OT: - Best Pizza in CT | Page 169 | The Boneyard

OT: Best Pizza in CT

Is it time to get rid of the pizza thread?

  • Yes. It's past it's useful time here.

    Votes: 10 14.1%
  • No. I can't live without it.

    Votes: 50 70.4%
  • Move it to another board.

    Votes: 11 15.5%

  • Total voters
    71
Like we need more evidence people are stupid. Talk to any chef....Canned mushrooms absolutely ruin a pizza and that's how most people are getting them. As I said they can work if you sautee fresh mushrooms before putting them on the pie.

I'm not going to even comment on your dough and sauce comment because I like to think you're smarter than that.

If you like them on your pizza keep ordering mushrooms on your pizza, that's all that matters.
Yeah and green bell peppers aren't loaded with moisture. and who said anything about using canned anything on a pizza???? Canned tomato sauce, I'll pass. Canned mushrooms, I'll pass. Your obsession with moisture in a pizza cooking for 12-15 min at 800 degrees is stupid enough.

If you need more evidence, go look in the mirror.
 
Last edited:
It's easy. Just remind yourself that they are fungus. Just like athlete's foot. And jock itch.
If you didn't know what they are I could get you some tacos and quesadillas you would say are the best you've ever had in your life. I would then tell you they are huitlacoche (corn smut) show you what it looks like and you would barf.
 
If your choice of restaurant can make the mushrooms as they should then by all means 'shrooms are good on a pie. Same with pepperoni, if they have the smaller curved and charred slices I'm all in, usually request them to be burnt a bit. Then a good sausage, that's the only other topping I consider. Otherwise muzzy only or plain if it's a New Haven place. My fav is shrooms and pepperoni. There's actually a place here in western mass that can kill it on those toppings although the overall isn't my favorite it passes enough to grab one a month. LOL
 
If you didn't know what they are I could get you some tacos and quesadillas you would say are the best you've ever had in your life. I would then tell you they are huitlacoche (corn smut) show you what it looks like and you would barf.

To be fair, huitlacoche is a bit of an acquired taste, kinda like the stinky cheese of the fungi family. IMO, it's one of those things that's a great flavorful accent when used in the hands of a competent cook, but can be overwhelming in a bad way in the hands of a kitchen hack.
 
If your choice of restaurant can make the mushrooms as they should then by all means 'shrooms are good on a pie. Same with pepperoni, if they have the smaller curved and charred slices I'm all in, usually request them to be burnt a bit. Then a good sausage, that's the only other topping I consider. Otherwise muzzy only or plain if it's a New Haven place. My fav is shrooms and pepperoni. There's actually a place here in western mass that can kill it on those toppings although the overall isn't my favorite it passes enough to grab one a month. LOL
I love a good white clam pie on occasion, Pepe's, Modern, and Zupp's all make great white clam pies. I would skip Sally's on the white clam, or tell them beforehand to give it a lite bake.

 
Last edited:
local jacques pepin introduced his kid to shrooms by going out in their yard, and snatching some for dinner. we don't do that despite a pantload of them all around here . something, something, guess wrong you die, I suppose. I'll eat any culinary shrooms offered to me, but full disclosure, I luv, luv, luv the basic canned button mushroom, and always have a case hanging around, in case a dish calls for them. like almost any savory dish.
 
local jacques pepin introduced his kid to shrooms by going out in their yard, and snatching some for dinner. we don't do that despite a pantload of them all around here . something, something, guess wrong you die, I suppose. I'll eat any culinary shrooms offered to me, but full disclosure, I luv, luv, luv the basic canned button mushroom, and always have a case hanging around, in case a dish calls for them. like almost any savory dish.
Is a "pantload of mushrooms" anything like an "exaltation of larks" or a "murder of crows?"
 
If I were to use the term "breadier" to describe a pizza, that pie would be as far from Roseland's as could be imagined. Roseland's niche is thin and crispy (the rest of my family thinks it's crispy to a fault), and to me, breadier brings to mind a thick, pan baked pie in the Sicilian mold.
How totally right you are:thin and crispy. I preferred the plain tomato to the sausage & cheese, though both good.

I'm now thinking that maybe a pie a few years back was thicker to support a lot of seafood on top when I went with a client for a late lunch.

My two-month survey is nearly complete. A fresh clam small pie from Zuppardi's remains on the list, perhaps on Saturday afternoon after CWOS Alternative Space at Yale West Campus and before a screening of "Pizza: A Love Story" at Whitneyville Commons. It's even possible that I could go to Olde World tomorrow to go along with Game 7. Or something completely different. Dunno.

Last Sunday, I ordered a sausage & mootz at Zuppardi's. They made it plain cheese by mistake, and had the correct one in the oven before letting me know of the error and then sending me home with both. After weeks of small pies finished in a single sitting, I enjoyed again having the experience of cold, room temp, and toaster oven leftovers.

My greatest impression of both Roseland and Zuppardi's was their friendliness. Yes, very good pizza, though neither transcendent...two more solid entries in the "No wonder they are beloved by their loyal locals" category, where my proximity-based go-to is Ernie's, with Grimaldi's as my backup when I want the milky fresh mozzarella of their "Brooklyn" pies.

PS - I read yesterday that Popeye's chicken sandwich returns on November 3rd, timed, I suppose so that Chick-fil-A employees can stop in on their day off.
 
How totally right you are:thin and crispy. I preferred the plain tomato to the sausage & cheese, though both good.
Just to add to your list, if you feel like trying my current 'go to' pie, stop at Salerno's in Stratford. Order a thin crust, 'Scamorza 47'. The sauce and cheese are their signature items from when the previous generation first opened their doors in 1947. The original pie was thicker and breadier (sound familiar?) but I prefer it on the thin crust. I wouldn't load it with a lot toppings. Let the unique cheese speak for itself!

PS - I read yesterday that Popeye's chicken sandwich returns on November 3rd, timed, I suppose so that Chick-fil-A employees can stop in on their day off.
A month ago, I might have been interested in this. But I have recently crossed Popeye's off the list after picking up a box of chicken on the way home from fishing, and finding it to be inedible (pink and spongy) when I got home. I wasn't about to drive 15 miles to bitch about the undercooked poultry, so I tossed it and bitched on the Popeye's customer service line. A week letter, I got an apologetic email. That's it. No refund. No coupons. Not even a "We hope nobody got sick from it." Just a "Oh, sorry about that, we'll notify the restaurant in question."
So yeah, Popeye's can stick their spicy chicken sandwich.
 
Just to add to your list, if you feel like trying my current 'go to' pie, stop at Salerno's in Stratford. Order a thin crust, 'Scamorza 47'. The sauce and cheese are their signature items from when the previous generation first opened their doors in 1947. The original pie was thicker and breadier (sound familiar?) but I prefer it on the thin crust. I wouldn't load it with a lot toppings. Let the unique cheese speak for itself!

I read this and wondered how we haven't discussed it here before. Then I thought we had. So I searched and saw that @zyron , you and I discussed it a few times, starting more than three years ago. It was his sense then that Salerno's had slipped, but maybe he needed this ordering tip from you. I will keep it in mind next time I go visit my folks. Nice to see mention of both Salerno's and Scamorza. Warms my heart because it harkens back to the very start of my love affair with pizza.
 
Just to add to your list, if you feel like trying my current 'go to' pie, stop at Salerno's in Stratford. Order a thin crust, 'Scamorza 47'. The sauce and cheese are their signature items from when the previous generation first opened their doors in 1947. The original pie was thicker and breadier (sound familiar?) but I prefer it on the thin crust. I wouldn't load it with a lot toppings. Let the unique cheese speak for itself!


A month ago, I might have been interested in this. But I have recently crossed Popeye's off the list after picking up a box of chicken on the way home from fishing, and finding it to be inedible (pink and spongy) when I got home. I wasn't about to drive 15 miles to bitch about the undercooked poultry, so I tossed it and bitched on the Popeye's customer service line. A week letter, I got an apologetic email. That's it. No refund. No coupons. Not even a "We hope nobody got sick from it." Just a "Oh, sorry about that, we'll notify the restaurant in question."
So yeah, Popeye's can stick their spicy chicken sandwich.
When I lived in north Bridgeport before circling back to New Haven, Salerno's filled that 'local' slot I keep referring to. The dining room was fixed in the 70's, the history was on display in the people who worked & ate there, and I'd get a consistent, traditional (if unspectacular) sausage & cheese pie that again made me wonder why pizza isn't always at least this good, and wh so many people accept bad pizza so often. Norwalk's Letizia's in Norwalk and Carminuccio's in Newtown similarly saved me from crossing into New Haven County,though trying to get New Haven quality is what led me initially to cross the Housatonic and go to Roseland. My sister is in north Stratford and I look forward to following your recommendation.

As to Popeye's, that's too bad. Even with sometimes unkempt interiors, lax management, short-staffing, early shutdowns, raucous customers, items that have "run out for the night," and other legitimate complainables, I've become a huge fan of the soundtrack when inside, the food in or out, and the freewheeling anti-Chik-fil-A vibe. I suppose it's my Arby's.

Fwiw, every Popeye's receipt offers a 48-hour window for filling out a survey, getting a validation code to score a 2-piece if you buy a soft drink. I still haven't learned if they have unsweetened tea, so the beverage buy requirement holds me back. I can see how this wasn't good enough for your needs
 
Fwiw, every Popeye's receipt offers a 48-hour window for filling out a survey, getting a validation code to score a 2-piece if you buy a soft drink. I still haven't learned if they have unsweetened tea, so the beverage buy requirement holds me back. I can see how this wasn't good enough for your needs

To be honest, I tossed the receipt with the undercooked chicken. But their online form doesn't even ask for the receipt#, just what store and the time of day you were there.
 
I read this and wondered how we haven't discussed it here before. Then I thought we had. So I searched and saw that @zyron , you and I discussed it a few times, starting more than three years ago. It was his sense then that Salerno's had slipped, but maybe he needed this ordering tip from you. I will keep it in mind next time I go visit my folks. Nice to see mention of both Salerno's and Scamorza. Warms my heart because it harkens back to the very start of my love affair with pizza.

Salerno's seasonal plum tomato pie is great; it's only served for a few weeks in the summer when the local tomatoes are at their best.
 
They have issues... Pizza showdown: Here are your top 4. It’s time to vote for the No. 1 pizza place in Connecticut!

Alphabetical order:
Camille’s Wood-Fired Pizza - Tolland
Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana - New Haven
Tony’s Pizza - Willimantic
Pleasant Pizza - Willimantic

Hartford Courant: Pizza showdown: You voted. The No. 1 pizza place in Connecticut is...

No. 1: Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana

Readers had effusive praise for Pepe’s during the first voting round. Among the comments:
  • “Perfectly crisp wood fired thin crust dough, delicious toppings with the right amount of sauce”
  • “Best tasting sauce I have ever had, plus the pie itself is baked in coal fired ovens that make for the perfect crust”
  • “Traditional, legendary, taste is superior”
  • “Pepe’s has the greatest pizza - thin crust, nice char, amazing Romano cheese flavor in each bite.”
  • “Coal fired ovens, delicious thin crust, tasty sauce, BEST clam and bacon pizza”
No. 2: Pleasant Pizza
413 Pleasant St., Willimantic
Pleasant’s dedicated voters lauded the Willimantic pizza shop for its creative food, its excellent customer service and connection to the community. Among the reader comments:
  • “Because not only do they have the tastiest pizza around, they are also the most hospitable pizzeria. You can tell that they take pride in their work, you taste it in every slice.”
  • “They have a diverse selection of delicious pizzas and a beautiful garden outside to enjoy them, often with live music.”
  • “The best pizza I have ever tasted. Crust is never mushy when you get it home. They are constantly trying new pizza varieties. Maria’s Garden is such a special secret!”
  • “Top quality ingredients put together in creative ways. There’s something for everyone.”
  • “They offer exceptional service, appetizing food and an endless effort to give back to their Willimantic community.”
 
Hartford Courant: Pizza showdown: You voted. The No. 1 pizza place in Connecticut is...

No. 1: Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana

Readers had effusive praise for Pepe’s during the first voting round. Among the comments:
  • “Perfectly crisp wood fired thin crust dough, delicious toppings with the right amount of sauce”
  • “Best tasting sauce I have ever had, plus the pie itself is baked in coal fired ovens that make for the perfect crust”
  • “Traditional, legendary, taste is superior”
  • “Pepe’s has the greatest pizza - thin crust, nice char, amazing Romano cheese flavor in each bite.”
  • “Coal fired ovens, delicious thin crust, tasty sauce, BEST clam and bacon pizza”
No. 2: Pleasant Pizza
413 Pleasant St., Willimantic
Pleasant’s dedicated voters lauded the Willimantic pizza shop for its creative food, its excellent customer service and connection to the community. Among the reader comments:
  • “Because not only do they have the tastiest pizza around, they are also the most hospitable pizzeria. You can tell that they take pride in their work, you taste it in every slice.”
  • “They have a diverse selection of delicious pizzas and a beautiful garden outside to enjoy them, often with live music.”
  • “The best pizza I have ever tasted. Crust is never mushy when you get it home. They are constantly trying new pizza varieties. Maria’s Garden is such a special secret!”
  • “Top quality ingredients put together in creative ways. There’s something for everyone.”
  • “They offer exceptional service, appetizing food and an endless effort to give back to their Willimantic community.”

#2? I'm sorry but this "pizza" looks like [expletive]
Untitled.png
 
When I lived in north Bridgeport before circling back to New Haven, Salerno's filled that 'local' slot I keep referring to. The dining room was fixed in the 70's, the history was on display in the people who worked & ate there, and I'd get a consistent, traditional (if unspectacular) sausage & cheese pie that again made me wonder why pizza isn't always at least this good, and wh so many people accept bad pizza so often. Norwalk's Letizia's in Norwalk and Carminuccio's in Newtown similarly saved me from crossing into New Haven County,though trying to get New Haven quality is what led me initially to cross the Housatonic and go to Roseland. My sister is in north Stratford and I look forward to following your recommendation.

As to Popeye's, that's too bad. Even with sometimes unkempt interiors, lax management, short-staffing, early shutdowns, raucous customers, items that have "run out for the night," and other legitimate complainables, I've become a huge fan of the soundtrack when inside, the food in or out, and the freewheeling anti-Chik-fil-A vibe. I suppose it's my Arby's.

Fwiw, every Popeye's receipt offers a 48-hour window for filling out a survey, getting a validation code to score a 2-piece if you buy a soft drink. I still haven't learned if they have unsweetened tea, so the beverage buy requirement holds me back. I can see how this wasn't good enough for your needs
'north bridgeport' and no props to Jennie's? (formerly of The Hollow, a few blocks from Jerry's Apizza) and who let you in anyhow, since I don't recall that plebiscite. recall! anyway, recently a relative showed me a copy of a pic on salerno's wall in which another relative is part of the original staff. I didn''t know that relative, and I've never had their za. now, I will, but not because of the photo. zagats can't touch the BY pizza review. maybe we won't pull your card if you stand in the middle of McLevy green, and shout 'scamozza!' three times. honest abe did it, and then won his Presidential campaign.
'In February 1860, Abraham Lincoln came east to speak at Cooper Union in New York City, where on February 27 he impressed eastern Republicans as an intelligent, dignified statesman and gained support in his bid for the presidential nomination. Since the speech went over well, he made several others (all similar to his Cooper Union speech) in Connecticut and Rhode Island, traveling by train to various cities. After stopping in Providence, Norwich, Hartford, Meriden and New Haven, he made his final speech in the evening of Saturday, March 10, in Bridgeport.[19]
His train was scheduled to stop at 10:27 a.m. in Bridgeport, and he likely met with Republican leaders. "He was entertained at the home of Mr. Frederick Wood at 67 Washington Avenue, and it is said that there he had his first experience with New England fried oysters," wrote Nelson R. Burr in Abraham Lincoln: Western Star Over Connecticut. "Another tradition is that while he stayed in Bridgeport a little girl, Mary A. Curtis of Stratford, presented him with a bouquet of flowers and a bunch of salt hay from the Stratford meadows. ... Where the flowers came from at that season, and how the hay could be cheerfully green, is not explained.'
nah, he came for the za. repent!
 
Last edited:
'north bridgeport' and no props to Jennie's?
I couldn't make sense out of anything past this, but Jennie's deserves a like nonetheless.

So, my Bridgeport/Stratford brethren, I am now trying to remember the very first place I recall us regularly getting our "scamotz" pies as a kid, when we lived in Lordship, so probably talking around 1970 to 1973-ish. IIRC it was in Bridgeport, near the intersection of Stratford/Lordship/Bridgeport, and it was either next door or at least very close to our go-to fish & chips place (which for some reason I remember as "John's," or maybe that was the name of the pizza place?). I have a vague recollection of it being on or around Central Ave. Anyone have any memory of that?
 

Online statistics

Members online
116
Guests online
1,998
Total visitors
2,114

Forum statistics

Threads
163,961
Messages
4,376,774
Members
10,168
Latest member
CTFan142


.
..
Top Bottom