“If you’re looking for authentic New York pizza, look no further!”
The Pizza Stop’s tagline seem worn-out and generic, but in the eerily pizza-deprived streets of Rochester, it means something.
The family-owned business started in Brooklyn in the 1950s, and then extended its services to downtown Rochester in 1986. The pizzeria has been sating the cravings of Rochesterians ever since, with its promise of using only original recipes and the highest quality ingredients to ensure every pizza is made with authenticity and the utmost excellence.
The Pizza Stop is known for its eclectic styles of pizza. Its New York thin crust is always a much-appreciated classic, but the Sicilian and stuffed varieties are other noteworthy options to try, as well as the calzones and turnovers.
But even these items can be found on most pizzeria menus. The difference between The Pizza Stop and other local pizzerias—besides quality—is variety.
The Pizza Stop offers a litanyentire arrays of specialty pizzas, which can be ordered in all sizes, and tend to attract all sorts of customers. These unique types of pizza range from specific flavors, such as Jurassic chicken, to standard favorites, such as chicken parmesan.
“My friends and I make sure to come to the Pizza Stop every few weeks, and we all usually just end up ordering a huge chicken parmesan pizza to split together,” senior Chris Cook, a UR student and Pizza Stop regular, said. “I mean, how could you go wrong with chicken parmesan and pizza combined? And there are just so many good choices that I feel guilty that we get it so often, but we just can’t resist.”
The Pizza Stop is not only appetizingly and diversely appealing, but also aesthetically pleasing too.
The inside of the pizzeria is quaint and welcoming, with a narrow hallway that leads into a more open area with tables and chairs set up. The walls are lined with graffiti of seminal areas for New York pizza, including Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queens, that really add to the atmosphere. The walls are also given artistic flair with colorful lines and broken images of New York City shown through what look like cracks in the wall.
There is one detriment about the joint, though, that could possibly make it difficult for some people to appreciate it: the location.
The Pizza Stop is a fairly inconvenient distance away for students looking for a slice near the University. There are also no buses that take students anywhere close to the pizzeria. Those with cars, however, will find the trip easy and more than worth the time and effort.
“I make weekly pit stops to the Pizza Stop,” Mintesinot Kassu ‘16 said. “And I never regret my decision to drive down there; it beats any food on campus. And I feel like rewarding myself with a good slice of pizza every now and then is also good for my [well-being].”
