Tomaso's, Mount Morris

I have occasion to pass through Mt. Morris from time to time. When I travel, my eyes and brain have become attuned to spotting pizzerias, and some months ago, I spotted a new place, Tomaso's Trattoria. It wasn't open yet, but every time I'd pass through town, I'd give it a look. Not open. Not open. Not open.
Eventually, I figured it just wasn't going to happen, but one day, the lights were on, and there were people inside. Pizza!
I've never been to Italy, but I gather that there, a trattoria is a relatively informal restaurant that offers takeout. But here in the U.S., such terms tend to get thrown around rather loosely, so I wasn't sure what to expect. What I found was a clean, well-lit, but fairly typical pizza/sub shop, with some tables in front and a counter in back. So I'm not sure Tomaso's would qualify as a trattoria in Italy.
But that's just an observation. In the end, I don't really care what they call themselves, as long as the pizza's good. I got a couple of cheese slices to go.
The medium-to-thick crust was pretty evenly browned underneath, dry to the touch, with a light dusting of what I think was corn meal (it could've been semolina, but I think it was too coarsely ground for that). It was crisp, if not quite crackly. The texture and flavor were pretty average, unobjectionable but unremarkable. Some chewiness, some toasty notes, no noticeable defects.
The slices were topped with a thick tomato sauce, with a detecatable flavor of herbs - oregano and basil among them, I believe. The cheese seemed to be straight mozzarella, and was spottily browned on top. It was just a tad overdone, for my taste, and had started to pull away from the edge.
Tomaso's offers 17 pizza toppings (plus extra sauce or cheese) and eight specialty pizzas, including the "Meat Overload" (sausage, beef, pepperoni, bacon and ham) and, at the other end of the scale, a white spinach-artichoke pie. They also offer a 10-inch gluten-free pie.
Tomaso's menu includes hot and cold subs and wraps, wings, soups, and salads. Apparently they will also have ice cream, in season, and sidewalk tables as well.
You can read about Tomaso's background here. It's another entrant in the ongoing makeover of Mt. Morris, as detailed by the NY Times back in 2011, and by the RIT University News last year. Tbe whole thing is really quite an intriguing story.
To get back to the pizza, these were perfectly acceptable slices of pizza, but I can't say they were exceptionally good either. Considering the thickness of the crust, I would've liked a tad more sauce, and a chewier, less-well-done layer of cheese. Then we might be talking classic Rochester style pizza. As it was, they had some pluses and some minuses,
Since they couldn't have been open for too long when I stopped in (they apparently had their "soft" opening on Feb. 1), I'll forgo a grade here, but these slices were, on the whole, of average quality for the area.

Tomaso's Trattoria
40 Main Street
Mount Morris, NY
(585) 658-1045


Monday – Thursday 11:00am – 9:00pm

Friday & Saturday 11:00am –10:00pm

Sunday Noon – 8:00pm

Compané: Italian Tradition in Fairport

In connection with my current giveaway for Compané Bistro in Fairport, I had a conversation with Mario Cristofori, the controller/manager of Compané. While I was already sold on Compané's pizza, by the end of our discussion I was even more eager to return for a meal. And it might not even include pizza.
Compané (pronounced com-PAH-nay) got its start in August 2010. As with many good pizzerias and restaurants, it's a family affair. Mario's father Guido is from the Abruzzi region of Italy, and he opened Compané with the aim of replicating the food he knew and loved back home.
Compané is the family's third venture into the restaurant business, which started with a pizzeria/deli in Henrietta, followed by Grappa, a former Fairport establishment in a location that is now the site of a Chinese restaurant.
Despite this history, Guido's primary work background was not in the pizza business, but in masonry. That's proved helpful, though, because Guido put those skills to good use in building Compané's impressive wood-fired oven, as well as its very comfortable back patio.
An electrical fire on the restaurant's first New Year's Eve resulted in Compané closing for several months, mostly to cope with water damage. But reopen they did, and that's fortunate, because the pizza here is very good indeed.
Maybe it's a stereotype to characterize Italians as having some special cooking skills, but Mario told me that his family has "always had a knack for the kitchen." That starts with "Nana," who, well into her eighties, still comes in regularly to make gnocchi. Once I've reviewed a restaurant, I enjoy going back and not feeling obligated to try the pizza. Next time I go to Compané, I'm ordering gnocchi.
But let's get back to the pizza. Compané's oven is a work of art, although much of what you see is a facade. That's not to say that the oven is some sort of fake. It's a serious wood-burning oven. But the actual cooking space is relatively small, as it has to be; you want to trap the heat from the wood fire, not just let it go up the chimney.
And that oven is 100% wood fired. No gas flames there, it's wood from the get-go. Compané uses various woods, but they are all "neutral" hardwoods - no aromatic fruit woods. Fruit woods are fine for barbeque, but for pizza you are generally not looking for a distinctive smoke.
To be ready in time for dinner, somebody generally gets the fire started between 2 and 2:30 in the afternoon. And again, it might be Mario's dad Guido, who's there daily to monitor the oven.
But starting the fire is the easy part. The fire has to be maintained throughout the evening, holding the temperature at between 600 and 700 degrees. That's a good temperature not only for pizza, but for some of the other dishes that Compané uses the oven for, like wings, ribs and roasts.
Another tricky aspect to using this oven is that Compané's oven is big; it can hold seven to eight pizzas at a time. That's good, in a way, when they've got several pizza orders coming in at once, but it also means that a lot of skill, and close attention, are required to keep an eye on the pizzas and make sure that they're all getting properly done, each at the right time.
Fortunately, Compané can count on an experienced set of employees to keep things running smoothly. I'm sure there are the usual hiccups and crises that you find in any restaurant, but based on my visit and their continued success, Compané seems to be managing rather well.
And while Compané turns out very traditional Italian food, I should mention that they offer gluten-free and whole-wheat pizzas as well.
Compané exhibits a lot of the characteristics that I find common to good pizzerias. It's family based (Mario's mom and sister are also involved), and everything is made from scratch. It's also locally based - Mario grew up in Fairport - but its roots go back to Italy.
Whether you win a gift card or not, you'd do well to give Compané a try. I enjoyed it and I think you will too.

Compané, 80 N. Main St., Fairport
678-4013

Mon. - Sat. 5 p.m. - 10 p.m.

Book Review: The Complete Gluten-Free Whole-Grains Cookbook

Gluten-free eating has become something of a trend, but there are certainly those for whom it's necessary. I'm glad I'm not one of them, but sufferers of celiac disease would do themselves a favor by picking up a copy of The Complete Gluten-Free Whole Grains Cookbook: 125 Delicious Recipes from Amaranth to Quinoa to Wild Rice, by Judith Finlayson. This 224-page book opens with a primer on what gluten is, why it matters (to some people), and the various alternative grains that are out there.
The bulk of the book consists of recipes, arranged according to to the type of dish in question, from breads and brakfast foods to main dishes, soups, sides and desserts. An appendix of diabetes food values and a thorough index round out the volume.
The recipes are well thought out, from basics like fritters and arroz con pollo to quinoa-based stews and jambalaya made with Job's tears, a grain you're sure to be seeing more of soon. Although Finlayson explains why she chose particular grains for the individual recipes, it seems to me that other grains could be substituted in many of them with equally successful results.
To her credit, Finlayson doesn't devote much space to recipes that try to imitate wheat; there is one recipe for gluten-free pizza crust, but for the most part, the recipes put the grains called for to best use, by taking advantage of their unique flavors and textures rather than trying to come up with a wheat substitute. The book is also well illustrated with full-page color photos, and helpful tips and nutritional info accompany each recipe.
I know a family friend with celiac disease, and I'll be passing along my copy of this book to her. If you or anyone you know suffers from this condition, this is a great, information-packed volume with plenty of ideas for gluten-free, flavorful dishes.
The Complete Gluten-Free Whole Grains Cookbook: 125 Delicious Recipes from Amaranth to Quinoa to Wild Rice [Paperback] by Judith Finlayson. Pub. by Robert Rose (January 17, 2013)

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.

Vicari's, Ontario

In researching the new, second location of Empire Pizza in Ontario, I ran across a reference to Vicari's Pizzeria, which I'd never heard of before, on Ridge Road in Ontario.
For the time being, the Ontario Empire location opens at 4:00, so I made the trek to check out Vicari's. It's a small pizzeria on Ridge Road (which is not the same as 104, it's an older road parallel to and just south of 104), between Ontario Center Road (Rt. 350) and Furnace Road (County Road 110).
I got there about 11:45 a.m., and was pleasantly surprised to see several pies available for slices. I chose a pepperoni slice and a Buffalo chicken slice.
Both were thin (about an eighth of an inch thick), New York style slices. Each came sliced into two. The undersides had a dusting of corn meal and were lightly charred. They were pliable but firm, with some chewy breadiness in the interior.
The pepperoni slice was topped with a moderate amount of mildly flavored tomato sauce, a thin layer of mozzarella, and a generous helping of thin pepperoni slices. It was a well balanced slice, and the overall flavor was good.
The Buffalo chicken slice was done with small chunks of breaded chicken (think a diced chicken finger), "Cajun sauce," and mozzarella. "Cajun" seems like an odd name for Buffalo chicken sauce, but the flavor was that of a basic hot sauce, with enough heat to add a little kick, though toward the mild end of the scale. Blue cheese is served on the side here, not on the pizza.
Vicari's menu is available online, but I'll give a brief rundown.
Pizzas come in 10-, 14- and 16-inch pie sizes (which are available thin, thick, or "regular" - I assume these were "thin"), as well as 16" pan pizza, and sheets. A 9-inch gluten-free pizza is also available. There are 22 toppings and ten specialty pizzas, plus calzones, "twists" and "knots." They also do wings (fried or char-broiled), subs, salads, burgers and pasta. Next time I'm out that way I may get a "Bambino" sub, named in honor of Babe Ruth, I'm sure - one wall of Vicari's is devoted to the New York Yankees (a customer in a Red Sox cap did his best not to notice, or at least not to let it bother him).
I should mention that despite the image of a wood-burning pizza oven on the front of the menu, Vicari's uses regular pizza ovens. Nothing wrong with that - the pizzas are brick-lined, and they don't use screens - but to avoid confusion it wouldn't be a bad idea for them to switch out the photo at some point.
This was some pretty good thin-crust pizza. It didn't have quite the crackle of superb New York style pizza, and some of the corn meal had burned a bit, turning into soot. To get a little nitpicky, the cheese was all right, but not as delectably creamy as I've had on some slices. So I'm not prepared to give it an A. But it was well balanced and tasty, with a good crust. It was certainly above average, and I'm adding it to my mental go-to list for the area, so it easily rates a B from me.
Vicari's Pizzeria, 1795 Ridge Road, Ontario, NY 14519
315-524-4500
Mon. - Sat. 10 - 10, Sun. noon  - 9

Salvatore's, Mt. Read

Three years between visits is long enough for any pizzeria, and so I recently decided to pay a return visit to Salvatore's, which I hadn't been to since April 2009, shortly after I started writing this blog. I don't go out of my way to try chain pizzerias, but if they're local chains, I will check them out. And even with some 23 locations (if I counted right), Salvatore's is still pretty much a Rochester area chain.
On my prior visit, to the East Main Street location, I faulted my slice mainly for being bland. It had a very crunchy exterior and a very soft, almost too soft, interior. I gave it a C.
This time, I stopped by Salvatore's at another city location, on Mt. Read Boulevard. My "slice" (a quarter of a pie, cut down the middle) was pretty thick - about 5/8" for the crust - with a pancake-like bottom, meaning that there were dark brown spots where the dough was in direct contact with the cooking surface (a pan of some sort, I suppose), and other lighter-colored spots where it had bubbled up. It was not greasy, though I did detect a faint scent of cooking oil. The underside was slightly crisp, the edge more so.
The sauce on this slice had a thick consistency, with a cooked-tomato flavor. It was reminiscent of tomato paste - not because it was made from tomato paste, but when much of the moisture from tomato sauce has evaporated, you're going to end up with something that is like tomato paste.
The cheese, which seemed to be all mozzarella, was well browned, and easily peeled away from the crust. It was a little overdone, for my taste.
This pizza was somewhat different from the one I had back in '09. The crust wasn't as airy as that one, and the underside, though not oily, had a bit more of a "fried" aroma and appearance.
I wasn't crazy about this pizza, but that doesn't mean I'm done with Salvatore's. I see from their online pizza menu that they do a "Thin-Thin" pizza that I'm curious to try. Salvatore's also now offers gluten-free pizza, which I don't plan to try, but I know some people do look for it.
This wasn't a great slice of pizza, in my estimation. I don't mean to bash Salvatore's - I mean, there must be a lot of people who like their pizza - but I would describe this as a little better than convenience store pizza, which it rather resembled. There were no glaring faults, but there were several minor ones, from the less than stellar crust to the overbaked cheese to the dried-out tomato sauce. I have to give this one a D.
Salvatore's, 433 Mt. Read Blvd., Rochester
458-5555
Sun. noon - 9:05 p.m., Mon. - Thu. 7:05 a.m. - 9:05 p.m., Fri. 7:05 a.m. - 10:05 p.m., Sat. 10:05 a.m. - 10:05 p.m.

Guys Pizza Co., Pittsford - CLOSED

(NOTE: This establishment is now closed. RPG)
I recently learned of a new pizzeria in Pittsford named Guys Pizza Co. It's a Cleveland- based chain, and this is the first Guys location outside Ohio. (It also has no connection with Five Guys, which is a chain burger joint with a handful of locations in the Rochester area.)
I generally don't get too excited about pizza chains, but hey, this is new to the Rochester area, and so far it's the only Guys location around here, so I was curious enough to take a drive to Pittsford to check it out.
I was planning on getting a slice, and when I arrived, I noticed that their flyers on the counter contained coupons for a free slice, no purchase necessary. So that worked out well. I did but a drink, though, just so I wouldn't feel like a total cheapskate.
Unfortunately, the cheese slice that I got looked as though it had been sitting out for a while, so it wasn't at the peak of freshness, but I still got a pretty good idea, I think, of what their pizza is like.
Which is to say, not all that great. This slice had a thin to medium crust, quite thin toward the tip, and maybe half an inch thick toward the outer edge. The interior was dotted with tiny air holes, and though it wasn't a bad crust, it wasn't very breadlike either. The underside was brown and slightly oily, with a pancake-like appearance. There was a bit of crunch along the edge, but otherwise the crust was pretty unremarkable.
The sauce and cheese were in pretty good balance with the crust, with a moderate layer of each. The sauce was characterized by a somewhat sweet tomatoey flavor, while the browned mozzarella was adequate but again nothing special.
And that's about it. Again, not a bad slice of pizza, just not particularly interesting.
One thing I must say about chains, they generally offer a lot of options, and Guys is no exception. There's a long list of pizza toppings, four different sauces, and 13 specialty pizzas, including a "Garbage Plate Pizza." From their website, it looks as though Pittsford is the only Guys location to offer that particular variety, so I guess they're making some effort to adapt to their local community, which is nice. (Didn't Nick Tahou's register the term "Garbage Plate" with the trademark office, though?) You can also order your pizza half one variety, half another.
Guys' pizzas come in small, medium, large and "New Yorker" sizes (which I take to mean extra large and thin), as well as half and full sheets. They also offer Chicago-style deep dish pizza, "take & bake" pizzas, and their signature item, the "Legendary Guyzones," which the menu describes as a "massively delicious variation to Calzones," though I'm not sure what the "variation" is; they sound like calzones to me. Maybe they're just bigger.
Other menu offerings include salads, wings, quesadillas, wraps, "Guyninis" (a "larger version of a panini sandwich" - I think I see a pattern here), and a few dessert items, including Guys' verision of s'mores (which surprisingly are not called "Guys'mores").
A lot to offer, then, and maybe some of those items are really good. Since they really trumpet their "Guyzones," I guess I'd like to try one sometime. But this pizza didn't impress me too much. It was a bit below average, in my opinion, and I'll give it a C-.
Guys Pizza Co., 18 S. Main St., Pittsford. 248-2222
Mon. - Thu. 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., Fri. & Sat. 10 a.m. - 11 p.m., Sun. 11 a.m. - 9 p.m.

Gusto, Alexander St.

Somebody recently clued me in to Gusto, a small restaurant on Alexander St., in the same building that houses the Old Toad pub. I sort of knew there was a restaurant in there, but I'd never really paid it much attention.
It turns out, they offer pizza - eight different specialty pizzas. So off I went one day at lunchtime, with a couple of friends.
While I was sorely tempted by the Salame pizza (Genoa salami, homemade tomato sauce, mozzarella and marinated artichokes), I went with my usual default option, the Margherita, which was described as topped with homemade tomato sauce, mozzarella, fresh tomatoes and basil.
It had a pretty thin crust, which was very crisp, and in fact downright dry. The edge was quite crunchy. There were some small round indentations here and there on the underside, suggesting that it had baked on a pan with those little nubs that I guess are supposed to help the crust get crisp by allowing steam to escape from underneath.
The crust on mine was not exactly crisp, but as I mentioned, it was a bit dry. It was not crackerlike, and the interior did display indications of a decent rise. This was not a dense crust, in fact it was on the airy side, but it was certainly more crunchy than chewy. The underside was browned, and I picked up just some slight toastiness in the flavor and aroma.
Judged as a Margherita, this wasn't world-class, but it wasn't bad. It was topped with stringy processed mozzarella and sprinkled grated cheese (parmesan, I think). The sliced tomatoes were pretty decent - they were sowewhat sweet, in contrast to some of the flavorless, pale things that pass for tomatoes at so many restaurants. In addition to the fresh tomatoes, the pizza was also topped with a moderate amount of sauce, which was welcome. The duo of fresh tomatoes and sauce helped balance out the dry crust. Topping it all off were some shreds of fresh basil, which appeared to have been added when the pizza came out of the oven (probably a good idea - if you add the basil before baking, it tends to just turn black and lose most of its flavor).
Gusto's other pizza offerings include polpetta (meatball), pepperoni, bianca (white), portabello, vegetale (veggie), and melanzana (eggplant) pies, as well as daily specials. One of my companions ordered that day's white pizza special - I don't recall what differentiated it from the regular white pizza on the menu - and based on my forkful I thought it was pretty good. It was brushed with olive oil, and fresh garlic was among the toppings. Bake anything with olive oil and garlic and it's going to taste good.
For whatever reason, that pizza was not as well done underneath as mine, nor did it seem as crunchy or dry. A combination of the olive oil and shorter baking time, perhaps.
I do wonder, though, about the crusts. After we ordered, my friend noticed an employee carrying a stack of what appeared to be frozen, or at least premade, pizza crust disks.  Gusto's menu also says that "all pizzas are available on white, wheat or gluten free crust." That leads me to think that they're using some sort of premade crusts. I don't say that in an accusatory way, it's just an observation.
If you're not in the mood for pizza, Gusto, which opens at 8:30 on weekdays, also serve breakfast, and the rest of the menu includes soups, salad, panini, pasta (after 5 p.m.), and desserts. It's also a pleasant space, with high ceilings and windows that give it a bright, airy feel.
As for the pizza, it had some pluses and some minuses, but on the whole it was pretty good. The dry, overly crunchy crust was the biggest negative for me, but the overall flavor was good, and as I mentioned, the tomatoes and sauce helped balance out the crust. Judging by my friend's white pizza, my dry crust may also not have been typical of Gusto's pies. So while it didn't transport me to pizza heaven, I did like it, and I'll give it an above-average B.

Gusto, 277 Alexander St. 232-7810
Mon. - Thu. 8:30 a.m. - 9 p.m., Fri. 8:30 a.m. - 9:30 p.m., Sat. 11 a.m. - 9:30 p.m. Closed Sundays except for private parties.

Portside Pizza, Fairport

Portside Pizza opened in 2009 in a former Piatza’s space at Packett’s Landing in Fairport. They offer oversize slices, one of which I tried recently.
As I often do, I got a plain cheese slice, so I wouldn’t be distracted by any other toppings. I did notice, however, that the pepperoni slices had been made with the smaller, cup and char variety of pepperoni.
My slice had a thin crust, with a fairly dense texture. The flavor and texture of the crust were more doughy than bready.
The underside was a uniform light brown, and bore light screen marks. The sauce and cheese were applied right up to the outer edge, which was not especially thick, but was puffy, with some big air holes where the dough had bubbled.
The sauce was very lightly applied, and was hard to detect on my palate. It seemed to get lost somewhere between the crust and the cheese. The cheese, a far more dominant player, was a bit tangy and had been moderately browned.
Portside has a pretty long list of pizza toppings, including four cheeses (feta, Romano, ricotta and blue), and fresh garlic, which is always a plus for me. They also have six specialty pizzas, ranging from the familiar (Buffalo chicken) to the interestingly named Wo-Wo (garlic base with roasted red peppers, red onion, green peppers, artichoke hearts, and Romano cheese). Also worthy of note, Portside offers gluten-free pizza as well.
Aside from pizza, there are the usual wings (six sauces available), hot and cold subs and sandwiches, salads, and appetizers. The “lighter side” of the menu includes soup, fruit salad, yogurt, granola and hummus.
I liked Portside; the service was friendly, the staff is young and enthusiastic, and their heart seems to be in the right place, meaning that I got the sense that they genuinely want their customers to be happy with the food and service. They also seem to be courting a younger clientele, not only with some of the health-conscious menu items, but also with innovations like a “text your order” option. They also have a fairly high internet profile, with a website, active Facebook page, and a separate coupon site.
But on the strength of this one visit, the pizza seemed to me to be a work in progress. It was OK, but I found the crust a little too dense and doughy, and it lacked a bit of balance due to the largely MIA sauce. I also would have liked a slightly crisper, toastier underside. But the flavor wasn’t bad overall, and it didn’t seem to have been carelessly or sloppily made. So while the pizza was pretty average, I’ll give them some points for trying hard, and for still being fairly new at the game, so I’ll give Portside a C+ for now.
Portside Pizza, 110 Packetts Landing, Fairport 425-0522
Tue. - Sat. 11 a.m. - 9 p.m., Sun. Noon - 6 p.m.
Pizza Guy note: as of December 2010, Portside Pizza is closed. Fat Jack's Pizza now occupies the space.

Nick's Deli, Chili Center

Nick's Italian Deli is a family-run place that’s been in business now for over a quarter century. It’s on Chili Center Coldwater Road (what a mouthful) near the corner of Chili Ave. In addition to being a full-service deli, they also offer homemade pizza.
When I stopped in at lunchtime, the only single-serving pizza choices were pepperoni slices and “mini pizzas.” I think I’m going to do a review of some local mini-pizza places (it seems to be a west side phenomenon), but I wanted a more representative sample of a whole pie, so I got a slice.
Oddly, the slice was thicker toward the tip than toward the outer edge. It was very soft, with no real crispness to speak of in the crust, except at the very lip, which had a fried crunchiness.
The underside had a medium-brown, fried-dough color, though it was not particularly oily. There was some oil or grease on top, though, enough that I sopped it up with a napkin.
The crust was more doughy than bready in flavor and texture. It was not undercooked, but didn’t have the visible air holes that you typically find in a breadlike crust.
What was perhaps most noticeable about this pizza was the sauce, which had a distinctive, slightly sweet flavor. It contained small bits of crushed tomato, and what appeared to be diced onion.
This was a fairly cheesy slice, but most of the cheese was on the “inner” half of the slice, i.e., nearer the tip. That was a little odd too, since I would've expected the cheese to pool toward the thinner outer edge as the pizza baked. I suppose the cheese was probably just distributed more toward the middle of the pizza prior to going in the oven, and that’s where it stayed. Anyway, the cheese was lightly browned, and literally fell off the pizza as I was holding the slice, which had flopped straight down. As I said, it was a very soft slice of pizza.
The wide and thin pepperoni was unremarkable. It shared the surface with a dusting of dried herbs, the flavor of which was definitely noticeable, forming a counterpoint to the sweetness of the sauce.
Nick’s has a pretty basic list of pizza toppings and several specialty pizzas, including the “Four Seasons,” which is described as “New York Style dough with white garlic sauce split into four quarters: ¼ Artichoke, ¼ Prosciutto, ¼ Olive, ¼ Sausage.” Four pizzas in one? Sounds good to me.
The menu at Nick’s runs the gamut from pizza, subs and wings to pasta and seafood dinners, and a variety of Italian pastries and cookies.
Nick’s also deserves mention as the only place in Monroe County (to my knowledge) that offers gluten-free pizza, as well as gluten-free pasta, bread, meatballs (think bread crumbs), cookies and other items. I’ve tried the gluten-free pizza here, and it’s not bad. (The bottom photo here is of the underside of Nick's gluten-free pizza.) The overall flavor is very similar to the slice that I’ve described here, the only real difference being in the texture of the crust. It’s hard to describe, but it’s kind of like biscuit dough, only not as crumbly.
Nick’s also has a small grocery section, with some imported Italian foods and other items, including the aforementioned gluten-free pasta. There’s an informal dining area, as well as a covered outdoor patio.
Although, by my standards, this pizza had some flaws, I liked it nevertheless. Yes, the crust was way too soft for me, and lacked breadiness, but, as a whole the pizza tasted good. It also had a distinctive flavor, and I prize that too - I wouldn’t mistake this for anybody else’s pizza. So on balance, it comes in, for me, at about a B-.
Nick’s Italian Deli, 1098 Chili Center Coldwater Road. 247-6270
Mon. - Thu. & Sat. 10 a.m. - 9 p.m., Fri. 10 a.m. - 10 p.m., Sun. 3 - 8 p.m.

Leonardo's, Victor - CLOSED

Leonardo's, a/k/a Leo's, a/k/a Uncle Leo's, is on Rt. 96 in Victor, just down the road from where 490 meets the Thruway, about a mile and a half or so west of the village. According to their website, they've been in business since 1968, an impressive 41 years, although I think there may have been some moves over that time. For one thing, the building they're in doesn't look that old, and I also found this reference to Leo's having started out as "Joe's" on Thurston road in Rochester. Hmm.
Anyway, they're in Victor now, and that's where I headed for a pepperoni slice, which came very fresh out of the oven. The relatively thin crust bore faint but unmistakable pizza screen markings underneath. It was rather pale - just very lightly browned - and despite a slight outer crispness, quite soft overall, without much "backbone."
Flavorwise, I would describe the crust as more doughy than bready. The tomatoey, somewhat tangy sauce stayed mostly in the background, and the cheese, though not applied particularly heavily, was uniformly distributed across the surface, forming a single, melted layer of stringy, chewy mozzarella. No pockets of sauce poking out here, except at the tip, where the cheese had slid off a bit.
The wide and thin slices of pepperoni were applied fairly generously, and were OK, unremarkable but not too greasy. The outer edge of the slice had a thin lip of dough with a bit of crunch and a smidgen of stray, browned shreds of cheese.
Leo's has a pretty big menu, with a long list of specialty pizzas that include a potato skin pizza and a veal pizza, neither of which I recall seeing before. There are also wings, hot and cold subs, sandwiches and wraps, plus salads and appetizers. The weekend menu expands to include fried haddock, clams, and shrimp, as well as spaghetti and ziti dinners.
Leo's also boasts that it's the "Home of the Bomber," which is described as a homemade dough turnover, filled with your choice of meat and cheese, which is then baked and stuffed with your favorite sub toppings. I'm not sure how they can stuff something that's already been filled with meat and cheese (maybe it kind of cooks down in the oven) - but it sounds like a meal and a half in itself.
Leonardo's also deserves mention as one of the few places I've seen around here that offers gluten-free pizza (and bombers, too), the other being Nick's out in Chili (which I'll be getting to soon).
Leo's has takeout and delivery service, and plenty of tables for dining in. The large dining area doesn't have much in the way of atmosphere, but they do have a decent TV (I don't recall if there was more than one), which I assume is generally tuned to sports, and they offer both draft and bottled beer, so while it's not a bar, you could catch a game here over some pizza and brews.
I can't honestly say that I was crazy about this pizza, but I can't say it was bad, either. A little too soft and "medium rare" for my taste, with the chewy, melted-not-browned cheese taking center stage alongside the thin but doughy crust. On the other hand, the overall flavors were good, and by no means would I turn my nose up at this if you put a Leo's pie in front of me. In a word - and this isn't meant as a putdown - this was average pizza for around here, so I'll give it a C.
Leonardo's Pizza, 7387 Pittsford-Victor Road (Route 96), Victor. 924-1480
Mon. - Fri. 11 a.m. - 10 p.m., Sat. noon - 9 p.m., Sun. 4 p.m. - 8 p.m.