Fired Up

Post written by Bridget Strub.

This past week, date night started before the weekend began. It was awesome and completely necessary, but not an exceptionally smart thing to do. As the week wound down and I spent my third consecutive night at school past 5 o’clock whatever will power I had for the day was spent on the decision to go to the gym before school started. So when I opened my inbox and found a coupon for Bugaboo Creek Steakhouse I immediately called Pete, to say “I love you” of course, and to nonchalantly mention the coupon I happened to receive. Lucky for me it took about as much energy to convince Pete to go out as it does to get him to watch football on a Sunday afternoon, and we watch football EVERY Sunday afternoon. As we shared a plate of appetizers and two steaks for a total of $26 (tax and tip included) next to a fireplace and talking moose I couldn’t help but smile (even though I had to suppress the sinking feeling that my 5:30am trip to the gym was pointless). My bargain addiction and stomach had been filled. It set the mood for a happy weekend. We were able to spend much needed quality time together, and the pressure of the restaurant decision for date night was lifted. We were able to explore new frontiers with genuine excitement, and that definitely paid off.

As we lazily rolled out of bed on Saturday morning, we couldn’t help but notice the sunshine peering through our windows. I had an insatiable desire to be outside and enjoy whatever nice weather we had left in upstate NY. We pitched ideas like apple picking and Letchworth State Park around, but ultimately decided on driving around the east side and taking a slow walk on the Erie Canal Path. We wandered through Fairport, and discovered some incredible little treasures that I’m excited to explore and report on in the weeks to come. As our tummies began to rumble we decided to investigate Napa Wood-Fired Pizzeria in Perinton Hills Plaza. I had heard good things about it and the website looked decent so we gave it a go. We were on a pretty big high after our walk through the fresh, crisp, fall air, so we went in with pretty lofty expectations.

The dining room was pretty trendy with a fairly cozy vibe to it. We stood at the bar awkwardly for a few moments before the one employee working (besides the chef) shuffled us to our table. For most restaurants the sight of one employee acting as both host and waiter should be huge red flag that the restaurant isn’t all that successful. However, we tend to go out to dinner at the same time my grandpa would take out his lady friend, so you can’t really blame smaller restaurants for not fully staffing their dining room just to wait on three tables. Even though there weren’t that many people there, our waiter was pretty rushed, but we were determined not to let his hurried aura mess with our experience. Pete noticed two things almost immediately. One, there was a flat screen TV with the Notre Dame football game on. He put that in our “pros” column for the restaurant while I promptly placed it in the “cons”. A football game on TV during date night dinner is like being a contestant on the latest Bachelor. While Pete’s not off making out with the TV, his attention definitely gets divided. However, Pete also noticed that they offered loganberry as a beverage option. For those of you who have never tasted the glory that is loganberry, I’m sorry. It is neither soda nor juice, but MAN is it good. The minute I sip the magical nectar I am instantly transported to my childhood and a permanent nostalgic smile spreads across my face. Very few restaurants in Rochester offer loganberry as an option for their diners, so when one is discovered, they automatically shoot up on the “this-place-is-awesome” scale.

As we poured over the menu we were a little overwhelmed by the options presented to us. One would assume that over thirty-six choices of pizza would make some people happier than a greedy kid on Christmas morning. But, you know what they say about people who assume things. I found the menu to be a little confusing and distracting. Even the “create your own” option was a little disappointing because it only offered sauce and cheese with each additional topping for $1.50 each. Kind of lame. I decided to go with a gourmet pizza with eggplant, artichokes, feta and roasted red peppers, while Pete got a double-decker pepperoni pizza.

Before our order came out we had a pretty in-depth discussion about whether or not his choice meant that it was a double layer of pepperoni or an actual two-layered pizza. We weighed the possibilities and potential risks of stacking two pizzas on top of each other and quickly concluded that it wasn’t possible, but that it would be an awesome experiment to try. Pete was satisfied, though, at the thought of eating twice the amount of pepperoni than normal. He was pretty excited actually. So, you can imagine the disappointment on his face when his pie came out and the average amount of pepperoni lay atop it. I swear it looked like he had just learned that the Superbowl was cancelled. As I inspected Pete’s pie, I realized our wildest dreams had come true. Someone had actually created a double-decker pizza! At this point, the expression on Pete’s face changed so much you would’ve thought I told him not only was the Superbowl back on, but he could be the starting quarterback for the favored team. He exclaimed with joy (and he doesn’t make many exclamations) that his pizza held the “benefits of a calzone and joy of pizza”. I coveted his gooey mess as I chewed through my quarter sized chunks of eggplant that fell off my droopy crust. I have a serious problem with choosing meals that have one or two ingredients that I’m craving in it, but others that I don’t really care for. I’m a fan of the thin crust of gourmet pizzas, but struggle when it is piled with too many toppings to sustain its purpose as a crispy crust. Either way, we both were extremely full after our meal, and had at least half our pizzas in boxes to take home.

Though we were too full to take advantage of their dessert menu, I was delighted to see that Napa offered carrot cake and other tasty goodies from Cheesy Eddie’s. I’m telling you right now that if you’ve never had Cheesy Eddie’s carrot cake, you haven’t lived. They are open weird hours, and we’ve only been to one other place in Rochester that offers their desserts so it’s very rare that Pete and I get to enjoy the goodness. Yet another huge jump on the “this-place-is-awesome” scale.

My gym-going self would say that this weekend’s date nights (yes, Bugaboo can count as a date night) were a complete waste. But the girly, “I love spending time with my hubby” self would agree that the food extravaganza was an overwhelming success. While Napa Wood-Fired Pizzeria hasn’t shot to the top of our favorite spots to eat, it has scored a few “awesome” points, and I’d recommend giving it a try if you’re in the mood for options and doggie bags.

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