Versus

Not unlike the Hatfields and McCoys... New Haven, Connecticut weathers its own long war between Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana and Sally's Apizza (sic).

Long rivalry. A line in the sand where locals tend to choose their sides vehemently.

Frank Sinatra apparently preferred "Sally's". Ronald Reagan apparently preferred "Pepe's".

"Frank Pepe Pizzeria" opened: June 1925.

"Sally's Apizza" opened: April 1938. (Right down the block from Pepe's.)

Sally's Apizza (pronounced "ah-BEETS"—a term coined by Frank Pepe from an old Italian slang) was started by Salvatore Consiglio... nephew of Frank Pepe.

Sal Consiglio died in May 1989. It's now run by his wife Flora and their children Ruth, Richard and Robert.

Tien Mao offers a far more detailed comparison than you'll find here.

I'll say that I took a trip up to sample both pies a few weeks ago, with foodie friends Dave & Jenny.

FOR THE RECORD:

Dave preferred Sally's.

Jenny and I preferred Pepe's.

We had the pies side-by-side and because of the timing, the Sally's pie was hotter. (So Dave might be forgiven for getting it wrong.) But the only reason the Sally's pie was hotter was because THEY TOOK FOREVER TO MAKE A SMALL PIE. And it was fucking burnt.

What's more damning was that Dave and I waited inside Sally's to get our pie to go. The space was hot and stuffy. Not very clean in terms of looks, smells or feel. Completely disorganized. And to be brutally honest, the family running the restaurant seemed like a Texas Chainsaw Massacre clan. One of them drank a glass of spoiled milk in front of us. There is something deeply, deeply wrong happening inside Sally's Apizza.

And honestly, even cold I preferred Pepe's slice.

Which is why Misanthropy Central officially endorses Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana.