Corned beef and onions pizza

[matt986]

Originally Posted by rokdog49

You could likely make your own, might taste even better.

One of the secrets to the New Haven pizza is the incredibly hot coal ovens that they use. I don't have anything that can even come close!

There is a place in Chicago that does a passable version of the New Haven clam pizza that we get on a pretty regular basis. That's enough to tide us over until we can get the real thing.

[reeve21]

Originally Posted by matt986

Yeah, we don't get it very often! My wife went to college in western Mass. When we go to her reunions every 5 years we fly into Hartford and do a detour to New Haven.

We've waited in line at Pepe's a couple of times, but now we just go to Modern Apizza (I love saying Apizza!). It may not be the best, but for us not having to stand in a huge line makes up for it.

Hey Matt,

One of my brothers used to live around the corner from Modern. I have also been there many times and it is a favorite of the locals. The style isn't exactly the same as Pepe's, but lots of folks prefer it. Your knowing about Modern makes you an honorary aficionado Appizza :-)

Here's a tip. It is not pronounced like you might think. Put the emphasis on the second syllable. Mo-Dairn. Rhymes with hair.

[matt986]

Originally Posted by reeve21

Hey Matt,

One of my brothers used to live around the corner from Modern. I have also been there many times and it is a favorite of the locals. The style isn't exactly the same as Pepe's, but lots of folks prefer it. Your knowing about Modern makes you an honorary aficionado Appizza :-)

Here's a tip. It is not pronounced like you might think. Put the emphasis on the second syllable. Mo-Dairn. Rhymes with hair.

Thanks!

I was thinking that next year we might try Zuppardi's. Have you had their clam pizza? They seem to get pretty good reviews, but only getting one pie every five years I'd hate to have a misfire!

[reeve21]

Originally Posted by matt986

Thanks!

I was thinking that next year we might try Zuppardi's. Have you had their clam pizza? They seem to get pretty good reviews, but only getting one pie every five years I'd hate to have a misfire!

Matt,

I'm not familiar with Zuppardi's, but I see they are in West Haven. It is pretty hard to find a bad pizza around here. We have all styles, in fact the New Haven style is not the most common. What I call Greek style is what I grew up on (thicker crust, greasier).

If you are pressed for time Pepe's has opened in several other locations in recent years, including one in West Hartford that is within 20-30 minutes of the airport depending on traffic. They tried to recreate the atmosphere of the original Wooster Square location right down to the black and white tile and the brick oven. I honestly can't tell the difference in the quality, and it will save you a couple of hours in the car if you are headed up to Massachusetts on I-91. In fact I see they are now in suburban Boston, too. This article gives some background on the expansion of the brand.

https://www.bostonmagazine.com/resta...k-pepe-boston/

On the topic of junk food, did you know that Connecticut is also considered the hot dog capital of the world? Most of your good tube steaks are made right here, and we have some of the greatest road side stands anywhere. My favorite is Blackie's on the Cheshire/Waterbury line. They have been there forever, and make their own relish you can buy online. Don't go on Friday, they are closed. And whatever you do don't ask for fries, they don't sell them! http://blackieshotdogs.com/

[Steve DeRosa]

Originally Posted by matt986

One of the secrets to the New Haven pizza is the incredibly hot coal ovens that they use. I don't have anything that can even come close!

A very hot oven - and the attention of the pizzaiolo to the final product - is the secret to any good pizza; while coal is #1 (a properly-heated hardwood-fired brick oven is a very close second - and imparts a smoky, almost BBQ-tinged flavor that I happen to like), the Blodgett company - one of the mainstays of the pizza oven business - made a black-iron, low-ceiling gas oven back in the '40s-50s that comes as close to the coal-oven pie taste/texture as you're likely to get. Few survivors left, though - they haven't been manufactured in 60 years, and I understand they're a pain in the kiester to clean/maintain - but if you ever find yourself in Brooklyn, L&B Spumoni Gardens still uses theirs to make their Sicilian pies; when I was a kid they used them to make the Neapolitan pies as well, and I'm sure if you asked they'd be glad to oblige...

[matt986]

Originally Posted by reeve21

Matt,

I'm not familiar with Zuppardi's, but I see they are in West Haven. It is pretty hard to find a bad pizza around here. We have all styles, in fact the New Haven style is not the most common. What I call Greek style is what I grew up on (thicker crust, greasier).

If you are pressed for time Pepe's has opened in several other locations in recent years, including one in West Hartford that is within 20-30 minutes of the airport depending on traffic. They tried to recreate the atmosphere of the original Wooster Square location right down to the black and white tile and the brick oven. I honestly can't tell the difference in the quality, and it will save you a couple of hours in the car if you are headed up to Massachusetts on I-91. In fact I see they are now in suburban Boston, too. This article gives some background on the expansion of the brand.

https://www.bostonmagazine.com/resta...k-pepe-boston/

On the topic of junk food, did you know that Connecticut is also considered the hot dog capital of the world? Most of your good tube steaks are made right here, and we have some of the greatest road side stands anywhere. My favorite is Blackie's on the Cheshire/Waterbury line. They have been there forever, and make their own relish you can buy online. Don't go on Friday, they are closed. And whatever you do don't ask for fries, they don't sell them! http://blackieshotdogs.com/

Thanks for all the info!

[matt986]

Originally Posted by Steve DeRosa

A very hot oven - and the attention of the pizzaiolo to the final product - is the secret to any good pizza; while coal is #1 (a properly-heated hardwood-fired brick oven is a very close second - and imparts a smoky, almost BBQ-tinged flavor that I happen to like), the Blodgett company - one of the mainstays of the pizza oven business - made a black-iron, low-ceiling gas oven back in the '40s-50s that comes as close to the coal-oven pie taste/texture as you're likely to get. Few survivors left, though - they haven't been manufactured in 60 years, and I understand they're a pain in the kiester to clean/maintain - but if you ever find yourself in Brooklyn, L&B Spumoni Gardens still uses theirs to make their Sicilian pies; when I was a kid they used them to make the Neapolitan pies as well, and I'm sure if you asked they'd be glad to oblige...

Shoot! I wish we would have had this conversation last week. We were in Brooklyn just this last weekend, at the the Bowie Is exhibit at The Brooklyn Museum. Great exhibit, by the way.

[Steve DeRosa]

Originally Posted by matt986

Shoot! I wish we would have had this conversation last week. We were in Brooklyn just this last weekend, at the the Bowie Is exhibit at The Brooklyn Museum. Great exhibit, by the way.

Gives you something to look forward to when you come back...

Haven't been back to the Brooklyn Museum in a number of years - I was a Junior Member when I was a kid, used to bring my fifth-graders there on class trips - but I strongly recommend both their Egyptian collection (second only to the Cairo Museum in importance, BTW) and the period rooms on the fourth floor, one of which is a ca. 1675 Dutch farmhouse reconstructed brick-by-brick; FYI the original building was designed by the legendary McKim, Mead, & White architectural firm - not exactly what the average person would associate with the name "Brooklyn"...

FWIW a NY Daily News poll from the late-70's dubbed L&B Spumoni Gardens' Sicilian pie "best square pizza in the universe"; having grown up 1-1/2 blocks away I'll be the first to attest to the accuracy of the evaluation - and if this is your first visit I'd recommend ordering one as your introduction. Great place, largely unchanged since I first went there in 1957, and nothing like it on a clear summer evening - no more guys singing doo-wop under the tree, though...

If you're hankering for a coal-oven Neapolitan pie - and looking for a way to spend a morning-to-midnight summer day - Totonno's in Coney Island topped the same poll in the round-pie category; be advised that they really do things the old-fashioned way, though: they only make as much dough as they think they'll need for the day - when they run out they shut down - they can only make one or two pies at a time (waiting lines can stretch down the block and around the corner on a busy day - think up to two hours' wait), toppings are strictly traditional (mushroom, sausage, anchovy, etc.) - and don't even think of asking for a single slice. Plenty to do in Coney once again, BTW: rides (the legendary Cyclone and Wonder Wheel are still in operation) and/or beach in the A.M.; Nathan's (the one and only IMO) for lunch; New York Aquarium in the afternoon; hit Totonno's around 4 PM for an early dinner (and to avoid the post-beach crowds); and take in a Brooklyn Cyclones minor-league baseball game in the evening (the spirit of the Dodgers and old Ebbets Field is alive and well here, and if you go on Fireworks Night they actually stop the game - the show takes place directly in front of you, over the water)...

Of course there's always Lenny's (of Saturday Night Fever fame - they still have the photos hanging behind the counter), on 86th Street in my old Bensonhurst stomping grounds; nothing exceptional, but a good classic Brooklyn pie - and you can do the "Stayin' Alive" stroll under the West End el when you're done...

[matt986]

Originally Posted by Steve DeRosa

Gives you something to look forward to when you come back...

Haven't been back to the Brooklyn Museum in a number of years - I was a Junior Member when I was a kid, used to bring my fifth-graders there on class trips - but I strongly recommend both their Egyptian collection (second only to the Cairo Museum in importance, BTW) and the period rooms on the fourth floor, one of which is a ca. 1675 Dutch farmhouse reconstructed brick-by-brick; FYI the original building was designed by the legendary McKim, Mead, & White architectural firm - not exactly what the average person would associate with the name "Brooklyn"...

FWIW a NY Daily News poll from the late-70's dubbed L&B Spumoni Gardens' Sicilian pie "best square pizza in the universe"; having grown up 1-1/2 blocks away I'll be the first to attest to the accuracy of the evaluation - and if this is your first visit I'd recommend ordering one as your introduction. Great place, largely unchanged since I first went there in 1957, and nothing like it on a clear summer evening - no more guys singing doo-wop under the tree, though...

If you're hankering for a coal-oven Neapolitan pie - and looking for a way to spend a morning-to-midnight summer day - Totonno's in Coney Island topped the same poll in the round-pie category; be advised that they really do things the old-fashioned way, though: they only make as much dough as they think they'll need for the day - when they run out they shut down - they can only make one or two pies at a time (waiting lines can stretch down the block and around the corner on a busy day - think up to two hours' wait), toppings are strictly traditional (mushroom, sausage, anchovy, etc.) - and don't even think of asking for a single slice. Plenty to do in Coney once again, BTW: rides (the legendary Cyclone and Wonder Wheel are still in operation) and/or beach in the A.M.; Nathan's (the one and only IMO) for lunch; New York Aquarium in the afternoon; hit Totonno's around 4 PM for an early dinner (and to avoid the post-beach crowds); and take in a Brooklyn Cyclones minor-league baseball game in the evening (the spirit of the Dodgers and old Ebbets Field is alive and well here, and if you go on Fireworks Night they actually stop the game - the show takes place directly in front of you, over the water)...

Of course there's always Lenny's (of Saturday Night Fever fame - they still have the photos hanging behind the counter), on 86th Street in my old Bensonhurst stomping grounds; nothing exceptional, but a good classic Brooklyn pie - and you can do the "Stayin' Alive" stroll under the West End el when you're done...

Thanks for all the great information! I'll definitely bookmark this thread for future reference.