Grand Apizza Shoreline Inc

🚨CONNECTICUT CLASSIC ALERT🚨 In 1955, the brother of the owner of Modern Apizza in New Haven, CT opened Grand Apizza in Fair Haven, CT. Along with Pepe’s, Sally’s & Modern, Grand Apizza was considered part of New Haven’s “Big 4” pizzerias. Now they have locations in Madison, Guilford and this spot in Clinton on the shoreline. An old school cash only joint, they serve New Haven style pies on the outskirts of the city with way less hype than their famous competitors. Slightly thicker and heavier than I expected, but the dough is outstanding in both texture and taste with minimal flop, a fairly firm undercarriage; not quite as crispy as I’d hoped, but beautiful char and sublimely crunchy crust, similar to Modern Apizza & Ernie’s Apizza in New Haven. The cheese blend is delectably delicious, some of the best I’ve ever had on a pizza. A combination of stringy, melty and creamy, the texture is as terrific as the taste, just a notch below Modern’s blend. The sauce isn’t as pronounced but has just enough tang and sweetness to make an impact. Even though the sauce flies under the radar a bit, it’s top quality and very tasty, just not as noticeable as the other elements of the pie. All of the ingredients compliment each other superbly with fantastic flavors flowing together in beautiful balance, working in heavenly harmony. The only real drawback is the amount of grease gushing from the butterfat in the cheese. Lots of drippage from the little pools of oil with each bite but it doesn’t produce an overly salty taste; the pie maintains its flavor integrity despite the vats of grease cascading down each slice. All in all, this is borderline Hall of Fame pizza. If the dough were slightly crispier and the grease was significantly less, this pie would climb into the hallowed halls of the 9s. Despite just missing the cut, this is definitely travel worthy pizza worth making a substantial pilgrimage. Overall, it’s just a tick below Pepe’s & Modern, but better than Sally’s and some of the best pizza you’ll find in all of Connecticut and pretty much the tri-state area.