Product Review: Cow Wow Milk

I don't eat a lot of cold cereal these days, but I did, as a kid, and my favorite part of every bowl was drinking the sugar- and flavoring-infused milk at the bottom of the bowl. If only all milk tasted that way!
Well, your milk now can. I recently received a review sample of Cow Wow Cereal Milk. This organic (!) low-fat milk comes in two flavors, Fruity Trudy and Chocolate Chip Cathy (those being the names of the cow mascots). I was recently given a review sample of the Chocolate Chip Cathy, and yeah, it does kind of taste like the milk at the bottom of the bowl after you've polished off a healthy serving of your favorite chocolate-flavored cereal.
I don't quite get the chocolate "chip" angle, as opposed to just chocolate, but it's tasty. It's got a mild chocolate flavor, not intense or overly sweet, but pleasant. And the cool thing is, it comes in little 8.5-ounce cartons (like juice packs) that don't have to be refrigerated.
I haven't tried the Fruity Trudy, but I'd like to, as fruity cereals were among my favorites when I was growing up. The package also states that Cow Wow is available in "Marsha Mallow," "Cinny Minny," "Peanut Butter Bessie," and "Honey Beatrice" flavors, although those don't seem to be mentioned on their website.
Again from the website, Cow Wow seems to be available for now mostly on the west coast. But look for it in a store near you soon. If you'd like an organic, all-natural alternative to sugary fruit juice drinks for your kid's lunch, or just miss that pleasure of drinking up a half-bowlful of cereal-sweetened milk, this may be for you.

Flour City Bread Company Mobile Oven

I had known for some time that Flour City Bread Co. had a mobile, wood-burning pizza oven, but I never knew when or where I could find it. Then, thanks to a comment on my Facebook page, I discovered Food About Town, which led me to learn that Flour City has been appearing at the Brighton Farmers Market on Sundays.
So first chance I got, I got over to the BFM, and got me a pie. I ordered a Margherita, which I almost always do, given the chance.
Now before I get to the pizza, let me explain that if you're not familiar with Flour City Bread, you should be. They're at the Public Market, and their bread is outstanding. I love the old-school, established bakeries, but Flour City makes some of the best bread you'll find around Rochester. So I had high expectations for their pizza.
And they were met, mostly. This pizza had a lot going for it. But it wasn't quite A-level.
My initial focus is always on the crust, and it was especially so with this one, given my high regard for Flour City's bread. And this was a very good crust, with good flavor. With far too many pizzas, the crust has almost no flavor, but with the right ingredients and handling, including a long, cool rise, dough can develop a subtle yet unmistakable flavor, and this one had that. The interior also displayed some nice bubbling, indicative of a good rise, especially along the edge. The cornicione was medium thick and about an inch wide, and well complemented the thin center of the pie.
The interior of the crust was very chewy, almost tough. My guess is that the dough was made from high-gluten flour. I liked it - it was like good, chewy bread - but that goes to the balance you have to strike with pizza. High gluten levels will give you a physically strong dough, often very bubbly if made with enough water, but it also makes for a chewier dough.
Where this pie ran into problems was in the execution. It was overly blackened on one side. I don't mean to be a stickler for detail, but this pie was truly burned along one side, and tasted burned along that edge. The oven had a blazing wood fire inside, so I think this pie just needed a little closer attention and frequent turning while cooking.
Underneath, the crust did display some attractive char spots, as well as a light dusting of flour, some of which appeared to me to be semolina. I've found semolina to be a good choice to keep a crust from sticking to the peel, as it doesn't lend that raw-flour taste you get with regular flour, but it also doesn't burn like, and isn't as gritty as corn meal.
On top, the fresh mozzarella was very nicely melted, lending a creamy texture to contrast with the crust. The tomato sauce was thinly applied, and some of its moisture had evaporated in the oven, but as far as it went, it had a pleasant, bright flavor. The basil was rather scant, though, with just a few scattered, wilted shreds here and there.
This was a good pizza, and I'm glad I was finally able to try it. As expected, the crust was flavorful and displayed all the signs of a good, slow, cool rise, which helps develop flavor and texture in bread dough. The best pizzas, to me, have crusts that are reminiscent of good bread, as this one did.
But I'm afraid the execution fell a little short. Flour City makes great bread, and this had the makings of a great pizza, but this particular pie was "only" a very good pizza. I like a charred crust, but at some point you cross the line from charring to burnt, and this was burnt, as well as unevenly baked. I also would've liked a little more tomato and basil, but the main issue was the burnt crust.
Despite those flaws, a very good pie, and I'll give it a B. And I'll certainly try it again.
B
Flour City Bread Company
957-3096
Bakery open at 52 Rochester Public Market, Thu. 7 a.m. - 2 p.m., Sat. 6 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Mobile oven currently appearing at Brighton Farmers Market, Sun. 9 a.m. - 1 p.m.

Charcoal Corral, Perry

Over the weekend, I stopped at Charcoal Corral near Silver Lake. I've driven by this place, a little south of Perry off Route 39, many times and always wondered what it was all about.
Well, what it is, is an 18-hole mini-golf course, a fast-food restaurant and pizzeria, an ice cream parlor, a game arcade, and a drive-in theater. And on Friday and Saturday nights, they have giant inflatables for the kids.
Now obviously that's not going to appeal to everybody. But for a couple with a 10-year-old, on a sunny Saturday afternoon, it was a nice enough way to spend a couple of hours.
We started off with a round of mini-golf, and though I'm no connoisseur, their course was one of the better ones I've played on. If you never play mini golf, you may be wondering how one can one be better than another, but what I mean is that the holes were well maintained, with some interesting angles - not just a bunch of 2x4 boxes - and the grounds were attractive, by mini-golf standards, with an Old West theme, running water, and real flowers. It's not Oak Hill, but it's nice. 
Following the golf game (I won) we headed indoors for lunch. My wife and daughter ordered from the grill counter, while I made a beeline for the pizzeria, which is in a separate room.
I had three slice choices, cheese, pepperoni, and the pizza of the week, chicken-bacon-ranch. I went with a slice of pepperoni.
It was, not surprisingly, basic convenience-store-style pizza. I did see the counter guy stretching the dough by hand, so this wasn't a prebaked shell, but it wasn't particularly good.
The bottom was a little oily to the touch, with a pancake-like bottom. It wasn't awful, but it wasn't great. The interior was OK, with some rising evident, but the crust was pretty much just a base for the toppings.
And the toppings weren't all that good either. Very basic tomato sauce, topped with mozzarella that had melted in place rather than spread together, suggesting that it wasn't the greatest cheese to begin with. The pepperoni was decent, thin sliced and medium spicy, and the whole thing was dusted with dried herbs.
Charcoal Corral does have a surprisingly lengthy menu, with subs, grilled items, salads, and wings. And the adjoining ice cream parlor has a lot of flavors of Perry's ice cream, including, on this occasion, the rarely-seen Fireball. I wasn't in the mood for ice cream, so I passed it up, but it's good, if you like hot cinnamon.
Before I wrap up, let me say that I wouldn't go out of my way to review a place like this, but this is a blog, after all, which means I post about pizza I've tried lately. And since I stopped here, and had pizza, I'm posting about it.
I did like Charcoal Corral generally. It's a nice spot for a family outing, or for a bite to eat - my daughter's sub and my wife's salad were both pretty good, the ice cream was fine, and like the golf course, the indoor areas were clean and well maintained. But the pizza rates a D, I'm afraid. Good enough to finish, but that's about it.
Charcoal Corral and Silver Lake Drive-In Theater, 7037 Chapman Ave., Perry, NY
585-237-3040 (Drive-In 585-237-3372)
Sun. - Thu. 11 a.m. - 11 p.m., Fri. & Sat. till midnight