OT: Best Pizza in CT

[storrsroars]

For any BYers in the Joisey area - We're opening out first store in NJ next week, so I'll be in the Montclair area a few times over the next several weeks.

I'm kind of excited to finally get to try Star Tavern's bar pie as it's the one most commonly connected to The Colony as a prime example of bar pie. I've had a few others recommended to me, although nobody can come up withe a Trenton tomato pie without traveling to Trenton - with one possible exception: Santillo's in Elizabeth.

Any BYers ever been to this place? The menu is really interesting as it ties recipes to years when those pizzas were created/popular. Like I could order a 1940s Tomato Pie (no cheese).

Kinda reminds me of that old Steven Wright joke: "I went to this diner that said 'Breakfast served any time', so I ordered french toast from the Renaissance."

 

[upstater]

Hamilton College in Clinton, NY is 10 minutes from Utica. And you're right, that might be the only life near Utica! Actually the town of New Hartford, NY is also right there and has all the stuff most people could need. The area isn't Boston or New York City though, that's for sure.

Great school, underrated. They used to run a great summer program where the students were actually paid to conduct research.

 

[DarthGrumpy]

For any BYers in the Joisey area - We're opening out first store in NJ next week, so I'll be in the Montclair area a few times over the next several weeks.

I'm kind of excited to finally get to try Star Tavern's bar pie as it's the one most commonly connected to The Colony as a prime example of bar pie. I've had a few others recommended to me, although nobody can come up withe a Trenton tomato pie without traveling to Trenton - with one possible exception: Santillo's in Elizabeth.

Any BYers ever been to this place? The menu is really interesting as it ties recipes to years when those pizzas were created/popular. Like I could order a 1940s Tomato Pie (no cheese).

Kinda reminds me of that old Steven Wright joke: "I went to this diner that said 'Breakfast served any time', so I ordered french toast from the Renaissance."

I have not spent much time in Montclair myself as its a hassle to get to from where I live; but, as a FYI, the big/famous pizza place in Trenton, DeLorenzo's Pizza, bailed on the mess that Trenton is and moved to Robbinsonville, a suburb to the west of Trenton a few years back. They actually hauled their old ovens 10 miles over to the new location.

DeLorenzo's Pizza in Trenton announces it will move to Sloan Avenue in Hamilton next year

 

[storrsroars]

In Montclair, NJ for the week. Finally got to Star Tavern in Orange last night. Still prefer Colony for taste, most likely due to sauce and taste memory/familiarity (for better or worse).

Ordered a sausage & pepper version. The sausage was pretty bland. Star makes basically same style/size/thinness of Colony's bar pie, Star doesn't have the same pock-marked look (from oil bubbling through cheese). More char on crust than Colony (not a negative). They have a hot pepper option, but not stingers nor hot oil.

Plain pizza is $11. Each topping is $2.25, which seems high for a pizza of its size (I believe 14"). So my bill was $15.50 for two toppings. I want to say Colony is a little less expensive, but I could be wrong there as I haven't been in 18 months or so.

Based on annual pizza rankings, I think I was expecting more of a knock-out experience. Didn't happen. But that's obviously a personal opinion. The place was packed at 8pm on a Tuesday night (probably ~80 seats) so it's certainly very popular.

Just to be clear, I don't think Colony is the best pizza in CT. In fact it has little in common with what I'd consider a "best pizza" anywhere. But it's a style (bar pie) and taste I enjoy. I'd simply rank it ahead of Star Tavern in an apples to apples bar pie comparison.

 

[Gurleyman]

Kinda reminds me of that old Steven Wright joke: "I went to this diner that said 'Breakfast served any time', so I ordered french toast from the Renaissance."

Swingers had the line "I'll have the pancakes in the age of enlightenment" - did they essentially rip off a Wright joke? Never knew that.

 

[8893]

Swingers had the line "I'll have the pancakes in the age of enlightenment" - did they essentially rip off a Wright joke? Never knew that.

Hold on, Voltaire!

 

[zyron]

Plain pizza is $11. Each topping is $2.25, which seems high for a pizza of its size (I believe 14"). So my bill was $15.50 for two toppings. I want to say Colony is a little less expensive, but I could be wrong there as I haven't been in 18 months or so.
.

I went to Colony a couple months ago. It was $9.50 for a plain and $1.50 for each topping.

 

[JonnyRI]

Not sure if has ever been posted before but has anybody had RI Party Pizza? As a non RI native, I find it to be one of the more awful things ever created. Yet for some reason it's treated like a heroic state food here. If you are ever here take a pass on it.

 

[August_West]

Not sure if has ever been posted before but has anybody had RI Party Pizza? As a non RI native, I find it to be one of the more awful things ever created. Yet for some reason it's treated like a heroic state food here. If you are ever here take a pass on it.

It's almost as good as clam fritters.


Wtf is wrong with RI?

 

[8893]

It's almost as good as clam fritters.


Wtf is wrong with RI?

Not sure if has ever been posted before but has anybody had RI Party Pizza? As a non RI native, I find it to be one of the more awful things ever created. Yet for some reason it's treated like a heroic state food here. If you are ever here take a pass on it.

Yes I've detailed my disgust with both previously, at least twice in this thread probably. I love the RI shore and RI oysters and RI clam chowder, but the state is a culinary desert for the most part. And party pizza and clam fritters should be jailable offenses.

 

[Robertelamin]

Not sure if has ever been posted before but has anybody had RI Party Pizza? As a non RI native, I find it to be one of the more awful things ever created. Yet for some reason it's treated like a heroic state food here. If you are ever here take a pass on it.

I had a roommate from Rhode Island and every now and then his family would bring over a box of them. Of course he talked it up big but I was pretty disappointed to find out they were basically an open faced sauce sandwich. He would also bring back coffee milk which I never tried. I thought the hot weiners were pretty good when I was in Providence.

 

[mauconnfan]

The Most Popular Pizza Place In Every State

Buzzed picks Meriden's Little Rendezvous as the #1 in CT...not sure who they are and what they go by, but LR is a solid pie as others have mentioned above. No Spooker though folks

 

[storrsroars]

The Most Popular Pizza Place In Every State

I feel bad for the good people in Delaware. That monstrosity in the left photo might be the worst looking "pizza" I've ever seen. Looks like someone poured Campbell's tomato soup all over it.

And what's with M&Ms on pizza?

 

[superjohn]

I had a roommate from Rhode Island and every now and then his family would bring over a box of them. Of course he talked it up big but I was pretty disappointed to find out they were basically an open faced sauce sandwich. He would also bring back coffee milk which I never tried. I thought the hot weiners were pretty good when I was in Providence.

You seem like someone who would love hot weiners.

 

[superjohn]

The Most Popular Pizza Place In Every State

Buzzed picks Meriden's Little Rendezvous as the #1 in CT...not sure who they are and what they go by, but LR is a solid pie as others have mentioned above. No Spooker though folks

Stopped looking at the list when I saw they had that monstrosity for the best in Arizona over Pizzeria Bianco and Grimaldi's.

 

[August_West]

Stopped looking at the list when I saw they had that monstrosity for the best in Arizona over Pizzeria Bianco and Grimaldi's.

That article offends me so much I want to get some hot oil from colony and throw it in the authors eyes.

 

[zyron]

I feel bad for the good people in Delaware. That monstrosity in the left photo might be the worst looking "pizza" I've ever seen. Looks like someone poured Campbell's tomato soup all over it.

That maybe the most disgusting looking pizza I have ever seen.

Stopped looking at the list when I saw they had that monstrosity for the best in Arizona over Pizzeria Bianco and Grimaldi's.

Looks like the pizza I had at Chuck E. Cheese for my nephews birthday.

 

[8893]

That article offends me so much I want to get some hot oil from colony and throw it in the authors eyes.

With stingers.

 

[IMind]

I had a roommate from Rhode Island and every now and then his family would bring over a box of them. Of course he talked it up big but I was pretty disappointed to find out they were basically an open faced sauce sandwich. He would also bring back coffee milk which I never tried. I thought the hot weiners were pretty good when I was in Providence.

We have the same godawful thing here in PA... they just call it "Tomato Pie" it's just red sauce on bread with some Kraft parmesan cheese sprinkled on top. What's worse.. it's served cold. It's the most godawful stuff I've ever had. It's literally like they bake pizza dough... dump a jar of Ragu on there... then throw on some Kraft parmesan... it's horrid.

(This is NOT the same thing as a Trenton Tomato Pie...)

 

[huskymedic]

We have the same godawful thing here in PA... they just call it "Tomato Pie" it's just red sauce on bread with some Kraft parmesan cheese sprinkled on top. What's worse.. it's served cold. It's the most godawful stuff I've ever had. It's literally like they bake pizza dough... dump a jar of Ragu on there... then throw on some Kraft parmesan... it's horrid.

(This is NOT the same thing as a Trenton Tomato Pie...)

Santucci's in Philly makes a pretty good square tomato pie. Not New Haven quality (thick crust) but not shabby.

 

[superjohn]

That article offends me so much I want to get some hot oil from colony and throw it in the authors eyes.

Auggie, have you ever had Little Rendevouz? If so is it worth driving to, at all comparable to New Haven?

 

[superjohn]

We have the same godawful thing here in PA... they just call it "Tomato Pie" it's just red sauce on bread with some Kraft parmesan cheese sprinkled on top. What's worse.. it's served cold. It's the most godawful stuff I've ever had. It's literally like they bake pizza dough... dump a jar of Ragu on there... then throw on some Kraft parmesan... it's horrid.

(This is NOT the same thing as a Trenton Tomato Pie...)

I always loved the fried dough with the pizza sauce and parmesan on top I used to get at Connecticut fairs as a kid.

 

[8893]

Auggie, have you ever had Little Rendevouz? If so is it worth driving to, at all comparable to New Haven?

FWIW, my review from the past year:

What a classic joint. Like it's been frozen in time for 40 years.

I heard from a friend who is a big fan of LR and he said that his favorite pie from them is their plain pizza, with only sauce and grated cheese, with thin crust (they have thickness options there, from thin through double dough, and their "traditional" is not very thin).

I figured that was a high-risk proposition and that I would still be wanting to try something with more flavor as well, so I also ordered the sausage pie (thin crust).

I ate half of each, which was easily three slices too many. For some reason (hmmmm...maybe gluttony?) no matter how many times it happens, I simply don't wait long enough most of the time to let the pie cool down, so I end up singeing my mouth on the first couple slices and then I overeat because I really don't start to taste how great the pie is for a couple more slices, when it starts to cool down. And the guy even warned me that it was scorching hot. Of course, I waited; but I'm sure what I thought was five minutes was more like 30 seconds, because I was starving.

I am glad I got both pies. The plain was cool to experience and it tastes good enough, but that's not the way I like my apizza. I need more cheese than just grated, for starters. But it is a cool pie.

The sausage was very good. He said it gets it from Hartford, the same place they've been getting it for over 40 years. They crumble it, which I like.

The crust was thin and crisp, but a bit too try for my preferences. I like a slightly chewy crust, at least around the outside. They do theirs very thin and short around the outside, so you really don't even have much of a crust at all when you get to the end of a piece. Nice char though--could use a touch of olive oil imo.

Funny, there were only two other customers the whole time I was there, one of them who looked like he, too, was frozen in time for the last 40 years. He may have been wearing a Chess King jacket. He asked if they were the only coal or wood-fired pizza place left in Meriden (yes); and then he asked about--yep, you guessed it @mauconnfan --Verdolini's. I think what I heard the LR guy say was that they got closed down several years ago (early 90s?) because they had no insurance so they lost their lease, or something like that. He said that LR is closest in style to Verdolini's.

Of course, I had to ask him about the Spooker then. He had never heard of it, but he said that the guy from whom he bought LR probably did, because he was around when Verdolini's was in its heyday. He said that the signature, old school Meriden-style pie from places like LR and Verdolini's is the plain, like my buddy told me to get.

Glad I checked it out. Would stop again.

 

[Waquoit]

We have the same godawful thing here in PA... they just call it "Tomato Pie" it's just red sauce on bread with some Kraft parmesan cheese sprinkled on top. What's worse.. it's served cold. It's the most godawful stuff I've ever had.

Y'know I just had some of that stuff for the first time in years. I thought it hit the spot after a few beers.

 

[August_West]

Auggie, have you ever had Little Rendevouz? If so is it worth driving to, at all comparable to New Haven?

not in 20 years at least. But I remember it as good.