OT: Best Pizza in CT

[David 76]

Grew up in East Haven and Tolli's was my local favorite. Not sure it is the same anymore. The building has certainly become unique. It used to be when you left New Haven and the towns immediately surrounding it, pizza was lousy (like when I went to UCONN) but that has really changed. You can get pretty good pizza in most places these days. I think pizza has become such a big part of our economy, people had to learn to improve.
But pizza snob that I am, I readily admit that the quality of pizza outside of New Haven has gotten much better. Although some people still seem happy with sauce on bread stuff that some places still serve

 

[mauconnfan]

Grew up in East Haven and Tolli's was my local favorite. Not sure it is the same anymore. The building has certainly become unique. It used to be when you left New Haven and the towns immediately surrounding it, pizza was lousy (like when I went to UCONN) but that has really changed. You can get pretty good pizza in most places these days. I think pizza has become such a big part of our economy, people had to learn to improve.
But pizza snob that I am, I readily admit that the quality of pizza outside of New Haven has gotten much better. Although some people still seem happy with sauce on bread stuff that some places still serve

David I went out with a girl who was from North Haven but moved to East Haven so we ventured out to many pizza places for a few years…….what was the one somewhere near the East Haven/North Branford line years ago I'm thinking "Jerry's" or something……….it was up there with the good pies of the area. I think there was an Angelo's in North Haven that stacked up well too right near the Washington St exit for 91……….

 

[Chief00]

Best pizza I have had in awhile is Vetranos in Westerly, RI - a couple miles over the CT line (so it could be CT takeout pizza). I had a meatball, peppers and onions pizza - excellent. Non pizza part of menu is good too.

 

[auggie22]

At this point I think the more interesting conversation is the best non-New Haven apizza in CT (in terms of location, not style). IMO Pepe's, Sally's, Modern and BAR are on Mount Rushmore. Most people have their own preferences among them and no one is likely to change their mind.

I've always loved hearing and exploring the preferences for New Haven style apizza that's almost there, and that's where I've historically placed the likes of Bimonte, Grand Apizza, Zuppardi's, Palm Beach, Tolli's, Roseland and a few others.

Now there is a new generation of smaller, wood-fired pizza places like Bufalina in Guilford, Otto in Chester, Krust in Middletown and Da Legna in New Haven. These are my new faves. They make only small pies and usually have some very interesting and unusual toppings, along with the traditional favorites. I like them better than the almost there places, and in some cases--like Bufalina--I like them every bit as much as the New Haven holy trinity-plus one. I'm interested to hear about more of these types of places.

Rossini's, rossini's, rossini's (in Cheshire ). I would put their best pie ahead of the New Haven three. There, I said it.

 

[Confident Carl]

Pepe's and Sally's are classic but one of the best pizzas ever is Roseland in Derby. They make their own sausage! The owner is like Pizza Nazi!

Check this out!

http://blog.restaurantsct.com/blog/?p=16016

 

[Walker11]

Wow!
As an Italian American and native New Havener, let me clear up some ignorance. Good apizza (the real name) in CT previously began and ended in New Haven. Over the decades it has spread pretty well into the rest of the state. But New Haven and the big 3 are still at the pinnacle. Pepe's, Sally's and Modern. Formerly Bimonte was up there too. Know why? Peppe And Sally both have Bimonte blood and they are all related. I think Pepe's is best and so does the recent review of the top 100 pizza's in the US. (Sally's & Modern were like #7 & #14 but not sure of the order. Nothing else in CT was in the top 20)

Now, if your pizza comes in squares or has an adjective before it (e.g. Greek-, deep dish, artisan) it is not pizza. You may like it. But you're wrong. It doesn't make you a bad person, it just disqualifies you from this conversation. Like if you said Tyler Olander was the most talented big on UCONN's team last year.
I am proud to have grown up and lived in areas where a Pizza Hut, Domino's, Papa John's, etc was never able to stay in business.

I liked this post because Ive never heard of Bimonte's, and we share similar taste, but I must say, this post took pizza snobbery to a level I didnt know existed.

 

[huskyrob1]

Glad you liked it. They have some nice sides too iirc, and a few very nice beers on tap.

I'm feeling pizza in my future tonight. Been mostly gluten-free for the past month and I've got a fever for some pizza right about now, but tonight is likely to be from my grill at home rather than out at a restaurant. Weber makes a pizza stone for the grill that I get pretty good results with, but you've gotta watch the heat after the first pie because the stone really retains it and the bottom of the pie will burn before the top gets cooked sufficiently for my tastes. I use tons of corn meal and lower the heat after the first pie.

Been there, trial and error, but have been making pies on the grill for years and the way I do it works great...For the best pizza on the grill you need the 600 or 700 degree heat inside a gas grill with the grill lid closed or it won't cook right, but as you correctly stated with the burner flame being directly under the stone the bottom of the pie will be charcoal black before the cheese/toppings on top is done. Two things you need to do to get that corrected and the direct heat from the burners deflected and reflected away from the bottom of the stone ...#1) aluminum foil....#2) a 2nd pizza stone. First lay down a sheet of aluminum foil directly on the area of the grill grate (and ONLY on the area of the grill grate that the stone covers) that pizza stone #1 will cover. Next, get a 2nd pizza stone that preferably has legs (some do have short stubby ceramic legs) and put it directly on top of the first stone. What's important here is an inch or so of air space between the two stones. The foil on the very bottom will reflect the direct radiant heat off the bottom stone and the air space between the two stones will act to somewhat insulate the top stone from getting too hot. This set up also helps convective heat transfer up the front, back and sides of the grate that isn't covered by anything and into the top of the grill hood which is over the cheese and toppings. For pizzas to come out right you need fast cooking times (10 minutes) with high heat (700 degrees), lowering the heat (and lengthening the cooking time) to keep the bottom from turning to charcoal will only give you a soggy, doughy pie that will taste like a toasted cheese sandwich. Use the foil and the 2nd stone and you won't have to turn the heat down, your pies will be better than Pepe's...well maybe not.

My favorite pizza place BTW is Zuppardis, the best sausage and mushroom pie in the state IMO, Modern a close 2nd. Have been going to Pepe's for many, many years and it definitely has gone down a notch last 10 years or so. Same thing for Sally's, and not surprised it's for sale.

 

[Fishy]

It's pizza.

Dough, tomatoey stuff, cheese, an oven and a cardboard box.

There are only so many ways you can throw that combination together - there's like a five-zillion way tie for 'best pizza joint in the world'.

 

[David 76]

East Haven so we ventured out to many pizza places for a few years…….what was the one somewhere near the East Haven/North Branfore years ago I'm thinking "Jerry's" or something…….[/QUOTE]

Mau, sounds like Jerry & Maria's. All pizza in E H is pretty good.
Did she know B Willie Smith band? All North Haven band from the 70s. They still play from time to time.

 

[intlzncster]

It's pizza.

Dough, tomatoey stuff, cheese, an oven and a cardboard box.

There are only so many ways you can throw that combination together - there's like a five-zillion way tie for 'best pizza joint in the world'.

David 76 is going to lynch you.

 

[Fishy]

David 76 is going to lynch you.

Eh, blind fold him and you could serve him an English muffin with mozzarella and Ragu and he wouldn't know the difference.

Just wait until my "hamburger...it's just ground cow" and "knock it off, you knotheads, all beers pretty much taste the same" posts.

 

[Gurleyman]

It's pizza. Dough, tomatoey stuff, cheese, an oven and a cardboard box. There are only so many ways you can throw that combination together - there's like a five-zillion way tie for 'best pizza joint in the world'.

Don't forget the tiny plastic picnic tables that stop the cheese from sticking to the roof of the box. If pizza people listened to the naysayers like you and didn't try to innovate, we would all still be throwing out perfectly good cheese or trying to peel it off and avoid eating the cardboard.

 

[CAHUSKY]

English muffin with mozzarella and Ragu .

My dinner about 40% of the time between 18-24. Might need to give it a go tomorrow night for old time sake.

 

[Fishy]

My dinner about 40% of the time between 18-24. Might need to give it a go tomorrow night for old time sake.

If you make it within the city limits of New Haven, half the people here would declare your English muffin the greatest pizza they've ever had.

 

[mauconnfan]

East Haven so we ventured out to many pizza places for a few years…….what was the one somewhere near the East Haven/North Branfore years ago I'm thinking "Jerry's" or something…….

Mau, sounds like Jerry & Maria's. All pizza in E H is pretty good.
Did she know B Willie Smith band? All North Haven band from the 70s. They still play from time to time.[/QUOTE]

I remember the B Willie Smith Band, can't believe they're still around…could've been Jerry's and Maria's!

 

[boog204]

Eh, blind fold him and you could serve him an English muffin with mozzarella and Ragu and he wouldn't know the difference.

My dinner on Saturday night... I personally find the Ragu to have an off-putting flavor and texture that clashes with the nooks and crannies of the muffin. For me Prego is the key. But I'll save the rest of my secrets for the English Muffin Pizza Thread.

 

[8893]

I prefer bagel pizza to English muffin pizza, and Abbot's Pizza in Venice Beach is by far the best I've had of that style.

 

[intlzncster]

Don't forget the tiny plastic picnic tables that stop the cheese from sticking to the roof of the box. If pizza people listened to the naysayers like you and didn't try to innovate, we would all still be throwing out perfectly good cheese or trying to peel it off and avoid eating the cardboard.

I'd like them to perfect something for the underside of the pizza. Nothing worse than having a nice crispy thin crust pie become limp and soggy from sitting 10 minutes in a steaming box.

I was talking about pizza there.

 

[DarthGrumpy]

Rossini's, rossini's, rossini's (in Cheshire ). I would put their best pie ahead of the New Haven three. There, I said it.

Lived on Rossini’s for years as the coaches from my youth soccer teams always took the kids there for the end of the year party. I guess that happens when just about every coach was 1 generation away from the old country. I also went to Roseland as a kid because two of my cousins who I spent a lot of time with, lived nearby. The three of us would get a small pie on the way back from watching 10 AM Derby football games (way before night games became vogue).

First, Rossini’s and Roseland are well behind the big 3 from New Haven. Second, amazing what parents allowed kids to of back then. I would disappear for hours, walk/bike several miles away, and never had a problem. Now, I don’t let my kids out of the yard without a drone following them.

 

[August_West]

I'd like them to perfect something for the underside of the pizza. Nothing worse than having a nice crispy thin crust pie become limp and soggy from sitting 10 minutes in a steaming box.

I was talking about pizza there.

Its a real issue with thin crust pizza's. It's not the same animal once you get it home and its been steaming in a box for 20-30 minutes. You almost have to eat it there.
The one thing Ive seen out of some serious pizza aficionados when doing take out is they will order their Pizza slightly under done, and then take it home and finish it in the oven at high temperature for a couple minutes.

 

[8893]

Its a real issue with thin crust pizza's. It's not the same animal once you get it home and its been steaming in a box for 20-30 minutes. You almost have to eat it there.
The one thing Ive seen out of some serious pizza aficionados when doing take out is they will order their Pizza slightly under done, and then take it home and finish it in the oven at high temperature for a couple minutes.

Yep, order it "half-baked" and finish it off at home is the best solution imo. The other option is to order it well done and with light cheese; I find that this prevents it from getting soggy.

The worst offenders are the insulated pizza boxes, which continue to steam the pizza once inside. The classic, old style pizza boxes like Pepe's and Modern use are the best of a less-than-optimal situation.

 

[Fishy]

I think you can just put it in a skillet for a minute and it crisps right up.

Of course, English muffin pizza comes out of the toaster oven perfectly crunchy every time.

 

[intlzncster]

I think you can just put it in a skillet for a minute and it crisps right up.

Which is all well and good, but unless you have a big duckoff skillet, that's too much work. If I'm paying for a pie, I want a finished product.

 

[mauconnfan]

Yep, order it "half-baked" and finish it off at home is the best solution imo. The other option is to order it well done and with light cheese; I find that this prevents it from getting soggy.

The worst offenders are the insulated pizza boxes, which continue to steam the pizza once inside. The classic, old style pizza boxes like Pepe's and Modern use are the best of a less-than-optimal situation.

The wax type paper Verdolini's used to use with the thick round cardboard bottom worked great……someone else still uses that? I think Berkshire Pub in Torrington does that…….

 

[8893]

Been there, trial and error, but have been making pies on the grill for years and the way I do it works great...For the best pizza on the grill you need the 600 or 700 degree heat inside a gas grill with the grill lid closed or it won't cook right, but as you correctly stated with the burner flame being directly under the stone the bottom of the pie will be charcoal black before the cheese/toppings on top is done. Two things you need to do to get that corrected and the direct heat from the burners deflected and reflected away from the bottom of the stone ...#1) aluminum foil....#2) a 2nd pizza stone. First lay down a sheet of aluminum foil directly on the area of the grill grate (and ONLY on the area of the grill grate that the stone covers) that pizza stone #1 will cover. Next, get a 2nd pizza stone that preferably has legs (some do have short stubby ceramic legs) and put it directly on top of the first stone. What's important here is an inch or so of air space between the two stones. The foil on the very bottom will reflect the direct radiant heat off the bottom stone and the air space between the two stones will act to somewhat insulate the top stone from getting too hot. This set up also helps convective heat transfer up the front, back and sides of the grate that isn't covered by anything and into the top of the grill hood which is over the cheese and toppings. For pizzas to come out right you need fast cooking times (10 minutes) with high heat (700 degrees), lowering the heat (and lengthening the cooking time) to keep the bottom from turning to charcoal will only give you a soggy, doughy pie that will taste like a toasted cheese sandwich. Use the foil and the 2nd stone and you won't have to turn the heat down, your pies will be better than Pepe's...well maybe not.

Wow, that's some process. Definitely sounds like it would address those issues. What I have been doing is taking the stone off the grill in between pies, turning down the heat a bit, and then starting it off a little lower than I normally would. I keep it closed for around 4 minutes and then check that the top is almost done, and then I crank it up again to let the bottom finish. Within two more minutes or less the crust is dark brown at the edges and crispy underneath, but not charred.

But I like the process you've described and will keep an eye out for a second stone with legs.