Amy Rose, Scottsville

Today we head south to Main Street, Scottsville. Not too long ago, the chief dining attraction here would’ve been the Oatka Steak & Seafood restaurant. Named for the nearby creek, it started out as a tavern and inn in the early 19th century. Sadly, the Oatka went out of business a couple of years ago or so. It would be nice to see it reopen.
Until then, you can still grab a slice of pizza, as I recently did, at Amy Rose Pizza, just a few doors away.
These being normal size, not “mega” slices, I got two, one cheese, one pepperoni. They were fairly heavy slices, with a medium thick crust and a soft-textured, light brown underside. The crust was quite dense, and didn’t seem to have risen much, as there were no real air pockets visible.
The cheese on the cheese slice was very well browned, and had congealed into a single, unitary layer. The sauce seemed to be pretty much MIA here, although I thought I detected a slightly sweet flavor in there somewhere. Maybe it was my imagination, but either the sauce or just the slice as a whole seemed to have picked up some of the flavor of that day’s “gourmet” pizza, which was a pulled-pork pizza. They had been sitting on racks in the same enclosed pizza warmer, so it’s not inconceivable, I guess.
The pepperoni slice was quite generously topped with thin, mildly flavored slices of pepperoni. The outer lip of both slices was a bit tough and chewy.
Amy Rose has a long list of pizza toppings, as well as 14 varieties of the aforementioned gourmet pizza. That includes a stuffed pizza and a deep dish pizza, but you can also order a regular pizza with thin or thick crust, and one of four sauces - red, white garlic, pink or pesto. In short, there’s a pizza for everybody here.
Amy Rose also offers wings (described as “jumbo”), calzones, fish fry every day, hot and cold subs, burgers, dogs, soup, salad, sides and desserts as well. If that’s not enough, they serve Hershey’s ice cream (not sure if that’s a seasonal thing or not), cappuccino and chai tea. There’s some seating available, and Amy Rose also delivers all day.
It’s a good menu, certainly, and Amy Rose deserves commendation for a commitment to making its sauce, dough and rolls fresh and on-site. I wouldn’t mind coming back to try a specialty pizza or to take out a pie. But on this occasion, the slices I got didn’t impress me too much. The flavor wasn’t bad, but I have to deduct some points for the dense crust and the overly browned cheese. I also found them a bit out of balance, with the sauce barely noticeable between the chewy cheese and the crust. Next time I’m in the area, I’ll give Amy Rose another try, but for now I’ll give it a C-.
Amy Rose Pizza, 11 Main St., Scottsville 889-7590
Mon. - Thu. 9 a.m. - 10 p.m., Fri. 9 a.m. - 11 p.m., Sat. 10 a.m. - 11 p.m., Sun. 10 a.m. - 9:30 p.m.