6 minute read
Pizza Capital Showdown
By Jennifer Carmichael
New highway signs now proudly declare Connecticut the “Home of the Pizza Capital of the United States.” While locals know this title is well-earned, it might surprise those from neighboring New York, renowned for its iconic pizza. For many, the kind that resonates is New Haven style, celebrated for its unique take on the classic pie. However, venturing further down the shoreline to New London reveals a vibrant community of pizzerias embracing Greek-style pizza, also known as New London-style. There are definite distinctions and rich histories of these three beloved pizza styles—and all are delicious.
NEW YORK-STYLE
A New York pie is 18 inches in diameter and features a thick, foldable crust that’s soft and pliable
Food writer Ian MacAllen, author of Red Sauce: How Italian Food Became American (Rowman & Littlefield, 2022), devotes an entire chapter to pizza, exploring how Italian immigrants, particularly those from Naples, introduced it to New York. He notes how Lombardi’s in the Little Italy section of Manhattan is credited with selling the first pizzas in America in 1905. The pizzeria’s website describes its original pizza as “smoky-crusted, coal oven-baked pizza topped with purist tomato sauce, fresh whole milk mozzarella, and basil.”
“In contrast to Italy, where wood-fired ovens are the norm, the early pizza ovens in the U.S. were primarily industrial bread ovens,” says MacAllen . “And the preferred fuel was coal. It’s hotter, and the pizzas cook faster. So, while a Neapolitan pie is 9 or 10 inches, a New York pie is 18 inches in diameter—a product of having a big oven.”
MacAllen says New York and New Haven have Neapolitan roots, which is why the two pizza styles are very similar—a circleshaped dough with cheese and tomato. But the New York-style features a thicker, foldable crust that’s soft and pliable compared to New Haven’s.
NEW HAVEN-STYLE
Known as “apizza,” New Haven-style pizza is characterized by a thin, crisp crust with a chewy inside and accompanied by a savory tomato sauce, blend of minimal cheeses, and few toppings
New Haven-style pizza will soon celebrate its 100th-anniversary thanks to Frank Pepe, who immigrated from Italy to New Haven as a teenager in 1909. After serving in World War I, he returned to New Haven in 1919, where he first worked in a pasta factory and later in a bakery in the Wooster Square area. There, he began crafting ‘apizza’ (pronounced ah-beets), a traditional pizza style from his native Naples. In 1925, he opened the first Frank Pepe location at 163 Wooster Street. Here’s where New Haven-style pizza originated. The restaurant’s website states that they have been “crafting original New Haven-style pizza for nearly 100 years” and notes that its approach is simple: the best ingredients on the best dough, every time.
“New Haven has the best pizza in the country,” says Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), who represents Connecticut’s New Haven-centered third congressional district. “Ask anyone from Connecticut, and they will tell you Connecticut pizza, or ‘apizza’ as we call it, is the best pizza in America. There is something special about the way New Haven pizza is made—some say it is coal fire; some say brick ovens—for some, it is the char; others say it is the water used to make the dough.”
“Personally, I believe it is the generation after generation of dedication to the craft,” DeLauro continues. “I was proud to declare in the Congressional Record that New Haven is the Pizza Capital of the United States.”
Famous for its coal-fired pizza, Pepe’s style influenced many others in the region and beyond. Through the years, the pizzeria itself has expanded to 17 locations. Other top pizza parlors in New Haven include Sally’s Apizza and Modern Apizza, both making “apizza,” characterized by a thin, crisp crust with a chewy inside and accompanied by a savory tomato sauce, blend of minimal cheeses, and few toppings.
“There are a bunch of places in New York that are advertising themselves as New Haven-style pizza. It’s having a cultural moment and trending right now,” MacAllen says.
NEW LONDON-STYLE
The crust is thick and crunchy, with more toppings than traditional Neapolitan-style pizza
About 50 miles east of New Haven, Greek-style or New Londonstyle pizza is abundant due to the area’s cultural influence and history. The crust is thick and crunchy, with more toppings than traditional Neapolitan-style pizza.
“Ninety percent of all the pizza places in the area at one point were all people from Epirus in Northern Greece,” says Nik Matsas, owner of Supreme Pizza, which has been in business since 1979 in Waterford, right over the New London city line. His grandfather’s original pizza place, Oakdale Pizza, is still operating and managed by his aunt in Oakdale, while another aunt runs Stonington Pizza Palace, which has been a Stonington staple for 30 years.
“My mother is one of the most prolific and well-known pie makers,” continues Matsas, who points out that the movie Mystic Pizza, starring the actress Julia Roberts, was filmed in a Greek-style pizza shop in Mystic. “We shape it more precisely to fit the pan, just like the traditional northern Greek spinach and cheese pies.”
Sam Vafidis, owner of New London-based Ocean Pizza, immigrated to the United States from Greece at 17 but returned for a few years to serve in the U.S. Army. Afterward, he returned and joined his family’s restaurant, Ocean Pizza. Vafidis notes that they’ve used the same pizza recipe since the business opened in 1962. “Why change it? The customers are happy, and we sell a lot,” he says.
“We also offer a delicious Greek spinach pie on the menu,” Vafidis continues. “It’s made with a blend of eggs, feta cheese, and spinach, all topped with mozzarella.”
MacAllen notes, “You can probably create a map and draw a line across Connecticut and see where people eat New London Greekstyle pizza and New Haven style in the same way you can draw a line between those that root for the Yankees or the Red Sox.”
Frank Pepe’s Pizzeria Napoletana is available at eight different Connecticut locations. Visit pepespizzeria.com for more information.
Supreme Pizza is located at 27 Boston Post Road in Waterford. It is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Visit supremepizzact.com or call 860-443-8177 or 860-443-3219 for more information.
Ocean Pizza Restaurant and Seafood House is located at 88 Ocean Avenue in New London. It is open seven days a week from 10:30 a.m. to 8:45 p.m. Visit oceanpizzarestaurant.com or call 860-443-0870 for more information.
