AlwaysTraveling: Frank Pepe’s Clam Pizza (New Haven, CT)

June 18, 2009

Frank Pepe’s Clam Pie with an “advanced” topping: bacon

When it comes to Clam Pie, there is much to consider: canned vs. fresh, cheese/no cheese, with sauce or without? But after all the debate, there is only one clam pie. Everything else is imitation. The Original Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana, established in New Haven, Connecticut in 1925, is famous for an old-fashioned, coal-fired “apizza” with a chewy, crust. In addition to its famed “Tomato Pie,” Pepe is also renowned for its White Clam Pizza. But don’t be fooled by the word ‘pizza.” Pepe’s clam pie does not have mozzarella cheese on it, at least not the one we’re rhapsodizing. You can request cheese (and red sauce) but they discourage it. Rather, it is characterized by an abundance of freshly-shucked, briny littleneck clams, a intense dose of garlic, olive oil, oregano and grated cheese atop a charcoal-colored crust. Some people say that Sally’s Apizza on Wooster Street, a few blocks away offers competition. It’s true that Sally’s clam pie is superb, but it doesn’t measure up to Frank Pepe.

It is this disclaimer, this daunting reputation, this clam-pie munching, ten thousand-pound gorilla in the room that must precede any conversation about New York City’s best clam pizza. While no clam pie here can compare to Frank Pepe’s or even Sally’s, Lombardi’s (the first New York establishment to start serving them), and several other pizzerias have made valiant attempts.

Click here to find out AlwaysHungryNY.com’s Top 5 Clam Pie.

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