “Tuscan crusty bread,” and others, plus rolls and various stuffed breads. Finally, let’s not forget the desserts, which include a range of pies, cookies, and pastries.
As I said, I love these kinds of places. They’re local, they’re family owned, they’re part of Rochester’s history and social fabric. They help create a sense of place in a way that chain establishments never will.
But I have to be honest here, and I was a little disappointed with this pizza. It was OK, but as I was eating it, it came to mind that it had an overall “flat” flavor. I was expecting more from the dough, particularly. I do think Gaetano’s deserves another shot, and I’ll give it one - that Sicilian sounds very tempting - but on the basis of this one slice, I’m giving it a C.
Gaetano’s Bakery, 1439 W. Ridge Rd. 865-7810
Mon. - Thu. 9 a.m. - 7 p.m., Fri. & Sat. 9 a.m. - 8 p.m., Sun. 9 a.m. - 6 p.m.