CT Pizza Is Second Best In The Nation: Food & Wine Magazine

CONNECTICUT — That periodical bible for all things epicurean, Food & Wine magazine, has named Connecticut the No. 2 pizza state in the country.

In its annual and highly subjective survey of the mozzarella-and-tomato landscape that typically starts more fights than settles them, the monthly sandwiched Connecticut's pizza in between New Jersey's at No. 1 and New York's, in third place.

Writer David Landsel is downright reverential in his treatment of New Haven's pizza culture and history, praising: "No state wields quite so much clout out of such a concentrated pool of talent, centered in New Haven, which has been one of America's most important pizza cities for as long as there has been pizza in America."

Landsel quite rightly worships first and foremost at the coal-fired altar of Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana, inventor of the thin-crust apizza and white clam pies. He also tips his hat for the pizza at Sally's and Zuppardi's, two other New Haven-style stalwarts.

But unlike many other state pizza surveys (and we're always amazed just how many there are), Food & Wine makes a point of travelling east and west, if only slightly.

In Derby, Roseland Apizza is cited for its "giant" and "over-the-top" pies. The clam pie at relative newcomer Nana's Bakery & Pizza in Mystic gets a nod as well. But its clear the writer has an especially soft spot for The Colony Grill in Stamford. There, "the sauce and cheese practically bake down into the crust by the time it comes to your table."

Here are the Top Ten Pizza States, according to Food & Wine:

1. New Jersey
2. Connecticut
3. New York
4. Illinois
5. Michigan
6. California
7. Pennsylvania
8. Massachusetts
9. Ohio
10. Missouri