Modern Apizza is an American
pizza restaurant in
New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134 ...
. Along with
Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana
Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana, commonly known as Frank Pepe's or simply Pepe's (), is a popular pizza restaurant in the Wooster Square neighborhood of New Haven, Connecticut, at 163 Wooster Street. Opened in 1925, it is one of the oldest and best ...
and
Sally's Apizza, Modern forms what is informally referred to by locals as the "Holy Trinity" of New Haven-style pizza; the three pizza parlors are consistently ranked by food critics as some of the best pizza places in the world.
History
Originally called State Street Apizza,
[Ed Levine (2005). ''Pizza: A Slice of Heaven''. Universe Publishing] Modern Apizza was founded in 1934 and has been in the same location ever since. Unlike
Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana
Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana, commonly known as Frank Pepe's or simply Pepe's (), is a popular pizza restaurant in the Wooster Square neighborhood of New Haven, Connecticut, at 163 Wooster Street. Opened in 1925, it is one of the oldest and best ...
and
Sally's Apizza, the other well-known New Haven pizzerias, Modern Apizza is not located on New Haven's famous
Wooster Street but rather on nearby State Street in the
East Rock
East Rock of south-central Connecticut, United States, with a high point of , is a long trap rock ridge located primarily in the neighborhood of East Rock on the north side of the city of New Haven. A prominent landscape feature and a popular ...
neighborhood. In 2011, the restaurant was visited by
Adam Richman
Adam Montgomery Richman is an American actor and television host. He has hosted various dining and eating-challenge programs on the Travel Channel and History Channel.
Early life and education
Richman, an only child, was born into a Jewish fa ...
on the first episode of the
Travel Channel
Travel Channel (stylized as Trvl Channel since 2018) is an American pay television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, which had previously owned the channel from 1997 to 2007. The channel is headquartered in New York, New York, United S ...
show ''
Man v. Food Nation
''Man v. Food Nation'' is the name given to the fourth season of the Travel Channel's '' Man v. Food'', a food reality television series. It premiered on June 1, 2011. A preview episode, "The Quest Begins", aired on May 25.
In this show, host Ad ...
''.
Specialties
Like the Wooster Street pizzerias, Modern serves New Haven-style thin-crust
apizza (closely related to
Neapolitan-style Italian pizza). Unlike the Wooster Street pizzerias which use coal-fired
brick oven
A masonry oven, colloquially known as a brick oven or stone oven, is an oven consisting of a baking chamber made of fireproof brick, concrete, stone, clay (clay oven), or cob (cob oven). Though traditionally wood-fired, coal-fired ovens were c ...
s, Modern uses an oil-fueled brick oven. The restaurant also sells
Foxon Park soft drinks, made in
East Haven, Connecticut
East Haven is a town in New Haven County, Connecticut, in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the town population was 27,923. Located east of New Haven, it is part of the Greater New Haven area. East Haven is from Hartford, from New Yor ...
, which many locals argue are the perfect beverages to accompany New Haven-style pizza. Modern's specialties include the
Clams Casino (Clams, Bacon & Peppers) the Italian Bomb (Sausage, Bacon,
Pepperoni
Pepperoni is an American variety of spicy salami made from cured pork and beef seasoned with paprika or other chili pepper.
Prior to cooking, pepperoni is characteristically soft, slightly smoky, and bright red. Thinly sliced pepperoni is one ...
, Mushroom, Onion, Pepper & Garlic) and a classic Italian variation: Pizza Margherita, made with fresh
mozzarella
Mozzarella (, ; nap, muzzarella ) is a southern Italian cheese traditionally made from Italian buffalo's milk by the pasta filata method.
Fresh mozzarella is generally white but when seasoned it turns to a light yellow depending on the anim ...
from Liuzzi Cheese in
North Haven, Connecticut
North Haven is a town in New Haven County, Connecticut on the outskirts of New Haven, Connecticut. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 24,253.
North Haven is home of the Quinnipiac University School of Health Sciences, the School of Nur ...
.
Modern Apizza also uses fresh
littleneck clams for their white clam pies; the only difference between Modern and Pepe's is that Modern uses pre-shucked clams while Pepe's shuck their clams on location. Yet another coastal favorite is a white tuna pie.
Awards and accolades
In a
blind taste test
In marketing, a blind taste test is often used as a tool for companies to compare their brand to another brand. For example, the Pepsi Challenge is a famous taste test that has been run by Pepsi since 1975. Additionally, taste tests are sometime ...
conducted by two
Yale University
Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...
undergraduates in 2008, Modern Apizza finished in first place ahead of five other New Haven pizzerias. It has also won the ''
New Haven Advocate
New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created.
New or NEW may refer to:
Music
* New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz
Albums and EPs
* ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013
* ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...
''’s Best of Reader’s Poll for “Best Pizza” twelve years in a row. Playboy magazine named Modern Apizza as one of the ten best in the country. In 2017,
The Daily Meal
The Daily Meal is a food and drinks website. It is the first site launched by Spanfeller Media Group. Jim Spanfeller is a former CEO of Forbes.com. In 2016, Spanfeller was acquired by Tribune Publishing.
Content
The Daily Meal produces original co ...
ranked Modern as one of the ten best pizza restaurants in the country, from a sampling of over 1,000 pizza restaurants by food critics and pizza experts.
Documentary
Modern is one of three pizza restaurants featured in the documentary film ''Pizza A Love Story'', directed by
Gorman Bechard
Gorman Bechard (born March 15, 1959) is an American film director, screenwriter and novelist best known for his independent feature films '' Psychos in Love,'' '' Friends (with benefits),'' and '' You Are Alone''; his four rock documentaries '' C ...
. The love story to New Haven's holy trinity of pizza restaurants,
Pepe's,
Sally's, and Modern, had its world premiere at
IFFBoston in April 2019. The film was released on DVD and pay-per-view on September 29, 2020. In reviewing the film, Deborah Brown of The Swellesley Report called it “An important film of staggering genius that needed to be made.”
References
Further reading
Article from Gourmet MagazineArticle from New England Travel & Life Magazine
External links
Official websiteModern's review at New Haven Advocate.comModern's review at MetromixModern's review at Roadfood.comLocation on Google Maps
{{coord, 41.313756, N, 72.912732, W, display=title
Italian-American culture in Connecticut
Pizzerias in the United States
Restaurants in Connecticut
Tourist attractions in New Haven, Connecticut
Economy of New Haven, Connecticut
Buildings and structures in New Haven, Connecticut
Restaurants established in 1934
1934 establishments in Connecticut
Italian restaurants in the United States