A couple of Connecticut legislators introduced a bill this week hoping to make PIZZA the official state food of the Nutmeg State. For me, when I think CT, I think steamed hamburgers and great hot dogs. (Blackie’s in Cheshire makes a great dog.) But pizza? Um, ok, I guess.
But then the shade started getting thrown at Connecticut and it came hard from New York and New Jersey, both of whom claim to have better pizza than CT. As quoted in the NY Post, one New Yorker tweeted, “Walk before you run CT.” Another read, “Connecticut needs to sit down.” Even the Governor of New Jersey’s twitter weighed in, “New Jersey is the pizza capital of the world, period.” New Jersey? I lived in New Jersey and never thought, “man, they do pizza right down here.” I mean, Jersey pizza is fine, but the capital of the world? I’m gonna guess some places in Italy may take issue with that.
Here’s my issue with CT: when I say Connecticut style pizza, what does that mean? If I say Chicago style, you know. If I say St. Louis style, you know. New York style, yup. But Hartford style? Connecticut style? What is that exactly? Look, give me a reason to support you CT and I will. But you don’t have a claim to the nation’s first pizza shop (Lombardi’s in NYC), you don’t have a distinctive style (like Hawaii for example), and you aren’t recognized for revolutionizing the industry in any way (like Mama Celeste did, she was from Chicago.) I get that you like your pizza CT, and that’s great. But that’s not enough. Massachusetts owns baked beans for a reason, Maine owns whoopie pies for a reason, Texas owns barbecue for a reason. You Connecticut don’t get to own pizza because you have no reason. I hate to agree with that angry NY texter but, “Connecticut you need to sit down.”