New Haven diners were fortunate that Pepe hailed from the Amalfi coast, where Neapolitan style pizza reigns supreme. He built his brick oven to hold the high temperatures necessary for a crisp but chewy thin crust. Originally fired with coke (traditionally used in blast furnaces), the oven was later switched to coal. When Pepe moved to a bigger building next door in 1937, the new brick oven also had a coal fire.
The genius of the business could easily be summed up as “Why mess with success?’’ Now run by Pepe’s grandchildren, the spare menu offers “Original Tomato Pie,’’ a simple concoction of tomatoes, grated cheese, garlic, oregano, and olive oil. Though popular as a special, the Margherita, with basil, hasn’t yet earned a permanent spot on the menu.
Neither has Frank’s other original pie, made with anchovy. Instead, the pizzeria is famous for white clam pizza, which basically substitutes clams for tomato. A white pizza with spinach, mushroom, and Gorgonzola is also available, as well as a summer-only fresh tomato pie. Additional toppings may be added by those who dare to trifle with the natural order. To drink? Locally made Foxon Park sodas, including kola, white birch beer, root beer, and cream, have been served since 1925. (Beer and wine are also available.)
We chose a small Margherita and a small white clam and watched the open kitchen as pizzaiolos efficiently but deliberately assembled each pie on the wooden peels used to slide the pizzas in and out of the oven. The paddles have extra long handles because Pepe enlarged his oven to 14 by 14 feet when he opened his new shop. “It takes 10 to 15 minutes for a pizza to cook,’’ said our server, Gary Sandora, who has worked here for 28 years. “You can fit about 10 or 12 pizzas in the oven at a time. By the time the 10th one goes in, the first one is coming out.’’
