OT: Best Pizza in CT

[huskysupporter]

Thanks for the tip - I'll give that a try next time I'm back. I was trying to describe Lantari's and the childhood memories associated with it and how much I would love to experience that again.

Haven't been there, but people at work say the sheet pizza from Giovanni's is very good.

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[UConnKev]

I consider myself a pizza snob as my mother grew up in New Haven and introduced me to Pepe's at an early age.

If I had to rank the best pies I've had in Connecticut, it would go like this:

1) Pepe's in New Haven only
2) Harry's in Bishop's Corner
3) Modern
4) Mondo in Middletown
5) Colony in Stamford.

For specialty/unique pizzas.
1) Bar for the Mashed potato pizza (add bacon)
2) Pepe's for the white clam
3) Vito's in Wethersfield for Buffalo Chicken pizza (wing sauce, not red)

Gone but never forgotten:
Corkeys in East Hartford

 

[Waquoit]

Has anyone had Papa Johns? How good is it compared to Pizza Hut/Dominos?

Papa John was openly rooting for S. Carolina against us in the papajohn's Bowl. At the 2011 Final Four he referred to the Squis as "my dear friend". I will never go there.

I had a bite of Papa John's pizza for free once, wasn't worth it.

 

[Waquoit]

Does anyone remember a place I think called Lanteris Pizza in downtown Hartford in the 70s??? They only made sheet pizza that was dough, sauce and cheese. Serious childhood memories of my dad bringing that home.

I do. I had it at many picnics and such that had many childern attending. Kids ate it up. It was awful!

 

[8893]

My dad would always order it with "scamotes"(not the actuall spelling). Does anyone know if you can get this any more?

Same with my family. It was an Italian-American convention in the Bridgeport/Stratford area where I grew up. As best as I have been able to tell, this was simply our way of ordering a cheese pizza, with Italians-Americans who (or whose families) had immigrated from the Naples area calling the cheese "scamozz." I'm almost certain it was always mozzarella cheese here, but there is a regional variant in Italy called "scamorza," which is similar to mozzarella (it is both smoked and unsmoked, but in some areas they use the term only for the smoked variant). You can find scamorza here, but it is not common (and never has been) and would be much more similar to fresh mozzarella, not the low-moisture, part skim mozzarella used by most pizza places on a standard cheese pizza, which is what I remember us getting when we ordered a "scamozz apizza."

I have been waiting for a Madison/Guilford submission. I am new to te area and we are locked in at Portofinos of North Madison. A consistently good pizza. I think the owner has a second restaurant in New Haven but I forget where he is. We tried Farina's in North Guilford but they were too inconsistent for us.

I heard The Red Tomato in Guilford was pretty good.

Portofino is the best and most consistent in town imo, especially if you're in North Madison, Dove. Red Tomato is actually Madison, too, but it is near the Guilford line. It is good, but it's not New Haven, and not worth the inconvenience as compared to Portofino imo. It also doesn't travel all that well in my experience. Portofino's new restaurant in New Haven just opened last week. It is called "Da Legna" and it is on State Street, where Abate's Pizza used to be (across from Christopher Martin's). I have not been yet, but we are going for dinner next weekend and I will report back. He has a wood-fired brick oven imported from Italy for the pizzas, and he has teamed with talented New Haven area chef Dave Foster, who is making several small plates and salads. I'm looking forward to it. BTW, if you haven't had them yet, Portofino's stuffed breads are ridiculously good. Just don't start bringing them to other people's houses for gatherings, because they'll never ask you to bring anything else, and their "order" will double every time, as people wipe the things out in no time.

Nuzzo's is okay, but nothing really special imo. We use them because our kids like them, and when we need delivery. IMO, the next best local option besides Portofino is Bradley and Wall. Their sauce in particular is excellent; I think their use of plum tomatoes is the difference. Give them a shot next time. Their entrees, sandwiches and sides, etc. are also good.

 

[Devland]

IMO Little Rendezvous still excellent. Only place in town I will get a pizza.

I also like Harry's in West Hartford Center(across from Blue Back Square).

Harry's just opened a second location in Glastonbury.

 

[joober jones]

I have been waiting for a Madison/Guilford submission. I am new to te area and we are locked in at Portofinos of North Madison. A consistently good pizza. I think the owner has a second restaurant in New Haven but I forget where he is. We tried Farina's in North Guilford but they were too inconsistent for us.

I heard The Red Tomato in Guilford was pretty good.

Nuzzo's is great - they're really good with specialty orders (I like my pizza scortched beyond recognition) and the staff is friendly and at most times, they manage to hire some very attractive help.

 

[joober jones]

Same with my family. It was an Italian-American convention in the Bridgeport/Stratford area where I grew up. As best as I have been able to tell, this was simply our way of ordering a cheese pizza, with Italians-Americans who (or whose families) had immigrated from the Naples area calling the cheese "scamozz." I'm almost certain it was always mozzarella cheese here, but there is a regional variant in Italy called "scamorza," which is similar to mozzarella (it is both smoked and unsmoked, but in some areas they use the term only for the smoked variant). You can find scamorza here, but it is not common (and never has been) and would be much more similar to fresh mozzarella, not the low-moisture, part skim mozzarella used by most pizza places on a standard cheese pizza, which is what I remember us getting when we ordered a "scamozz apizza."


Portofino is the best and most consistent in town imo, especially if you're in North Madison, Dove. Red Tomato is actually Madison, too, but it is near the Guilford line. It is good, but it's not New Haven, and not worth the inconvenience as compared to Portofino imo. It also doesn't travel all that well in my experience. Portofino's new restaurant in New Haven just opened last week. It is called "Da Legna" and it is on State Street, where Abate's Pizza used to be (across from Christopher Martin's). I have not been yet, but we are going for dinner next weekend and I will report back. He has a wood-fired brick oven imported from Italy for the pizzas, and he has teamed with talented New Haven area chef Dave Foster, who is making several small plates and salads. I'm looking forward to it. BTW, if you haven't had them yet, Portofino's stuffed breads are ridiculously good. Just don't start bringing them to other people's houses for gatherings, because they'll never ask you to bring anything else, and their "order" will double every time, as people wipe the things out in no time.

Nuzzo's is okay, but nothing really special imo. We use them because our kids like them, and when we need delivery. IMO, the next best local option besides Portofino is Bradley and Wall. Their sauce in particular is excellent; I think their use of plum tomatoes is the difference. Give them a shot next time. Their entrees, sandwiches and sides, etc. are also good.

Is Ash Creek still around? Before I moved to the USA I had a great-grandmother who lived in Bridgeport and in the summer I'd often visit and Ash Creek was where we'd always go for pizza. We'd get the classic no-mozzarella tomato pie with grated cheese. It was simple yet amazing.

 

[Husky25]

After modern and Sally's (in that order), I'll bid rossini's in Cheshire. Still have not had a pizza better than any of those three (and yes, i have had pizza in New York)

Rossini's in East Hampton.

 

[mauconnfan]

Rossini's in East Hampton.

Rossini's sold the log cabin in Farmington to Joey Garlic's right.......that Rossini's was real good!!!

 

[Husky25]

Rossini's sold the log cabin in Farmington to Joey Garlic's right.......that Rossini's was real good!!!

I don't know if it is the same family.

 

[CL82]

I had this encounter at Sals Pizza:

The hostess of Sals, probably the owners wife, rudely put us in a booth. I sat down with my back to one other booth. Just before sitting down, I recognized the face of the gal in the booth behind me. When my wife and son were seated I asked my wife to pay attention and let me know if the gal was Busty.

I couldn't be certain who the gal at Sals was because I saw Busty only one other time. My wife and I went with 3 other couples to a Red Sox - Yankees game at Fenway and sat quite high up between first and the right field fence. So I brought binoculars. About the fifth inning we noticed all the Yankee players looking in the stands over their dugout. We thought it was a fight and since I had the only binoculars, everyone asked me to check what was happening. So I panned to the opposite side of the stadium and saw about 300-400 guys (ages 15 to guys with one step in a casket) following this gal. Obviously within milliseconds I saw she was wearing a halter top and heading back to her seat. The beach balls were bouncing tremendously within those very flimsy restraints as she progressed down the stairs to her seat.

When one is preoccupied one doesn't realize what comes out of the mouth and, as loud as cheering a home run, I shouted HOLY !!!! Immediately my wife grabs the binoculars out of my hands and looks. She echoed my statement and the person next to her grabbed them away from her. The problem was the strap was still around my neck. Everyone had a chance to check Busty out and I got the binoculars back. By that time she was in her seat. I relocated her because there was still a large crowd around her trying to get autographs. Before finally getting back to the game I decided to see if the face was an asset as well. I got a pretty decent look and I realized, she was cute, but she needed the other two assets to make a statement.

Anyways flash forward to Sals. Busty is very short, probably under five feet. So when we sat down, and I looked at her in the booth, her beach balls were located below the table top, not visible to my gaze. All I could see was her neck and face. But I remembered that face from five years earlier. That's saying something because I have horrible name and face recognition and, as I pointed out, the two assets I would have had no trouble remembering were hidden from view.

My wife confirmed her identity a little while later. But before that happened I overheard the conversations with her agent and didn't need the heads up. Meanwhile my three year old was playing with one of those cars that, after you rotate the wheels in reverse, you let the car go and it shoots forward until the gear unwinds. Well my kid let the toy go and it goes under my booth into Busty's booth.

Now my wife, who still hadn't got a fix on who the gal was, tells me to go get the car. I said no way. I didn't want to go there because I knew they wouldn't believe it was my kid who sent the car into their booth. So while my wife and I were preoccupied discussing the issue, Busty comes to our booth and brings the car. I wish I had a recording of my kid as his head slowly looks up and with each quarter inch his head raises his lower jaw moves a quarter inch until his mouth was as wide open as I've ever seen on the kid. Funny how young we can be and have the capacity to recognize things that are disproportionate.

Busty gives the kid the car back. Actually he wouldn't take it so she hands it to me. Hardest thing I ever had to do. My wife is staring at me from across the table, and I'm trying my best to do three things. Not let my mouth go agape like my kid, not to stare at the obvious, but get a look without being obvious, and most importantly to grab the car without touching the obvious, the last thing harder than those who haven't seen Busty up close can understand.

Busty leaves us and goes through the restaurant taking pictures with the chefs. Now I understand why the hostess was in a bad mood. Before she leaves she comes back to our booth and asks if my kid would like a picture with her.

He didn't want one. But I was determined. I had a discussion with some people the day before about a guy who seemed to act like he was in a shell and needed to do something crazy once in his life. Two gals suggested we should all take him to see Busty at a strip club. We all laughed not knowing I would run into her the next day. I had to get the picture because I knew when I explained the encounter they would have thought I was making up a tall tail!!!

So...where's the picture? Scan and post.

 

[CL82]

Darl house candidate - Ocean Pizza in New London.

 

[ctchamps]

So...where's the picture? Scan and post.

Couldn't find the twenty two year old snapshot! This picture is from her website! She was about this age when we were at Sal's. She's now into busting things with her right knocker!

 

[ctchamps]

Things change over the years. Her new talent, Yikes:

 

[rman726]

Quiet guy but real good guy...........still hard to make a bad one in that nice old brick oven on Pratt Street!

Anyone from the Middletown area?.....buddy is telling me "Mondo" has great pizza, better than any New Haven.........

My family is in that area, and we often get Mondo's, at least when I'm around. I like their pizza a lot.

 

[CL82]

Things change over the years. Her new talent, Yikes:

Never have I seen something quite that unattractive.

 

[ctchamps]

Never have I seen something quite that unattractive.

Big change from the first picture to the second. Those are real bricks! Do you think fishy would use her to hit people in the throat with that thing?

 

[8893]

Well, um, thank you I guess, fleud, for introducing appetite control to this thread. Suddenly I'm no longer hungry, and I feel like washing my eyes with bleach.

 

[huskyjawz]

Yeah the old owner (Dave) was a family friend and used to go there all the time. Guy knew how to make pizzas very very very well.

I'm pretty sure that the new owner is his daughter. She made the pizza when I went, and he came in for a visit.

 

[huskyjawz]

Great crusts but man, they use canned tomatoes and mushrooms.

Canned tomatoes? Oh my God, do they use flour and cheese, too?

 

[ctchamps]

Well, um, thank you I guess, fleud, for introducing appetite control to this thread. Suddenly I'm no longer hungry, and I feel like washing my eyes with bleach.

I figure anyone who can continue listing pizza joints after that really enjoys the food or the food must be terrific. I have to agree it leaves a bad taste.

 

[SubbaBub]

I used to think this, parents grew up off Franklin in the 50's. Ate there many times. Dog food compared to Jimmy's Mediterranean Deli in Norwalk. Especially, the chicken cutlet.

Franklin Giant meatball or chicken cutlet (in the oven). There's no better Grinders in CT.

 

[uconnbill]

Sally's w/o a doubt.

They treat customers like crap though.

Pepe's is my favorite and it has to be clam in season.

Nice place nearby is Mondo's in Middletown.

 

[Hoophound]

I used to think this, parents grew up off Franklin in the 50's. Ate there many times. Dog food compared to Jimmy's Mediterranean Deli in Norwalk. Especially, the chicken cutlet.

Both are good but the Franklin meatball grinder has no rival. The last time I went to Jimmy's (around 2002) I thought the chicken cutlet was too thick. I prefer it very thin. God, I'm hungry.