Pizza at Home: Columbus Baking Co

Monday night was "Pizza Night" in my kitchen, which typically always consists of pizza dough from Columbus Bakery (they just launched a new site - check it out at www.columbusbakingco.com). When I got to the actual bakery, I was lucky enough to grab what looked like the last one for the day, so that made walking through the rain for several blocks worth it. I also grabbed some sauce and shredded mozzarella cheese for $10 which wasn't too shabby for a total - especially considering the portion sizes, how it's way more fun to make pizza at home, and how your house can actually smell like the same bakery during the process.

I spoiled myself with a stop into Vinomania on the way back. That place is so good!

I'm still trying to perfect making pizza at home. It's tricky with home ovens (at least I think it is). Mine's electric (guh!) but has a pre-heated timer and an oven light, which makes pre-heating and baking easier than what I've had to use over the previous several years. The bakery's owner, Jimmy Retzos, recommended one time that I let the dough set for a while before working with it, so I usually sprinkle a little flour on it when I get back and let it rest on the counter for about 15 minutes before I break out the rolling pin. After that, I flour the pizza tray, spread the dough out (I roll out the bubbles - I have no idea if you're supposed to do this or not), place it on the tray, put the ingredients on, toss it into the oven at 425 degrees for about 15-18 minutes, and then take it out and let it rest for about 5 minutes or so. And garnish with a little fresh basil from the garden if I happen to have some.

This week's trial came out great other than it being just a tad undercooked between the dough and sauce. I took it out early because I hate when you make pizza at home and the cheese gets burned and all brownish. I don't mind a little burned cheese - actually, it can be really tasty in moderation from the wood-fired kind of pizza, but at home I usually don't like the taste. I'm guessing I either have to leave it in longer or bake it at a higher temperature. At least it looked pretty.

What are your suggestions on pizza dough? Do you have any oven tips? Suggestions for making it at home? Upper or lower oven rack? Is there pizza dough in the area you swear by? Let me know in the comments!

Review: NY Gianni's Bronx Style Pizza

Name: NY Gianni's Bronx Style Pizza
Address: 1428 Burnet Ave Syracuse, NY
Phone: (315) 425-7770
Neighborhood: Eastwood
Website: www.nygiannispizza.com
Menu: View Menu
Cuisine: Pizza, Italian
Restaurant Hours: Monday to Thursday 11 AM - 9 PM, Friday to Saturday 11 AM - 10 PM, and via their Facebook page, now open Sundays 12 PM to 8 PM
Parking: On-Street, Private Lot
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Take-Out: Yes
Wi-Fi: Yes
Delivery: Yes (with a $10 minimum)

It's not too often Upstate New York gets to legitimately contend with something from our NYC neighbors. We know the story. They have better restaurants, better bagels, and even better pizz.... Wait. Could it be that Syracuse can now lay claim to great pizza in comparison to its New York City brethren?

Classic New York style pizza, as we've all known, originated and will always dredge up images of New York City pizzerias. There's a distinct look, style, and taste to the pizza that some even claim is in the water. Whatever the difference is, NY Gianni's Bronx Style Pizza, has now ushered in great, New York style pizza right here in Syracuse all the way from the borough of the Bronx.

With a location that's less than a block east of Shifty's, parking is available on-street or in the lot that's easily accessible from the entrance on Burnet Ave. When you've pulled into the parking lot with a sign that reads "Liberty Bakery / Gianni's Pizza", you've reached the right place.

Pizza is the main focus here as your toppings include traditional ones as well as spinach, broccoli, hot peppers, eggplant, and roasted red peppers. Their specialty pizzas all have clever Bronx-style nicknames like the "Grand Concourse" (the meat lovers), "Morris Park" (thick crust grandma), " White Plains" (white pizza), and "Botanical Garden" (veggie deluxe) among others. Aside from pizza, Gianni's also offers calzones, rolls, lunas, subs, wings (and dart wings), salads, and appetizers like garlic bread, jalapeno poppers, garlic knots, and breaded mushrooms. Visit the actual restaurant and you'll find a few desserts in the display case like cookies and half moons.

Inside is quite tiny with a few small, adequate tables to enjoy a slice or two. However, I opted for take-out on this occasion.

The order...

Medium Pepperoni Pizza: $13.22
Total Money Spent with Tax & Tip: $15

With a quarter of it missing because I got hungry.

Temperature: perfectly hot.

Style: it's thin crust, but not insanely thin. Enough to provide some give in the dough and partnered with a little bit of crunch on the bottom. The texture was great.

Cheese: perfectly layerd and while a bit greasy for some (I prefer a slightly greasy pizza anyway), the cheese had that classic gooey and stringy texture.

Topping: I love pepperoni and it was perfectly cooked here, but I'd think I'd opt for something else next time. Combined with the cheese, it encouraged a somewhat greasy pizza.

Pizza crust: get this - perfect. It's a bold statement coming from yours truly. For anyone that knows me personally, they know I've never been a fan of the outside ring of a pizza. It's not uncommon to see a plate of mine lined with the aftermath of several scattered crusts after downing a few slices. I usually don't enjoy crust because more often then not it tastes like cardboard and is a mere depressing shadow of its former glory. However, at Gianni's, even the crusts were consumed. The crust is that good. It's chewy on the inside, slightly charred and crunchy (but not overly crunchy) on the outside, and didn't dry out at all near the ends.

Sauce: absolutely amazing. Spicy, garlicy, and sweet. And while every other attribute of the pizza is good or above average, the sauce is pretty much the stand-out here.

Overall pizza reaction: outstanding.

My confession is that after visiting this place over the last several months, I have yet to order pizza from anywhere else inside Syracuse.

My second confession is that their tomato pie, although served warm, is awesome and would go out on a limb and say that it may rival anything in Utica, mainly because the sauce is that good.

What else can I say that The Pizza Geek, Chus On Chow, and Wandering Through Syracuse haven't already said? I'm hooked. I'm on the Gianni's bandwagon and can't get off. I have to give this 5 stars. Even more impressive is that it's served with very friendly service. I have no complaints whatsoever and their pizza is awesome. Probably some of the best I've ever had. I look forward to trying out some other things on the menu very, very soon.

And yes, taste the flava!

My rating of NY Gianni's Bronx Style Pizza:

Review: Cosmos Pizza & Grill

Name: Cosmos Pizza & Grill
Address: 143 Marshall St, Syracuse, NY
Phone: (315) 472-6766
Neighborhood: University Hill (Marshall Street)
Website: www.cosmospizzagrill.com
Menu: View Menu
Cuisine: Diner Food, Traditional American, Pizza
Restaurant Hours: 7 AM to 1 AM Monday-Wednesday, 7 AM to 2 AM Thursday-Friday, 8 AM to 2 AM Saturday, 8 AM to 1 AM Sunday
Parking: On-Street
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Take-Out: Yes
Delivery: Yes

Operated out of the same tiny location on Marshall Street since it opened in 1959, Cosmos has been providing late night eats and classic quick-to-order American cuisine to SU student, alumni, and Syracuse locals for decades. For lack of a better description, it's a diner on the inside complete with an open kitchen, small booths, a long counter, jukeboxes at the tables, and quirky colored walls.

The smell of homefries, onions, burgers, and pancakes on the grill is enough to get your stomach growling while you look over the huge list of options on the menu. Offerings at Cosmos include burgers, sandwiches, chicken wings (which can be ordered up to 100), salads, pastas, pizzas, subs, and breakfast options served anytime.

The order...

Vanilla Milkshake: $3.69
6 Hot Chicken Wings: $3.99
Small Mozzarella Pizza: $4.59
Total money spent with tax & tip: $15.50

Though advertised as so, the milkshake was neither "thick" nor "creamy". It did have a subtle sweet flavor, but it wasn't really mixed well and was very much on the watery side.

Pictured here are hot wings served with celery and blue cheese. And yes, I really need a real camera.

These certainly had that nice, classic hot sauce flavor, but the actual wings were meh. They were served extremely hot (temperature-wise) but the chicken tasted a bit old and dry. For what it's worth, the blue cheese was a little off-putting, bland, and had a similar consistency to ranch dressing. A little disappointing dunking a wing into not so great blue cheese and having nothing stick to it. I probably wouldn't get wings again.

Pictured below is Cosmos authentic New York style pizza prepared from fresh dough, special recipe sauce, and topped with 100% whole milk mozzarella and imported Romano cheeses.

The bite marks are mine. I was starving.

There was a lot of sauce and it could have used some more cheese, but I thought this was ok overall. I really enjoyed the thin, flat, and crunchy, almost slightly-charred crust (which is baked on bricks for that uniqueness) and the tangy tomato sauce, but the cheese was pretty bland. I'd get pizza again here, but would try out some other toppings.

Overall, it's a cool place that keeps it simple and has that unique throwback charm. And I'm sure that if I were an SU student, I'd love going there for late night eats. Good menu, value, and portions. Despite the mediocre food experience, I'd go back for breakfast or to try out some other things on the menu. I've heard great things about their Toasted Honey Buns (or THB as they're known - served with a dollop of butter or scoop of ice cream) and am kind of kicking myself for not ordering them, so if do end up going back, I'm most definitely trying them out.

My rating of Cosmos Pizza & Grill:

Review: Goodfella's Pizzeria

Name: Goodfella's Pizzeria
Address: 229-237 W Fayette St, Syracuse, NY
Neighborhood: Downtown (Armory Square)
Website: armorysq.org/main/dining.php?id=162
Cuisine: Pizza, Salads, Calzones
Hours: Wednesday-Thursday 11:30 AM to 3:30 PM, 10 PM to 2 AM, Friday 11:30 AM to 3 AM, Saturday 1 PM to 3 AM
Parking: On-Street
Accepts Credit Cards: No
Delivers: No

Off the main drag in Armory Square and tucked away on West Fayette St, Goodfella's Pizzeria has been serving up pizzas, subs, and calzones to the Downtown area now for 2 years. The establishment itself is very small, as it's essentially an open room with chairs and tables set up around the exterior. Ordering is easy and made at the counter and all the while you can see what types of food is ready and available. If something isn't there, the staff is very helpful and friendly to assist.

The menu consists of calzones, bread sticks, garlic knots, subs, salads and a limited variety of pizzas (only cheese, chicken wing, and pepperoni). I have never had anything other than pizza here, but I'd imagine that the portions sizes are big with "one size only" calzones and 12" small subs and 16" large subs. It's a good selection for what it is, but I'd like to see some more varieties of pizzas.

Anyway, the order...

Slice of Cheese Pizza: $2.75
Total Money Spent with Tax & Tip: $3.50

These are the largest pizza slices that I have ever seen. One is certainly enough to fill you up, and two slices is roughly the size of half a large pizza. But it was a great slice. Stringy cheese on a crispy crust and served very hot. The ratio is good (though I wouldn't have minded a bit more sauce). A-.

Some other notes...

- There are no bathrooms.

- It's cash-only, but there is an ATM machine inside.

- It can get rowdy on weekend nights after the bars close.

Goodfella's essentially has two target audiences for their food: Downtown workers on their lunch breaks and the late night crowd consisting of young, inebriated adults who are walking up and down Fayette Street at 1AM. Though, it's undeniable that Goodfella's actually does serve really great pizza. Alas, since this is a restaurant review blog, I have to dock them in other important areas such as cleanliness, food selection, hours of operation, and availability. Though not to go unnoticed, they get points for tasty and affordable food, extremely large portions, and friendly service.

Looking for a sit-down restaurant that serves a good selection of pizzas, salads, and calzones? You can probably do better elsewhere. In Armory Square or Downtown and looking for pizza on the go? This may be your place.

My rating of Goodfella's Pizzeria:

Review: Twin Trees Too

Name: Twin Trees Too
Address: 1029 Milton Ave, Syracuse, NY
Neighborhood: Far West-Side
Website: www.boorah.com/restaurants/NY/syracuse/twin-trees-too/053A89AC24.html
Cuisine: Pizza, Italian, American (Traditional)
Hours: n/a
Parking: On-Street, Private Lot
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Alcohol: Full Bar

With several locations throughout Central New York and two locations in Syracuse, the Twin Trees franchise has become well-known for serving great pizza and wings to locals for over 50 years. Not to be confused with the original Twin Trees location on Avery Ave, Twin Trees Too is located near the corner of Milton and Emerson Ave on the city's Far West-Side neighborhood and just a mere 2 blocks from the original location. Parking is easy as there is a huge private lot with plenty of parking located directly across the street.

I had somewhat of a time-warp walking through the door of this place. For some reason I was transported back to 1995 upon walking in: first, because I think that was the last time that I was in here and secondly, because I don't think they've updated the interior since then. I'm fairly certain that the pictures, chairs, booths and tables have all been in the same location since I was last in. In particular, I sank into my booth seat when I sat down, so I'd say that they could use a major interior overhaul here by fixing the lighting, booths, updating the tables and chairs (make it seem less like you're sitting at a Chinese Buffet), and get some new TVs in there. All of it is a little awkward and dark and really borders on the tacky side aesthetically, but I suppose it's comfortable enough to relax and enjoy some food in.

Some other notes...

It can get crowded here on Friday and Saturday nights, so plan ahead. I'd advise to come during the week if you're looking to avoid the crowds.

Dress is very casual (think sports-bar atmosphere).

The menus is good and has a nice variety of traditional Italian / Italian-American favorites, soups, salads, seafood, and desserts. Almost what you would expect from your typical Italian-Americana eatery. Though on this visit, I had to stick to Twin Trees' big guns.

The order...

Medium Wings: $6.99
Large Cheese Pizza: $9.99
Total Money Spent with Tax & Tip: $20

Pictured here are Twin Trees Too's medium chicken wings served with celery and blue cheese.

The wings were decent, but as a homegrown, Upstate New Yorker, I'd say that they were relatively mediocre for the area. They were nice and big, but the skin could have crispier and the meat could have been juicier. These also tasted a bit more like "mild" than "medium" to me (the hotness was a little lacking) but perhaps that's merely based on personal taste. If I end up here again, I think I'll ask for "hot" next time.

Pictured above is Twin Trees Too's large cheese pizza. On this particular Wednesday it was "Pizza Day" with a large cheese pizza for only $9.99.

The pizzas here come served on a stand and circular pizza serving tray. I love this for not only the novelty aspect, but also because it saves a ton of table space for the customers. The pizza itself was good - a nice tangy tomato sauce with amazing mozzarella cheese (which I think may be some of the best cheese that I've ever had on pizza), but with a less than average crust. I didn't really like it as I thought it was way too doughy. All and all though, considering the food, deal, and price, this was a great value for such a large portion size.

On a side note: is Syracuse the only city that cuts their pizzas in this fashion? You know, into small strips instead of the traditional triangular slices? I have never noticed this technique in other cities, yet I've seen it on multiple occasions in Syracuse. Strange.

Overall, not a bad place for pizza and wings. Some have sworn by it religiously and others have said you have to go to a specific Twin Trees location in order to get the best of what it has to offer. In general, I'm a much bigger fan of the thinner, NY style crust of pizza, so perhaps it's merely personal taste that I wasn't overly crazy or blown away by the food here. If you can shoot for a visit for one of the deals during the week, or if you're looking for a place that would be good enough for large groups or kids, this is a good spot to consider. Though, the next time I'm looking for a sit-down pizza restaurant, I believe I will just head over to the original Twin Trees location before revisiting the Milton Ave location.

My rating of Twin Trees Too:

Review: Original Italian Pizza

Name: Original Italian Pizza
Address: 489 James St, Syracuse, NY
Neighborhood: Near Northeast
Website: www.oipizza.com and www.syracuserestaurants.com/base-contact.asp?sn=originalitalianpizza
Menu: View Menu
Cuisine: Pizza, subs, wings
Hours: Monday-Thursday 11 AM to 9 PM, Friday-Saturday 11AM to 10 PM
Parking: Private lot
Accepts credit cards: Yes

Located on the corner of James and Townsend Street, I went in to OIP on a rainy Wednesday evening. Inside, there really isn't much room to eat an actual meal, and hearing two simultaneous radio stations indoors (one from OIP and one from Colonial Laundry mat located in the next room over), I decided to get take-out.

The order...

Large Cheese Pizza (with half Chicken Wing): $14.00
Dozen Char-Grilled Wings: $7.75
Total cost with tax and tip: $25.27

There's not really much that I can say about OIP. When my pizza was ready, there was some confusion about orders which caused me to wait around for an extra 10 to 15 minutes while my order of wings got cold.

The pizza was meh. Really nothing to write home about. I have not ventured out into the Northside or Little Italy for pizza or Italian food yet (shame on me, I know), but I'm positive that there is better pizza just a few blocks away from this place. Not that it was bad or anything, it just really didn't even compete to some of the pizza that I have had in Syracuse thus far.

The wings were different. As an upstate native, I guess I'm just not used to char-grilled wings. It was essentially like eating small pieces of grilled chicken with a dry-rub on them. Though, the fact that the wings were cold by the time I started eating probably didn't do them justice. If I end up going back to OIP at any point in the near future, I'm sure I will stick to the traditional buffalo wings next time.

All and all, I guess I was expecting Original Italian Pizza to be unique or at least have some killer wings, but I really wasn't impressed with anything.

My rating of Original Italian Pizza: