related items
I met Becky on Keuka Lake a few weeks ago, and we hit it off. After realizing that we went to the same gym on the same day and both left around lunchtime, we decided to grab a mid-week bite together at Great Northern Pizza Kitchen in Pittsford (other locations include Brighton; Bushnell's Basin; Henrietta; Fayetteville, Onondaga County; and Williamsville, Erie County).
The mood
Who cares, once you notice that you're being charged less than the advertised price? When I asked about the difference, our cashier said, "Our pizza prices have gone down drastically." Then when he overheard that we were going to share everything, he offered to cut our pizza slices in half. I felt like we'd entered an alternative universe. Make that a comfortable alternative universe — decorated in shades of gold, burgundy and plum, with wood trim and punched-tin lighting with star-shaped cutouts.
The food
We ordered slices of the Fresh Mozzarella and Garden Variety pizzas and a Nutty Goat salad. The Fresh Mozzarella ($3.25) had generous chunks of mozzarella, skillfully placed basil leaves and juicy tomatoes I could taste in nearly every bite. The Garden Variety ($3.50) was the restaurant's pizza-of-the-month and a hearty yet healthy complement, with broccoli florets, onions, red peppers, tomatoes, artichoke hearts and pico de gallo atop an oil-and-garlic base.
Our salad ($8.25) was enormous. The Nutty Goat has sweet cranberries, Granny Smith apples, homemade candied walnuts, goat cheese and balsamic vinaigrette dressing on a bed of field greens. The candied walnuts make every bite — even those without the nuts — taste like a treat. I saved my leftovers for dessert the day after dinner. (My husband, whose idea of dessert does not include anything with leaves, thought that was a little extreme.)
Great Northern serves nearly a dozen creative salads ($4.75 to $8.25; most come with garlic breadsticks), sandwiches and wraps ($7.25), and more than 40 pizzas (a 12-inch medium starts at $11.95 and a 16-inch large starts at $14.95). Or you can create your own pizza. (There are 50 toppings to choose from.)
The drinks
Fountain drinks, bottled sodas, iced tea, juices and Fuze beverages range from $1.50 to $2.35. Becky drank lemonade and I had root beer ($1.75 each). Beer starts at $3.75; wine by the glass starts at $4.75.
The damage: $19.98
You don't have to tip, but I threw some cash into the tip jar by the register.
Next time ...
I'm not one to go too far out of the box with my pizza, so I'd challenge myself by sharing the medium Chicken Cordon Bleu (fresh cream sauce, breaded chicken breast, Swiss and mozzarella cheeses, Canadian bacon and parsley) for $13.95.
