New Haven-style tomato pie is officially coming to NoVA. Fingers crossed, the lines won’t be as long as the original Connecticut location of Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana. The Alexandria location, which Washington Business Journal reports is taking over a former Baja Fresh, will open in the Alexandria Commons shopping center on Duke Street.
Why do diners queue up for the pizza? Frank Pepe himself began cooking the rounds of dough in a coal oven in 1925, making it one of the oldest continuously operational pizzerias in the United States. But there’s more to it than that. The tomato pies are chewy, tangy, and ooze with blistered, oily cheese. In the critical estimation of this Connecticut native, they are among the best on the planet.
And it doesn’t end with tomato pies. The clam pies, topped with fresh shellfish, pecorino, and enough garlic to kill a vampire, also attract crowds. They’re both best paired with a local Foxon Park Beverages soda, which come in old-timey flavors like white birch and Italian lemon.
This will be the first location outside of New England and New York, where there are currently a dozen Frank Pepes. Hopefully it won’t be the last in our region.
3231 Duke St., Alexandria
Feature image by Alice Levitt
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