The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)

A SLICE OF HOME

THEY MISSED NEW HAVEN APIZZA SO MUCH, THEY BROUGHT IT OUT WEST WITH THEM

- By Leeanne Griffin

Pizza lovers across the United States know of New York thin crust and Chicago deep dish. California pies with gourmet toppings had their moment, and thick, crispy, squareedge­d Detroit pies have stepped into the spotlight. New Haven apizza has been largely relegated to regional status, but these pizzeria owners are working to change that.

They cut their teeth on charred New Haven crust, and missed their favorite Elm City pies so much that they brought tastes of Wooster Street across the country: the Bay Area, Denver, Chicago and Portland, Ore. Here’s where you can get apizza far from the Nutmeg State, but still crafted by natives.

Piece Brewery and Pizza — Chicago, Ill.

New Haven native Bill Jacobs grew up eating apizza. Sometimes it was a lunchtime pie at Ernie’s during breaks from school, but most often, it was a trip to Sally’s. His father would turn to him and his three brothers and say, “Guys, this is the best pizza in the world.”

Jacobs moved to Chicago in the early 1980s, and, finding the city “bagel bereft,” opened Jacobs Bros. Bagels with his siblings. He kept missing the thin-crust pies of his youth, especially living in the region so widely known for thick and heavy deep-dish style. When he and his brothers sold the bagel company in 1999, he put a business plan together and began to raise capital for what would become Piece.

“Some people looked at it and said, ‘You’re [expletive] crazy’,” Jacobs said, laughing. “All these naysayers said, ‘You’re going to bring a New Haven style pizza to the land of deep dish? First of all, where is New Haven? What is New Haven?’ But keep in mind, that was 20-plus years ago.”

As Piece prepared to open in Chicago’s Wicker Park neighborho­od in July 2001, Jacobs invited a friend who had worked for Sally’s to teach him and his staff how to make pizza “the New Haven way.” He knew it would be a challenge, as it was sort of contrary to the Chicago pizza approach. ”Chicago people like to do things in a big way,” he said. “Deep dish is very big, and it’s all about the stuff that goes into it, what they fill it with. New Haven pizza is just so sublime and subtle. You don’t want to put too many things on top, and that’s what we encourage.”

Piece’s New Haven-style pies, baked in a gas-fired oven, are available in small, medium and large sizes, all including grated Pecorino Romano, oregano and olive oil. There’s a traditiona­l tomato pie without mozzarella, a direct nod to Jacobs’ beloved Sally’s, and a white pie without tomato sauce. Piece has also dabbled in East Coast-inspired seafood pies, including white clam and a lobster pizza.

Though Piece has a New Haven pedigree, it’s a Windy City brand, and Jacobs has collaborat­ed with other Chicago restaurant­s and food businesses for specialty pies. Pizzas can be topped with Hot Doug’s spicy Atomic sausage, or crispy chicken from Honey Butter Fried Chicken.

White Pie — Denver and Colorado Springs, Colo.

Brothers Jason and Kris Wallenta were born in New Haven and later lived in Milford and Orange. Their family made trips to Sally’s Apizza “every weekend since we were born,” Jason said.

When the brothers moved to Colorado, they missed the pizza that was an integral part of their formative years, and vowed to open a pizzeria of their own. Though their first restaurant in

 ?? Courtesy of Piece Pizza ?? Piece Pizza in Chicago opened in 2001 and makes New Haven-style apizza.
Courtesy of Piece Pizza Piece Pizza in Chicago opened in 2001 and makes New Haven-style apizza.

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