Pepperoni Patent

I ran across this patent application online for a "process for making a pepperoni sausage." That in itself is not so remarkable, I guess, but I noticed that the application states that "Subjecting the sausage to high temperatures during drying or other processing steps may also adversely affect the suitability of the finished product for certain applications. For example, pepperoni slices used as pizza toppings should not cup or curl at the edges during cooking of the pizza because of the tendency for liquid to pool in the cupped slices and the likelihood that the edges will burn or dry out."
Say what? I guess this guy never had - or doesn't like - "cup and curl," a/k/a "cup and char" pepperoni on his pizza. Personally I like it - it gets nice and crisp along the edges, and has a more substantial texture. It does tend to result in little grease-filled pepperoni cups, but you can always mop that up with a napkin. The alternative, with regular thin-sliced pepperoni, is having the melted fat spread all over the surface of the pizza.
I will agree, though, that for true NY style pizza, the thin stuff is what you need. What do you think? Leave a comment and let me know.

Corn Hill Exchange Market

In December 2009, I reviewed the pizza sold by Corn Hill Market, which was in the plaza across from Corn Hill Landing on Exchange Boulevard. It wasn't that great, but the market closed some time ago, and a new grocery store/deli, the Corn Hill Exchange Market, has opened in its place.
Initially, the new market didn't offer pizza, but recently I noticed a handmade sign out in front with "PIZZA" prominently featured. The sign indicated that pizza was only available during lunch hours, so a few days ago I stopped by to check it out.
For now, at least, Corn Hill (I was going to go with the acronym "CHEM", but that seemed rather unappetizing) offers either full or half pies, in what amounts to a "medium" size. They're baked in a conveyor oven, and the whole operation is right there behind the counter for customers to behold.
Maybe somewhere in the world, great pizzas are emerging out of conveyor ovens, but I have yet to find one. I'm not going to come down on Corn Hill, I mean they're just starting out with pizza, but I think a conveyor oven limits what you can achieve with pizza.
This one - a half-pie "slice" - was super thin, but not very crisp, with a lightly browned underside. With a fairly generous helping of cheese and sauce, it made for pretty sloppy eating. The overall flavor was good, though, as the rich tomatoey sauce combined with the gooey, melted mozzarella and the thin, greasy slices of pepperoni adhering to the cheese.
Corn Hill is not primarily a pizzeria, it's a neighborhood grocery store that happens to serve pizza. It's also in the process of expanding its offerings; on a recent visit, minestrone soup, burritos and tacos were available, and a deli case stood waiting for what at some point should be a selection of meats.
A new pizza place is always welcome news, particularly in a neighborhood that, like Corn Hill, inexplicably has lacked many choices in that department. True, there's excellent pizza to be had at Tony D's in Corn Hill Landing, but that's more of an eat-in place. Sometimes you want a quick slice or a pie to go, and the Corn Hill Exchange Market is well positioned to fill that need.
And so far, so good. Again, this was not a tremendous crust, by my standards, but the pizza tasted good, and there's real potential here. Because Corn Hill has only been doing pizza for a very brief time, I'm going to refrain from assigning it a grade at this point - I think it's fair to give a place a little time to work on things before I do that - but I will say that Corn Hill residents and local office workers in need of a pizza fix should check it out.
Corn Hill Exchange Market, 315 Exchange Blvd. 14608. 454-6333
Open daily 8 a.m. - 9 p.m. (for now, pizza is only available at lunchtime)

Brandani's Buffalo Chicken Pizza

I've been making a point lately of trying Buffalo chicken pizza at various places, not so much because I love it - I like wings, and I love pizza, but I generally prefer to eat them separately - but because it seems to be such a popular variety around here. And there are some interesting variations in this style from one place to another.
It was only a matter of time before I tried the version served up by Brandani's on West Henrietta Road, which is one of my favorite local pizzerias, mostly for its consistently delicious, thick, bready crust.
I was especially intrigued when I was perusing Brandani's menu one day and saw that their Buffalo chicken pizza included celery - according to the menu, the pizza is layered with a blue cheese base, marinated chicken and mozzarella, topped off with celery, so it includes "everything but the bones!" It's not that I'm such a huge fan of celery, but this sounded unlike any other Buffalo chicken pizza I'd had before.
And it was, even if it wasn't quite what I expected. The slice was indeed covered with a blue cheese sauce. That alone differentiated this from the other Buffalo chicken pizzas I've tried, which have come with either tomato or hot sauce. In fact, a lot of Buffalo chicken pizzas don't seem to have any blue cheese at all.
There was, however, no celery that I could detect. Maybe if you order a whole pie, they add some diced or sliced celery after it comes out of the oven, and maybe the thinking is that celery wouldn't hold up well on a lunchtime pie, which has to sit out for some time. But I was a little disappointed by that.
This was a pretty greasy slice of pizza. There was an oil slick at the bottom of the box, and some pooled grease on the top of the slice as well. But hey, whaddaya want with Buffalo chicken? We're not talking salad here.
The crust, though not oil-soaked, was also a little more greasy than I've come to expect from Brandani's. But again that's not a total shocker when you consider the toppings. Not only will the bits of fried chicken add some grease, but you've got that blue cheese sauce to contend with as well.
The sauce was like a thick dressing in consistency, though it may have thinned out a little, or separated into its oil- and water-based components in the heat of the oven. It was not just a blue cheese-flavored sauce, as there were small chunks of blue cheese noticeable throughout.
They were interspersed with larger chunks of breaded chicken, and of course, there was some hot sauce present. Unlike some Buffalo chicken pizzas, though, the hot sauce provided more of a flavor accent than a dominant theme, making the overall flavor profiled something like a lightly-sauced wing doused in blue cheese sauce. All that was missing, then, were the bones and the celery. I'm not sure that I would've liked this any better with celery - maybe not, actually - but it would've been nice to find out.
Of course, unlike when eating actual wings, here you've got the addition of Brandani's crust. Though not as wonderfully crisp and flavorful as on some of Brandani's pizzas, this one still had a bit of crispness, and it remained nice and breadlike inside - beautifully risen dough with large air holes, giving it the great internal structure (or "crumb," in breadspeak) that is a hallmark of Brandani's pizza.
For my second slice, I could've opted for another, new-to-me variety from among Brandani's impressive lunchtime lineup, but the primavera slices, which I've reviewed before, looked too good to resist. It had a crisper crust, topped with finely chopped tomatoes, herbs and grated Romano. Simple but delicious.
I'll stick with my plan of not rating these Buffalo chicken pizzas. Not enough personal experience of them, plus they differ so widely from each other that I'm not at all sure a rating would be much help. I'll just say that if you like a lot of blue cheese with your wings, then Brandani's version is for you. If you're more into the hot sauce than the blue cheese, then this might not be your best bet, though you could always order wings from Brandani's along with one of their other pizzas. Either way, Brandani's should be on local pizza lovers' radar.
Brandani's Pizza, 2595 W. Henrietta Rd. 272-7180
Mon. - Sat. 11 a.m. - 9 p.m., Sun. 12 noon - 7 p.m.