One Of The Oldest Restaurants In Connecticut's Little Italy Is A Culinary Masterpiece
By Lisa Sammons|Published August 02, 2022
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Lisa Sammons
Author
Lisa loves animals and has dogs, rats, cats, guinea pigs, and snakes. She is passionate about animal rescue and live music - traveling across the country to see a favorite band is a pretty regular occurrence! Being out hiking in the woods enjoying the scenery with her beloved dogs is another favorite hobby, and also checking out the Pokemon Go scene in whatever city she happens to be in at any given time (coffee and dog leash in hand). You can reach Lisa at lsammons@onlyinyourstate.com
It can sometimes seem like there’s a new restaurant opening just about every day. But in the ever-revolving door of eateries in the Nutmeg State, we do have quite a few long-standing ones that have fed generations of families. One of our favorites out of all the oldest restaurants in Connecticut is Modern Apizza in New Haven. This beloved spot has been around since 1934. It’s one of three long-standing pizza joints in New Haven’s Little Italy district, and you often see the trio listed as contenders for the title of “best pizza in Connecticut.”
Modern Apizza is part of the "Holy Trinity" of Connecticut-style apizza.
Despite the new-sounding name, it's been around since 1934, though it was originally opened as State Street Apizza. Rivals Frank Pepe's Pizzeria and Sally's Apizza opened in 1925 and 1938, respectively.
Modern Apizza is one of the most popular restaurants in the state. You'll often see it featured on lists of best pizza in the country.
Modern Apizza makes New Haven-style pizza with a charred crust that is baked in a brick oven. However, instead of using coal-fired ovens, Modern uses an oil-infused brick oven.
If you want to enjoy the pizza in its true form, you'll want to get it plain. The standard plain apizza is tomato sauce, oregano, and a little grated romano cheese.