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Just visited Pepe's again...and Modern. Agree that the clam pie at Pepe's is great. The others, though.....aren't. In fact, they're way down the list on my criteria. Sort of tasteless....and laboriously chewy.

Though Modern's crust is floppier, the taste of their "red" pies is quite memorable, and delicious. Their clam pie suffers by comparison (the fresh clams at Pepe's are unbeatable on a pie.) IMO.

Here's my thought. Been to all of the New Haven pie places many times. (My favorite place is in Trenton, NJ: Delorenzo's Tomato Pies; for me, nothing comes close.) The closest to really "top three" pizza in New Haven is Modern Apizza. Tasty cheese, nicely chewy crust.

The pies at Pepe's are not "bad", though the place is "overrated" and "overhyped" , as the person says. When I go there, I feel like I'm chewing on baked cardboard....my jaws hurt with every bite. I guess it's an issue of density of the crust. (Personally, I think coal ovens are way overrated: the crisp the outside and top of a pie, but the dough in the middle remains a chew-challenge. ) When I pass through NH, which I do 3-4 times a year, after much research and experience, I go right to Modern. No wait to speak of; great pie; good, albeit not as rigid, crust.

The clam pie at Pepe's is indeed in a league of it's own. The chewy crust isn't as noticeable with the chewy fresh whole clams they use.

Sally's is the most disorganized place maybe I've ever visited. Good. But, not worth the aggravation as it is just Pepe's cooked a little more, seemingly.

My top three, FWIW: Delorenzo's (Trenton and a new one in Robbinsville, NJ), Modern , Totonno's on Coney Island (hopefully, it will reopen sometime from the fire.)

DiFara: also, like Sally's...not worth the aggravation, though the pies are ok/good..if a bit oily.

That's my view....of the pizza world, which is mostly the "pizza belt" from MA to PA.