New Haven’s Graduate by Hilton Hotel is about a mile’s walk from Wooster Street, and in fact has a “pizza pay phone” in its lobby, with a direct line to Sally’s Apizza. But downstairs at its bar, a Connecticut dad has turned his own passion for pizza into a weekend pop-up with a loyal following.
Joe Pangia’s Three Sons Pizza got its start at Old Heidelberg last May, offering fresh-baked 16-inch pies and slices out of its bar kitchen on weekends. Pangia, who lives in Middletown, is an insurance professional and avid home cook who began to perfect his pizza recipes during the pandemic, working on the dough, sauce and toppings and asking for feedback from friends and family.
The founders of Jam City Pizza, a new Detroit-style pizza concept in Hamden, knew they were up against thin-crust supremacy so close to New Haven.
But even as the Elm City was declared the “pizza capital of America” last year, Tyler Demora and James Woodward decided to add their version of the thick, square Michigan style to the area’s pizza offerings.
“We’re trying to get people to understand that there’s other really great pizza,” Demora said.
The business partners, who’ve been friends since childhood, opened Jam City within The Cellar at Treadwell in Hamden last November. They took over the performance venue’s kitchen, with a menu of red and white pan pizzas, salads and snacks like chicken wings and tenders, fried pickles and garlic pretzel knots.
Demora, a native of New Hartford, is a chef with more than 20 years of experience in the restaurant industry. His career has taken him to San Francisco and France, as well as closer to home in Providence and New Haven. He also owns and operates the Feelin’ Saucy food truck, which specializes in pasta dishes.
To celebrate our state’s status as the Pizza Capital of the U.S., the Pizza Capital Pizza Trail is being created by fans and critics, like you. Starting March 14 (National Pi Day), cast your vote for the best pizzerias in the state. You’ll have hundreds of spots to choose from, but only the top 100 will make the final trail.
VOTING INSTRUCTIONS
Cast your vote for the best slice in Connecticut! Sign up with your name and email, then search for your favorite spot or browse the list below. Don't see it? Write it in at the bottom! You can select up to 10 restaurants. Hit "Submit" to finalize your vote. And don't forget—you can vote once daily through May 1, 2025.
Roi Graber is a long way from home, but has brought a taste of Israel and the fresh, healthy flavors of the Mediterranean to his new residence in West Hartford.
In January, Graber opened Gveenah, a modern kosher “Mediterranean fusion” restaurant, taking over the former Black Bamboo space on Farmington Avenue as owner Sonny Chen moved his popular Chinese eatery to a new location. Gveenah means “cheese” in Hebrew, Graber said.
Graber owned restaurants in his home country, but he and his wife and children fled after the terrorist attacks on Oct. 7, 2023 and came to the United States to stay with family members. He thought it would be a temporary measure for a few months, but the Jewish community in West Hartford helped them settle in, finding them a home and getting the children into school. Graber began thinking about a longer-term plan.
Just a few months after arriving in Connecticut, Graber was on track to open his first American restaurant, with the help of business connections in West Hartford. Less than a year later, Gveenah opened its doors, welcoming guests in for a fusion experience blending “the rich traditions of Mediterranean and Italian cuisine,” according to its website.
Wednesday marked the grand opening of Himalaya SoNo an altogether unique experience that brings diners the authentic flavors and culture of the Himalayan region – Nepal, Tibet, Bhutan and Northern India. On Monday, before the restaurant formally opened its doors to the public, we were invited in to meet Nwang Sherpa. Sherpa, as his friends call him, a first generation immigrant from Nepal, came to the States 20 years ago to attend college in Pennsylvania. From there his career path would take him to the financial and real estate sectors before moving over to the food and beverage industry. Fast forward many years to today, and the young visionary’s brand, now highly esteemed, has earned a stellar reputation and numerous awards, including Zagat’s Best and Restaurant Guru achievements for its Westchester County locations which include Scarsdale and Yorktown. Sherpa is proud to employ people from the Himalayan region, allowing them to live and work in the US and pursue their own dreams. He is also on the leadership team for NSSP, The Network of Sherpa Students and Professionals, an organization based in Westchester County, which provides support for Sherpa students, graduates, and professionals through social, professional, educational, and cultural activities.
The next time you’re enjoying a pint in Spacecat Brewing Company’s taproom, that tray of burgers that just went by IS NOT courtesy of Shake Shack’s Shack Truck. Right out back by Spacecat’s appropriately named patio, “The Litterbox,” is their own brand-new food trailer where the brewery smashes burgers, grills up Connecticut’s own Hummel Bros. hot dogs, and fries to perfection a crispy chicken sandwich.
An exceptionally vibrant and passionate pizza culture coupled with the May 2024 designation by the U.S. Congress of New Haven as the “Pizza Capital of the United States” makes creating a list of Connecticut’s best pizza joints a monumental task. By all accounts, there are over 1,200 pizza-making establishments that call the Nutmeg State home, which is the most pizzerias of any state per capita, as well as the most family-owned pizzerias. Pizza here is sacred. Serious. A point of pride. An area of contention. And, most of all, it’s a legacy that began exactly one hundred years ago on Wooster Street in New Haven.
Keeping all of that in mind, we offer this list that we feel represents the approximate top 10%, the very best of the best pizzerias this small but mighty state has to offer. From the legendary coal-fired ovens of New Haven’s famed apizza places to scattered hidden gems to mobile pizza trucks, this list contains “The Pizza State’s” unique takes on America’s beloved dish in multiple places throughout every county (and a bonus surprise entry at the very end!). One is a century old. A few are brand new. Most have been in business for at least a couple of generations. No matter how long they have been serving pies, each is about savoring tradition, history, and that distinct flavor profile that continues to captivate locals and visitors alike.
Connecticut pizza enthusiasts, rejoice! Hit the road, try a slice, and let us know your favorite in the comments.
In the middle of 2024 at my dear friend, Anne Grossman’s Rebel Daughter Day, I just about stopped in my tracks when I saw what was on one of the vendor’s tables. Boxes of beautiful, chocolatey brigedeiros, alfajores, and an array of different hand rolled truffles and baked goods that weren’t just from Latin American countries, but a mixture of confections we’re familiar with in the states, too. Silvia’s Kitchen, created by Silvia MacLean, is the face behind the brand, and she bakes out of Rebel Daughter Cookies’ commercial space where you can preorder for pickup or delivery, plus you can find her sweets at various stores and farmers markets in the general area.
I finally made it to Christos Restaurant & Bar in Wallingford, the third pizzeria of Connecticut’s self-proclaimed Three Kings of Pizza. While the three brother-owners may share common DNA, the pizzas at each show a very different view of what pizza should entail.
When the pizza arrived, the first thing I noticed was the high level of char. Not only was the crust overly charred in places, but more than half of the cupped pepperoni circles were significantly darkened by the hot, wood-fired oven. The other item I noticed was the abundance of toppings, a lot of sauce and cheese, plus decent portions of pepperoni and sausage.
Last week I had the opportunity to check out Josie & Tony's newly launched lunch menu. The restaurant which opened just over a year ago for dinner, offered a lunchtime deli service featuring hot and cold Arthur Avenue-style sandwiches made on local Wave Hill bread, homemade mozzarella, fresh pastas, cured meats, assorted desserts and beverages. The lunch menu features all of the previously available sandwiches and most of the dinner menu dishes at an approachable price point.
There’s a special je ne sais quoi about Josie & Tony’s, named after owner Joshua Mesnik’s grandparents, with its old school vibe that offers a touch of formality without any pretention. The white table clothes, the framed Hershfield artwork, the black and white photos and whimsical Hershfield-like cartoons of friends, family and patrons grace the elegant walls that perfectly fit the “dinner club” aesthetic. This isn’t just a restaurant, but a beautifully executed dining experience.
After months of not-so-patiently waiting, the day is almost here. Tomorrow, Jeff Taibe and Steph Sweeney, co-owners of Taproot, are officially opening the doors to their new restaurant Bar Bushido, a traditional Japanese izakaya. While the restaurant is new, the idea isn’t; Taibe actually has been working on the concept for Bar Bushido for over five years. The name originates from Taproot’s former pop-up series, called “Bushido,” that took place prior to COVID. Taibe introduced the one-Sunday-per-month experience as a way to fuel his passion for Japanese cooking, something he missed dearly from his days at Kawa Ni in Westport. Bar Bushido has been years in the making, but it wasn’t until the 51 Wall Street space opened up, that it became a reality.
Most Connecticut residents who were unfamiliar with Hugh Mangum before he and his family started making donuts in Wilton four years ago, may be oblivious to a few tidbits. Mangum, you see, isn’t only a French Culinary Institute graduate who worked under Jean-Georges Vongerichten, but he’s the founder of the popular Mighty Quinn’s BBQ. Now that his family’s donut shop, Rise Doughnuts, has gone from a pop up to its own physical location, paired with the fact that the Mangums reside in Wilton, the time to open another Mighty Quinn’s in nearby Norwalk in the former Bobby Q’s and the short lived Lechon Smokehouse space at The Waypointe.
The DORO Restaurant Group has covered French brasserie fare, Mediterranean and Middle Eastern and upscale northern Italian cuisine with its three West Hartford Center restaurants. For its newest concept, the group has planted a flag in a new town, with a southern Italian red-sauce menu friendly to families.
The new spot features casual Italian dishes, including pizzas, housemade pastas and its own takes on classics like chicken parmesan, lasagna and veal Milanese. Scott Miller, DORO’s chief operating officer and partner alongside CEO Dorjan Puka, said Casadoro’s cuisine is “a crowd-pleaser menu.”
Veteran restaurateur Jody Pennette is no stranger to opening restaurants and bars all over the world, but his latest, Music & Industry in South Norwalk is different from the rest. This one, you see, is his, and his alone. “This is the 505th one I’ve opened, and it’s the only one I own,” he says. “I’m like a songwriter versus being a singer—I’m creating things for other people to perform. I size them up to see what I can do for them and try to deliver something that’s going to be a market worthy story.”
Breaking BBQ news from Mighty Quinn’s Barbeque. We’ll bring you more on this exciting opening very soon!
Mighty Quinn’s Barbeque (Mighty Quinn’s), the acclaimed NYC-born restaurant known for its all-natural slow-cooked meats, announced today the grand opening of its new location at The Waypointe in Norwalk (11 Merwin Street). The opening will kick off with a ribbon-cutting ceremony hosted by the Greater Norwalk Chamber and Mayor Harry Rilling on December 18 at 3 p.m., ahead of the grand opening on December 20. As part of the opening celebration, Mighty Quinn’s will donate 10% of all grand opening sales to Norwalk based charity Filling in the Blanks, which works to fight childhood hunger.
For those unfamiliar with Mighty Quinn’s, it was the first authentic barbeque experience in a fast-casual setting after co-founder, Pitmaster, and CT resident, Hugh Mangum smoked brisket and pulled pork out of a mobile smoker hitched to his pickup truck in Williamsburg (Brooklyn). The brand’s process begins with the best, all-natural meats and poultry, seasoned with perfect spice blends and then smoked with wood for many hours until the perfect harmony of smoke, flavor and time emerges.
Lazy Sister opens in SoNo. The newest restaurant owned by New Yorker Maxwell Weiss (by way of Greenwich, CT) opened quietly a couple of weeks ago in the space that was formerly Enchanted Szechuan. It was kismet - Weiss had learned that the owners were looking to sell, retire and move back to China and he was looking to open a Chinese restaurant in the area. “I’m totally obsessed with Chinese food and have been for about three years now,” he told me. Lazy Sister has its own take on the cuisine, offering a mix of Shanghainese, Cantonese, Szechuan and traditional American Chinese. But let’s backtrack a bit.
Almost a year ago, I covered Crust Issues, brought to you by longtime restaurant guy, John Nealon. I’ve since gotten addicted to several of his pizzeria’s signature grub, namely the outside the box, but creative rectangular, crispy, cheesy, garlic buttery pizzas and the pounded out crunchy coated cutlets—especially the spicy chicken scarp.
It doesn’t help (or maybe it does) that it’s a flat one-mile drive away to get my fix.
Nealon has some cool ideas for the evolution of Crust Issues, one that I’ve consistently bothered and pressured him about (I’ll keep it a secret unless it actually happens), and he’s recently mentioned installing a bar for future cocktail program.
But there’s a weekly tasting he’s been doing every Saturday from 7:30 – 9 p.m. that’s a super casual, fun, tasty, incredibly reasonably priced (it’s $40 per person including beer, wine, soda, or water), and you’ll leave happy, fat, and ready for bed.
Now almost three years old, Magic 5 Pie Co. has had no problem with repeat diners. But the people have to first find it before they can return.
Tucked away in the parking lot of the East Norwalk Metro-North Station, even longtime Norwalkers won’t even see it from the usual slow crawl of East Avenue traffic. You’ll have to go all the way in the back. Or you can plug in “Magic 5 Pie Co.” in Google Maps for an assist.
“Lots of people still don’t know we’re in Norwalk,” says Shawn Longyear, who along with Chris Hickey, Andrey Cortes, and Christopher Rasile, are also all co-owners of The Spread and El Segundo just across the bridge in South Norwalk. “But once they find us, they come back.”
“People said to me ‘You want to open a pizza place on Wooster Street? Are you crazy?’, and I said yes.”
I’m talking to Jeshar Zeneli in March of this year. The first hint of buds are on the trees, and no one is yet brave or hearty enough to seat themselves at the outdoor cafe tables, directly across from Libby’s Italian pastries. I’m at the small bar with a glass of red and a ball of mozzarella which tells his life story. It both explains, and justifies, the crazy idea.
The Zeneli brothers – Aleko, Gazmir, Jeshar, and Jetmir – have a history of bold ventures. When the Iron Curtain fell from the borders of their native Albania in 1991 and friends and neighbors were making their way out of the former Soviet Bloc to countries like Greece or Germany, the brothers wisely decided on Naples instead, where they became cheese makers and pizzaiolos. Jeshar was recruited as a consultant in New Haven, teaching a local shop to make Buffalo mozzarella, ricotta, burrata, scamorza, and first got a taste of the local apizza.
The brothers by then were living in New York, where Gazmir had won a Caputo Cup for his pies at Rossopomodoro at Eataly. They became convinced there was room for classic Neapolitan pizza in New Haven’s dining scene. On August 1st, Zeneli Pizzeria e cucina Napoletana celebrated its five year anniversary.
