New Haven, Connecticut: An Unlikely Pizza Paradise
Once overshadowed by culinary giants, this Connecticut city is carving out its own identity as a top-tier pizza destination through unique tours, themed accommodations, and a dedication to its signature 'apizza' style.
New York City and Chicago may be the American cities best known for their pizza, but New Haven, Connecticut, is increasingly earning its own slice of recognition as a pizza lover's paradise. The city is embracing its culinary heritage with unique experiences, including a pizza-themed hotel suite, a museum exhibit, and a pedal-powered trolley tour.
Colin Caplan, a historian and self-described "pizza guru," has launched a new pizza crawl aboard the Elm City Party Bike, a 15-passenger trolley. This initiative coincides with National Pizza Month and offers guided tours where participants can sample pies from multiple local pizzerias and compare their distinct styles. Caplan, who also founded Taste New Haven, aims to showcase the city's unique apizza tradition.
"We're going to try cheese pizza from three or four different places, and then we'll rate it at the end, and you can decide what's better," Caplan told Fox News Digital. "It's a great way to team build, to have the pizza together, to be outside, to frolic and have some fun."
The Omni New Haven Hotel at Yale offers a dedicated Pizza Suite, decorated with the city's iconic food and including gift cards to legendary New Haven pizzerias like Sally's Apizza and Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana. These establishments, along with Modern Apizza, form the so-called "Holy Trinity" of New Haven-style apizza.
New Haven's pizza distinguishes itself with a thin, crispy, chewy, and slightly charred crust, a style locally referred to as "apizza." This contrasts with the more widely known styles from cities like New York, Chicago, and Detroit. Caplan notes that while New York has long been considered the pizza capital, New Haven has worked to prove its own merit.
Traditional New Haven apizza is often simple, featuring tomato sauce and Pecorino Romano cheese. The city is also famous for its white clam pizza, a specialty popularized by Frank Pepe. Caplan advocates for traditional toppings like anchovies, citing their salty brininess and flavor.
"People are coming for pizza, but they're seeing the culture. They're seeing what we really have here," Caplan said. "For a small city, we pack a big punch."