Editor's note: Mark H. (aka Famdoc), is back with another field report. You may be familiar with Mark's dispatches from the Reykjavik Pizza Company in Reykjavik, Iceland; Jule's Thin Crust in Bucks County, Pennsylvania; and the Kula Lodge on Maui. Here, word on upcoming locations of Frank Pepe's —The Mgmt.
Hey Adam,
On our way back from picking our daughter up from school in Boston (the more you pay for tuition, the less school they actually provide), we stopped in New Haven for our favorite lunch. Having been to Pepe's a few times before, we had hoped to try Sally's, but found it closed. Hours posted in the window are 5PM-11PM only. Our hands were forced: another trip to Frank Pepe's. The line snaked out the door, but we were seated in ten minutes. We ordered three individual pies: tomato/spinach, tomato/mozz and clam.
All were delivered in fifteen minutes. All had delightfully crisp crust, with just the right amount of char. Unfortunately, I found the tomato sauce a bit bland and the ratio of cheese to sauce on the tomato/mozz to be tipped to far in the direction of the mozz. The clam pie was loaded with garlicky/salty clam chunks.
We took a few slices home in the famous Frank Pepe box and noticed that the box was now emblazoned with the news that Pepe was opening two more outlets, adding to its original New Haven and more recent Manchester and Fairfield locations: they're opening one at the Mohegan Sun Casino in a few months and one in Yonkers, NY a few months later.
News of the Mohegan Sun branch has been out for a while. Honestly, I prefer their room service pizza to Pepe's. Overly salty and undercooked crust, with a nice layer of burnt cheese on top seems to be the norm for Pepe's, at least in the Manchester location.
The room service pizza at Mohegan is actually really good. Reminds me a bit of Harry's Bishop's Corner.
@ratbuddy: As I pointed out in my letter, I was less than bowled over by Pepe's pies, although the spinach/tomato pie was tasty and the clam pie was generous. I found the crust perfect on the day we were there, but the sauce was disappointing.
Pepes is meh. so is Sally's- excessively greasy and not at all crispy. Modern is by far the best in New Haven. of course, it's all a matter of opinion.
Pepe's in New Haven is great. I've noticed that their Fairfield branch has slipped as of late. Still very good, but the sauce was a bit bland and the cheese seemed to lack salt - compared to what I have had in the past. Hopefully they don't open any more, the branches are watering down a great name.
@dave78981: I noticed a few other pizza joints in the vicinity of Sally's and Pepe's and wonder whether they are just wannabees or actually good.
Would love some input from Elis and New Haven townies.
Thanks for commenting! Your comment has been accepted and will appear in a moment.
Add a comment:
Previewing your comment:
HTML Hints
Some HTML is OK: <a href="URL">link</a>, <strong>strong</strong>, <em>em</em>
Comment Guidelines
Post whatever you want, just keep it pleasant. We reserve the right to delete off-topic or inflammatory comments. Learn more at our Comment Policy page.
Print
Hey Adam,
7 Comments:
hopefully the new outposts are as good as the original (that's usually not the case when a place expands, unfortunately)
RazorRamon at 8:49PM on 05/11/09
Not "Neapolitan Pizza", never was. Curious how the "neapolitan" became "neopolitan" or is it 2 different things?
othafa9 at 11:12PM on 05/11/09
News of the Mohegan Sun branch has been out for a while. Honestly, I prefer their room service pizza to Pepe's. Overly salty and undercooked crust, with a nice layer of burnt cheese on top seems to be the norm for Pepe's, at least in the Manchester location.
The room service pizza at Mohegan is actually really good. Reminds me a bit of Harry's Bishop's Corner.
ratbuddy at 11:32PM on 05/11/09
@othafa9: thanks for the correction. Noted.
@ratbuddy: As I pointed out in my letter, I was less than bowled over by Pepe's pies, although the spinach/tomato pie was tasty and the clam pie was generous. I found the crust perfect on the day we were there, but the sauce was disappointing.
famdoc at 1:28PM on 05/12/09
Pepes is meh. so is Sally's- excessively greasy and not at all crispy. Modern is by far the best in New Haven. of course, it's all a matter of opinion.
dave78981 at 3:22PM on 05/12/09
Pepe's in New Haven is great. I've noticed that their Fairfield branch has slipped as of late. Still very good, but the sauce was a bit bland and the cheese seemed to lack salt - compared to what I have had in the past. Hopefully they don't open any more, the branches are watering down a great name.
JBarry713 at 12:55AM on 05/13/09
@dave78981: I noticed a few other pizza joints in the vicinity of Sally's and Pepe's and wonder whether they are just wannabees or actually good.
Would love some input from Elis and New Haven townies.
famdoc at 12:42PM on 05/13/09