Luna Wood Fired Pizza - Close to Pizza Perfection in Naugatuck

All pizza enthusiasts in this part of Connecticut know the Three Kings of Pizza, three brothers who each own one of the most highly-regarded pizzerias stretching from Wallingford to Cheshire to Naugatuck. A couple of months ago I visited Fuoco in Cheshire and scheduling a visit to one of the other places has been on my to-do list. I finally made it to Luna in Naugatuck, and boy did this brother nail it.

Like many of its pizza-brethren in this part of CT, Luna is situated in a residential neighborhood, just off northbound exit 28 (Prospect Street) of Interstate 8. While there are numerous Luna Pizzas in CT, the others have no association with this location nor the three brothers. When you enter the non-descript building you immediately understand that Luna caters to the takeaway crowd, the teeny dining area offers only four small tables, two high-tops that each seat four and another two regular height tables for another two guests each. Most of the space is dedicated to the pre-made 250 pizza boxes and the 20-foot-long pile of split wood ready to enter the wood-fired oven. There is also one refrigerator that carries an array of 1-liter bottles of Foxon Park sodas, and a few bottles of Poland Springs hidden on the bottom, next to a couple of pre-cut slices of dessert.

While the menu includes salads, burgers, pasta, a calzone, wings and a few head-scratching options, I was there for the pizza.

I ordered a 12” pie, half sausage and half pepperoni, and wandered to an empty table to wait. The server brought the pizza, and I was immediately impressed. The edges had a minor level of char, not too much, not too little. There was minimal, if any, poofiness to the edges, just a few bubbles, indicating a crispy dough. There was a good amount of toppings (more condensed on the pepperoni side) and the balance among cheese, sauce and meats looked pretty good, and I was grateful that the sausage was chunks, my favorite. I next pulled a slice from the pie to check the underside. There were dots of char intermingled in a nicely tanned bottom. The was just a little flop at the point of the slice, maybe just a tad too much. So far I was very impressed.

Onto the taste test.

Per my tradition, I started with a slice from the sausage half. I first peeled a little dollop of sausage from the pie, always looking for the fennel backnotes that I love. Excellent sausage, the sausage had the right amount of fennel and the time in the oven maintained a good juiciness without drying out the meat. The first slice-bite was very good, and the balance and flavors were excellent. I waited for it to cool slightly for bite #2. Bite #2 was even better, and we finally approached my real litmus test…bite #3, when the pie has cooled just enough, and the flavors are fully melded. And it was pretty close to perfect. The three major components combined nicely and there was just a hint of flavor from the dough.

Now onto the pepperoni side. Again, first a taste of pepperoni by itself. There was a good crunchiness and then the spice kicked in and grew. There was a bit of a time lag before it peaked. I would call it a 4 out of 10 level of spiciness and there was a very long tail. A bite of the entire slice, which was already at the right temperature, confirmed my foreshadowing that this would also be a great slice, and it was. The balance of the sauce, cheese and pepperoni was even better than the sausage side with the added kick from the pepperoni.

After I savored a few more slices, it was time to stop and reflect. If there was one slight negative to the pie, it would be the dough, I would have liked a little more flavor. Other than that, Luna is a solid 9.2.

I have been pretty lucky finding some great New Haven-style pies in Waterbury and its surrounding suburbs, and Luna is definitely in the elite class of New Haven style in this neck of the woods.

Luna Wood Fired Pizza

384 North Main Street

Naugatuck, CT 06770

https://lunawoodfiredpizza.com/