Mr. Shoes, South Ave. & E. Henrietta Rd.

Mr. Shoes has been around for quite a few years, and as I recall, used to have a bunch of locations around the Rochester area. Now they're down to just one, at the intersection of South Ave. and East Henrietta Rd., just north of Westfall Rd.
I got a pepperoni slice at lunchtime (I don't exactly love pepperoni, but if you're getting a slice, pepperoni tends to be the freshest because it sells the most).
They don't seem to advertise it - in fact, they don't seem to advertise too much at all - but this is one of those "mega slice" places. And this was a big slice. Maybe not the biggest I've ever seen in terms of surface area, but certainly among the biggest in terms of weight. It was big, thick, and heavy.
The thickness of the dough wasn't just from rising a lot; it was a fairly dense, chewy crust. It was just plain thick.
The bottom showed that it had been cooked on a screen. The dark brown of the bottom surface indicated a relatively long cooking time, at a relatively low temperature, which is probably necessary to cook the dough all the way through. That gave the exterior a slightly toasted flavor.
The exterior was pretty soft. Only along the braided edge of the crust was there a pleasant crunchiness, which I would've liked more of underneath.
Despite its thickness, the crust, which was rather bland on the interior, was almost an afterthought, what with the heavy toppings. The somewhat salty sauce was laid on thickly, and atop that was a thick, gooey layer of melted cheese. Try to hold this slice in one hand, and a chunk of the cheese will simply slide right off the pointy end, taking some of the pepperoni or other toppings along with it.
The pepperoni was basic, wide-and-thin stuff, adding a bit of flavor and grease.
Mr. Shoes has a fairly wide menu, with some specialty pizzas, wings, pasta, subs, various fried stuff, and even some desserts. There is some seating, but it's mostly takeout and probably a lot of delivery.
This may sound like a putdown, but as I was eating this slice the word that came to mind was "pancake." With its thickness, soft chewy texture and browned exterior, it was kind of like eating a pancake, minus the sweetness, and with a heavy layer of sauce and cheese instead of syrup. To me, this is not great pizza, but if you want a lot of food for a little money (I got a slice and a Coke and got a buck and change for my $5) this'll do it. I'll give it a C.
Mr. Shoes, 1921 South Ave.
Sunday – Thursday: 11a.m.– 9:30p.m., Friday & Saturday: 11a.m.– 10:30p.m.

Panzari's Italian Bistro, Exchange Blvd.

Well, this has to rank as my most disappointing stop since I started this blog. Panzari's is advertised as offering pizzas cooked in a wood-burning brick oven. It opened in 2002, ahead of the wood-fired, brick-oven trend in these parts. So I figured these people know a thing or two about good pizza, and I was wondering how they were doing, pizzawise, now that's Panzari's has some nearby competition in the form of Tony D's in Corn Hill Landing across the street.
The answer, I'm afraid, is not well. I ordered a margherita pizza to go, at lunchtime. When I arrived to pick it up, there was the oven, but it was dark inside. Right next to the oven, however, was something emblazoned with the ominous words, "Pizza Press." It looked like a big round waffle iron. Uh-oh.
Uh-oh indeed. Upon opening the pizza box, there I saw - well, let's start from the bottom up, as I usually do. The bottom crust had a lot of cornmeal on it, and though it had a few dark brown spots, which were concentrated along one side of the pizza, it was not crisp at all, and was very pliable.
The edge of the crust was a little greasy, and the dark brown spots had more of a fried-to-the-point-of-burnt flavor than baked-to-the-point-of-charred.
There was no sauce, which is OK in itself, as margherita pizza often has only fresh tomatoes, not tomato sauce. On top of the dough was a thick layer of melted cheese, which was not browned at all, slices of fresh (but not especially good) tomato, and a sprinkling of dried (!) basil. Look, dried herbs have their place, even on pizza (like in the sauce, where some of the herbal flavor can seep into the surrounding liquid), but not just sprinkled on top.
Taking a bite, I got - well, not much. Bland. No detectable breadiness, either in flavor or in texture (the top and bottom of the dough has separated slightly but there were no yeasty air holes). Mild, melted cheese flavor, and kind of an unpleasant flavor of dry herbs. It was really more reminiscent of, if not as good as, a grilled-cheese-and-tomato sandwich.
As I tossed out the box that it came in, I couldn't help noticing the mocking words on the boxtop: "Baked Oven Fresh." Sorry, but a "pizza press" is not an oven. And "pressing" a pizza is not the same as baking it.
Panzari's doesn't just do pizza. They offer various pasta dishes and other Italian entrees, which may be quite good for all I know. They're open for lunch and dinner, and they serve beer and wine.
If I had never heard of pizza before and had no preconceptions about what it was supposed to taste like, I wouldn't say this was horrible, so I won't give it an F. But judged as a pizza, especially from a place that advertises pizza baked in a wood-fired, brick oven, I have to give it a D-.

Tony Pepperoni, W. Henrietta Rd.

Tony Pepperoni has two locations, the original on W. Henrietta Rd. near Calkins Rd. and one in Greece on Latta Rd. just off 390. I checked out the Henrietta location at lunchtime, and it was quite busy, which I suppose is a good sign.
As you might expect at lunchtime, they do a lot of business in individual slices, and there are several to choose from, including one with french fries on it, which I assume is the "Tony Plate" pizza. Today I felt like a simple cheese slice, always the best measure of a pizzeria.
Tony P's slices are thin, though not quite as thin as a typical New York City slice; maybe a quarter inch thick. The underside was more brown than charred, but not greasy, and the slice folded nicely. The interior of the crust also showed some air holes, indicating that the yeast had some time to do its work.
Biting into it, there was a definite crunchiness to the crust, and since the cheese pizza had just come out of the oven, it was not due to reheating, so that was good. The sauce had a pretty straight-ahead tomatoey flavor, and was applied just enough to create a buffer between the crust and the cheese, which was melted to the point of creaminess, and a tad greasy (whole-milk mozzarella, perhaps?). Although I got a plain slice, I noticed that the pepperoni was of the cup 'n' char variety, small and crunchy looking.
These are not "giant" or "mega" slices, but a pretty decent size for my two bucks and change. Props to the counter guy, too, for picking out the biggest slice he had out of the pie, although I guess that means eventually somebody's going to get stuck with the smallest slice. They were pretty uniformly cut, though, so no big deal either way.
Tony Pepperoni offers thin, regular, and thick crust. I should've asked what my slice was, because it was pretty thin, but you would think that slices would be "regular." Hmm. They also do wings, which are advertised as "roaster" (i.e. big) wings, various specialty pizzas, sides, salads, calzones, and subs made with fresh-baked rolls.
There is some seating, including one outdoor table, and they deliver for a $1 charge.
All in all, this was a pretty good slice of pizza. Not world-class, but more than satisfactory, and I wouldn't mind getting a whole pie sometime. I'll give it a B.