Fedele's Deli

75 Lake Avenue, Hilton
Visited July 15 & 18, 2011
Written by Tyler




If a sub shop isn’t going to bake its own bread, the least it can do is bring in and serve the best bread in the area, which is exactly the case at the new Fedele’s Deli in Hilton.

Several restaurants have come and gone through our hometown, so we were interested to see how Fedele’s – which opened in June in the former Forest Hill Catering location – stacked up.

Drew and I gave it a shot one day during work. I ordered a grilled chickend sandwich, as usual, and he ordered a Buffalo chicken sub.

My chicken itself was nothing extraordinary, but being served on a Martusciello’s roll makes any sandwich delicious. The sandwich went from being ‘average’ to ‘good’ solely because of the bread.

Drew’s sandwich was much the same. It was simply chicken tenders, some wing sauce and some ranch dressing. It was nothing you can’t get at any sub place (though still tasty), but the addition of a Martusciello’s roll made all the difference.

Joe was so excited when I told him there was a place in Hilton serving Martusciello’s bread that he went to Fedele’s for dinner that night himself. He ordered an Italian assorted sub, which he was pleased – though not blown away – by.

I got Fedele’s again with my family a few nights later. I ordered the same thing, but got it topped with wing sauce. I couldn’t wait to have what was sort of a hybrid of what Drew and I each got the first time.

But you can imagine my disappointment when I opened the box and saw my sandwich came on a generic sandwich roll, rather than a Martusciello’s roll, making for an incredibly generic overall sandwich.

Fortunately for the others, their subs came on Martusciello’s bread. My mom and sister split a ham and cheese sub, and my dad had a steak sub with mushrooms and mozzarella.

My dad seemed to enjoy his. The chunks of steak were very thick compared to comparable subs from other places, and the sub was loaded with mushrooms.

Fedele’s puts more meat on its subs than Subway, but not nearly as much as DiBella’s. My mom agreed with me after eating hers.

If you’re a bread lover, like me, you will like Fedele’s. The contents of the subs are no better or worse than similar places, but the use of Martusciello’s bread – widely regarded as the best in Greater Rochester – puts Fedele’s subs a cut above the rest in Hilton.

A restaurant can’t have too high of a grade if that’s the main thing that stands out, but I see potential in Fedele’s. The owners seem very enthusiastic and frequently update their Facebook page.

The menu is relatively limited – cold subs, hot subs, a few fryer items, a few salads and a few items off the grill – but there are daily specials, which appear to change on a week-to-week basis. In other words, it looks look a lot of experimentation with different menu items is going on, and maybe some of them will catch on full time if popular enough.

Oh, and Friday is dessert day. According to Fedele’s Facebook page, the Oreo cheesecake sold out yesterday.

Again, I see some potential here. Fedele’s might be on to something. God knows we could use a little variety in our food out in Hilton.

Ratings

Service/Atmosphere: I haven’t actually been inside yet, but it seemed like the food was ready soon enough.

Food: Not much different than a typical sub shop – until you get to the bread. We’ll definitely have to try out some of the daily specials soon, because those just might be what gives Fedele’s a little variety, relative to other places in Hilton.

Value: Prices are right about where they should be, and match the portion size well.

Overall: Needs to have more than amazing bread brought in from somewhere else to make it great on a larger scale, but this place is brand new and has a lot of potential. I’ll be back soon.

Grade: B-

Olympia Neighborhood Restaurant and Lounge

1100 Flynn Road, North Greece
Visited Feb. 1, 2011
Written by Drew



On this particular Tuesday evening, I traveled out to Greece Athena High School to watch my brother play basketball. After the game, my Mom and I went out to grab a bite at a place we have visited before, the Olympia Neighborhood Restaurant and Lounge, on the corner of Flynn and Latta roads in North Greece.

I was hesitant a bit the first time I went, but it obviously didn’t bother me that much, seeing as we returned. They say you learn something new every day, and I’m glad we ended up here because I learned they have a second location, out in Gates.

My mom and I walked right in and sat right down. Even though we were eating at prime dinner time, roughly 6 p.m., we expected little to no wait due to a winter storm that was supposed to hit the area within a few hours, and ended up being one of maybe five parties dining at the time. After walking in from the parking lot, I was cold. I sat down with the intention of getting a cup of soup with my meal.

I mixed it up a little bit, and instead of going with a chicken meal or a burger, I focused my attention on their 10 special sandwiches section on the menu. One that stood out to me was the roast beef au jus. This sandwich was probably eight inches in length, but was almost too tall to fit into my mouth.

The roast beef wasn’t overly cooked or dry at all. The sandwich was perfect when dipped into the au jus, and definitely filling. I was able to finish all but one bite of my sandwich, and brought the rest of the beef home.

My sandwich came with a large helping of steak fries, which were good, as well as a cup of soup. I was given the options of three or four different soups, but I ordered the Chicken Florentine, which ended up as a good move.

My mom ordered the Spanakopita. When she told me what she was going to ordered, I responded, “Excuse you,” because I wasn’t sure what language she was speaking. From my understanding, it was like a quiche with egg and spinach filling. Her meal came with soup and salad, as well as a side of different fruits and vegetables. She also ordered the Chicken Florentine, which she was also satisfied with.

Our meal came with a basket of bread and crackers, and good service. The location is very convenient because it is near both Athena and Arcadia High Schools. I will probably return, but would be interested in going to different places near it as well.

Tyler has been to Olympia before as well, though not in a few years, and said they have a good breakfast. He said he remembers having excellent Italian-bread toast, which came in large slices, and added the home fries were solid. Greg has also voiced interest in trying Olympia because he heard they have good gyros.

Looks like we’ll be making another stop in the near future.

Ratings:

Service/Atmosphere: Very friendly service, felt like home.

Food: Very good soup. The sandwich was average, but definitely filling.

Value: The meal my mother and I had came out to be about $20, which is a little pricey considering we both ordered ice water as our beverages.

Overall: Not a bad meal. I didn’t find much wrong with this place, as the meals I had were good, but nothing that stood out as a ‘must-return.’

Grade: B

Martusciello's Bread

2280 Lyell Avenue, Gates
Visited July 17, 2010
Written by Drew



Gates is known for its handful of Italian bakeries and delis. One of the most popular is Martusciello’s, which is widely regarded at having the best bread on the west side, if not the entire area.

This past weekend Tyler, Joe, Ryan, Greg and I planned an expedition called the “Tour de Gates,” in which we sampled items from the various Italian places. This plan was much to Joe’s delight, as he often tries to impose his half-Italianness on us.

Things went awry as soon as Greg misinterpreted the menu at our first stop, Savastano’s, and became puzzled on how to order food at an Italian bakery.

Frustrated, Greg and Ryan went to Steve T’s because they didn’t find it necessary to try a new place for the sake of the blog. Speaking for Tyler, Joe and myself, we were all glad we stuck to the plan. I had one of the best meals thus far since we started this blog.

We only ended up getting a small slice of pizza to split from Savastano’s and didn’t end up going to the other places we planned on, so we decided to review Martusciello’s exclusively on this trip.

Pulling in, Joe was excited because there was a fire truck in the parking lot. We walked in and there they were; eight or so fire fighters all eating lunch at Martusciello’s. Firemen in an Italian bakery on a Saturday nearly brought tears to Joe’s eyes.

There was somewhat of a lengthy line but as soon as I made up my mind, I hopped right in line and placed my order within minutes.

Going off of a suggestion from Joe’s father, I ordered a large sub. In typical Drew fashion I ordered a very basic one with turkey, American cheese and mayonnaise. The sub was cut in half and came in a Styrofoam box. The lid of the box wouldn’t even come close to closing all the way; the sub was just piled up too high.

But what is inside this sub isn’t nearly as important as the bread. Martusciello’s bakes all of their own bread products themselves. The roll was great! If I wanted to I would just eat their bread.
Tyler pretty much did just that.

He purchased a bag of dinner rolls from their bakery. One dozen softball-sized rolls filled up a bag for $2. The rolls were soft and perfectly chewy, with a uniform, very light-golden color all around. Tyler, being the generous guy he is, passed the bag around to all the guys and offered them a roll in turn for their opinion for our blog. Joe and I turned down his offer because we were all ready eating our subs which consisted of similar freshly baked bread.

The rolls used in the subs were 100 percent amazing; perfectly golden roll, both on the top and on the bottom. The inside of it was very light and airy, but not overly airy where there wasn’t anything to it.

Tyler’s family has had several loaves of both the Italian and French breads from Martusciello’s the last several years. He said the soft, chewy outer crust and lack of airiness make the bread stand out among others of its kind in the area.

As for Joe’s sub, he ordered a medium roast beef with provolone cheese, sweet peppers, lettuce, tomato, mayo and mustard. Joe was pleased that there was a perfect amount of meat, but agreed the bread made the sub.

“Homemade and fresh (bread) can go a long way in turning a sub from ‘great’ to ‘super great,’” he said.

There was one thing on the menu that we tried that both Tyler and I weren’t particularly fond of: their personal-sized pizzas. These pizzas were baked sometime earlier that morning, and were just thrown into the display case or onto trays that sat on the counter for purchasing. Tyler and I split a cheese personal pizza, and it wasn’t anything special. The pizza was at room temperature, and was a little dry when it came to the amount of sauce.

“It just didn’t do anything for me,” Tyler explained.

To be fair, it would have tasted better if we had taken it home and reheated it like it’s probably meant to be. Also, there were a lot of interesting personal pizza choices. I’m sure that their full-sized pizzas are much better fresh out of the oven for pick-up orders. Next time we might have to try that, alongside their chicken wings, which are $.45 a piece. We have also heard good things about their stuffed bread, calzones and pastries, which we hope to try soon.

Joe described the restaurant as “a mix between modern day and old school,” and as weird as that sounds, I would have to agree with him. Martusciello’s is a nice place to sit down in and eat, and it’s easy to see why this is such a popular place.

Ratings:

Service/Atmosphere: The service was extremely friendly. They make the wait time in line minimal and all the other costumers are genuinely happy about being there.

Food: Joe and I had great subs there and Tyler had great bread there. The personal-sized pizza, however, is slightly forgettable. I am definitely looking forward to trying out their hot pizzas though.

Value: Tyler puts it as “really good bread, cheap” and that isn’t too far off. The subs were cheap in price and very large. I definitely got a lot of bang for my buck because I brought the second half of my sub home, and I still couldn’t finish it in a second sitting.

Overall: If we are in Gates would we go here instead of going to General Hoock’s? Not often, but I can see us going back there again sometime to try out more of their food. It’s just unfortunate for us that Martusciello’s has such close proximity to Hoock's.

Grade: B+

(Menu picture courtesy of Urbanspoon)