This Connecticut Pizza Named Among Best In Nation: New Rankings

CONNECTICUT — Do restaurant reviewers and other foodies ever get tired of heaping accolades on Connecticut for its pizza?

Apparently not.

The latest applause comes from New York-based restaurant recommendation website and messaging service The Infatuation, which named Sally's in New Haven as one of "The 18 Best Pizza Places in America." The Wooster Square neighborhood fixture is the only Connecticut pizzeria to be so honored, a sure indicator the editors at The Infatuation are not as smart as they think they are.

Sally's was famously purchased for $500 in 1938 by Salvatore "Sally" Consiglio, and has since become the best known purveyor of the low-cheese and high-olive oil New Haven style of pizza, or "apizza." The Connecticut staple uses a coarser grind of flour, and lower oven temperature to achieve its charred, chewy-on-the-inside signature texture.

When dining at Sally's, The Infatuation recommends its readers "try at least one classic apizza with the thinnest layer of tomato sauce and a sprinkle of parmesan, but you can also load up your pie with toppings like pepperoni, hot peppers, anchovies, and more. Either way, your pie will come with a perfectly cooked crust that has plenty of bite and an even char."

The reviewer gives a tip of the toque to Sally's status as a cultural icon, citing anecdotes about visits there by JFK and Frank Sinatra. The pizzeria was also the co-star of the 2019 documentary "Pizza: A Love Story," alongside its New Haven neighbors Pepe's and Modern.

But all that fame comes with a price, and today's hungry pizza fans will "likely have to wait behind a bunch of tourists," but "the pies are well worth it," according to the reviewer.

The Infatuation editors ranked Sally's at No. 15 on their national list. Top of the heap was Lucali, in Brooklyn. Cash-only and a typically 2-hour wait time, it's clearly an acquired taste. Incomprehensibly, The Infatuation ranked Sally's behind pies from Atlanta, Miami and D.C., of all places.

At the rate the pizza restaurant is growing, Sally's may soon be able to compete head-to-head with all its rivals. Sally's opened a restaurant in Stamford in 2021, and last year in Fairfield. The owners also have plans for three additional spots in Connecticut (Newington, Norwalk and Wethersfield) and two (Boston and Woburn) in Massachusetts, according to their website.

You may not have heard of The Infatuation, but you know their subsidiaries and parent organization. The listicle-spewing taste-tracker was created by former music industry executives Chris Stang and Andrew Steinthal in 2009. In 2018, they acquired Zagat. Three years later, they were themselves scooped up by JPMorgan Chase & Co.