With the title of “friendliest” and heftiest pizza joint, Modern Apizza has an 80-year history and an adherence to tradition. Modern’s open flame brick oven cranks out charred, chewy, and substantial pizzas. Its signature pie, known as the “Italian Bomb,” is a monster with seven toppings: sausage, bacon, pepperoni, onion, mushrooms, garlic, and sparse cheese.

As a pub, a club at night, and a pizza hub for the hipster 20-something collegiate community, Bar serves pies that are notably different from their New Haven neighbors. The pies are super thin. Their shapes mirror the rectangular sheet pans. The brick oven burns natural gas, not coal or oil. Its signature pie, the mashed potato pie, is garlicky, light as air, and laced with aged cheese, herbs, and crispy bacon.

Very little has changed at Sally’s since it first opened in 1938, and Sally’s tomato pie reigns supreme in the neighborhood. Its house-made tomato sauce and a proprietary blend of tomatoes keep the tradition of the original flavors of the pie. Another specialty is the Garden Special, a combination of tomato, mozzarella, zucchini, and basil.

Zuppardi’s clam pizza is on another level. The sweetness of fresh Little Necks mingling with parsley, dried herbs, and garlic is vibrant on the chewy, thick crust. A fresh tomato pie and a sausage pie are their classic orders that should not be ignored.