Why Come Here? Try one of America’s Best Pizzas
When The Daily Meal took the task of ranking the top 101 pizzas in the United States, to the surprise of many the #1 spot was found not in New York, but 80 miles away in New Haven, Ct. Naturally when I was drawn to the New England city for a wedding, I had to see for myself.
Like any respectable pizzeria, Frank Pepe doesn’t take reservations and has lines on the street exceeding an hour. Once you finally make it inside, you find the old school look of a place that’s been unpretentiously serving pies since 1925. Decor is minimal – the focus here is on the pizza. You can see the kitchen in back which allows the scent of pizza to waft through the restaurant and even onto the street. Seating is in a series of booths and tables across the rooms which reminds me a lot of John’s in Manhattan. The main difference is the lights are brighter here.
Pepe’s is known for it’s “Original Tomato Pies” and White Clam Pizza. As a purist, I went for the original (with mozzarella of course) though the clam seems to be getting a lot of the acclaim these days. Given it’s vaunted status, I will judge it on the three primary criteria of an excellent pizza: Crust, Sauce and Cheese.
Crust: This might be the strongest part of the pizza. It’s thin but not overly so, with a beautiful char and slightly burnt taste from the coal oven. Motorino would be my best comp in New York, except it’s a little thicker and the pies here are larger.
Sauce: For a place that bills itself as having “Tomato Pies”, the taste of the sauce was surprisingly absent. This is the biggest (and perhaps only) weakness of this pizza.
Cheese: The mozzarella is gooey and delicious but Frank doesnt’ stop there. He blends it with a yellow cheese with sprinkled parmigiana on top. This reminded me of the blending at Di Fara, which is always a good memory.
Overall Rating: It’s a highly enjoyable pizza certainly worth a trip if you’re in town, but they need to work on the sauce ratio if they hope to earn the #1 ranking here. 
The Original Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana
157 Wooster Street (@ Brown St.)
New Haven, CT
