The fast-casual food trend in the area is not new. Chiptole
and Moe’s use the approach with Tex-Mex, which paved the way for Core Life Eatery
and Naan-tastic. It’s not a surprise that fast casual pizza followed in the trend.
And if we are being honest, ALL American pizza is do-it-yourself. We order what
we want pizzerias to put on our pizzas all the time. It did not start with the
first person to put a pineapple on a pizza and then be subsequently run out of
town by a horde of torch-and-pitchfork wielding “pizza traditionalists.”
So what makes Create A Pizza on Monroe Ave stand out from other pizza joints?
Besides being the only fast-casual pizza restaurant within Rochester city limits,
Create A Pizza’s head chef-general manager Katelyn Dunne created all of the
recipes.
Dunne
proudly makes every batch of dough, as well as the sauce, appetizers, and
desserts the restaurant offers. The non-DIY pizzas on the menu are her own recipes
as well. All of the food is brought in fresh daily and prepared in the kitchen.
Besides a mixer, no machines touch the dough; it’s all hand stretched. The
chicken comes fresh, and Dunne seasons and cooks it in-house. The meatballs are
prepared and cooked in the oven. With the exception of the gluten-free
cauliflower crust, nothing comes into Create A Pizza in a vat or box, and that
is only because Chef Dunne has not yet perfected a gluten-free recipe on her
own that is to her satisfaction.
Though Mark
Teng is the official owner, Chef Dunne has full control of the menu and
operations. This is her baby, so her attention to detail comes as no surprise.
She has been cooking since she was a child and has accrued years of
professional culinary experience, including working at another fast-casual
eatery. You can tell how much care she puts into the food and the service by
the taste of it.
I ordered
two pies when I visited: the gluten-free 10-inch ($11.99) and the personal
“slice” ($7.99). The personal is not really a slice, it’s the size of a 10-inch
pie, but it’s stretched and laid out to resemble a giant, face-sized slice that
you’d see at any other pizza shop. But the
“slices” at Create A Pizza are prepared fresh, not cooked hours prior and
languishing in a glass case under a heat lamp. You have a choice of one of
seven sauces (plain or hearty tomato, pesto, olive oil and garlic, BBQ,
Buffalo, and sweet Buffalo) and seven different cheeses, including a vegan Daiya
cheese. After that, there are many standard and non-standard vegetable and meat
toppings.
I won’t bore
you with all of the specific toppings I chose for each pizza. Many people get
passionate about what does and does not belong on pizzas, and I don’t want to
be judged too harshly for all the seasoned zucchini I put on my slice. I will
say that both pizzas were delectable. The hearty tomato sauce is thick but not
too chunky and has a bold, savory flavor. Some other pizza shops put sugar in
their sauce to bring out flavor, but I prefer not to have a candy tomato pie. The
cauliflower crust is also quite tasty. It is a thin crust that gets crispy
but is still soft on the inside. Still, I look forward to the gluten-free recipe
that Chef Dunne will create on her own, because her dough for the general
personal slices and 12-inch was mouthwatering.
Create A
Pizza accommodates for many dietary restrictions as well. There is a separate
set of the ingredients designated for gluten-free and vegan customers to avoid
cross-contamination. It is also possible to have a completely dairy-free pizza
if you like. The shop offers vegan sausage, and even the garlic knots and
cinnamon twists are vegan. No one is left out.
The
convenience of the location and the freshness of ingredients at Create A Pizza
are enough reasons to frequent the restaurant. Besides that, people who love
pizza rarely agree on what to put on a pizza, so there is nothing like a
personalized pie all to yourself. That way, everyone is satisfied, and there’s
no need to get out the pitchforks.
This article appears in Feb 20-26, 2019.
