Over the past months, I’ve been on a quest to find the best pizza in the Valley, exploring Waterbury and its neighboring towns. Now, it feels like the right time to turn my attention to what many consider the epicenter of Connecticut pizza: New Haven, where you're met with no shortage of options to explore. When a couple of buddies and I were scheduling a pizza lunch, we decided to sidestep the potential chaos of Wooster Street and headed over a few blocks to Modern Apizza on State Street. Once you manage to find parking, be prepared to wait, and count yourself lucky if you have that lucky timing of an immediate opening. We arrived just after noon and, to our good fortune, a booth was open in the back room. We took it as a sign of good things to come. As soon as our server arrived, we ordered a couple of bottles of Foxon Park, Kola and Root Beer, then got down to topping talk. We kept it semi-classic: one pie fully loaded with pepperoni and the other topped with sausage and onion.
In 2024, when I interviewed Sal Bagliavio, the co-owner of Bailey’s Backyard, about his second spot, Taco Dia in Newtown, he very cryptically mentioned that he and chef/co-owner Forrest Pasternack were actively looking to open something else, somewhere else to follow up their taqueria.
Cosetta Pizzeria and Paninoteca on the Post Road in Fairfield is that something else—and what it is, simply put, is a more gourmet version of the neighborhood slice shop, plus sandwiches (including breakfast), house-made pastry, and coffee.
Introducing the New Haven Pizza Club Pizza Bagel Tour, a delicious fundraiser with 100% of all proceeds going direct to Feeding Families- including all costs that are also donated.
The Pizza Bagel Tour is a pop-up pizza bagel collab with Olmo Bagels X New Haven Pizza Club X a rotating New Haven pizzeria. Each pop up will be at a different Pizzeria and their 2nd stop is the iconic Modern Apizza on OCTOBER 6th, 6-9PM at Modern Apizza at 874 State Street in New Haven.
What began as a dream to unite people through a universal symbol—pizza—has evolved into a movement rooted in storytelling, collaboration, design, and immersive experiences. The Pizza Bagel Tour brings together legacy New Haven businesses and iconic culinary voices to create one-of-a-kind moments that transcend art and food. But at its core, the project has always pointed in one direction: toward the mission.
On March 15, 2024, a new pizza place opened in Derby with little fanfare. No social media push, no PR blitz. They just opened.
Being a self-proclaimed pizza obsessive, I quietly noted it and planned to visit soon.
A few months later, I did. It was a simple takeout order: cheese and pepperoni. And it was fantastic.
When I picked it up, I noticed how genuine and engaged the lady was who was serving me. She made an immediate impression. I have since been back several times and recently got to sit down with her (Sheryl) and her husband Marcus, the unassuming pizza maker.
Bartone’s Apizza is their pride and joy, and it is highly worth a visit for any pizza lover with red sauce running through their veins. It’s also the kind of place that is, sadly, a dying breed. The couple simply wants to serve and support the community they grew up in—and will literally do almost anything to make you feel at home (keep reading).
Governor Ned Lamont today announced a statewide social media giveaway to celebrate the October 1 launch of the Connecticut Pizza Trail. Anyone who reshares CT Visit’s official “Connecticut By The Pie” social post will be entered into a raffle to win two tickets to the Connecticut Pizza Trail event—a two-day bus tour on DATTCO’s one-of-a-kind “Pizza Capital of the U.S.” coach, featuring the state’s most iconic and up-and-coming pizzerias.
I can’t put my finger on exactly when it was or where I first saw it, but early in 2025, I spotted a pizza at Magic 5 Pie Co. that left me both curious and confused. Known for their charred, crispy/chewy, light artisan pizza, I noticed a different shape. This one wasn’t round like their everyday pies. It was square. Later in the year while chatting with one of Magic 5’s owners, Shawn Longyear, who co-owns the pizzeria, along with The Spread, and El Segundo with Christopher Rasile, Andrey Cortes, and Chris Hickey, I couldn’t help but ask about it.
I guess after making pizza for over fifty years, it comes as no surprise that one of the best pizzas in the greater New Haven area, as well as one of the best pizzas in CT, is made by Pasqual (Pat) DeRiso at Ernie’s Pizza. Pat is the second-generation owner of Ernie’s, which was started by his father and mother, Ernesto (Ernie) and Jennie De Riso, in 1971. Pat purchased the business in 1989 and now continues the family tradition, personally crafting every single pizza that comes out of the oven.
