OT: Best Pizza in CT

[Conndog]

If I'm coming down I-91 to Connecticut (from Vermont/New Hampshire)) and want to stay north of Hartford, what are best pizza recommendations? Or, right around or even in Hartford, where should I go?
Thanks!

 

[8893]

How do you reheat your pizza, next day or so, to get as close to when you brought it?

Of course not microwaved, but using oven or toaster oven. What temp and how long?

Mine never taste as good as when brought, especially the crust. The crust gets softer (I'm sure due to toppings) and the pizza loses its flavor. I'm preheating the oven at 400 then turn it off and put the slices in for 10-15 minutes.

I have done the frying pan, oven and toaster oven and seem to get best results with our Breville convection toaster oven, which has a pizza setting. I preheat it with that setting (6”, unfrozen) and put the try in with tin foil on it. Once it preheats I put it in for 2-4 minutes, taking it out when the cheese starts to bubble. I believe it cooks them at 450 degrees, which is a little hotter than I like for reheating. I usually do at 425 if I am setting a temp, but this setting works well if you watch it closely. The convection seems to do a good job of making it crisp again.

 

[Deepster]

I'm going to be in the Utica, NY area on Saturday and this place appears to be the best spot there. Anyone ever been there and is it worth the stop?

O'Scugnizzo's Pizza - Utica, NY

 

[storrsroars]

I'm going to be in the Utica, NY area on Saturday and this place appears to be the best spot there. Anyone ever been there and is it worth the stop?

O'Scugnizzo's Pizza - Utica, NY

An Irish place, eh?

 

[8893]

I'm going to be in the Utica, NY area on Saturday and this place appears to be the best spot there. Anyone ever been there and is it worth the stop?

O'Scugnizzo's Pizza - Utica, NY

Mrs. 8893 is from Utica and I’ve obviously been there dozens of times. Never had memorable pizza but don’t know of that place.

You want to go to Symeon’s for really good Greek food, and shockingly some of the best calamari I have ever had. Amazingly consistently excellent.

Also hit up Hapanowicz Bros. Meat Market next door in New York Mills and load up on excellent kielbasa and house made belly buster hot dogs to bring home. It all keeps well frozen too.

 

[husky99]

Was down in Mystic with a visiting family member who had to have Mystic Pizza. Dear lord. Their large pizza is not kidding the size of a small and nothing great at that. $18 for a small pizza, wow.

Not good pizza at all

 

[Deepster]

Mrs. 8893 is from Utica and I’ve obviously been there dozens of times. Never had memorable pizza but don’t know of that place.

You want to go to Symeon’s for really good Greek food, and shockingly some of the best calamari I have ever had. Amazingly consistently excellent.

Also hit up Hapanowicz Bros. Meat Market next door in New York Mills and load up on excellent kielbasa and house made belly buster hot dogs to bring home. It all keeps well frozen too.

The One Bite app had O'Scugnizzo's at an 8.2 which is pretty good. And I know Utica is an old mob town, so I'll give it a whirl. I'm only stopping to pick up, not dine in but the meat market sounds right up my alley. I just ate the last of the homemade hot dogs I made Memorial Day Weekend.

 

[Huskybass]

Had Bar for the first time Tuesday night after the Tedeschi Trucks Band show. It was very good, but certainly not in the conversation with Modern, Pepe's Mike's or Olde World. I'd have it again for sure though.

 

[August_West]

Had Bar for the first time Tuesday night after the Tedeschi Trucks Band show. It was very good, but certainly not in the conversation with Modern, Pepe's Mike's or Olde World. I'd have it again for sure though.

You eat at Bar?

 

[Waquoit]

Always liked cast iron skillet.

I started doing that on your rec. Like nas, I add a few drops of water to steam melt the cheese.

 

[Chin Diesel]

Mrs. 8893 is from Utica and I’ve obviously been there dozens of times. Never had memorable pizza but don’t know of that place.

You want to go to Symeon’s for really good Greek food, and shockingly some of the best calamari I have ever had. Amazingly consistently excellent.

Also hit up Hapanowicz Bros. Meat Market next door in New York Mills and load up on excellent kielbasa and house made belly buster hot dogs to bring home. It all keeps well frozen too.

Just out of curiosity, were you surprised that a Greek restaurant had real good calamari or that it was a restaurant in Utica that had really good calamari? I've associated Greek food with calamari and would expect it to be top notch at a Greek restaurant.

 

[Chin Diesel]

I started doing that on your rec. Like nas, I add a few drops of water to steam melt the cheese.

You are welcome. I definitely read about it or heard about it from someone else because I never saw a cast iron skillet or cast iron cookware anything until I was in my 30's.

 

[8893]

Just out of curiosity, were you surprised that a Greek restaurant had real good calamari or that it was a restaurant in Utica that had really good calamari? I've associated Greek food with calamari and would expect it to be top notch at a Greek restaurant.

I was surprised because it is in Utica. I still remember almost thirty years ago when my then future father in law proclaimed that they had the best calamari, and laughed in my head like “Yeah, sure. A place in Utica has the best calamari.”

But he was right. And he is also the one who keeps us stocked with Hapanowicz kielbasa.

 

[Huskybass]

You eat at Bar?

Once

 

[RichZ]

I'm going to be in the Utica, NY area on Saturday and this place appears to be the best spot there. Anyone ever been there and is it worth the stop?

O'Scugnizzo's Pizza - Utica, NY

I've had very, very bad experiences with pizza from most anywhere in upstate NY. Seems like just about anywhere north of Westchester, you have trouble finding a place that will actually bake it. Char? Leoparding? Nope. Just pasty looking, soft, undercooked crust. And the same sauce they use on their pasta dishes in many cases. I did find a decent pie once in Candagua, and Buffalo has some OK pizza. I've heard rumors of, but not experienced first hand, pretty good pie in Troy, and I have identified the one pizza shop in Ticonderoga what can and will cook one decently if you ask for very well done. Owner is from CT.

 

[husky99]

I started doing that on your rec. Like nas, I add a few drops of water to steam melt the cheese.

So good

 

[Hungryhusky99]

Mario’s in Waterbury . Best pies in the state .

 

[Deepster]

I'm going to be in the Utica, NY area on Saturday and this place appears to be the best spot there. Anyone ever been there and is it worth the stop?

O'Scugnizzo's Pizza - Utica, NY

Pretty weird pizza.

Square like a sheet pan. Dough then mozz then sausage then sauce. Lots of sauce. Sauce had a nice taste but the dough was like a dry Elios out of the freezer.

 

[Chin Diesel]

Pretty weird pizza.

Square like a sheet pan. Dough then mozz then sausage then sauce. Lots of sauce. Sauce had a nice taste but the dough was like a dry Elios out of the freezer.

I live in a pizza desert. One of the places that is somewhat decent has a C.O.B pie - Cheese on Bottom. In the write up they say it is inspired by upstate New York pizza.

 

[Deepster]

I live in a pizza desert. One of the places that is somewhat decent has a C.O.B pie - Cheese on Bottom. In the write up they say it is inspired by upstate New York pizza.

View attachment 68480

Interesting. It didn’t change the taste at all and made it a saucy mess.

 

[Chin Diesel]

Interesting. It didn’t change the taste at all and made it a saucy mess.

I should add I never had heard of a NY pizza joint doing sauce on top.

I always associated that with deep dish. Or, deep dish would put mozz on the bottom and sprinkle parmesan after putting sauce on top.

 

[WrenchFan69]

Mario’s in Waterbury . Best pies in the state .

Absolutely not. Pretty decent, especially for the price, but nowhere near the best.

 

[tomtom80]

Had Bar for the first time Tuesday night after the Tedeschi Trucks Band show. It was very good, but certainly not in the conversation with Modern, Pepe's Mike's or Olde World. I'd have it again for sure though.

If you ever go back to Bar try the mashed potato pie - it may sound weird but it’s fantastic. And don’t forget the pitchers of Damn Good Stout for a hearty Irish meal

 

[August_West]

I should add I never had heard of a NY pizza joint doing sauce on top.

I always associated that with deep dish. Or, deep dish would put mozz on the bottom and sprinkle parmesan after putting sauce on top.

They do Cheese on bottom at many new york places, on grandma pies and Sicilian style. for Example the "spicy Spring" sicilian slice at Prince street Pizza has cheese on bottom.

Any thicker crust style like the aforementioned Chicago deep dish, NY Sicilians, Detroit style all have many examples of Cheese on bottom. This is for structural considerations, as sauce on bottom of a thick crust can make it soggy during baking. The layer of cheese on the bottom acts as a buffer

 

[JCSuperstar]

RIP to Harry's Pizza in West Hartford, Hopefully that place was somewhere in the previous 216 pages.

The Assisi (Shredded mozzarella, cilantro, basil, feta, diced tomato, light jalapeño and fresh squeezed lemon and asiago) was a great pie. I'm not up around West Hartford often, but I would always bring one back after Christmas shopping up there.