pizza

Here’s another one that I just realized I never got around to posting. It dates from last summer, but I’ve no reason to think that anything significant has changed since then at Eastside, so here it is.
Eastside Café is on 31F, across from a VFW post, just east of the village of Fairport. I believe that it was formerly a Mr. Shoes location, but I’m not sure if there remains any connection between it and Mr. Shoes.
I got a cheese slice at lunchtime. This is one of those places where you place your order at the counter and they bring it out to you, so although I asked for it to go, I had a chance to look around a little. There were several tables and a couple of TVs tuned to sports. This is a breakfast/lunch/dinner place, something of a cross between a diner and a pizzeria, and the pleasant aroma of frying sausage was in the air, perhaps left over from the breakfast hours.
When my pizza arrived, it turned out that my slice was in fact two slices. I was glad I hadn’t ordered two, or I’d have ended up with half a pizza, as I did here.
The underside was quite dark brown, but not charred. This was the kind of brown you get when dough cooks in the presence of oil, though it wasn’t particularly greasy. It had been baked on a screen. The crust was medium thick, with a soft texture.
The pizza was heavy on the cheese, with a thick layer of pale melted mozzarella, lightly dusted with dried herbs. It seemed also to have been sprinkled with parmesan (I think), which added some complexity and a bit of tanginess to the flavor.
The sauce was moderately applied and was similar in consistency and flavor to a thick canned spaghetti sauce. I’m not saying it came straight from a can or jar, just that that’s what it reminded me of pretty thick, and had a crackly, fried crunch.
Eastside has a fairly standard lineup of pizza toppings, and nine specialty pizzas, including a potato pie. Eastside’s take on potato pizza is not a traditional Roman pizza di patate, but an Americanized version with Idaho spuds, bacon bits, and cheddar, with sour cream on the side. All their pizzas may be ordered “red” or “white,” with regular or “N.Y. style thin” crust.
Aside from pizza, Eastside serves calzones, wings, and hot and cold “grinders” (a term you don’t see used much around here), which come with such colorful names as the “Big Bad Joan” and the “Scooby Doo.”
As I mentioned, Eastside is open all day, and has a full menu, from breakfast through dinner. The breakfast menu, which is available Friday through Sunday, has all the standards, as well as breakfast pizza (which is definitely not my thing). The rest of the menu includes “Monsta Plates,” salads, wraps, pasta, seafood, chicken and rib dinners, and a few desserts. Eastside delivers, for a charge, as far as Macedon and Walworth.
Although this didn’t really fit my profile of great pizza, it wasn’t bad. A lot of its attributes - screen baked, soft crust, heavy cheese - are, for me, strikes against a pizza. But flavor counts too, and this tasted pretty good; the components seemed to work together, and maybe that dusting of herbs and parmesan helped as well. For whatever reason, I found myself liking this one almost in spite of myself, or at least in spite of my usual preferences. I’ll give it a B-.
Eastside Cafe, 303 Macedon Center Road (Rt. 31F), Fairport 223-7463
Breakfast: Fri. 6:30 - 10:30 a.m., Sat. & Sun. 7 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Lunch & dinner: Mon. - Thu. and Sun. 9 a.m. - 9 p.m., Fri. & Sat. 9 a.m. - 10 p.m.

According to an article on kgw.com, a would-be thief entered the Pizzicato on East Burnside Thursday night, snatched the tip jar off the counter, and bolted into the street.

Well the employees didn't take too kindly to that and decided to chase the bastard down and disable him until the police arrived on the scene for the arrest.

Pizzicato employees, I salute you.

Portside Pizza opened in 2009 in a former Piatza’s space at Packett’s Landing in Fairport. They offer oversize slices, one of which I tried recently.
As I often do, I got a plain cheese slice, so I wouldn’t be distracted by any other toppings. I did notice, however, that the pepperoni slices had been made with the smaller, cup and char variety of pepperoni.
My slice had a thin crust, with a fairly dense texture. The flavor and texture of the crust were more doughy than bready.
The underside was a uniform light brown, and bore light screen marks. The sauce and cheese were applied right up to the outer edge, which was not especially thick, but was puffy, with some big air holes where the dough had bubbled.
The sauce was very lightly applied, and was hard to detect on my palate. It seemed to get lost somewhere between the crust and the cheese. The cheese, a far more dominant player, was a bit tangy and had been moderately browned.
Portside has a pretty long list of pizza toppings, including four cheeses (feta, Romano, ricotta and blue), and fresh garlic, which is always a plus for me. They also have six specialty pizzas, ranging from the familiar (Buffalo chicken) to the interestingly named Wo-Wo (garlic base with roasted red peppers, red onion, green peppers, artichoke hearts, and Romano cheese). Also worthy of note, Portside offers gluten-free pizza as well.
Aside from pizza, there are the usual wings (six sauces available), hot and cold subs and sandwiches, salads, and appetizers. The “lighter side” of the menu includes soup, fruit salad, yogurt, granola and hummus.
I liked Portside; the service was friendly, the staff is young and enthusiastic, and their heart seems to be in the right place, meaning that I got the sense that they genuinely want their customers to be happy with the food and service. They also seem to be courting a younger clientele, not only with some of the health-conscious menu items, but also with innovations like a “text your order” option. They also have a fairly high internet profile, with a website, active Facebook page, and a separate coupon site.
But on the strength of this one visit, the pizza seemed to me to be a work in progress. It was OK, but I found the crust a little too dense and doughy, and it lacked a bit of balance due to the largely MIA sauce. I also would have liked a slightly crisper, toastier underside. But the flavor wasn’t bad overall, and it didn’t seem to have been carelessly or sloppily made. So while the pizza was pretty average, I’ll give them some points for trying hard, and for still being fairly new at the game, so I’ll give Portside a C+ for now.
Portside Pizza, 110 Packetts Landing, Fairport 425-0522
Tue. - Sat. 11 a.m. - 9 p.m., Sun. Noon - 6 p.m.
Pizza Guy note: as of December 2010, Portside Pizza is closed. Fat Jack's Pizza now occupies the space.

Not a full-blown review here, just a report that a lunchtime visit confirms that I was right in giving Brandani's an "A" back in April.
Brandani's has a pretty wide selection of slices at lunch. From what I could see, the only thing differentiating them is the toppings. In other words, they don't offer thin or thick, Neapolitan or Sicilian, or anything like that. Same crust, different toppings, with prices ranging from $2.50 to $3.50. The slices are cut from roughly rectangular pizzas, so the exact dimensions may vary a little, but they're a pretty good size. My two corner slices measured about a foot along the longest edge. And the crust is on the thick side, so by weight they're probably at least equal to a lot of "mega slices" that you'll find elsewhere.
I got a primavera slice with tomatoes and Romano, and a sausage, peppers and onions slice. Damn, they were good.
Primarily because of the crust. I've said it before, I'll say it again - the key to great pizza is the crust. Anybody can put the same toppings on a pizza, but the crust is a pizzeria's signature, and Brandani's is terrific. Crisp, toasty underside, chewy, bready interior, this is what a crust should be. In the past, when I've given unfavorable reviews, some people have told me, "Well, you just don't like thick crusts." Wrong. This is kind of thick, but I loved it, including the outer lip, which is very thick.
Oh yeah, the toppings were good, too. I will say that with a thicker crust like this, you're probably better off going with some relatively hearty, flavorful toppings. Along those lines, I'd give a narrow edge here to the sausage, peppers, and onions, but they were both good, and well balanced with each other, the crust, and the sauce, which was noticeable but remained in a supporting role here.
Well, that's it. If you haven't tried Brandani's yet, get your butt down there. Whether you get a full pizza or just a slice or two, you can't go wrong.
Brandani's Pizza, 2595 W. Henrietta Rd. 272-718o
Mon. - Sat. 11 a.m. - 9 p.m., Sun. 12 noon - 7 p.m.

Giuseppe’s is an Italian restaurant/ bakery/ pizzeria in Gates. Though you might not guess it from its location in a relatively modern shopping plaza, it’s got a pedigree going back over 80 years.
When I was doing some research into Rochester’s pizza history, I noticed the claim, “est. 1927” on Giuseppe’s website. I got in touch with the current owner, Joe Chinappi, who informed me that his grandfather, Joseph (Giuseppe) Petrillo began the restaurant, which was originally located on State Street in Rochester.
Eventually the family relocated the restaurant to a spot on Lyell Road. At some point, Chinappi’s parents sold that property to a developer to make room for a drugstore. He then took over the business and moved it across the street to a shopping plaza near the intersection of Rt. 31 and Howard Rd.
And there Giuseppe’s remains, now into its fourth generation of family-run operation, with the owner’s two sons and heirs apparent handling much of the baking and cooking. I’m still not sure exactly where Giuseppe’s fits into the whole oldest-pizzeria discussion, but it’s clearly among the senior class of Rochester pizza places.
Getting back to that shopping plaza: now I’ve never owned a business of any kind, but I must say that Giuseppe’s current location doesn’t strike me as an obvious place to put a restaurant. It’s far removed from the street, and is tucked way back in a far corner of the plaza. But they seem to be doing fine, which should tell you something about the food. Here’s one of my rules of thumb when it comes to restaurants: busy restaurant, out-of-the-way location = good food. (The inverse - good location, bad food - is less universally, but all too often, true. I’ve had some pretty mediocre meals in restaurants that are clearly getting by on the strength of their convenient or scenic location.)
And the food here is good. I’ve yet to dine at Giuseppe’s - an omission I mean to correct - but I was familiar with it from having stopped there on occasion for a loaf of their Italian bread, which I consider some of the best in the area. You can get it hard or soft, but go with the hard. It’s got a wonderfully firm, dark, crisp exterior and a moist, chewy, airy interior.
I recently picked up a medium pepperoni pizza from Giuseppe’s. One of the first things I noticed about it was that it was asymmetrically sliced. That probably wasn’t intentional, but I actually kind of like it that way, since it gives you a choice of larger and smaller pieces, as suits your appetite.
It had a thin-to-medium thick crust, with an underside that was fairly dry, but with a faint hint of oil, neither particularly crisp nor especially soft. The edge was thin and crisp.
This was pretty cheesy pizza, with a thick layer of nicely melted mozzarella. Beneath that lay a coating of very tomatoey sauce, the flavor of which was complemented by the distinctive tang of romano cheese. The pie was generously topped with thin, crisp slices of pepperoni. I’m not sure if it was the pepperoni or the sauce, or both, but overall the pizza also had a somewhat salty flavor.
Giuseppe’s pizza menu offers 15 toppings to pick from, white pizza, and five specialty pizzas, including a clam pizza. They also do mini pizzas, wings and hot and cold subs.
If you’re going to Giuseppe’s, you’ll find the takeout counter just inside the front door. There you’ll also see their assortment of breads, cookies, and canollis.
The dining room is on the left, separated from the takeout counter by a set of French doors. The restaurant serves a full menu of Italian dishes (many of which are also available for takeout), steaks, chicken, soups and salads. Several fish entrees are offered on Fridays, while Monday through Thursday you can take advantage of a lunchtime pizza buffet. Beer and wine are available.
I’m not sure at what point in its long history Giuseppe’s started offering pizza, but this struck me as, indeed, old-fashioned pizza, and I mean that in the best way. Uncomplicated, straightforward, and full flavored, the way I imagine it was decades ago. For my taste, the crust could’ve been a little more crisp underneath, but this crust certainly wasn’t bad, and it made a good base for the generous, yet well balanced toppings, and on the whole I enjoyed this pizza. I’ll give it a B+.
Giuseppe’s, 40 Spencerport Rd. (Rt. 31) 426-3397
Takeout hours: Mon. - Thu. 9 a.m. - 9 p.m., Fri. &. Sat. 9 a.m. - 10 p.m., Sun. 8 a.m. - 9 p.m.
Dine-in hours: Mon. - Thu. 11 a.m. - 9 p.m., Fri. & Sat. 11 a.m. - 10 p.m., Sun. 4 p.m. - 9 p.m.
Pizza Guy note:  for a review of Giuseppe's clam pizza, go here.

So according to my first-ever poll, reheating pizza in the oven wins out by a narrow margin over cold pizza, 22-17. A handful of people nuke their pizza (3) and a couple reheat it in a pan on the stove.
For what it's worth, my thoughts on the subject -
Cold: can't beat it for ease, simplicity and quickness. And generally it is pretty good, but some pizzas are better cold than others. If the pizza has a lot of cheese, sometimes it congeals into a solid, unappetizing mass when it gets cold.
Reheated in oven: not bad, but it takes a while and is not exactly energy efficient. Problem is, the best results would require the greatest energy usage. Ideally, you'd heat a pizza stone in your oven at 550 for at least 45 minutes, then throw the leftover pizza onto the stone for a couple of minutes. That's essentially what slice joints do when they rewarm a slice for you, and the result can actually be better (because it's crisper on the bottom) than when the pizza first came out of the oven.
But that's a long time and a lot of energy for a slice or two of pizza. So most of us just put the pizza in as the oven is preheating to 350, or stick it in a toaster oven. It comes out OK, but never anywhere near as good as when it was freshly baked.
Reheated in microwave: OK, I've done this (mostly when preparing lunch for my 6-year-old), but all in all, I'd prefer mine cold. Obvious advantage here is that it's the fastest way to reheat the pizza. But I'm big on texture, and it tends to make the crust soggy. My daughter has never complained, though.
Reheated on stovetop: I came up with this idea on my own, but I've seen it suggested elsewhere. It gives you a nice crisp underside, and it's fairly quick. (Just make sure you use a nonstick pan.) The one flaw is that it's not too good for rewarming the toppings, though that can be helped by putting a lid on the pan. Or try a combination of microwaving the pizza just long enough to remelt the cheese, with the stovetop method, to crisp up the bottom.

Napa is a restaurant featuring wood-fired pizza (actually I suppose it’s the oven that’s wood-fired, not the pizza, but you get the idea). It’s near the corner of Rt. 31, a/k/a Pittsford-Palmyra Road, and Rt. 250 (Moseley Road) in Fairport, about two miles south of the village center.
For a time, Napa had a second location in Victor, but that’s now Lucca, which I reviewed recently. Since there is, or was, some connection between them, I thought it would be interesting to compare the two.
As I did at Lucca, I ordered a Margherita pizza from Napa. Lucca’s comes with fresh garlic - though it wasn’t particularly noticeable - but Napa’s menu made no mention of garlic on the margherita, so I requested it.
As expected, the crust on my pizza was very thin. It had a well-charred underside, with a dry, crackly texture. In fact, for my taste, this crust was too thin and crackly. It seemed to be all dry, crunchy exterior and no bready, chewy interior.
The pizza was topped with a thick, sweet, herbal sauce. That’s a bit unusual, I think, for a Margherita, which in my experience is more typically made with fresh tomatoes, or perhaps crushed, uncooked canned plum tomatoes. As I’ve mentioned before, I find it preferable to use a cooked sauce rather than flavorless, out-of-season fresh tomatoes, but this full-flavored sauce was a bit overwhelming for the thin crust on this pizza. In that respect, this pizza was similar to the one I had at Lucca, although Napa’s sauce seemed to me to be a bit sweeter and more flavored with herbs.
Unlike Lucca’s Margherita, which used whole basil leaves, Napa’s was generously sprinkled with shredded basil. I like fresh basil, but in some spots it was so heavily applied here as to give the pizza a pesto-like flavor.
The sauce was dotted with a dozen or so islets of fresh mozzarella. It was nicely melted, but its mild flavor tended to get swallowed up in that of the sauce and the basil. Nor was the fresh garlic - which is ordinarily pretty hard to miss - particularly noticeable, again a trait shared with the pizza I got from Lucca. The pizza in general left an aftertaste of that herbal sauce and the fresh basil.
The outer edge of the crust was formed into a medium-size lip. It had a toasty flavor and, like the rest of the crust, was very crunchy. In several spots it contained large air pockets, making it literally all exterior and no interior.
Napa offers an impressive fifty pizzas, which are divided on the menu into “Neapolitan” and “Gourmet” categories (though the line between those two seems a bit fuzzy - I’m not sure I’d agree that the “Maui,” with ham, pineapple, banana peppers and pineapple bbq sauce, belongs under the Neapolitan heading). They run the gamut from simple and understated, like the cheeseless marinara with shaved garlic, fresh basil and oregano, to the innovative, like the Thai chicken curry pizza, to the over-the-top, like the Superdome, with shrimp, onions, banana peppers, hot chicken sausage, Buffalo sauce and red sauce. One oddity I noticed is that the quattro formaggi (four cheese) pizza lists only three cheeses: fresh mozzarella, parmesan and gorgonzola. Maybe it’s implied that those are in addition to the processed mozzarella that’s standard on most American pizza.
Napa does more than just pizza. The rest of the menu includes salads, “wrapini,” which are described as sandwiches made using a grilled pizza crust and finished off in the oven, and various small plates (crab cakes, Tuscan bean stew, and sesame-crusted Ahi tuna, to name a few). There’s a good-sized bar along one side, serving wine and beer, and ample booth seating on the other, in an atmosphere that straddles the line between casual and formal.
This is one of those reviews where I look back at what I’ve written and think, gee, this sounds way more negative and critical than I meant it to be. This wasn’t bad pizza, by any means, and I appreciate the fact that Napa hasn’t dumbed down their pizzas. What I mean is, some places make a big deal about using a wood-fired oven, but then they turn out pizza with a soft, pale crust that’s not as crisp as what I can get using my home oven. Napa hasn't done that, and for that, I give them credit.
But to me, it’s possible to go too far in the other direction, too. Some wood-fired pizzerias, Napa included, seem to strive for ultra-thin, cracker-like crusts. That’s just not my preference. I like at least some interior breadiness - or “crumb,” in breadspeak - and that was missing here.
My other complaint is that this pizza seemed a bit out of balance. Part of that stems from the thinness and crackly texture of the crust, which was easily overpowered by the sauce and basil. I think I might better have enjoyed this pizza with a more delicately flavored and lightly applied sauce, and a bit lighter hand with the basil as well.
Admittedly, though, some of that is just a matter of personal preference. If I thought that Napa had simply screwed this one up, I’d give them a poor grade, but my impression is that this is exactly the pizza they set out to make. I’m not going to fault them much simply because it may not have been the pizza that I would’ve preferred, but it still seemed a bit out of balance to me. So trying to give some weight to both those competing considerations, I’ll peg this one at a B-.
Napa Wood Fired Pizzeria, 687 Moseley Rd. (Perinton Hills Plaza), Fairport 223-5250
Mon. - Thu. 11 a.m. - 9 p.m., Fri. & Sat. 11 a.m. - 10 p.m.