OT: - Best Pizza in CT | Page 382 | The Boneyard
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OT: Best Pizza in CT

If we're bringing it full circle... The first time I had Pepe's, in the summer years back, it was absolutely delicious. It's never been that good since, and along with Sally's, is annoying to order or eat at. Modern has always been consistently good and is "20 minutes" for pickup every time.

That being said, I had John's of Bleeker a few months back, and I was blown away by how good it was. Best bite of pizza and maybe food I've ever had. I clutched those leftovers like it was my child on the subway.
John's is the "10" I compare everything else to.
 
You order it on your phone, you can use an app, you don't have to wait in line. THey only make a limited amount of pizzas to go. It's not first come first serve. That's only for the sitting customers.

They make the togo pizzas in batches.
Sally's / Pepe's non-original locations are several notches below the originals IMO. I think Modern has the right idea (non-$$$$-wise)
 
Sally's / Pepe's non-original locations are several notches below the originals IMO. I think Modern has the right idea (non-$$$$-wise)
One thing we have to realize is that people around the region don't appreciate New Haven pizza. When these places open in other states like Massachusetts or even Florida, the customers there expect less charred crust, thicker bread, more cheese, more toppings, etc.

So these places trade on their names but they give their customers something in between Apizza and whatever else is served in that region.
 
Went to Ernie's last night for the first time on the way to the game. Won't be going back. Everybody was nice. Cool old school vibe and good service. But the pie was doughy.
 
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Went to Ernie's last night for the first time on the way to the game. Won't be going back. Everybody was nice. Cool old school vibe and good service. But the pie was doughy.
I've been to Ernie's a couple times and never found it to be anything special. Don't understand how people consider it to be a big deal. There are at least a handful of places within New Haven that I prefer.
 
Not sure people outside the northeast are going to fall in love with what is now an inferior overpriced product.
While ruining the reputation of nh apizza. Really a shame. Other than the Wooster St location which I grew up on I’ve only had the Fairfield location pies on 2 occasions. Both times unspectacular
 
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While ruining the reputation of nh apizza. Really a shame. Other than the Wooster St location which I grew up on I’ve only had the Fairfield location pies on 2 occasions. Both times unspectacular
Went to the Woburn, MA one once. Never went back. The pizza was much better than average around here but the prices are 20-25% more than Pepe's around here and I like Pepe's better anyway. Plus 2 of the Pepe's are closer to my house than the Sally's. There's just no reason to go back.

The thing I hate the most about Sally's is what this new greedy restaurant group is doing to the brand. The article about what they are doing at the Danbury Mall, building a "Las Vegas type restaurant" with an extensive Italian menu, is the antithesis of what Sally's is/was. There will be a Harvard case study one day about how this restaurant group ruined an iconic brand.
 
Went to the Woburn, MA one once. Never went back. The pizza was much better than average around here but the prices are 20-25% more than Pepe's around here and I like Pepe's better anyway. Plus 2 of the Pepe's are closer to my house than the Sally's. There's just no reason to go back.

The thing I hate the most about Sally's is what this new greedy restaurant group is doing to the brand. The article about what they are doing at the Danbury Mall, building a "Las Vegas type restaurant" with an extensive Italian menu, is the antithesis of what Sally's is/was. There will be a Harvard case study one day about how this restaurant group ruined an iconic brand.
It's really the Consiglio family who ruined their own iconic brand when they sold out to private equity.
 
I have to say, I crisped it up in a pan on the stove top this morning for breakfast and it was much better!

I was a reheat in the pan kind of guy. Give it some time to crisp the bottom and maybe a drop or two of water at the end with a lid to get the top nice and melty.

Now?

The air fryer is the way to go. So simple. 3 minutes at 400 and you have a crispy bottom and melty top.
 
Not sure people outside the northeast are going to fall in love with what is now an inferior overpriced product.
They’re going to have to compete with Pepe’s, 12 miles away and still delivering.

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-> For Pepe's, Gagliardi said, the recipe to successful expansion was a "slow and steady" pace, with a "seasoned" team at the helm. "Pepe's expansion is not going to be as fast or as ambitious (as Sally's)," Gagliardi said. "We are going to open new locations slowly and strategically, because we're very protective of the product and the training that goes into it."He explained that the company had chosen its expansion locations by following where its college patrons, primarily from Yale University, had gone after graduating. <-
 
It's really the Consiglio family who ruined their own iconic brand when they sold out to private equity.
“We could have just carbon-copied the Wooster Street location, and gotten the same everything, the same look and just built that everywhere,” said partner Ted Zizlsperger, who oversaw Shake Shack when it was part of New York’s Union Square Hospitality Group. “But I think we would have done a disservice to the brand.”

No, sir, I think you're doing a disservice to the brand by trying become Pizza Hut.

 
MBA guys will be MBA guys. I'm one of them.

The branding aspect of this blow out, not roll out, has been done for them with the best of all worlds methodology: free word of mouth that creates a legendary brand. The brand itself can only go down from there.

And it will.
 
I just read that Sally's is going to launch 225 new stores and maybe a dozen states. There are gonna be five new Sally's in New Jersey and I think 12 on NY. I don't expect them to be the same, but hopefully they will be pretty good, at least for chain pizza.
The article I posted said 1000 stores. Are they going to rename it Sally's Apizza Hut?

Texas has the most potential locations with 45. Lineage Hospitality says its mission is for 1,000 locations in all.

 
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MBA guys will be MBA guys. I'm one of them.

The branding aspect of this blow out, not roll out, has been done for them with the best of all worlds methodology: free word of mouth that creates a legendary brand. The brand itself can only go down from there.

And it will.
If you view it as an attempt to create a chain version of Sally's, it's doomed to failure. If you view it as an attempt to capitalize on the brand recognition of Sally's specifically and New Haven pizza generally then it has an opportunity to be successful.

To me, the questionable judgment is the massive rollout in states that already have a good local pizza presence. Is the chain version of Sally's going to be better than New Jersey local pizza? Maybe but the bar is higher here than say in the Midwest. Lobbing 25 Sally's into New Jersey seems like a recipe for failure. And I say this, despite the fact that Connecticut pizza is vastly superior to New Jersey pizza. That said, I'll definitely give it a try if there's one near me.

@HooperScooper
 

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