New Haven apizza guide: coal-fired pizza and how to order it

New Haven, Connecticut, is a small city with a pizza reputation far bigger than itself. People travel from New York and Boston to eat there, and arguments about who makes the best slice in the country almost always include it. The local word is apizza, said roughly "ah-beetz", and the style is distinct: thin, chewy, blistered and charred at the edges, baked in a very hot oven and served in an irregular shape, not a neat circle. Here is how to eat it well.

What is apizza?

Apizza is New Haven's version of Neapolitan-style pizza, brought by Italian immigrants from southern Italy in the early twentieth century. The crust is thin and has a crisp, slightly bitter char from the oven. The classic plain pie is a tomato pie, with sauce, a dusting of grated cheese, and no mozzarella unless you ask for it; you order mozzarella as a topping, which surprises first-time visitors. The pizzas are baked on the floor of the oven and come out in uneven ovals, sometimes blackened in spots. That is the style, not a mistake.

Who are the three famous pizzerias?

Locals speak of three pillars. Two sit on Wooster Street in the Wooster Square neighborhood, and the oldest dates its founding to the 1920s, when its founder sold tomato pies to Italian immigrants from a wagon before turning a bakery into a pizzeria. The second opened in the late 1930s and is run by the founder's family. The third, on State Street in the East Rock area, has a history that goes back to the 1930s. The two Wooster Street pizzerias still use coal-fired brick ovens, .

What is a white clam pie?

The white clam pie is the pizza most associated with the oldest Wooster Street pizzeria. It has no tomato sauce and no mozzarella: fresh clams, garlic, olive oil, oregano and grated cheese. It tastes of the sea and garlic and is very different from a plain pizza. Most pizzerias in the city offer a version. Locals credit the oldest pizzeria with inventing it, and the story is half the fun of ordering one. Ask for it with bacon if you like a salty, smoky bite.

How do you order, and how long is the wait?

The pizzerias are small and hugely popular, so expect a wait on weekends. The two Wooster Street pizzerias do not take reservations for small groups, and lines can stretch outside on a Friday or Saturday night, in all weather. Go at an off hour: mid-afternoon on a weekday or just after opening. Order a pie at the table for the group, not a slice; whole pies are the point. A medium feeds two or three. The large is generous, and a group of four can usually share a large and a salad. Pies are cut into irregular strips, not triangles, and are served on the tray with no plates unless you ask. Order a drink while you wait. The oldest pizzeria has opened other locations in Connecticut and beyond, and the shorter lines at those can be a reasonable compromise, although fans insist on the original.

What else should you try in New Haven?

New Haven has a claim on the hamburger too: a tiny lunch counter near the Yale campus says it served the first hamburger sandwich. The claim is disputed, and the food is old school, cooked in vertical broilers and served on toast with cheese, tomato and onion, with no ketchup. Wooster Street also has Italian bakeries that sell pastries, and the city has a strong Ethiopian, Mexican and Vietnamese scene, partly because of Yale and its students. Walk the Wooster Square neighborhood after dinner, which is quiet and pretty.

What are the practical tips?

Bring a coat in winter: you may wait in line outside. Credit cards are accepted at most places, but a few older pizzerias prefer cash, so bring some. Parking near Wooster Street is tight; there are lots and street parking, and the New Haven Union Station is about a mile away, with Metro-North trains from New York and Shore Line East service along the coast. A rideshare from the station takes a few minutes.

What is Wooster Square like beyond the pizzerias?

Wooster Square is a residential neighborhood of brick rowhouses and a park, which is famous in spring when its cherry trees bloom and the neighborhood holds a blossom festival. The Italian bakeries on Wooster Street and nearby sell cannoli, sfogliatelle, rum cakes and Italian cookies, as well as bread. Many Italian American families still live here, and you may overhear the neighborhood's own pizza opinions at the bakery counter. Plan time for a coffee and a pastry after your pie, since dessert is usually not on the pizzeria menus. If you have a car, take a short drive to East Rock Park for a view of the city.

What about allergies, kids and special diets?

The pies are baked in shared ovens, and flour is everywhere, so those with celiac disease or a serious allergy should ask about gluten-free options and cross-contact, or choose another restaurant. Vegetarian pies are easy to order, with toppings such as mushrooms, peppers, onions and spinach. Children usually enjoy the plain tomato pie. New Haven's tax on restaurant meals is part of Connecticut's meals tax of 7.35 percent, which is added to the check, and tipping is 18 to 20 percent for table service.

How do you keep track of the best pizza in New Haven?

Mosey is a food app for finding, rating and sharing places to eat, and apizza suits it because the argument is always about the pie, never just the pizzeria. Rate a plain tomato pie, a white clam pie and a mozzarella add-on as separate dishes, add tags for what you noticed, and keep them in a list called New Haven pies that you share by invite link before friends come up from New York or Boston. Following friends shows what they rated, so the next pie debate starts with real notes.

More guides to read next:

• New Haven food beyond pizza: burgers, pastry, Ethiopian and Ninth Square
• Late-night food in New Haven: Broadway, Chapel Street and Yale

More in the US food guides and the ranked lists of places.

Next time a tray of blistered pie lands on the table, get the Mosey app and rate the dish before the last slice goes.