Sophie Bajaj
@sbajajcourant
My family & I are always looking for fun local, weekend things to do. After watching all of Dave Portnoy’s Barstool Sports Pizza reviews, I knew it was time to bring my family on this journey with me. We were headed for the Pizza Trail in New Haven, CT, The town which Dave Portnoy calls the Pizza Capital of the world! Our goal was to hit the same spots that Portnoy does. We realized how popular this idea was on the way up – because we called Sally’s Apizza and they told my dad that it was a 2 ½ hour wait. By the way, this is for a take-out pizza – not to sit there! We went ahead and parked by Sally’s and ordered.
Dave Portnoy is famous for his “one bite only everybody knows the rules” pizza reviewing style. We also reviewed each pizza after our first bite. We were all really hungry and couldn’t wait for Sally’s for much longer, so we went “off road” across the street to Zeneli. We got a cozy outdoor table. The service was great and the atmosphere of the restaurant was warm and welcoming in the cold February winter.
Zeneli consensus Rating: 9.0 (great service / eat at a table instead of in the car!) Although this stop was not on the trail, the pizza was amazing! There was no wait and great hospitality. Because Zeneli wasn’t on the trail – I think the staff was more focused on service. We loved it!
Next, we called ahead to Modern Pizza on the Trail and drove 10 minutes. Family Rating: 8.5. Modern was very good. We noted the cheese – which was very meaningful. It had more than one kind of cheese, and more cheese than others.
Next on the trail was Zuppardi’s Pizza. The real terminology is “apizza” NOT pizza. This is because the pizza goes back to Naples region of Italy, as opposed to Sicilian or other parts of Italy. Family Rating was 7.5. It was more “doughy” than we were expecting.
Finally, we ended our trip back where we started: Sallys! Yes, now the pie we ordered 2 and ½ hours ago. Dave Portnoy gives Sally’s the “best pizza” award, and we agree! It was a unique shape – more of an oval than a circle. Also, it came in a sturdy box and was tied shut with a string. Family Rating: 9.3!!
I will say that the next morning felt a bit like the day after a Thanksgiving food coma but, it was worth it! The cool thing is that New Haven is only an hour drive away, and we learned that people know about New Haven pizza all over the world. Once COVID is over, these shops are expecting visitors from all over the country. If you go, my advice is to be patient and have fun
