6 CT Pizza Places Among Nation's Top 100 Including No. 1

CONNECTICUT — In the Daily Meal's 101 Best Pizzas in America list, New York claims 28 of the top pizzerias in the country, but Connecticut can once again boast for the third straight year that New Haven's Frank Pepe's Pizzeria Napoletana is the No. 1 pizza in America. All hail the King.

This is the third straight year that Frank Pepe's has topped the prestigious list.

While it's great news that Connecticut once again kept the pizza crown we did lose three pizzerias among the top 101 list from 2018. Gone from the list are: #80 Blue Skies, Coalhouse Pizza (Stamford, Connecticut), #66 Mashed Potato and Bacon, Bru Room at Bar (New Haven, Connecticut), and #57 Plain Pie, Ernie’s Pizzeria (New Haven, Connecticut).

Connecticut pizzerias that did make the Daily Meal's 2019 list are: #51 Roseland Apizza (Derby, Connecticut), #46 Zuppardi’s Apizza (West Haven, Connecticut), #44 Colony Grill (Stamford, Connecticut), #20 Modern Apizza (New Haven, Connecticut), #7 Sally’s Apizza (New Haven, Connecticut), and #1 Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana (New Haven, Connecticut).

Besides New York having 28 entrants, Illinois (9), California (7), Connecticut (6) Pennsylvania (6) and New Jersey (6), but Texas, Michigan and Massachusetts all had good showings as well.

Once again, the Daily Meal's favorite pie is at Pepe's with the authors saying, "This is a bucket list destination, one you’ll have to make a pilgrimage to if you want to discuss the topic of America's best pizza with any authority."

"The pizzas here are quintessential New Haven: oblong, just a little charred, thin-crusted, chewy, coal-fired and irresistibly delicious. ... If you visit, make sure you try the clam pie. This is a Northeastern pizza genre unto its own, and Pepe’s is the best of all. Freshly shucked, briny littleneck clams, an intense dose of garlic, olive oil, oregano and grated Parmigiano-Reggiano sit atop a charcoal-colored crust," the Daily Meal states.

Since 2012, The Daily Meal has ranked America’s best pizzas and we take our cause very seriously, the authors say.

If you're wondering how the Daily Meal compiles its list, here is what they are looking for in that perfect pie.

"What are the essentials? ... we believe the following qualities are essential: a nuanced sauce, neither too sweet nor too salty (assuming that the pie has sauce); quality, well-distributed cheese (assuming that it has cheese); quality, sensibly combined toppings; a flavorful, savory crust; and, perhaps most importantly, a judicious, well-balanced and pleasing ratio of sauce, cheese, toppings and crust that maintains a structural integrity no matter the style."

"We then called upon a blue-chip, geographically diverse list of pizza panelists — chefs, restaurant critics, bloggers, writers and other pizza authorities — asking them to take our survey and vote only for places where they’ve actually eaten," the Daily Meal authors write.

The six Connecticut pizzerias to make the list are listed below and you can click on the hyperlink to read what the Daily Meal says about them:

#51 Roseland Apizza (Derby, Connecticut)

#46 Zuppardi’s Apizza (West Haven, Connecticut)

#44 Colony Grill (Stamford, Connecticut)

#20 Modern Apizza (New Haven, Connecticut)

#7 Sally’s Apizza (New Haven, Connecticut)

#1 Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana (New Haven, Connecticut)

>>>Read the full Daily Meal list from 101 right down to No. 1 here.