Let Valentine prepare your lakeside menu for a romantic date

(It’s a debate every Central New Yorker has had at some point: Who has the best pizza? This year, we’ll do our best to find out. I’m on the hunt for the best pizzerias in the area of Syracuse Throughout 2024, I will visit more than 50 pizzerias. In each of them, I will taste their most popular pizza, or what they recommend, as I go, I will note. each of them and will tell readers a little about the store itself.)

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Skaneateles, NY — The perfect setting for a Saturday night date deserved an ideal menu to match. But since every table at every restaurant in Skaneateles was booked, I had to make some adjustments.

Instead of a table for two with a partially hidden view of Skaneateles Lake, I reserved a primo bench for my wife and me along the shore, next to the docks. Rather than a bottle of Veuve Clicquot 2015 champagne, I dug into my backpack and pulled out a few bottles of Champagne of Beers 2024. No prime rib or duck with orange for us. We dined on a large sweet chili chicken pizza and a side of wings from Valentine’s Delicatessen.

Go ahead and scoff, but it was like Cupid had cooked this dinner himself.

On Saturday, the role of Cupid was played by Aaron Laird. He’s part of a large group of pizza makers who each have 10 to 18 years of experience at this deli across from the Genesee Street overlook. Valentine’s is one of three businesses on this small shopping street. Over the years it has been a mechanic garage, a pharmacy and an antique store. It’s been Valentine’s Day since 1988.

“You hit us at the perfect time,” Aaron said at 4:30 p.m. Saturday, as he and three others prepared one pizza after another. They only looked up when it came time to put each pizza in the oven. “This is the start of what is going to be a very busy dinner.”

Valentine’s Day will sell about 200 pizzas on a typical summer night. Saturday had the makings of a 300-pizza party. This will happen with clear skies and a temperature of 72 degrees, Aaron said.

“That’s right, that’s a typical order,” he said, pointing to a guy picking up two pizzas, two large pizzas and a few dozen wings. “I guess he goes back to his boat from here.”

Logic. The docks are only 50 steps away.

Lead the way, Captain. It’s time to wine and dine by the lake…

Address: Valentine’s Delicatessen, 18 W. Genesee St., Skaneateles. (315) 685-8804

Do they deliver: Yes, within a 5 km radius of the pizzeria. This includes boat docks on the north shore of Skaneateles Lake. You can order online.

What I ate: A large chicken and sweet chili pizza.

Why this pizza? Tom Noterpole, the owner of Valentine’s, says this pizza is one of the most popular in Skaneateles. “We’re known for this,” he said.

RATINGS (out of 5)

Crust: 3/5. The dough is prepared here every day, in batches that will fill 13 six-ball bins. When an order comes in, they quickly dip a ball into a flour-filled tray and stretch it to the size of a 12- or 16-inch pizza screen.

The pizza, once constructed, goes into the oven at 500 degrees always displayed on the screen. This allows air to circulate beneath the crust. Halfway through cooking, a cook removes the pizza from the screen. The end result is a semi-crispy crust that measures ½ inch in the center and ¾ on the edge.

Toppings: 4/5. This pizza has few ingredients, but it’s packed with flavor. Aaron starts by covering the dough with part-skim mozzarella cheese. There’s no layer of tomato sauce or even garlic butter. It’s just cheese on what will ultimately be bread.

Aaron arranges about 40 florets of broccoli that he had cut from their stems earlier in the day and adds an equal amount of diced fried chicken fillets.

Six swirls of Thai chili sauce make this pizza so unusual. Most pizzerias spread a drizzle over the other toppings once the pizza is taken out of the oven. As this is done upstream, it goes down to the bottom of the oven and becomes a base which enhances the meat and vegetables.

Valentine’s uses traditional Thai Kikkoman chili sauce made with chili peppers, garlic and fish sauce. Although it’s sweet with a slight punch, it’s bolder and flavorful than the sticky sauce you might use as a dip for egg rolls.

Value: 4/5. All 16-inch specialty pizzas here cost $21.75. That’s just under 11 cents per square inch, about average for large pizzas on this tour. Remember we are in Skaneateles. There’s not much cheap here. It’s a great deal for a night on the town. They threw away the view for free.

Charisma: 4/5. Normal pizza is pretty much just comfort food. This pizza, however, is fusion cuisine perfect for lakeside dining. Using Thai chili sauce blends Italian and Asian flavors. This unique combination may appeal to those who like to try innovative dishes, especially if they eat one or two pizzas a week for a whole year.

Total: 15/20. Yes, I realize this was not the date night my wife envisioned. She probably would have preferred an expensive dinner at Krebs or Rosalie’s, but this was a cheap, fancy dinner with a view.

By the way, we stopped for dessert on the way home. Two ice cream cones at Skan Ellus brought home the entire evening to $40, including tip. That’s not counting the bottles of Miller High Life I sneaked into.

Charlie Miller finds the best food, drinks and entertainment in Central New York. Contact him at (315) 382-1984, or by email at [email protected]. (AND he pays for what he and his guests eat and drink, just so you know.) You can also find him under @HoosierCuse on Twitter and on Instagram. Subscribe to its free weekly Where Syracuse Eats newsletter here.

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