pizza

It's time for another giveaway!

I have two $25 gift cards for Perri's Pizzeria at 2485 Rochester Rd. (Rt. 332) in Canandaigua. They are good for anything on Perri's extensive menu, from pizza to wings to subs to ... well, there's a lot to pick from.

I will be giving these away to two lucky readers in one week, on Friday, May 11. All you have to do to be eligible to win is to leave a comment at the end of this post, and provide me with some contact information. That's it.
You don't have to give me the contact information right now - you can wait until you win - but I will need to be able to identify you as the legitimate winner. So an anonymous comment will not cut it. I need at least a screen name or email address.
I'll pick a winner at random shortly after noon on May 11, so get your comment in before then. Leave as many comments as you wish, but multiple comments will not increase your chances of winning.
Though Perri's also has locations in Gates, Greece, and now Brockport, these gift cards are only good for the Canandaigua location. But even if you don't live out that way, if you're like me you visit Canandaigua now and then, so why not get some free food while you're there? And if you are an East Sider, this one's for you, so get commenting!
Perri's Pizzeria, 2485 Rochester Rd. (Rt. 332), Canandaigua
585-394-6060
Sun. - Thu. 10 a.m. - 9 p.m.
Fri. & Sat. 10 a.m. - 10 p.m.

After I gave Acme Bar and Pizza a B-minus back in November 2009, I got several responses saying that their pizza deserves a better grade, and that I should try it again. And it has been a long time, so a return visit was overdue, and I went back recently.
I got a medium cheese pizza. The crust was super thin - about 3/32nds of an inch thick, on average (the quarter in the middle photo will serve as a reference point). The bottom was dry and quite pale, and the slices were very supple. There was a small amount of corn meal underneath.
The sauce was thinly applied, though in proportion to the very thin crust. I spotted a lot of dried herbs, and to some extent they were noticeable on my palate.
The cheese was pretty good, a nicely melted layer of shredded mozzarella, without much exuded oil, which I took as a sign of high-quality cheese.
This pizza was broadly in the New York style, at least in appearance, but aside from its thinness, the crust was not typical of a true NY pizza. Way too pale, and lacking in both crispness and breadiness.
I don't want to get hung up on taxonomy, but you could, I suppose, call this "bar pizza." In a literal sense, it is just that, of course, but stylistically, if there truly is a subspecies of American pizza that falls under the heading of bar pizza, that term generally refers to a pie that's not only thin (so as not to be too filling), but very crisp and crackly or crunchy, and maybe a bit oily. That's probably because most bars don't have true pizza ovens, or the time and wherewithal to make fresh pies, using pizza peels, so when they do make pizza, it usually involves baking a pie on an oiled pan in an ordinary commercial oven.
This pie certainly had the thinness part down, but not the crisp/crunchy/crackly part. And it wasn't oily, which was fine with me.
Not that it's not particularly important to me whether a pizza fits some preconception of what it "ought" to be like in order to fit within the parameters of a given style. I do have certain criteria of my own that I look for, and I know what I like and don't like. Categories can be useful to help explain what a pizza is like, and so I mention this just to say that this pie didn't really conform to either NY style or the bar-pizza paradigm.
But in the end, what matters is, was it good or not? Well, I like crisp crusts, and this just wasn't crisp. Some places make their pizza this way on purpose, so that when somebody orders a slice, they can reheat it and crisp it up. But I didn't order a slice, I ordered a pie. I don't know about anybody else, but I like my pizza crisper than this. And I like it a little more well done underneath.
Having said that, this did taste good, and that's not nothing. I had no problem slurping down several slices at one sitting.
But this could've been better. The fact that some readers have said that they got great pizza from Acme means that either their likes and dislikes are much different from mine, or that Acme is inconsistent. And inconsistency is not good for any pizzeria.
I'm not going to say that I disliked this pizzeria, but given that pale, soft crust, which lacked any sort of bready qualities, I can't say it was above average either. So it gets a C from me.
Acme Bar & Pizza, 495 Monroe Ave., Rochester, NY 14607
271-ACME (2263)
Mon. - Fri. 11 a.m. - 2 a.m., Sat. & Sun. noon - 2 a.m.

More travels to our south today.
Every small town should have at least one pizzeria, and Perry, which is just west of Letchworth State Park, has Daryl's, on Rt. 39, a/k/a Main St.
This slice, which I got in mid afternoon, was pretty fresh, from the looks of it. It was medium thick, with an underside that was not particularly dark but which was reasonably crisp. There was a light dusting of corn meal adhering to the crust. (I should mention that I declined to get it rewarmed, which would of course have made the crust a little darker and probably crisper too.)
What was most interesting to me about this slice was the pebbly surface of the bottom of the crust. It's somewhat exaggerated in the bottom photo, because of the angle of the sunlight, but it'll give you an idea of what I'm talking about.
The standard, wide and thin slices of pepperoni were OK, a little oily and more chewy than crisp. Aside from a light sprinkling of grated cheese,the moderate layer of cheese seemed to be all mozzarella, and it had a pleasing bit of subtle tanginess. The sauce was also added in good proportion to the crust and had a middle-of-the-road flavor and medium-thick consistency. A few flecks of dried herbs were visible but this was not an assertively flavored sauce.
Daryl's offers 13- and 16-inch pies, as well as pan pizzas in a range of sizes. They have 16 toppings and five specialty pizzas. Other menu items include wings (Buffalo, breaded or boneless), subs, burgers, sandwiches, wraps, tacos, salads, fried chicken and seafood dinners, and sides. Wednesday is pasta day, with spaghetti, baked ziti, and ravioli available, and on Tuesdays you can get a large pizza for the regular price of a small pizza (about a $3 savings).
Not only should every small town have at least one pizzeria, it should have a good pizzeria. This was just a single slice, but based on this brief stop, I'd say Daryl's fulfills that role for Perry. This was good, and I'll give it a B.
Daryl's Pizzeria, 163 S. Main St., Perry, NY 14530
Mon. - Thu. 11 a.m. - 10 p.m., Fri. & Sat. 11 a.m. - 11 p.m., Sun. 4 p.m. - 10 p.m.
Lunch delivery Mon. - Fri. 11 a.m. - 1 p.m., delivery every day after 4 p.m.

Back in December 2010, I did a post about a slice I got at Abba's Pizza, a kosher pizzeria on Winton Road near Monroe Avenue. I gave it a B-minus for pizza that was pretty crisp but a bit bland.
I've meant for some time to go back for a pie, and I finally did so recently.
Abba's pizzas only come in one size, 16 inches, and I got a cheese pie. The proprietor, Eli Pardo, told me that he makes the crusts from scratch, but parbakes them on screens and stacks them up, prior to making the actual pizzas.
The crust on my pizza was very thin - not paper thin, but thin. It was still in the oven when I arrived, and though it appeared to be about done, I asked for it to be baked another minute.
The result was a pie that was well-done underneath, with cheese that was a little browned, especially toward the center of the pie. The underside was dotted with holes that I assume were to keep the crust from bubbling up as it was parbaking.
Though I am generally not favorably disposed toward screen-baked pies, or prebaked crusts, this crust was pretty good. It had a crunchy/crackly bottom surface and a bready interior. The slices cracked when folded, but stayed in one piece, which is a sign of a good crust. Thanks perhaps to that extra minute in the oven, they had some toasty overtones as well.
The sauce was moderately applied, and had a mild flavor. If you like an assertively flavored sauce, you might find this a bit bland. The cheese was pretty good, again very mild, but with a good, creamy texture.
Due to its location, clientele, and virtually one-man staff, Abba's hours are rather limited. But for local pizza lovers, it is well worth visiting. You might want to call or check their Facebook page before going, just to make sure they're open.
I am in the process of simplifying my ratings, to go with a simple, A, B, C, D, F system - no pluses or minuses. So pizzas are either outstanding, above average, average, below average, or inedible. This was very good pizza - not quite top-notch, but very enjoyable, so I give it a B.
Abba's Pizza, 1037 Winton Road S., 14618 (inside the Chabad Center - just walk in, you'll find it)
360-9723
Mon. - Wed. 11 a.m. - 5 p.m., Thu. 11 a.m. - 7 p.m., Sun. noon - 5 p.m.

If you'll indulge me a bit longer, I'd like to continue my occasional foray into pizzerias in New York's Southern Tier, which more or less corresponds to the route of I-86, a/k/a NY Rt. 17. Our next stop takes us to Olean in Cattaraugus County, which is home to several good pizzerias, including Renna's.
Renna's is a little unusual in that it is an independent pizza shop located within the Olean Center Mall. As I've discovered before, that's not unheard of, and mall pizza does not necessarily mean mediocre, chain pizza.
And this was pretty good pizza. The crust was thin, though not paper thin - about right for NY style pizza, which is what Renna's claims to make. The underside was not quite charred, but it was crackly, and well browned, with some toasty notes.
Interestingly, I found that the bottom of the crust could be easily separated from the top, as you can see in the bottom photo. So what? Well, I imagine that meant that the bottom baked up quickly, from the heat of the oven floor, and maybe the steam created inside the crust tended to create some separation between the top and bottom.
But what was more important to me was that this showed that the sauce and cheese had adhered well to the crust. The top layer of the crust, in other words, was stuck to the sauce and cheese. That's good, as far as I'm concerned, since it means that this was not simply a crust with cheese and sauce lying on top of it, but a unitary whole - crust, sauce and cheese fused together. As long as the crust doesn't get gummy from the liquid in the sauce (which this wasn't), I consider that a good thing.
The sauce was judiciously applied - enough to make its presence known, but not so much as to drown the thin crust. It had a thick, tomato-pasty consistency, with much of the water from the tomatoes having evaporated, and a slighltly tangy flavor, with a definite overtone of dried herbs.
The cheese was all right, not quite as smooth or creamy as I like, but not bad, and again in balance with the other components.
Besides pizza, Renna's offers subs, pasta, and "panzerotto" (or, if my Italian is correct, "panzerotti"), which are a kind of filled pastry. You can see their menu here, as well as this rather bizarre, tongue-in-cheek "history" of pizza.
Having grown up in the area, I know that Renna's has been around since the 1980s, which is a testament to the quality of their pizza. Their hours are somewhat restricted by the mall hours, so I'm not sure if a lot of Oleanders (I think that's the term) are aware of what they've got, pizzawise, right there in the middle of town.
There is, though, an alternative, not far away. Renna's has a second location on West State St. in Olean, in a stand-alone building. Unfortunately, their hours are about the same as the one in the mall, but at least it's a little more easy to see and get to from the street.
So another good pizza in our Southern Tier. Not flawless - it could've been a little more charred underneath, for my taste, and the cheese was adequate but not outstanding - but very good.
No rating on this one, for now. I plan to start revamping my rating system, so the ratings are going on hiatus. But this was good pizza, for sure.
Renna’s Pizza; Olean Center Mall
400 N Union Street, Olean, NY 14760
716-372-8145 | Open 6 days
Monday- Saturday 10 AM – 9 PM

Renna’s West & Mio Gelato Cafe
2703 West State Street, Olean, NY 14760
716-372-6333 | Open 6 days
Monday- Saturday 10:30 AM – 9 PM

Upstate Brews and JustinM! I will need each of you to email me at rochesternypizzaguy@gmail.com with your complete postal mailing address so I can send you your $25 gift card, good for anything on the menu at Perri's in Greece.
Thanks to all who participated, and if you didn't win this time, don't despair - I'll have more cards coming up for Perri's in Canandaigua, and for other pizzerias after that.

With warmer weather, I've been indulging my passion for hiking a little more often, and since I prefer the hills of the Southern Tier to the flatlands of the Rochester area, this has given me an opportunity to check out some pizza places I wouldn't ordinarily get to.
After running across this website, I got particularly interested in checking out the pizza scene in Ithaca. On my last excursion, to this forest, I didn't make it to Ithaca, but I did stop in nearby Trumansburg, where I grabbed a couple of slices from New York Pizzeria.
To some extent, the very name of the place excited my taste buds, but I've also seen plenty of places that claim to make NY style pizza that fall far short. So I was hopeful yet wary. (I should add that Google doesn't always get it right - search for "new york pizzeria trumansburg" and you'll come up with a site for a franchise, which as far as I can tell has nothing to do with New York Pizzeria in Trumansburg, fortunately.)
My (cautious) optimism was more than justified. These were very good slices, and worthy of the "New York" name.
I was confronted with a nice selection of slices, both red and white, but opted for the most basic - two cheese slices. I also noticed that New York Pizzeria appeared to be just that - a pizzeria - no wings. no nuthin' but pizza. That kind of purism is admirable.
These slices were thin, and crisp, and upon folding, they cracked down the middle but didn't break. In other words, the bottom surface cracked, but the interior stayed whole. They nailed that part of a good NY slice.
The underside was pretty good looking, as well. There was a smattering of corn meal (which I haven't typically seen in New York City, but it's not a big deal to me) and some very nice charring. The bottom side was blackened enough to give the crust a nice flavor, but by no means was it burnt. And the thin cornicione along the edge was just a little browned, which is also good. Why? Because it means that the heat applied to the crust was mostly coming directly from the oven floor, or deck. That tells me that this was a genuinely hot oven, with a good, hot deck, so hot that the underside can blacken before the top side or the edge get overcooked.
And this pizza passed the conventional test for a good NY style slice:  I could hold a slice horizontally, folded, and the tip didn't flop down at all. The entire slice remained perfectly straight. In fact I think I could've done that without folding the slice completely, it was that crisp underneath. I should've taken a picture of that but I was too busy eating.
Oh yeah, the toppings. The sauce was tomatoey - not particularly sweet, salty, herbal, or otherwise seasoned, and added in good balance with the thin crust. The cheese was lightly applied, and took a back seat to the crust and to some extent, the sauce as well. It was OK, but it didn't quite have the silky creaminess of premium mozzarella cheese that I look for in a pizza, especially a pizza as basic and minimalist as a NY style slice.
That one minor shortcoming aside, this was excellent pizza, and to my Rochester area readers, I'd say you should try to stop here some time when you're next driving through the Finger Lakes. Beyond the pizza itself, Trumansburg is an interesting little place. On the surface, it's just another little blink-and-you'll-miss-it, back-road village, but it's got a funky, laid-back vibe that's more Sonoma than Upstate New York (not that there's anything wrong with Upstate New York - I'm just saying it's an interesting place to visit).
I'm still rethinking some of my ratings policies. I haven't been rating pizzas from beyond the Rochester area, and I may simplify my ratings, so I may revamp things at some point, but my gut tells me to give New York Pizzeria a rating, and that rating is an A-minus. This was near perfection, with the only quibble being that the cheese was only adequate, and not truly great. So with that minor demerit, I'll say that New York Pizzeria comes strongly recommended from me.
New York Pizzeria, 2 W. Main St., Trumansburg
607-387-3700
Hours unknown, I'll try to pin that down.