I just moved to New Haven, CT. Sunday, November 1 was the day I moved my bed in, so I consider that my first day in permanent residence. I’d only needed help with a couple pieces of furniture, so my friend Abe helped me out. After, I decided to treat him to some amazing pizza, because truly amazing pizza can be found here in New Haven. You think NY has good pizza? You’ve never been here.
So, we begin our trek for food (I gave him Doritos to calm the burning pain in his stomach – Abe eats a lot but is thin as a rail) and I decide to have him taste Modern Apizza on State St. Its a place a client and friend recommended to me – she suggested the bacon and onion and wow was it good! However, they were closed on Sunday afternoon. How sad, we were put out a little, but hungry and I remembered that Tony and Lucille’s on Wooster St served it ready by the slice (I found out the weekend before when I was moving things into the new apartment)!
So, we ventured over there. There was, as usual, this very long line of people outside Frank Pepe’s (my first New Haven pizza, it is world renowned). I shook my head, thinking the fools don’t even know they can get good pizza just about anywhere on Wooster St. So we go into the takeout side of Tony and Lucille’s across the street. We order a few pizzas by the slice and decide to eat them while we wait for a pizza to be made for us to go (for Abe to bring home to his little family in Vernon). They are pretty amusing there, they treat you like family because they expect you to know exactly how things work in their shop. Apparently, you’re not supposed to order whole pizzas from the takeout side, nor can you call ahead (I asked) to have them make one for you to pick up. If you want a whole pie, you go next door to the restaurant. I thought it was strange, but after being told this they gave me one of the pies they already had made for slices.
Starving, we headed outside to eat our slices at the nice tables they put out. An older man, a bit portly with white hair and a gruff voice comes out as we’re tearing into our second piece. “Where did you get that pizza!?” We told him we got it from his place and he put a smile on and had a great conversation with us. That was how I met Tony of Tony and Lucille’s on 150 Wooster St (they don’t have a website). He asked us who’s pizza we thought was best, we told him the one we were eating was better than one we had to wait for. haha. But no, seriously, his pizza is nice. It has a light, crispy, thin crust and is well put together. Tony is a great guy, and when I told him I was a local business owner and had just moved in a couple miles down the road, he chatted with us for awhile. His daughter (I didn’t catch her name) also joined in.
So far, I’ve been loving New Haven. You just don’t get this kind of attention up near Hartford unless you twist a couple arms. So far, all the shop owners and managers have been very forthcoming and friendly. Especially when I tell them I just moved in, they all have some nice advice on where to go and what to do. Oh, and Archie Moore’s is about a 3 minute walk. They have awesome wings! I would have had more tonight if I could have, but I made myself a promise that I’d only be going there as long as the World Series was going on and I guess that’s over now. Not that I won’t ever go back, it will just take me a month or so.
