11 Pepe's Pizzeria, New Haven, CT
The iconic Pepe's may have grown beyond its means. Falling from #1 to number #3 on the Daily Meal's best pizzas this year and falling from my top 5 to #11 over the past few years, Pepe's is now delivering inconsistent, chewy pizzas. If you like the taste of modern but prefer longer, more rectangular slices, than Pepe's is your place to be. Although to be honest, it's The Spot that you want to specifically frequent in New Haven. The Spot would come in Top 5 while Fairfield would be next, the OG New Haven and the casino last. Sorry for you slot players at Mohegan, but you'll have to make the trek to New Haven to get the best Pepe's taste.
12 Mike's Apizza, West Haven, CT
Much of the same from Pepe's to Mike's; inconsistent pizzas. However whereas Pepe's misses the mark on an entire pie, and Santarpio's doesn't hit a home run on each slice, Mike's struggles on individual parts of the slice! Extremely rare, but the cheese quality and taste here is phenomenal, top 5 for sure. However the boring and burnt crust and upper third of the pizza could easily knock this one off the list. Akin to the ESPN Sports Science people saying if you take Kobe's scoring, Jordan's work ethic and Lebron's size you'd have the perfect basketball player, this pizza makes you want to take its cheese and put it on modern's crust.
13 Marta, New York City, NY
Inside the Redbury Hotel in Midtown you will find an elegant... pizza destination. Said no one ever, until now! While here, you can't go wrong with any of the selections but the Macaiello pizza is every bit as good as it sounds. Grana Padano, mozzarella, pork sausage, sopressata and guanciale. Given the mere one visit and the legendary pizzas ahead of it, Marta comes in with some vigor at 13. Watch out for Danny Meyer and team; he's clearly not someone to be trifled with.
14 Grimaldi's, Brooklyn, NY
A little hard to find is this next spot as it is quite literally under the bridge! Once you do find it, it is the antithesis of what you would think of for a pizza parlor under a bridge in Brooklyn. These high ceilings and the large space they play host to are quite a nice change of pace. The pizza is slightly on the boring/safe side but easy to eat and ripe tomato sauce land it in the top 14. Pour on the grated cheese and maybe it crawls on up to 11.
15 Prince Street Pizza, New York, New York
Perhaps the most sought after pepperoni pizza in New York City. This place churns out the pies but not as fast as the customers demand them. Expect a wait and expect them to be running low or out of many beverages. Don't expect any sympathy though- their spicy, sicilian slices get enough attention that service is not a necessity here and they know it. If you forget- take a look at the wall to be reminded you aren't a celebrity.