What makes New Haven apizza different
Thin, oblong, charred, and chewy in the middle. A local explains the pie the rest of the country is still catching up to.
Ask for pizza in New Haven and someone will correct you. It is apizza, pronounced ah-beetz, and it is not quite like pizza anywhere else. Here is what sets it apart.
The shape and the crust
Apizza is oblong, thin, and intentionally irregular. The edge puffs and chars while the center stays tender enough to fold. If your slice stands straight out like a cracker, something went wrong. A little flop is the signature, not a flaw.
Coal is the whole story
New Haven pies bake directly on the deck of ferociously hot coal ovens. The heat is dry and brutal, so the crust blisters in about four minutes. Gas and wood ovens make good pizza. They do not make this crust.
Cheese is a topping, not the point
On a classic tomato pie, the sauce goes down first and the cheese is scattered sparingly. Some pies, like the marinara and the white clam, skip cheese entirely. The crust, the sauce, and the bake carry the pie.
How to order like a local
Start with a tomato pie or a margherita to judge the oven. Then get the white clam, because you are in New Haven and that is what you do here. Eat the first slice too hot, burn your mouth a little, and consider it tuition.
Come taste the difference any night Tuesday through Sunday.