And the best pizza in Rochester is ... Pontillo's?

City Newspaper's current edition has their 2009 Readers' Choice Award winners. Predictably, a chain, Pontillo's, won for "Best Pizza Joint." Nothing against Pontillo's, but this is why these awards are meaningless. There's a Pontillo's near practically everybody in this area, so of course it's going to get more votes than a single-location pizzeria, no matter how good the latter is. I swear I think Papa John's won one year.
What these awards are really about, I suspect, is attracting advertisers with the lure of allowing them to put "Voted Best ____ in Rochester" in their ads. I think City claims some sort of moral high ground compared to the D&C, which runs a similar vote every year, because City's "election" is wide open, whereas the D&C's is limited to the businesses that pay to be on the ballot. Given the nature of the voting, though, they're still doing a disservice to any out-of-towner or newcomer who makes the mistake of thinking that these really are the best establishments of their kind that Rochester has to offer.
Thanks to City, though, for reporting the opening of Hose 22 Firehouse Grill, a new restaurant in Charlotte, with pizza on the menu. I'll have to give it a try sometime.