BAR Pizza

The entire world may say that the best pizza is in New Haven, Connecticut. And they are correct. Living in downtown New Haven (emphasis on the HAY-ven, not NEW Haven) for the past decade has afforded me the luxury of being in walking distance of the best pizza the planet has to offer.

Lets be honest, deep dish is just confusing, any slice of pizza that doesn't have a crust is a lie, and sorry California, but your pizza is terrible.

On State Street you have Modern. Walking by makes your knees melt and your diet wither away. The inside hasn't changed in decades, but no one cares because the pizza is amazing.

Sallys and Pepe's are down in Wooster Square, you're sure to be in line any day of the week to get a seat in either. I'm partial to Pepe's, but their crust will put soot into your fingers for days. These are your classic sit-down in booth style places. Soda still comes in red plastic cups from 1987, and your napkins are those small paper ones that sometimes work.

There's been some new-comers from time to time that always peter out. We're playing chess here, not checkers.

The best pizza New Haven has, and in conjunction with the environment, is BAR. BAR is the name of the restaurant, and what it is, a bar. There is the restaurant part, the bar part, and the back room, which during the day is another dining area, but at night turns into the dance floor.

Now lets get to the main event here. BAR is known for one particular pizza, the mashed-potato bacon pizza. What? Yes, let me explain. Tomato sauce? Nope. Your sauce is now mashed potatoes, your topping is bacon, and your cheese, well that’s still cheese. It may sound filling, and it certainly is. Pair that with a pitcher of their house brewed toasted blonde ale, and you don’t need to eat for the rest of the day.

The pizza is amorphous, but generally oval. The slices are rectangular or triangles or somewhere in between, doesn’t really matter as long as you can hold it and shove it your face as fast as your chewing allows. Its that good. Its best to order multiple pizza, different toppings etc, so that you can eat leftovers. This isn’t fancy food, this is “I can go here whenever I want and know what I’m getting and love every bite of it” food. The special occasion is the food.

Salad. Yes, salad, not pizza. This is the only other food offered. And it is also top notch. Blue cheese, candied walnuts, leaves, and some kind of dressing. Eat it up, its vegetables, so it negates the pizza, right? There's only one kind offered, so get the salad.

The building itself is an old firehouse, so the tall ceilings, brick and crumbling plaster on the walls, adds to the charm. The staff is always helpful and energetic, ready to not be surprised when they see you fall in love (with the pizza, or maybe the waiter/waitress - who knows?) when they bring customers their orders.

Reservations? Meh. Most of the time you can just walk right in and sit down. They’re always open. Always (outside of COVID times). Even during blizzards, and hurricanes. I know this, because I lived across the street and went there during these natural disaster events.

It’s a place for all ages, young, old, families, college kids, and loud enough so that if your child is screaming it’ll get drowned out by chatter of other people. The acoustics of a firehouse are not superb. But not too loud, you can go there during a weekday afternoon when school is not in session and be the only person there.

Go to BAR.