

Discover more from š Nomadic
Despite this publicationās title, Iām not entirely nomadic, I do have an apartment in a low cost of living placeāRochester, New York. With Omicron still high, I bunkered down this January, and decided to write something about my hometown. Occasionally, I struggle to find a topic for these posts, but there was never any question of what this one would be about.
Hereās an insider-y pizza tour of Rochester.
Markās Pizzeria
While more upscale options have hit the local pizza scene in recent years, what Rochester is known for is very bread-y, doughy pizza. As someone raised in Penfield, a suburb of Rochester, itās the only type of pizza I had growing up and I still love it. I donāt care if pizza snobs thumb their nose at it. Personally, I think there's something a little too dignified about the classic New York style-slice, with itās thin, lean crust. Pizza should be a comforting cloud, a gentle friend.
Mr. Shoes, Salvatoreās, and Pontilloās (more on Pontilloās later) are three local chains that understand this concept, but thereās no place that exemplifies this style of fluffy pizza more than Markās Pizzeria. Itās the best of the best, either as a sheet party pizza or a single slice. I have fond teenage memories of grabbing a gigantic Markās slice and a can soda for $3 after school. Single slices were so large they could barely fit in the styrofoam shells they came in.
A few years ago, I got weirdly obsessed with this VICE interview with a man who had survived on nothing but pizza for the last 25 years. I imagine most people were horrified by this story. But as someone who will often eat the same food over and over, sometimes for days on end, I guess I saw something of myself in this guy. Like, damn, this could have been me if I took things too far, or whatever. Still, I balked when I got to this part in the interview:
What's your go-to pizza?
My absolute favorite pizza is from Pontillo's in Upstate New York. [Author's note: It's a chain based in Rochester with 20 locations in that area.] I haven't had it in over ten years, so I can't speak to whether it's still good, but the last time I had it, it was far above any pizza I'd ever had.
Pontilloās?! Pontilloās isnāt even the best pizza in Rochester, how was it his absolute favorite of all time?
But then I realized, Iād never actually had Pontilloās, so what the hell did I know. Maybe it does beat Markās, so I decided to order Pontilloās for the first time for this newsletter.Ā I also ordered a Markās pizza, to compare, and also because Iāll never pass up on an opportunity to order Markās.
While I canāt ignore the fact that Iām hugely biased, I still think Markās Pizzeria wins here. While Pontilloās upholds the doughy upstate New York pizza tradition, and probably photographs better, for the most part, it taste like any other slice. Markās, Iād recognize in an instant. Thereās a certain flavor to the red sauce, the cheese, it has the perfect guilty amount of oil and grease. And crucially, thereās a certain chewiness to the crust, which maybe doesnāt sound like something to rave about, but itās really satisfying. Thereās this light dusting of flour thatās still always on the crust too.
I also love biting into that chewy crust the next day. Thatās the other reason Markās Pizzeria wins. A truly great pizza should make great leftovers. And Markās is excellent day-after cold breakfast pizza. Yes, you can reheat it, but I prefer it straight from the fridge.
Fiorella and Vernās
Okay, so while I never came around to the crisp, thin-crust New York slice, I did live in Bushwick for over ten years and I do love an artisanal, wood-fired pizza. I mean, I was a five minute walk away from Robertaās. Rochester has two superb choices for wood-fired pizzas: Fiorella and Vernās.
At Fiorellaās, the dough is leavened over several days using a naturally occurring process. Itās made of organic flour, water, and sea salt. Nothing else, no added commercial yeast. That makes it easier to digest, but the simplicity also makes it really, really good. Recently, I went for lunch and got a classic Margherita pizza. Lunch at Fiorella is a no-frills affair, my preferred kind of dining. You place you order at the counter and your personal pizza is brought to your seat.
I wonāt always get pizza at Vernās, which, if you havenāt already picked up on my pizza fixation, is a testament to how good the food is overall. My last trip, I did get the orange pizza, which had garlic curry cream, kale, ricotta, red onion, calabrian chilies and a butter crust. Mmm-hmmm. Vernās is also known for its tomato pie, a thick, rectangular individual slice with red sauce, olive oil, oregano, salt, no cheese. Itās not one of those things that might stand out when you read it listed on the menu. Instead, youāll see the person next to you having it and youāll immediately need to know what it is and order it. And youād be correct. Itās a staple at what is one of the hands down, best restaurants in Rochester.
Radio Social
Radio Social is a huge, 42,000-square-foot facility thatās got 34 bowling lanes, excellent cocktails, Middle Eastern food, and some brick oven pizzas named after thoughtfully-chosen Radiohead songs. Iāve always appreciated that detail, since Radiohead brings up as much teenage nostalgia for me as Markās Pizzeria.
āJustā remains one of the best music videos ever, and every Radiohead fan knows that āLiftā is a deep cut favorite (I prefer this early version to the more recent recording made for the 20th anniversary reissue of OK Computer). āMorning Bellā is great too, both the Kid A version and the Amnesiac version and this Radio Social pizza. The caesar salad on top is inspired and unique, if somewhat messy to eat. This can be a stressful situation if youāre someone like me who occasionally has social anxiety about eating in a group.Ā I seriously hate being the type of person who oh-so-delicately eats their pizza with a fork and knife, but Iāll admit I have done that with the Morning Bell.
Pizza Wizard
Pizza Wizard is the newest kid in town, specializing in Detroit-style pizzaāa very thick, square-cut pizza. Heaps of sauce and cheese go all the way to the edge. It has no crust, in the traditional sense. My last visit there I ordered a plain square with banana peppers (my favorite pizza topping) and a Diet Coke (my favorite beverage to pair with pizza, especially in can form).
The retro aesthetics in Pizza Wizard are strong, from the logo to their fun to-go boxes. Thereās an old school TMNT arcade game and an X-Files āI WANT TO BELIEVEā poster. Even their website is pizzawizard.pizza and I appreciate a place that goes the extra mile in their domain name.
They also have the best gluten free pizza in Rochester, no contest. My boo has celiac, so while thatās a tragedy of Romeo and Juliet proportions for this bread-loving pizza head, Iām always looking out for ways to bridge this painful gap in our relationship.
Conclusion
Thatās only the tip of the iceberg, thereās more than half a dozen pizza places I didnāt even cover. When it comes to cultural options or other types of cuisine, Rochester doesnāt always have a wealth of choices, and thatās what makes its pizza diversity all the more meaningful. This is an area where the city truly shines and excels. From highbrow to lowbrow, from Pizza Wizard to Pizza Hut, we have it all.
By the way, do you know what Rochesterās nickname is? The Flour City. You might see that written as Flower City in some places and Iām sorry, thatās trash. I get that itās referencing the areaās Lilac Festival, which is a nice event, but flowers will always be a little basic. A city named in honor of wheat, however, now that is something truly strange and beautiful.
The Best Damn Pizza in Rochester
This is great šš