It's Worth Traveling To Connecticut Just To Taste Their Unique Seafood Pizza

You don't need a pizza Ph.D. from the nearby Gothic campus of Yale University to know the best Connecticut carbs are slung at Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana in New Haven, especially when the spotlight's on their signature white clam pizza. It's a unique seafood pie featuring iridescently brackish, moreish Long Island Sound littlenecks that pair beautifully with garlic, oregano, pecorino, and olive oil, all on a crust that's chewy inside and crispy outside. An honor roll of culinary accolades includes crowning The Daily Meal's "101 Best Pizzas In America" and Chowhound's "Hands Down Best Pizza In Every State" for Connecticut, making this original creation worth a trip to the "Pizza Capital of the U.S." Celebrity appreciators who have traveled there to taste this local take on pizza include Anna Kendrick and Meryl Streep, while a rendition with bacon is named Paul Giamatti Pie, a nod to its most famous fan. 

And why does The Washington Post call Pepe a "legend" and a "symbol of America's 20th-century pizza craft"? Like pizza, Pepe is one of the country's great immigrant stories: A scraps-to-sumptuous slices odyssey that began in Naples and led post-World War I to Elm City's Little Italy, where the non-English speaking founder began making tomato apizza (a lingering piece of Neapolitan dialect, pronounced "ah-beetz"). He started by peddling these pies on foot, then took over a bakery on Wooster Street in 1925, expanding to a bigger location next door in 1937. A century later, his grandchildren run the flagship and 16 others along the East Coast. From two trademark flavors of tomato and tomato with anchovies to today's 10 menu mainstays, in the 1960s, Pepe's freshly shucked raw clams appetizer found its way onto a white pie — and customers never stopped clamoring for it.

From mouth-watering New York-style pizza slices and the famous Chicago deep-dish to the foodie hotspot renaissance of Detroit-style and the controversial Ohio Valley-style, pizza's various vibes across the U.S. map its transformation from Italian cucina povera to coming to America and stealing hearts (and stomachs). "Grandpops" Pepe, who loved tinkering with the tools of his trade, let a moister dough ferment slow enough to erupt in a bolder taste, while keeping the tradition of coal-fired ovens blasting at 600 degrees Fahrenheit for crusts that leopard-spotted with char – the insignia of a true Neapolitan pizza. 

These palate-pleasing Pepe specialties include the Amanti Della Carne (meatball, pepperoni, sausage, and bacon), Chicken Diavolo (hot sauce, onions, and gorgonzola), and Meatball & Ricotta. The Frank Pepe Small Pie Sampler of your choice is a great way to taste them all. Following the founder's innovative spirit, limited editions often pop up, such as Patata Rustica (seasoned potatoes, bacon, asiago, pecorino, and olive oil), and a centennial collaboration with Mike's Hot Honey on Pepe's popular Doppio Pepperoni. 

Yet, some things will never change. Crushed tomatoes hand-picked from the foothills of Mount Vesuvius form the foundation of every Pepe pizza, pecorino native to Sardinia, and olive oil and cheeses are custom-produced to the pizzeria's exacting standards. Every summer, the Fresh Tomato Pie lashed with peak produce harvest and fresh mozzarella is an only-in-Connecticut seasonal celebration. Pair that with other perennial ingredients like long-time family and team members who serve pies with humility, gratitude, honor, and respect — and you begin to understandhow Pepe came to be known as "Old Reliable," a philosophy warmly welcoming pizza pilgrims for more than 100 years.