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Monday, September 20, 2010

El's Deli, Dewey Ave.

I ordinarily don't review pizza from convenience stores, because with rare exceptions, those places aren't true pizzerias. They simply take a prebaked, maybe frozen crust, add some canned sauce and shredded mozzarella, cook it and stick it under a heat lamp. 
But I made an exception for El's Deli on Dewey Avenue, which is listed on Rochester Wiki as a pizzeria. The signs outside the building also prominently mention pizza, so I figured, maybe they really do make pizza from scratch.
Or not. Inside, I found a typical urban deli/convenience store, with some hot food - pizza, chicken wings (coated with what looked like BBQ sauce) and Jamaican patties - under a heat lamp. I got one pepperoni slice, which was all that was available, and which set me back $1.50.
It fit the sad profile of pizza from such places:  soft spongy crust, in the medium to thick range of thickness. It was a little oily on the surface, but not too bad in that regard. Only along the thick edge was there some oily crunch.
I could see sauce on this slice, but it was hard to taste it. What little there was seemed to have soaked into the top of the crust. The slice was topped with a uniform layer of melted cheese.
I don't know why, but as bad as the pizza is at some of these places, I kind of like the pepperoni that they use. It may not be the "best," however you measure that, but these had a nice, spicy kick and a hint of smokiness to them.
So that's about it. Spongy crust, almost nonexistent sauce, basic cheese and a few slices of decent pepperoni. With that soft crust and lack of sauce, I can only give this one a D.
El's Delicatessen, 1548 Dewey Ave., 254-4910, 254-2010
Hours unknown, but Rochester Wiki says it closes around 10 p.m. daily.

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