New Haven-style pizza

New Haven-style pizza

White clam pie from Pepe's in New Haven, Connecticut
Alternative names	Apizza
Type	Pizza
Place of origin	United States
Region or state	New Haven, Connecticut
Creator	Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana
Main ingredients	Pizza dough, tomato sauce, pecorino romano

New Haven-style pizza, locally known as apizza (/əˈbiːts/, from Neapolitan ’a pizza (IPA: [ə ˈpit͡s(ə)]) "the pizza"), is a style of Neapolitan pizza common in and around New Haven, Connecticut. It originated at the Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana and is now served in many other pizza restaurants in the area, most notably Sally's Apizza and Modern Apizza. This geographically limited pizza style has gained considerable culinary and historical importance.

In a New Haven-style pizzeria, a "plain" pizza is crust, oregano, and tomato sauce with a little bit of grated pecorino romano cheese sprinkled on. Mozzarella (known as "mootz" in the local Italian dialect) is considered to be a topping; a customer who wants it must ask for it.

Pepe invented the "white clam pie." Pepe's restaurant used to serve littleneck clams on the half shell at the bar which he eventually decided to put on the pizza. The white clam pie is crust, olive oil, oregano, grated cheese, chopped garlic, and fresh littleneck clams.

What makes New Haven style pizza distinct is its thin, oblong crust, characteristic charring, chewy texture, and limited use of melting cheeses. It tends to be drier and thinner than, but closely related to, traditional New York style pizza. Both styles in turn are close descendants of the original Neapolitan style.