Pepe’s Pizzeria Napoletana of Fairfield

The original Pepe’s of New Haven has been our place since we met, and we’ve continued to believe in it even on some recent occasions when the crust was soft and toppings slippery. As devotees of one-of-a-kind restaurants, we were especially ready not to like Pepe’s Pizzeria Napoletana of Fairfield, Connecticut, a branch of the original just down the road from Super Duper Weenie.

But there is no arguing with excellence, and this Pepe’s, like the several others that have opened in Connecticut and even New York in the last few years, is excellent and then some. Pizzas look exactly like Wooster Street originals; and even if their crust seems perhaps 10% thicker and not quite as elegant as New Haven on a good day, it has that perfect balance of crunch and chew, the savory burnt edge, and the debris-strewn underside that characterizes Connecticut’s super-soulful Neapolitan pizzas.

One big difference between this place and the original is the waitstaff, which is more courteous than New Haven brusque. Still, they’re all business. Our waiter virtually sprinted to the table three minutes after we were seated. We hadn’t looked at a menu but he nevertheless demanded to know what we wanted. “Order now,” he commanded. “They’re backed up on pizzas in the kitchen.” Towards the end of the meal, after he decided we were OK because we ordered the right things and ate them all, he confided, “We must have a lot of good New Haven people here today. They’re ordering the classics – white clam, plain tomato. You know someone is a novice when they ask for bacon with their clams or extra mozzarella.”

To summarize: if you don’t mind waiting and you don’t need waitstaff coddling, Pepe’s Pizzeria Napoletana of Fairfield just might serve you the best pizza of your life.