Modern Apizza

Last updated
Modern Apizza
Modern Apizza in New Haven, CT.jpeg
Modern in 2007
Modern Apizza
Restaurant information
Established1934;90 years ago (1934) (as State Street Apizza)
Owner(s)Bill and Barbara Pustari
Food type New Haven-style pizza
Dress codeCasual
Street address874 State Street
City New Haven
State Connecticut
Postal/ZIP Code06511-3925
Country United States
ReservationsNot taken
Other informationCredit cards are accepted.
Website www.modernapizza.com
Modern Apizza's brick oven Pizza baking in brick oven, New Haven.jpg
Modern Apizza's brick oven

Modern Apizza is an American pizza restaurant in New Haven, Connecticut. Along with Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana and Sally's Apizza, Modern forms what is informally referred to by locals as the "Holy Trinity" of New Haven-style pizza; the three pizza parlors are consistently ranked by food critics as some of the best pizza places in the world.

Contents

History

Originally called State Street Apizza, [1] Modern Apizza was founded in 1934 and has been in the same location ever since. Unlike Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana and Sally's Apizza, the other well-known New Haven pizzerias, Modern Apizza is not located on New Haven's famous Wooster Street but rather on nearby State Street in the East Rock neighborhood. In 2011, the restaurant was visited by Adam Richman on the first episode of the Travel Channel show Man v. Food Nation .

Specialties

Like the Wooster Street pizzerias, Modern serves New Haven-style thin-crust apizza (closely related to Neapolitan-style Italian pizza). Unlike the Wooster Street pizzerias which use coal-fired brick ovens, Modern uses an oil-fueled brick oven. [2] [3] [4] The restaurant also sells Foxon Park soft drinks, made in East Haven, Connecticut, which many locals argue are the perfect beverages to accompany New Haven-style pizza. Modern's specialties include the Clams Casino (Clams, Bacon & Peppers) the Italian Bomb (Sausage, Bacon, Pepperoni, Mushroom, Onion, Pepper & Garlic) and a classic Italian variation: Pizza Margherita, made with fresh mozzarella from Liuzzi Cheese in North Haven, Connecticut. [1] Modern Apizza also uses fresh littleneck clams for their white clam pies; the only difference between Modern and Pepe's is that Modern uses pre-shucked clams while Pepe's shuck their clams on location. Yet another coastal favorite is a white tuna pie.

Awards and accolades

Large "Mootz!" "Large mootz!" (452597713).jpg
Large “Mootz!”

In a blind taste test conducted by two Yale University undergraduates in 2008, Modern Apizza finished in first place ahead of five other New Haven pizzerias. [5] It has also won the New Haven Advocate ’s Best of Reader’s Poll for “Best Pizza” twelve years in a row. Playboy magazine named Modern Apizza as one of the ten best in the country. [6] [7] In 2017, The Daily Meal ranked Modern as one of the ten best pizza restaurants in the country, from a sampling of over 1,000 pizza restaurants by food critics and pizza experts. In 2023, Pizza Today magazine named Modern its 2023 Pizzeria of the Year. [8]

Documentary

Modern is one of three pizza restaurants featured in the documentary film Pizza A Love Story, directed by Gorman Bechard. The love story to New Haven's holy trinity of pizza restaurants, Pepe's, Sally's, and Modern, had its world premiere at IFFBoston in April 2019. [9] The film was released on DVD and pay-per-view on September 29, 2020. [10] In reviewing the film, Deborah Brown of The Swellesley Report called it “An important film of staggering genius that needed to be made.” [11]

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wooster Square</span> Neighborhood of New Haven in Connecticut, United States

Wooster Square is a neighborhood in the city of New Haven, Connecticut, to the east of downtown. The name refers to a park square located between Greene Street, Wooster Place, Chapel Street and Academy Street in the center of the neighborhood. Wooster Square is also known as Little Italy: a bastion of Italian American culture and cuisine, and is home to some of New Haven's, best-known pizza eateries, including Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana and Sally's Apizza. The square and much of the neighborhood are included in the Wooster Square Historic District, which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New York–style pizza</span> Large hand-tossed thin crust pizza

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sally's Apizza</span> Restaurant in New Haven, Connecticut

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana</span> Restaurant in Connecticut, United States

Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana, commonly known as Frank Pepe's or simply Pepe's, is a popular pizza restaurant in the Wooster Square neighborhood of New Haven, Connecticut, at 163 Wooster Street. Opened in 1925, it is one of the oldest and best known pizzerias in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Haven–style pizza</span> Regional Pizza Style from New Haven, Connecticut

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lombardi's Pizza</span> Restaurant in New York, United States

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pizza in the United States</span> American cuisine variant

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Seafood pizza is a pizza prepared with seafood as a primary ingredient. Many types of seafood ingredients in fresh, frozen or canned forms may be used on seafood pizza. Some retail pizza chains, as well as smaller restaurants, offer seafood pizzas to consumers.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tony's Pizza Napoletana</span> Restaurant in San Francisco, California

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clam pie</span> Type of meat pie

A clam pie is a savory meat pie prepared using clams, especially quahogs as a primary ingredient, and it is a part of the cuisine of New England. It likely predated the English settlements in Southern New England, having been a feature of indigenous people's diet. It can also be prepared as a type of pizza pie. White clam pie is a pizza variety that originated in New Haven, Connecticut.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dimo's Apizza</span> Pizzeria in Portland, Oregon, U.S.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gladstone Street Pizza</span> Pizzeria in Portland, Oregon, U.S.

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References

  1. 1 2 Ed Levine (2005). Pizza: A Slice of Heaven. Universe Publishing
  2. "Connecticut's Best Restaurants". New England Riders. Archived from the original on September 3, 2012. Retrieved November 29, 2012.
  3. Scott's Pizza Journal, Pizza Road Trip - New Haven, CT
  4. Jeff Varasano's NY Pizza Recipe
  5. Pannell, Courtney (2008-11-06). "Taste tests prove that brand does matter". Yale Daily News.
  6. Shouse, Heather (2010-08-18). "The A-List: Best Pizza in America". Playboy Enterprises, Inc. Archived from the original on March 5, 2010.
  7. "Playboy's Top 10 Pizzerias in the U.S." Slice. Serious Eats. Retrieved 3 November 2013.
  8. Greer, Denise. "2023 Pizzeria of the Year: Modern Apizza, New Haven, Connecticut". Pizza Today. Emerald X, LLC. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
  9. "Pizza, A Love Story". IFFBoston. Retrieved 2020-10-07.
  10. ""Pizza" Party Planned For Parking Lot | New Haven Independent". www.newhavenindependent.org. 2020-09-24. Retrieved 2020-10-07.
  11. "Beyond Wellesley: the Woods Hole Film Festival on Cape Cod, Massachusetts". The Swellesley Report. 2019-07-30. Retrieved 2020-10-07.

Further reading

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