A recent list from The Daily Meal confirmed what Connecticut pizza fans already know: The state is home to some of “America’s 56 Greatest Old-School Pizzerias.”
The list, published April 11, notes six Connecticut pizzerias where “time seems to stand still at these joints, and that’s a wonderful thing.”
Among them are some of the state’s most iconic destinations for a classic pie: Colony Grill in Stamford, Ernie’s Pizzeria in New Haven, Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana, which originated in New Haven; Roseland Apizza in Derby; Sally’s Apizza in New Haven; and Zuppardi’s Apizza in West Haven.
“Thin-crust bar pie institution Colony Grill…has been going strong since 1935 and is notorious for its no-frills demeanor, for its no-special-options policy, and for not making exceptions,” The Daily Meal wrote of the Stamford original, where the pies are topped with a signature pepper-infused hot-oil topping. (In 2012, Colony’s owner Gary James told The Courant the hot oil topping’s popularity happened “completely by accident,” when kitchen employees started using the oil left over from cooking Serrano peppers.)
“The recipe hasn’t changed for nearly 50 years. Sausage and mushroom and bacon and garlic are some noted combos, but the plain pie is the one to order if it’s your first time visiting this classic, old-school restaurant,” editors wrote of Ernie’s Pizzeria in New Haven. (Ernie’s, along with Colony, Sally’s, Frank Pepe’s, Roseland and Zuppardi’s, made it to The Daily Meal’s list of the “101 Best Pizzas In America” in 2018.)
“Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana is a checklist destination, one you’ll have to make a pilgrimage to if you want to discuss the topic of America’s best pizza with any authority,” they wrote of the legendary pizzeria, named No. 1 on The Daily Meal’s 2018 list. The original location opened in New Haven’s Wooster Square in 1925 and has grown to 10 locations in four states.
“Roseland Apizza is a little old house with plenty of old-school charm, serving one of Connecticut’s most underrated pizzas — and this in a state known for famous pies,” the site wrote of the Derby restaurant, a fixture in town since the mid-1930s run by multiple generations of the Lucarelli family. (In 2018, The Courant profiled Roseland’s Ponsinella pie, with a pound of lobster meat, another pound of large shrimp and six to eight sea scallops.)
Of Sally’s Apizza in New Haven, “the restaurant has changed surprisingly little in the past 80-odd years; it’s still just a sparse, rectangular dining room with some booths lining the walls,” The Daily Meal wrote. “And, as any regular will tell you, it’s just about perfect.” The Wooster Street staple reopened under new ownership in February 2018.
West Haven’s Zuppardi’s is “simply a great place to eat pizza, with an old sign hanging out front and a dining room with a primarily brown and orange color scheme that doesn’t look like it’s been altered since the ’60s,” the site noted. Zuppardi’s also operates a pizza truck and a dedicated space at The Hops Company beer hall in Derby.
See the full list at thedailymeal.com.
