Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana
| Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana | |
|---|---|
 The Frank Pepe sign on Wooster Street |
|
| Restaurant information | |
| Established | 1925 |
| Food type | New Haven-style pizza |
| Dress code | Casual |
| Street address | 157 & 163 Wooster Street |
| City | New Haven |
| State | Connecticut |
| Postal code/ZIP | 06511-5709 |
| Country | United States |
| Reservations | Not taken |
| Website | http://www.pepespizzeria.com/ |
Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana, known locally as 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 known pizzerias in the United States.[1][2]
Contents |
[edit] Frank Pepe
Pepe's was founded in 1925 by Frank Pepe (April 15, 1893 – September 6, 1969), an Italian immigrant. Pepe was born in Maiori, Italy, and immigrated to New Haven in 1909 at the age of 17. The quintessential Wooster Square Italian immigrant, he took a job at a New Haven factory, but he hated it. During World War I, Pepe went back to Italy to fight for his native country.[3] Upon returning, he soon landed a job working at a bakery on Wooster Street.[4] Pepe began walking through the Wooster Square market and sold his "tomato pies" off of a special headdress. After saving enough money, he was able to buy a wagon from which he sold his pizzas.[5] He did so well with his pizzas that he was eventually able to take over his employer's business and turn it into the first "Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana" on June 16, 1925. Frank Pepe died on September 6, 1969.
[edit] Restaurant history
Pepe's originated the New Haven-style thin-crust apizza[6][7][8] (closely related to Neapolitan-style Italian pizza) which he baked in a coal-fired brick oven. Originally, Frank Pepe only made two varieties of pizza: the "plain" (oregano, chopped garlic, tomato sauce, and grated pecorino romano cheese) and the "marinara" (tomato sauce, grated cheese, and anchovies).
The piece of land which Pepe's restaurant sat on was owned by the Boccamiello family. They later made Frank Pepe leave so that they could start their own pizzeria at the establishment, which they renamed The Spot. Pepe moved his restaurant to its current location next door to The Spot in 1936. The Pepe family later bought back The Spot from the Boccamiello family in 1981 and it now serves the same menu as the newer restaurant.[3]
In the alleyway between The Spot and Pepe's, Boccamiello's nephew Bear would open clams and sell them on the half shell to passersby.[3] Pepe's restaurant began serving littleneck clams on the half shell at the bar. It was only a matter of time before he decided to put the clams on the pizza. The white clam pie is just crust, olive oil, oregano, grated cheese, chopped garlic, and fresh littleneck clams.[4] The restaurant will serve the pizza with or without mozzarella, but they try to discourage customers from ordering it with mozzarella because they feel that it makes the pizza too heavy and rich. They are also adamant on using freshly shucked clams as opposed to canned clams; if fresh clams are not available then they will not serve the white clam pie. Three men are employed by Pepe's just for shucking the clams on location. Since its invention, the white clam pie has become the signature pizza of pizzerias in New Haven.
Today Pepe's is particularly known for its innovation of the white pizza topped with freshly shucked littleneck clams.[9] This type of pizza pie became one of the restaurant's famous specialties the result of Frank serving little neck clams in his restaurant [6] Frank Pepe was allergic to tomatoes and cheese thus the inspiration for his white clam pie.[10]
[edit] Menu
All Pepe's locations feature the same menu.[11]
[edit] Beverages
- Since 1925, Pepe's has exclusively served Foxon Park bottled sodas from East Haven, Connecticut.
- Fountain sodas include Coca-Cola, Diet Coke, Hi-C pink lemonade, Nestea, and Sprite (soft drink).
- Bottled beer and draft beer (pint glass or pitcher).
- Wine is available by the glass or bottle.
[edit] Pizza
Small, Medium and Large pies are sold with following toppings available.
- Mozzarella
- Bacon, Chicken, Salami, Sausage, Pepperoni
- Anchovies, Fresh Clams, Shrimp
- Broccoli, Fresh Garlic, Mushrooms, Onions, Peppers, Spinach
Specialty Pies
- The Original Tomato Pie
- The Original Tomato Pie w/ Mozzarella
- Fresh Clams, white or red sauce only
- Fresh Clams w/ Mozzarella
- Chicken
- Chicken w/ Mozzarella
- Fresh Tomato Pie (seasonal)
- Vegetable Special
[edit] Salad
A small tossed salad with balsamic vinaigrette dressing is available.
[edit] The oven
All Pepe's ovens are coal fired and built in exactly the same manner from brick, based on the original. They measure 14 feet (4.3 m) by 14 feet (4.3 m) and cook pizzas in approximately 8 to 10 minutes.[12] The oven cooks at 650 °F (343 °C).[13]
[edit] Locations
Pepe's has expanded outside of New Haven as a small family owned chain. Nine relatives are co-owners of the chain, including grandsons Gary Bimonte and Francis Rosselli. All locations feature the same green and white design of their building and fixtures, serve on the square pizza pans and use the same suppliers for their ingredients.
- 157 Wooster Street, New Haven,CT – (1936)
- 163 Wooster Street, New Haven, CT- "The Spot" – (1925).
- 238 Commerce Drive, Fairfield, CT – (March 2006)
- 221 Buckland Hills Drive, Manchester, CT – (September 2007)
- 1 Mohegan Sun Boulevard, Uncasville, Connecticut – Mohegan Sun Resort & Casino (July 1, 2009)
- 1955 Central Park Avenue, Yonkers, NY – (November 2009) [14]
- 59 Federal Road, Danbury, Connecticut – (January 2011) [15]
[edit] Competition
Another Wooster Street pizza restaurant, Sally's Apizza, was founded by Pepe's nephew Sal Consiglio in 1938. Sally's and Pepe's have a long friendly rivalry and pizza fans are divided over which serves the better pizza.[9][16] Frank Sinatra, for example, was a fan of Sally's, while President Ronald Reagan preferred Pepe's.[17]
[edit] Success
Pepe's is a busy establishment, and New Havenites will cheerfully wait in line outside the restaurant for hours in all kinds of weather.[16] Having to wait to be seated is almost as much of a New Haven tradition as the pizza itself.[16] Pepe's is also a major tourist attraction in New Haven.[18]
- 1999: Pepe's was named to the James Beard Foundation's list of "America's Classics".[19]
- 2006: Pepe's is acknowledged on the History Channel's "American Eats' show as the originator of New Haven-style pizza in 1925.[20]
- 2009: Pepe's was named the "Best Pizza on Earth" by The Guardian.[21]
- Food correspondent for GQ magazine Alan Richman names Pepe's the 12th best pizza in the country in the May issue.[22]
- Connecticut Magazine named Pepe's the best in the state.[23]
- 2010: Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana was inducted into that Connecticut Hospitality Hall of Fame on December 7, 2010. [24]
[edit] Notable visits
Robert DeNiro, Henry Winkler, Kelly Clarkson, Bill Murray, Ernest Borgnine, John Turturro, Kevin James and Vince Vaughn have all visited the New Haven location.[25]
[edit] References
- ^ Levine, Ed. (2006-02-16) A Slice of Heaven: American Pizza Timeline | Slice Pizza Blog. Slice.seriouseats.com. Retrieved on 2010-12-13.
- ^ Mariani, John (2010-11-24). "America's Great Historic Restaurants". Forbes. http://www.forbes.com/2010/11/23/american-historic-restaurants-lifestyle-travel-food-dining.html.
- ^ a b c Ed Levine (2005). Pizza: A Slice of Heaven. Universe Publishing, ISBN 0789312050
- ^ a b Penny Pollack & Jeff Ruby (2005). Everybody Loves Pizza. Clerisy Press
- ^ Anthony Riccio (2006). The Italian-American Experience in New Haven. State University of New York Press
- ^ a b Welcome to The Original Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana – Home. Pepespizzeria.com (1969-09-06). Retrieved on 2010-12-13.
- ^ Jane Stern, Michael Stern Roadfood: the coast-to-coast guide to 600 of the best barbecue joints, lobster shacks, ice cream parlors, highway diners, and much, much more, Broadway Books, 2005 ISBN 0767922646 p. 19
- ^ You say Sally's, I say Pepe'sWooster street legends deliver to die-hard crowds- The New Haven Register – Serving New Haven, Connecticut. Nhregister.com (2002-07-21). Retrieved on 2010-12-13.
- ^ a b Reinhart, Peter (2003). American Pie: My Search for the Perfect Pizza. ISBN 1-58008-422-2
- ^ American Eats Offers the True American Pizza Pie – New York Times
- ^ Welcome to The Original Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana – Menus. Pepespizzeria.com. Retrieved on 2010-12-13.
- ^ Frank Pepe's pizza comes to Yonkers | Metromix Hudson Valley. Hudsonvalley.metromix.com (2009-11-24). Retrieved on 2010-12-13.
- ^ http://www.geofffox.com/MT/archives/2010/11/21/pizza-with-a-side-of-guilt.php
- ^ "Welcome to The Original Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana – Directions". Pepespizzeria.com. http://www.pepespizzeria.com/directions.php#yonkers. Retrieved 2010-02-16.
- ^ http://www.pepespizzeria.com/
- ^ a b c Shelton, Jim. You say Sally's, I say Pepe's New Haven Register,2002-07-21
- ^ Hot slice of history to be served up in Fairfield | Food & Beverage > Food Industry from AllBusiness.com
- ^ Frommer's Exploring America by RV, 4th Edition. ISBN 0-470-03885-3
- ^ Welcome to the James Beard Foundation. Jamesbeard.org (2010-07-04). Retrieved on 2010-12-13.
- ^ American Eats: Pizza, The History Channel, 29 June 2006
- ^ Fox, Killian (September 13, 2009). "The 50 best things to eat in the world, and where to eat them". The Guardian (London). http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2009/sep/13/best-foods-in-the-world. Retrieved May 2, 2010.
- ^ American Pie: Alan Richman. GQ (2009-10-13). Retrieved on 2010-12-13.
- ^ http://www.cityofnewhaven.com/EconomicDevelopment/Promo/ReadMore.asp?ID=%7BBE4EE93C-6DB5-4B5C-9EE1-FCCFBB4CEC88%7D
- ^ http://www.nhregister.com/articles/2010/12/05/news/copy_of_copy_of_otherbiz30_%5B2%5D.txt
- ^ http://www.courant.com/entertainment/celebrity/java/hc-fillo-vince-vaughn-1105-20101105,0,3000485.column
[edit] External links
- Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana – Official site
- Frank Pepe's review at Slice
- Roadfood.com listing, with review by Michael Stern
Coordinates: 41°18′10″N 72°55′01″W / 41.302907°N 72.916933°W
