Sully's Pub: Buffalo Chicken Pizza

NOTE: Sully's Pub is now closed.
Back in April 2010, I posted a review of Sully's Pub downtown. I really liked all three of the wood-fired pizzas I tried on that occasion, and gave them a collective A-minus.
Recently I went back to Sully's, and though this time around I just had one pie, I did venture further into their pizza menu, with Sully's Buffalo chicken pizza.
This pie had a thin crust, with a crisp bottom that was lightly charred. There wasn't much of an interior crust to speak of, except along the thicker outer edge; this is not what I would call a bready crust - it's just too thin for that.
The edge was also crisp and charred, though in one spot it was blackened to the point of being what I would call burnt, meaning that it extended past the surface into the interior of the cornicione. The top side was well cooked, and the cheese was browned, but still chewy and not dried out.
Sully's take on Buffalo chicken pizza uses a combination of tomato sauce and hot sauce, resulting in a pizza that's something of a cross between a traditional red pizza and the Buffalo-chicken-on-a-crust that you find at a lot of pizzerias. It had a medium level of heat, but some tomatoey sweetness in the background.
Also differentiating this pizza from other Buffalo chicken pizzas that I've had around here were the additional toppings. The mozzarella was dotted here and there with small chunks of blue cheese, which, interestingly, seemed to be more noticeable the next day eating the cold leftovers. Big chunks of diced chicken were spread over the entire surface, and it looked to me as if Sully's had taken breaded chicken, fried it, and then cut it up before putting the pie in the oven.
Also unusual was the addition of vegetables. Although they were few and very small, this was the first Buffalo chicken pizza I've seen with celery slices. More prominent were the carrot slices, which contributed some crunch but little in the way of flavor, relative to the other toppings.
Since I've previously given the rundown on Sully's menu, hours, etc., I won't repeat myself here. You can also see a copy of their menu on their website.
I was a fan of Sully's pizza after my prior visit, and I remain one. I haven't been rating Buffalo chicken pizzas, just because they're so dissimilar from each other that it's hard to compare them, so I won't start now. I will say that the overall preparation and quality of this pizza was very much in line with my prior experience. As for this particular example of Buffalo chicken pizza, it was not one of the more "wing-like" pizzas I've had, despite the presence of carrots, celery and blue cheese. I think the use of tomato sauce pushed it closer to traditional pizza than some versions that only use hot sauce, or a mix of hot sauce and blue cheese. But I found it very enjoyable in spite of, or perhaps because of, that. I'd order it again, which is, after all, the basic test for any menu item.
Sully's Pub, 240 South Ave. (Woodbury Blvd.), Rochester 14604
(877) 805-3570
Their hours seem to change with some frequency, so check before you go, but -
Wed. - Fri.: 11 a.m. to close, Sat. 4 p.m. - close

Best of Rochester - Cast Your Ballot!

City Newspaper is doing their annual Best of Rochester survey. Of particular interest to readers of this blog might be the categories for Best Pizza Slice (#6), Best Specialty Pizza (#7) and Best Local Blog (#62).
I know my choice for best slice, but I'm keeping that to myself, although it shouldn't be hard to figure it out. Best specialty pizza is a tougher call; I have to think about that one. And best local blog, well ... I'll leave that up to you.
On that note, though, after The Rochester NY Pizza Blog won last year, I promised to try to get even better in the year ahead. I hope I've done that, but I would welcome your comments about how I can improve the blog. Is there anything you'd like to see changed? Anything you'd like to see more, or less of? More giveaways, maybe? Features on local pizzerias? Recipes? I'd love to hear from you.

Bada Bings, Norton St. - CLOSED

 Bada Bings opened a few weeks ago, in the space formery occupied by Perri's and Piatza's on Norton St. Is it a cursed space for a pizzeria, or will the third time be the charm? Time will tell.
I stopped by last week and got two slices, one pepperoni and one plain. I guess I should've asked how big they were first, because these were huge, and two slices was way more than I wanted. Oh well.
It seems to me that "big slice" pizza is almost a style unto itself. There are some places, like Pontillo's, that offer big slices that don't fit the mold, but most of these places offer a style of pizza that's thin, screen baked, and floppy. I can't really call it New York style, because it lacks the crispness of NY pizza, and because NY pizza generally never touches a screen, in my experience.
There are probably logical reasons for this. Maybe if you're making a truly enormous pizza you almost have to use a screen, since the pie might be wider than the average pizza peel, and I suppose it makes sense to make it thin, for reasons of cost and convenience. But I can't see why the crust has to be so pale and soft.
As with any style of pizza, though, some big slices are better than others. These fell somewhere in the middle. The underside was screen baked and pale (*sigh*), but it was at least a little crisp after rewarming in the oven. And it seemed to have the basic makings of a good crust, with some bready flavor and a chewy texture.
The sauce and cheese were added in proportion to the crust, making these well balanced pizzas. The sauce was tomatoey and slightly sweet, and the mozzarella was well melted and chewy. It was a little more browned on the cheese slice, and seemed to have been unevenly distributed, or perhaps migrated a bit on the pepperoni slice. (Oddly, it migrated away from the tip - ususally it seems to head for the center of the pie, which is usually thinner. I was pretty careful to keep the slices horizontal, so I don't think it was anything I did. But no biggie.)
Bada Bings offers pizzas in sizes ranging from small (8 inches) to the 28-inch-diameter "King," which I assume was the source of my slices, as well as sheet pizzas. They have 20 toppings and four specialty pizzas, plus calzones, wings (8 sauces, if you count the various gradations of heat with the Buffalo sauce), hot subs, burgers and dogs, pasta, a Friday fish fry, and sides. It's pretty much a takeout place.
Well, this was OK pizza. It wasn't greasy, and the flavor was pretty good overall. I can't give it a rave review as the crust was just a little too lifeless for me, but you could do worse for three bucks. I'll put it right at average, for a grade of C.
Bada Bings Pizzeria, 1733 Norton St. 14609. 323-BING (2464)
Sun. - Thu. 11 a.m. - 11 p.m., Fri. & Sat. 11 a.m. - 3 a.m.