October 21, 2007

New Haven Pizza

Off to Hartford, Connecticut this weekend to visit my sister and brother-in-law, and since we're only about an hour from New Haven, they willingly let me drag them to Frank Pepe's, one of the real pizza legends in the U.S., known for their "New Haven Style" pies. Fired in a coal-burning oven the size of a school bus (no exaggeration) the pies are thin, blistered and bubbly when they come out, topped with anything from homemade sausage to briny clams. I thought there was a little too much cheese for my taste, but the balance of toppings, set upon that beautifully crisp crust, was more than worth the drive. Oddly enough, a slew of new Neapolitan-style, thin crust pizza joints have opened in Chicago recently, and none of them - save for Coal Fire - have been able to achieve the magical texture, chew and mouthfeel of a New Haven pie.