WASHINGTON (CN) — Read it and weep, New York pizza fans: Connecticut is now the Pizza State — at least according to the congressional record.
“Today, I am proud to join the delegation of over one hundred Connecticut pizza makers, legislators, veterans and community leaders visiting Washington, D.C., to celebrate New Haven and recognize it as the pizza capital of the United States,” Connecticut Representative Rosa DeLauro said in a statement entered into the House’s official debate archive Wednesday afternoon.
DeLauro represents the city of New Haven, Connecticut, which is known for its particular brand of thin-crust Neapolitan pizza, locally dubbed “apizza” (and pronounced ah-beetz). And while cities like New York and Chicago claim the national pizza crown for themselves, she said, New Haven’s take on the dish is special.
“Some say it is the coal-fire; some say the brick ovens; some say it is the char; some say it is the water used to make the dough,” DeLauro said in her statement. “Personally, I believe it is generation after generation of dedication to the craft.”
But it’s more than just the quality of New Haven apizza that’s earned it its place at the top of the U.S. pizza pile, DeLauro contended. There are more than 75 pizzerias in the city — and Connecticut has the most pizza establishments of any state in the union, raking in roughly $3.5 billion in sales per year.
“New Haven’s distinction as the pizza capital of the United States is rooted in the generationally owned family businesses that have contributed to making both traditional and artisanal forms of this crafted food available to people of all backgrounds for over one hundred years,” she said.
To celebrate DeLauro’s declared victory in the interstate pizza war, more than 100 Connecticut pizza makers gathered on the Capitol steps Wednesday afternoon. The lawmaker addressed the raucous crowd alongside fellow Nutmeg State Representatives Jim Himes and John Larson, as well as New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker.
Between chants of “nothing beats New Haven apizza,” DeLauro explained that her love for the city’s pizza was intensely personal.
“This is really so important to me,” said the lawmaker, a New Haven native. “It’s important to have all of you here and to proclaim the richness of our history, of our culture and of the place we come from.”
DeLauro related her time growing up in New Haven and her experience with its pizza culture to her time serving in the House of Representatives.
“As the daughter of an Italian American immigrant who only dared dream that she would serve in this body — yes, I’m here,” she said to cheers from the crowd.
“I’m blessed to have the opportunity to serve in this body,” DeLauro added. “It can do remarkable things. And one of the remarkable things it’s going to do is declare that New Haven is the pizza capital of the United States.”
Colin Caplan, apizza afficionado and author of “Pizza in New Haven,” a historiography of the city’s signature dish, called Wednesday’s announcement “a beautiful thing.”
“It has to do with generations, and it has to do with families,” he said of New Haven pizza. “These pizzerias have fed us for years, for generations, and so it’s time to give back, to feed them, and to give them the homage that they deserve.”
But DeLauro’s move to claim America’s pizza title has not been without controversy.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams was adamant Tuesday that the Big Apple remains the undisputed king of pizza, the New York Post reported.
“That’s a real cheesy opportunity to take away the real claim,” he said during a weekly news conference. “It’s alright for them to be No. 2.”
The good news for New York pizza purists or Chicago deep dish stans is that DeLauro’s statement for the congressional record doesn’t carry the force of law, and any lawmaker can take the House floor to claim their state is the true heir to the American pizza throne.
An aide for the Connecticut Democrat told Courthouse News Wednesday that her office expects a challenge for the title, and that the Nutmeg State may have fired the opening salvo in a legislative battle over the country’s best pizza.
But until that happens, Connecticut’s apizza fans are confident they have the upper hand.
“I understand that some of the other places are a little bit concerned about being second or third place,” said New Haven Mayor Elicker, referring to the back-and-forth with the Empire State.
“New York’s first in a lot of things,” he said, “so it’s tough when they’re second at something — but we’ll get through this together.”
DeLauro, meanwhile, had a message for anyone looking to steal the pizza crown from her home state.
“It’s no contest there,” she said. “And it’s not even close!”
Follow @BenjaminSWeiss
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