Pizzeria Americana Ohana, Monroe Ave.

Note: this establishment has closed. As of Dec. 2011, this site is occupied by Ken's Pizza Corner.
Way back in March 2009, I did a post on Kip's Pizzeria Americana in Greece. I also mentioned that there was a second location on Monroe Avenue in Brighton, going by the name Pizzeria Americana Ohana.
According to RocWiki, the two locations are now under completely separate ownership, and indeed their websites don't look at all alike, and make no mention of each other.
The menus at the two P.A.s are still pretty similar, but I still wanted to check out the Ohana location, just to see if it differed much from Kip's. It took me some time to do it, because although their menu and website say that they open at 11 a.m., on several occasions when I tried calling at lunchtime, I got no answer.
Eventually, I succeeded in ordering some pizza later in the day, to take home for dinner. I got two, a small pepperoni pie, and a medium Margherita.

I was a little put off when the person who took my phone order told me rather brusquely, "It's gonna be at least half an hour," before hanging up. I frankly wasn't quite sure what to make of that. Should I show up in half an hour? If I do, should I bring a book or something else to pass the time? Should I phone home and let my family know I might be late bringing home dinner?
Fortunately, when I did arrive about 35 minutes later, my pizzas were ready. They did in fact bear a definite resemblance to the pie that I'd gotten at Kip's, particularly around the edge, which was formed into a thick lip with a knotty, rope-like appearance.
The crusts were medium thick, with a firm, slightly charred underside that bore a light dusting of cornmeal. The crust had a pleasant bready flavor and aroma, and good texture.
The pepperoni pie was well balanced, with a moderate layer of mild-tasting tomato sauce that was neither too sweet nor too strongly flavored with herbs. That was topped by a uniform layer of lightly browned mozzarella, and rather spicy cup & char pepperoni, which was crisp along the edges.
The Margherita (or Margarita, to go by the menu spelling, though that sounds as if it should be topped with a tequila lime sauce, with some salt along the edge) was a little untraditional. The crust on this one is brushed with olive oil, and topped with garlic, fresh tomato, basil and Asiago cheese. It was certanly enjoyable, but the tiny bits of diced tomato contributed very little other than some color, and the basil, while more noticeable, took a back seat to the garlic and cheese. The latter two components, though, worked well together. The pizza had a nostril- and palate-pleasing garlic presence, and the Asiago, while not as stringy as processed mozzarella, gave the pizza a nice, sharp-edged tang. The thin coating of olive oil between the crust and toppings helped bring the various components together.
Pizzeria American has an extensive list of toppings to choose from (the cheese list alone runs to eight different varieties), and no less than 31 gourmet pizzas, which run the gamut from a simple four cheese pizza to the "Garbage Pie," whose name says it all. They also serve hot and cold subs, sandwiches and burgers, wings, appetizers and salad. It's stricly takeout and delivery ($2.00 delivery charge).
Both these pizzas were pretty good. I particularly liked the crust, and though this wasn't my favorite Margherita around here, both it and the pepperoni pie were pretty well made. I gave Kip's a B+, and that does seem about right for this too.
Pizzeria Americana Ohana, 1860 Monroe Ave. (near 12 Corners) 271-5860
Mon. - Thu. 11 a.m. - 9 p.m., Fri. & Sat. 11 a.m. - 10 p.m., Sun. noon - 8 p.m.

Straight Home, Lexington Ave.

Straight Home is on Lexington Avenue, about a half mile east of Mount Read. There's a bar on one side, and a takeout pizzeria/grill on the other.
Straight Home used to be The Lex Bar & Grill, which is why there's a place called Lex South on Scottsville Road. I guess Lex South was originally a second location of the original Lex.
I mention that because Lex South shares its building with a pizzeria, Sylvio's, as does Straight Home, so it seems there's some connection between the Lex, or its successor Straight Home, and pizza.
But back to Straight Home. The grill opens at 11 a.m., but I tried to get a slice there a couple of time around lunch hour only to be told that pizza wouldn't be available until later. So finally one evening I swung by and got a pepperoni slice.
When I placed the order, the cook pulled out a large cheese slice, added some pepperoni to it and put it in the pizza oven, where it stayed for quite some time, even though it appeared to have already been baked when he put it in. Maybe it was just partially baked, with the idea that it could be finished when it got rewarmed in the oven.
After, I'd say, five minutes, maybe a little more, my slice emerged. It was a giant slice, measuring 10 1/2 inches along the sides.
Despite the length of time it had spent in the oven, the underside of the slice was quite pale. It was lightly dusted with cornmeal. It was firm, but not crisp.
The crust was rather thin toward the tip of the slice, and  gradually got thicker nearer the outer edge, going from about a quarter inch to 3/4" thick. The lip at the edge was over an inch thick.
The slice was rather greasy, probably from all the pepperoni. I would've held the slice vertically to let the grease drip off, but the pepperoni would've fallen off too. Pepperoni just doesn't adhere well when you try to add it to a cheese slice that's already been cooked. So I did the best I could sopping it up with a napkin.
There was a lot of cheese here, and a lot of pepperoni too. This was a big slice in a lot of ways. Big in size, and loaded with cheese and pepperoni.

The only thing there wasn't a lot of was sauce. There was just a thin layer underneath the cheese, and I couldn't really pick up much of its flavor.
Besides pizza, Straight Home has all the bar food staples, grilled, fried and otherwise. The wings looked and smelled particularly good. Both the bar (which is on the right, facing the front of the building) and the takeout counter were reasonably busy on this weeknight. (The name, I assume, is meant to allow you to say that you're going, or that you went, "straight home" after work or whenever, *wink wink*.)
This was, I thought, rather atypical bar pizza. Of the few bars that serve pizza, I've always figured that most, like Acme, make it thin so you won't get too full to keep drinking. One slice of this, though, was pretty filling.
I can't say I liked it too much, I'm afraid. The dough had risen nicely, and had a good bready flavor, but bottom was just not nearly done enough for me. I also found it a little out of balance, and would've liked a little more sauce to balace out the cheese and pepperoni. Overall, this was pizza with some potential, but this particular slice had some definite flaws as well. I'll give it a C-.
Straight Home Inn, 688 Lexington Ave. 458-0020
Mon. - Sat. 11 a.m. - 2 a.m., Sun. noon - 2 a.m.

A Genuine Neighborhood Pizzeria in the 19th Ward: Menezes Pizza

Menezes Pizza on Chili Avenue has been in business for 24 years, all under the ownership of Freddy and Jill Menezes (pronounced "men-EZZ-ez"). In a business in which both pizzerias and their owners come and go with some frequency, that's pretty impressive.
I recently had the opportunity to chat with both Jill and Freddy about what's kept them going all these years, and about how the pizza business has changed since they started out in 1986.
I'll refer you to Menezes' website for the story of how Menezes Pizza got started on Genesee Street and how it ended up at its current location, in the former site of a Pizza Hut carryout franchise (score one for the little guys!).
When I read that story prior to my visit, I was impressed by the Menezes' commitment to their 19th Ward neighborhood, and that very much came out during my conversation with Jill. With obvious affection for the area, she termed it a "very special neighborhood," both in its diversity of residents and because it is a very real neighborhood, where people still talk to each other.
That neighborliness has been a factor in the success of Menezes, which, without the kind of advertising budget that its larger competitors have, has had to rely to a great extent on word of mouth. Jill recalled that the day that Menezes opened after relocating from Genesee Street, they had 300 orders, despite almost no advance advertising, simply because word had spread among the customers and local residents. Clearly there's a symbiotic relationship at work here between Menezes and the neighborhood, many of whose residents found their first jobs at the pizzeria.
But it's unlikely that Menezes would have stayed in business for this long had they not turned out good pizza, and provided good service. And what was also apparent from talking to both Freddy and Jill is their commitment to both. She described Fred - who oversees most of the pizzamaking operations - as someone who has always striven to make the best product he can, adding that they were both determined from day one to "treat people the right way."
What has also benefited Menezes over the years is the contrasting yet complementary personalities of Freddy and Jill. He's a people person who takes a hands-on approach and is able to roll with the punches, while Jill, with an academic background in both art and economics, tends to look more at the big picture, trying to keep up with the latest technology and coming up with innovative approaches to business issues and marketing.
Freddy's passion for quality was evident in the frustration he expressed over some changes in the pizza business since he started out. Back in the day, he told me, the cheese and pepperoni were all hand-sliced. Today, workers' comp issues and customers' expectations of a fast turnaround time have made that impracticable. Even the sauce has changed over the years; as Freddy explained, cooking helps bring out the flavor of tomatoes, but these days the idea has taken hold that fresher always means better, so now tomatoes go from the vine to the can with minimal processing.
And while it's not exactly news that the government can make life more difficult, here's one that never would have occurred to me:  sauce is best kept at room temperature before it's spread on the pizza, so that it can cook in the oven; if it's cold when it's applied, precious minutes will go by in the oven just warming it up. But keeping sauce out at room temperature doesn't sit right with the Department of Health, whose inspectors insist that it be kept refrigerated when not in use.
There have been more serious challenges too, not the least of which is the recession and the continued sluggish economy. The deep-pocketed chain pizzerias have responded by slashing prices and spending heavily on advertising, neither of which small independent shops like Menezes can afford without going into debt, something that Freddy and Jill have always tried to avoid.
On top of that, there was a snafu earlier this year when the phone company printed the wrong phone number for Menezes in the phone book. That was eventually straightened out, but in a business that relies heavily on phone orders, that's more than just an inconvenience.
Clearly, then, running a successful pizza business is not as simple as one might think. With all the obstacles that are out there, the pizza had better be good, and consistent, and Menezes' pizza is both. I got a quick walk-through of the process, starting with the massive mixer (think KitchenAid on steroids), and moving on to the dough retarder, where the dough is chilled to allow for a slow fermentation. Eighteen-year veteran Jay Trudeau (seen in photo) was busy pressing out the dough and topping it with Menezes' house-made sauce and other toppings, and from there it was on to the ovens. Pizzas at Menezes typically go in to the oven on a tray (screens are  no longer used), then finished directly on the oven's stone deck. If  you, like me, prefer your pizza to be baked without the tray, just let them know when ordering, and they'll accommodate you.
Talking with Freddy and Jill gave me newfound respect not just for the real-life "moms and pops" out there who run our neighborhood pizzerias, but for small business owners in general. It takes both brains and heart, to understand the business but also to genuinely care about taking good care of your customers. At one point in our conversation, Jill made the comment that she and Fred "try our hardest every day to serve people the best we can." I think that as much as anything else, that sums up why Menezes has been in business now for 24 years and counting.
Menezes Pizza, 445 Chili Ave., 328-3010
Mon. - Wed. 11 a.m. - midnight, Thu. - Sat. 11 a.m. - 1 a.m., Sun. noon - midnight
Note:  Menezes Pizza will be participating in the Second Annual Taste of Chili Avenue Festival from noon to 6 p.m. on Saturday, July 24. The event will take place along Chili Avenue near Thurston Road. Other features include two stages of entertainment, a basketball competition, face painting and activities for kids. Parking will be available at HSBC, the Progressive Cathedral Church of God in Christ, and the Gardiner Recreation Center. Admission is free.