Copyright The Boston Globe
Former long-time New York City resident Anthony Anthony, now chief marketing officer for the state of Connecticut, has gone on the record with this: “I’ll admit [New York] pizza is good. But it isn’t the nation’s best. That title belongs to us.” The pizza wars are a playful rivalry “that puts our pizza culture front and center,” he adds. Whether or not you agree with Connecticut’s claim of pizza supremacy, there’s no denying that it got pizza lovers talking and earned more than 4,000 media hits. Some decided to see for themselves; day trips to New Haven, the “Pizza Capital of the United States,” as proclaimed by Connecticut governor Ned Lamont, have risen like dough since the campaign began. The city even landed on Skyscanner’s list of the top 10 trending destinations in the world for 2026. Pizza-themed art installations and fashion collabs added to the viral movement. And this saucy skirmish isn’t over yet; Connecticut is launching a digital blitz, targeting pizza hot spots including Chicago, Detroit, and New Jersey. (Ahem, what about Boston?) Connecticut’s claim to pizza fame has some meat behind it. According to state statistics, Connecticut has more than 1,300 pizza restaurants, the highest per capita of any state, producing more than 150 million pizzas annually. Moreover, nearly 80 percent of Connecticut’s pizzerias are independently-owned, compared to the US average of 43 percent. “New Haven alone boasts 65 pizza-making places, the most of any city in the state, with some of the most historic and highest-rated spots,” says Colin M. Caplan, founder of Taste of New Haven and producer of a new series of pizza documentaries. Caplan also created The Pizza State license plates for the state of Connecticut. So, what’s in it for the Massachusetts pizza lover, you might ask? There’s never been a better time to discover the glories of pizza joints south of the border. The state tourism office recently launched the Connecticut Pizza Trail (https://ctvisit.com/articles/connecticut-pizza-trail), a map of the 100 best pizza places, from Avon to Willimantic. Timed for National Pizza Month (October), the trail is actually a map peppered with the winners of a public vote. More than 13,000 ballots were cast, proof that pizza pride is alive and well in the Nutmeg State. Not everyone is a fan of the pizza trail. No pizza experts were involved in curating the list, Caplan notes, and public interfaces like this “allow assertive pizza places and their fans to vote more than once, pumping votes to particular pizza places more than others.” In response, Caplan — who runs five pizza tours and an annual Apizza Feast — has created a map of every single pizza place in Connecticut (https://tasteofnewhaven.com/new-haven-style-pizza-map/ ), by pizza style and including his expert picks. Only 18 of 169 towns in the state do not have a pizza place, he notes. But there’s no disagreement when it comes to this: New Haven is the epicenter of pizza excellence in Connecticut. The city has its own style of pizza, coal-fired apizza (“ah-beetz”), “with a pizza culture like nowhere else,” as Caplan puts it. Some of New Haven’s best pizza joints, including Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana and Sally’s Apizza, now have outposts in Massachusetts, but nothing beats going to the OG locations of these time-honored pie palaces. Both of them are on the Connecticut Pizza Trail’s Top 10 list, and on Caplan’s list of top pizza spots in Connecticut as well. In case you’re wondering who else scored highly, the Connecticut Pizza Trail’s top 10 vote-getters, in addition to Pepe and Sally, include Modern Apizza (New Haven), Zuppardi’s Apizza (West Haven), BAR (New Haven), Roseland Apizza (Derby), Tony’s Pizza (Willimantic), Colony Grill (Fairfield and other locations), Little City Pizza (Avon), and Domenic’s and Vinnie’s Pizza (Middlebury and other locations). Caplan’s list of Top 10 Pizza Spots in Connecticut has some overlap, including Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana, Modern Apizza, Sally’s Apizza, Zuppardi’s Apizza, and Roseland Apizza. He also awards high marks to Ernie’s Pizzeria (New Haven), Fuoco Apizza (Cheshire), Olde World Apizza (North Haven), Christos Restaurant and Bar (Wallingford), and Zeneli Pizzeria (New Haven). You can’t go wrong with the cheesy, saucy deliciousness of these all-star pizza purveyors. But if you’ve never tasted New Haven’s signature apizza, know that it’s a bit different than the ubiquitous fashionable flatbreads around here. Their signature pies are the plain sauce version, with a sweet tomato taste, loads of garlic, and perhaps a sprinkling of oregano, with a charred thin crust courtesy of coal-fired ovens that operate between 800 and 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit. If you’re a pizza purist, give ’em a go. That said, you can also order a pizza with toppings piled high. Shrimp, clams, sausage, and even potatoes have their place atop Connecticut pizzas. The takeaway message here: If you’re traveling to, or through, Connecticut, go hungry. Grab a slice or a pie — and maybe bring along a cooler for leftovers. Who doesn’t love leftover pizza? Pizza trail maps make it easy to find the best pie-makers around the state, including clusters around Hartford, Milford, Norwalk, Fairfield, Stamford, and of course, New Haven. You can even choose them by style, including Neapolitan, Greek, Sicilian, and tavern-style, along with New Haven-style apizza. Consider this fair warning, Chicago, Detroit, and New Jersey. Grab a handful of dough and get ready for a food fight.
