DAY 5: PIZZA MONTH 2007 - SALLY'S APIZZA

DAY 5: OCTOBER 5th, 2007 - SALLY'S APIZZA

LOCATION: Sally's Apizza (111 Wooster St., New Haven, CT)

GUEST(S): Robin Rothman

ORDER: One slice of a small clam, 3 slices of a small plain, 2 slices of a small mozzarella pie

PIZZA REPORT: Before there was "pizza" there was the "tomato pie" and that is when Salvatore Consiglio began cooking it in his coal fired brick oven. If you want cheese on your tomato pie, you have to order it. Does it need it? I don't think so. The plain is served with the signature charred ring around the edge of the crust and tons of tomato sauce which has seasoned to perfection (not too salty, not too sweet). You won't be disappointed when you add cheese. It's not much more money and the cheese is fresh mozzarella ("mootz"). Just to round out the experience, I also ordered a small clam pie, which is prepared without sauce or cheese. This enabled me to isolate the thin coal fired crust which tastes like freshly baked bread and provides a solid foundation for shoveling toppings (whether it be clams or cheese or sauce) into my belly.

ATMOSPHERE: Sally's Apizza has been a staple in New Haven's Little Italy since 1938 and seemingly more popular than ever. Locals come to expect the line down the block and the ridiculous wait that results from staffing the joint entirely by the very family that opened it all those years ago. Despite the delay, the wait staff er waiter keeps a smile on his face which gradually spreads around the room. The restaurant itself is cozy, kidfriendly, and inexpensive. A small pie is enough to fill me up and only costs about $6.

MISC.
1. We met a guy named Vinny Esposito who was celebrating his 36th birthday at Sally's Apizza. He informed Robin and i that the place spelled "APIZZA" is pronounced "ah-beats". Later we also were told by the waiter that in New Haven "mozzarella" is pronounced "mootz".

2. New Haven regulars swear by Sally's and have been enduring the long wait and devouring the outrageously delicious coal fired Sally's pizza for decades.

written by Sean Taylor (http://www.seantaylor.us)

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• Sally's
• Apizza
• New
• Haven
• Pizza
• Month
• Sean
• Taylor

[gabslake]

i love the guy who interupted that was a good ending....and you its a good pizza when the patrants protect there pizza...ending was priceless...

[spotlightsean]

I agree. I felt so bad because he thought I was giving it a 4.5 out of 10.  Sally's Apizza is filled with long time customers. The folks at the end of the video had been going there for over 30 years.

[leatherfaze03]

Sally's is no doubt the best pizza in the universe. But not a fan of their bathrooms. A long wait. BUT IT'S ALL WORTH IT. You should've gotten a large Bianca with clams and mutz. Much better than Pepe's!

[sittnick1]

Sally's Apizza is the best. The reason the wait is so long is because the oven (coal fired, never gets turned off) cannot be expanded.

The reason it is called apizza is NOT because it is a variation on pizza. Apizza was the common term first, and over time the "a" got dropped in other areas. (To some degree, it depends on what part of Italy you are from, I believe.)

[lethrneck4]

New Haven Pizza

sallys = best overall pizza, best sauce, thinnest crust, bad service but who cares

pepes= best bet if you want good service, a great pizza with freshest toppings of the 3 and shorter wait times

modern = i have no idea why modern pizza is ranked #1 all the time, taste like a pizza i can get at any place not on wooster street

[ChristianCon]

haha I know that guy

[brianbuck13]

Sallys is awful. Probably the worst service in my entire life. Abates is the best on Wooster st

[ChichonMorao]

I must admit, I don't like the fact that they've opened a few other locations. NH is the true blue Peppe's, but I still have to disagree about Sally's being the best. My tastebuds don't lie. Sally's is at leas 3 steps below Peppes (New Haven, that is. the other ones just suck!)

[sittnick1]

Chichon. my great Aunt Margaret who lived in New Haven since 1910 was no liar. In the days of Sally's and Modern and Pepe's and The Spot, the brick oven WAS conventional. You might want to cite a source. I am from Connecticut, and have primary sources, as words are defined by how people use them. But, if you want more, from the book "Pizza A Slice of Heaven " Apizza...was just a bit of bastardized Neapolitan dialect." (p. 164) So, you learn your facts. Pepe's has devolved into a chain. .

[ChichonMorao]

You don't know what you're taqlking about. Sally's should bow to Peppe's and shout "I'm not worthy!!"

[ChichonMorao]

Actually, the term APIZZA refers to pizza made in a non-conventional oven, meaning a brick oven or in this case coal fired. If you ever go somewhere they call it APIZZA and they have one of those gas or not any other kind of oven, feel free to call them a damn liar and walk out of there and never return... Learn your facts before you divulge them to the world...

[satinbarbi]

Ahbeetz!