Goal Met: Pizza Tour (10+ Famous Pizza Places)

OK. So I like pizza. I mean.. you say you like pizza sure.. but not like I do. I don’t think I’ve gone pizza-less for more than a week my entire life. When I was just starting my career and saving money I used to get 2 for 1 pizzas on Tuesdays from the local pizza place and just eat slices of pizza for dinner until I had a few paychecks in the bank and could… get fresher pizza. I mean, one of my goals is to make 50 different pizzas.. during COVID I bought a 50 pound bag of flour and we ate a LOT of pizza.

One of the things I never really did was go visit popular or famous pizza places (sometimes arguing I can make them just as well at home). While I was trying to come up with 50 goals I was really struggling with the last few and thought to myself “You know what, you need to fit more pizza into this” so that’s where this goal came from.

I took in a lot of top 10 pizza lists, reddit rankings, barstool pizza reviews (one bite, everyone knows the rules) and other sources of pizza knowledge to create a list of places I should go. You’ll notice that most of the are in the Northeast which we all know is the mecca of good pizza. Sorry all you other states trying to claim your doughy bread casseroles are pizza.. the tri-state area is where it’s at.

Modern Apizza – New Haven, CT
Considered one of the top thee New Haven pizza places – this was recommended on nearly every list I researched. Located away from downtown New Haven in a relatively quiet neighborhood it’s unassuming other than the giant metal slice of pizza sculpture. We got there somewhat early so we didn’t wait for a seat (there was a pretty long line when we left). The place was relatively small but the service was fast and the pizza arrived perfectly charred with a strong tomato aroma. The first slice had an epic cheese pull – they don’t skimp on the cheese here! It had a strong tomato taste and chewy tangy cheese that melted altogether into what I consider a perfect slice. The crust was thin and crispy but strong enough to hold up all that cheese and had it’s own character.

Score: 9.2

Frank Pepe’s Pizza – New Haven, CT
The second of the big three, this is one I’ve been to before. It’s one of the most popular pizza places (as well as the oldest) and as such there’s usually a long line. On super busy days they open an overflow seating area but I’ve never been there when that has happened so I got to sit in the main restaurant. It’s a treat because the pizza oven is visible from the front room and you can see the staff working like a well oiled machine feeding the pizzas into the coal fired ovens with excessively large pizza peels. This time around I got my usual cheese pizza but also ordered a meatball pie with ricotta. The pies arrived in a timely manner and the cheese pizza was nice and charred. The sauce wasn’t too heavily spiced and they had a really light hand on the cheese. Even with the light hand there was some oil pooling which detracted from the experience. The crust was thin and crispy with little to no dip when you picked up the slices. The meatball pie with ricotta though was a revelation – instead of dabs of ricotta like most pizza places they dabbed on ravioli filling and each bite of the filling was amazing. I can see why this place is so popular – even after so many years they are still slinging some high quality pies.

Score 8.9

Papa’s Tomato Pies – Robbinsville NJ

Located in Robbinsville NJ (originally from Chambersburg in Trenton until they moved about 15 years ago) this iconic tomato pie place continues the trend of famous pizza places located right next to other (see Sally’s and Pepe’s) as DeLorenzo’s is right down the road. Tomato pies are a bit of a misnomer as they aren’t like Philly tomato pies (an abomination they dare to call a pizza) they just put down the cheese first then sauce it with hand crushed tomatoes and a dusting of spices/cheese. The crust is well done but not charred like New Haven style and the tomatoes are sweet which is a great counterpart to the savory cheese that they use. They offer a mustard pie which is intriguing but I opted for the straight plain pie which is the bar I rate each place at. There’s quite the debate amongst the locals which one is best – I side with Papa’s as they hit the right amount of well done with the pie while DeLo’s can come out really dry and overcooked.

Score: 8.7

DeLorenzo’s Tomato Pies – Robbinsville NJ

Located right down the street from Papa’s this place was also originally in Trenton before they moved to Robbinsville. There’s two locations in the area – this one which is based off the original and another one by the train station in Hamilton. I prefer this place as it feels more authentic. The pizza is cracker thin and really well done. The tomatoes are sweet and they use a good amount of cheese. They also cut the pizza in random shapes which I’m sure is a cute way to be different but it ends up with huge slices and tiny side slices. Just cut it into 8 slices – lets be civilized. They have a no Parmesan cheese rule which I support and here’s an important caveat: These pizzas do not travel well. You can get them to go but its a completely different experience. You need to eat them in the restaurant right out of the oven for the optimal experience. I’ve eaten here a few times and it’s hit or miss with how well done it is. Sometimes it is legitimately overcooked and dry and sharp crust splinters attack your gums like an angry wolverine. However when they hit the mark it really is an amazing pizza experience

Score: 8.7

John’s of Bleecker Street – NYC

Consistently at the top of NY Pizza rankings; John’s is a tiny pizza place on Bleecker street offering up some traditional NY style pizzas. Waited in line for about 40 minutes on a Saturday night (I was already in the city with friends and we wanted some good pizza) and got stuffed into a tiny booth with barely any room to breathe let alone eat. Ordered the plain cheese and the white pie – both highly recommended. The pizzas came out pretty quick – most likely due to the fact they had so few booths in the place they really needed to move pies to get that turnover they want. The cheese pull was fantastic and the dough was crispy and flavorful. The sauce was very simple – just some crushed tomatoes but it tasted a bit flat – I suspect it needed some salt or something else to dress it up. I enjoyed the very old school decor and ambiance – it felt very old NY.

Score: 8.5

Grimaldi’s – NYC

Classic Neo-neapolitan pies – not crispy like NY, or soft like Naples somewhere in the middle. This time around we hit up the one that was located in what used to be the Limelight nightclub. It was a bit of a mental struggle to reconcile my memories of the club with taking my kids there for pizza. Of course I didn’t fill in the kids about all the fun I had there.. but I did explain to them people used to come here to listen to music and dance. They seemed to get a kick out of that. The pizza came out pretty fast but like John’s the cheese/sauce lock was off and there was a bit too much bare crust at the edges. However the sauce as really savory and packed full of flavor and the cheese was a great balance. It really was a great tasting pie and I’d say comparable to the one located in Brooklyn. Overall the balance was just right and the crust was light and a bit crispy – the sweet spot for this type of pizza.

Score: 9.1

Pizzeria Errico Porzio Lungomare – Naples, Italy

One of my goals this year was to visit my father’s home town in Italy and see the family I had there. I explained to them that I was looking for the best Neapolitan pizza they had and he really talked up this pizzaolo Errico Porzio – showing me his Instagram and saying he’s a pretty big deal in Naples. One afternoon we’re walking along the Lungomare and my step mom is starving so I try to be helpful and say ‘Che Ore Mangiamo?’ to my cousin and we just happened to be right by this pizzeria so we stopped in to see what all the fuss is about. I of course just got the classic margherita pizza (with the obligatory spritz) – if you’re going to the source you need to get the classics! Maybe it was the hype, the fact I was in Naples facing the bay with Vesuvius in the background.. but this had to be one of the best pizzas I’ve ever eaten. The dough was soft but with a hint of crunchiness, the sauce was unadorned and has that san marzano sweetness.. the kiss of the wood fire. Just.. 🤌 Bonus: As I was getting ready to leave my cousin notices Errico walking through and calls him over to take a photo with me which was a pretty cool experience. I tried to express how good the pizza was in Italian then he asked me some rapid fire questions in Italian and I had no idea what he said haha

Score: 9.8

BAR – New Haven CT

I wasn’t sure about this place – the people on the internet were raving about it but it just seemed like a brewery which happened to serve pizza which I wasn’t optimistic about. I was in New Haven with a buddy for a quick pizza run so we decided to try a new place and see what the hype was. We got there and had to go to the bar to order – and we decided to order two medium pies (we were hungry) one plain and one white pie. We also got a few beers to tide us over – mine was a cherry wheat beer that really was quite good. When the pies arrived I though we made a mistake the medium pies came out in a full sheet pan. They where massive. I don’t even want to know what the large pie was served on. Daunted by the acres of pizza in front of us we dug in. The sauce was flat and lacked any real flavor – it was almost watery and the cheese was overcooked and dry. The crust was extremely thin and cracker like but lacked any defining flavors. The white pie fared better but the garlic in it was a bit overpowering I think to compensate for the lack of flavors elsewhere. Overall a middling experience – It’s still pizza in the end but after eating at the other New Haven spots this really didn’t live up to the hype.

Score: 6.2

Zuppardi’s – New Haven CT

Another highly recommended place, it as a bit off the beaten path in West Haven CT in a residential neighborhood. It really seemed out of place it’s all just residential houses then BAM pizza place.. then more houses. I suspect it was here before the neighborhood rose around it. Either way it was a bit different from the other New Haven spots in that it used a gas oven and put out pretty standard round pies. We ordered the usual plain cheese then a meatball and onion. The cheese pizza was pretty good – nice char on the crust, tangy sauce and a lot of cheese but it didn’t stand out compared to other New Haven spots and really felt like a NJ/NY pie. The meatball pie was interesting that the onions were sliced so thin they melted into the sauce and provided a kick of flavor without the usual onion texture. I was so impressed I ordered a fancy mandolin the next day so I could start experimenting with super thin slices of toppings. Overall a really good pizza but nothing about it made it stand out compared to all the other spots I visited.

Score: 8.2

Sally’s – New Haven CT

I’m going to tiptoe the line of heresy here and say I really don’t care for the apizza at Sally’s. The sauce has way too much going on, the cheese is a bit heavy and it takes forever to get your pizza (easily the longest wait I’ve had this year). I understand for some people it’s their favorite of the big three but the couple of times I’ve eaten here I’ve been underwhelmed. Now, I’m not saying it’s not good – it’s just not the pizza I like. I like my sauce to be plain – I sauce my pizzas with just tomatoes and a bit of salt. When you start doctoring your sauce to amp up the flavor you start to lose me. The person I was with loved the pizza and rated it higher than some of the other places so I can see that it’s completely subjective. The pizza had a good char and generous toppings so I can’t find fault there but all this being said this is me rating pizzas that I am eating so the score will reflect that it’s not something I particularly enjoy.

Score: 8.0

Federicis – Freehold NJ

I’m not sure this rises to the level of ‘Fame’ but if does show up quite frequently in “Best Pizza in NJ” lists. The crust is thin – I mean really thin – it was such a crispy and thin crust that I ate 4 slices and barely felt full. The plain cheese is good with a nice mozzarella stretch and the sauce is lightly flavored but tomato forward. The only issue I had is that I was expecting the thin crust pizzas to be approaching well done but this pizza was very light – I felt like it was taken out of the oven a bit too early as the crust was a pale blonde color with just a little bit of char on the ears. I still enjoyed the pizza but the under cooked cracker thin crust gave it a bit of a bowling alley pizza vibe that it had to work hard to overcome.

Score: 7.8