Forget New York and Chicago: An unlikely American city is becoming a pizza lover’s paradise
New Haven, Connecticut, is drawing pizza fans with a mix of celebrated pizzerias and experiences built around its local food culture. A new pedal-powered pizza tour lets visitors sample and compare pies, while a hotel suite and a museum exhibit add to the city’s appeal as a destination.
Historian and tour guide Colin Caplan launched the tours aboard a 15-passenger trolley that has operated in the city for nine years. Visitors can choose their own stops or join a guided tasting, including comparisons of cheese pizza from three or four restaurants. New Haven’s best-known style, “apizza”, has a thin, crisp, chewy and lightly charred crust; local staples include white clam pizza and the “Holy Trinity” of Sally’s, Frank Pepe and Modern Apizza.
- New Haven is building a destination around its distinctive pizza culture.
- New tours let visitors compare pies from several pizzerias.
- Local traditions include charred-crust apizza and white clam pizza.
New here? Start with this
New Haven is a city in Connecticut, in the north-eastern United States, with a long-standing reputation for pizza. Its local style is called “apizza” and is known for a thin crust that is crisp, chewy and lightly charred.
The city’s best-known pizzerias include Sally’s, Frank Pepe and Modern Apizza. Their menus feature local favourites such as white clam pizza, and visitors often compare how different restaurants make similar pies.
Pizza is part of New Haven’s local food culture as well as a draw for visitors. Tours and other attractions give people ways to explore that tradition and learn how it has shaped the city’s identity.