Livonia Shurfine

Following up on a reader's recommendation, I recently picked up a small pizza the Shurfine supermarket in Livonia. Grocery stores aren't typically known for having great pizza, but when I get a recommendation, I generally follow up on it sooner or later.

Since this was just for me, and there were no slices available, I got a small pepperoni pie. It was ready in about 15 minutes.

Shurfine advertises its fresh-made dough, which is certainly preferable to frozen dough or premade shells, but this wasn't a great crust, frankly. It was medium thick, with a golden brown, fried-looking bottom with bubbly concavities. The edge was a little crisp, but not particularly crusty or bready.

The components were well balanced, with a healthy dose of both sauce and cheese. The former had a very tomatoey flavor that was neither particularly sweet nor salty, just a basic, middle-of-the-road tomato sauce. The uniform layer of cheese, which seemed to be all mozzarella, was well melted and slightly browned. It had a good texture and seemed to be of high quality.

melted, slightly browned mozzarella. The wide and thin slices of pepperoni were just slightly crisp along the edge, but were otherwise unremarkable.

This was OK pizza, but frankly it didn't do a whole lot for me. Pizzas with that soft, slightly oily bottom generally are not to my liking, and the other components, though reasonably good, were pretty basic, and the overall flavor profile was rather on the bland side. So while I had no major complaints, I'll peg this one at just below average, for a C-minus.

West's Shurfine Market, 1 Main St., Livonia. (585) 346-3023

Market open 7 a.m. - 9 p.m. daily (not sure about the pizzeria hours)