The OTHER New Haven Pizzas

By Tiesha Mckelvey

I tried four different pizza places after school to see how they compared to each other. I’m not a food expert, but I had opinions on them that I feel the need to share. I rated them each out of five stars based on how they looked and tasted. I also rated the garlic bread they served (on a scale of 1-10), because I love garlic bread.

Coming in last place is Triple AAA located on 339 Whalley Ave. It’s close to the school which makes it very convenient to order, and their service is fast and consistent, but… it's not that good. This pizza was really greasy. Like dripping off the pizza greasy. I had to use a napkin to soak it up before eating. There was a kind of thick layer of cheese and the crust wasn't as thin as the others. It’s not the worst I’ve ever had, but it’s not my first choice. I rate it 2/5 stars. The garlic bread was delicious though, 8/10.

In third place is Est Est Est, located on 1176 Chapel St. They’re open until 1 AM which makes this place the hotspot for college students or people leaving clubs or bars late at night. The crust on this pizza was really good in my opinion. It was thin and crispy and tasted like it came out of an actual pizza oven. The rest of the pizza however, was decent. Definitely better than Triple AAA though… It wasn’t bad at all, it just didn’t stand out as much as the others. I rate it 3.5/5 stars. We didn’t get any garlic bread from here. 

The second best place was Marco Polo Pizza. It’s on 55 Crown St. This was so close to being my favorite spot. Almost everything about this was similar to the winning spot but the sauce. This sauce was more acidic and tomato-y. I don’t really like sauces like this. The cheese was very similar to the winner and very delicious. The overall flavor was tasty. I gave this one 4/5 stars. They had garlic knots instead of bread and they were delectable. 9.5/10 for them. The only reason they aren’t a 10 is because I prefer bread to knots. 

First place goes to Dayton St Pizza! Located on 60 Dayton St, this was my favorite pizza of the four. The crust was thin, the sauce and cheese balanced really well, and it was the type of greasy that adds flavor. There were no pools of grease. Solid 5/5 stars! The garlic bread was so good, it had melted cheese on it which added so much to the flavor. I rated this a 10/10. I would easily recommend this place. I’m definitely ordering from here again.

That’s how the four places turned out for me. Some were better than others, but trying them all was fun. If I had to pick one, it would definitely be Dayton St.