Bar

Bar

New Haven, CT

254 Crown street : Crown & College

Category: Pizza

Anyone who knows New Haven knows that it isn't hard to find great pizza there. There are a ton of pizza places on wooster street alone, but if you look hard enough you can find some exceptional places that outdo even the likes of Pepe's. Enter Bar. The worn wooden door you pass on your way down crown street opens up to a mix between a gin mill, a pizza joint, and an avant-garde dance club. Bar's atmosphere is unlike any other. In 1915 the building which houses Bar was an automobile showroom, and when the designers of Bar came in to build a nightclub, the old prohibition-era underground warehouse feel never quite left. The old brick and crumbling plaster is still around, fused with modern polished wood and galvanized metal trimmings to give the place a very cutting edge look. The walls are bathed in ambient light which fills the rooms with energy, and indeed is appropriate as Bar is a high energy place. The brick and mortar look combined with the modern art pieces and giant beer hoppers is very effective, and gives the place the feel of a modern day speakeasy.

If you're not in Bar's back dance hall, you're probably in one of the front seating rooms by the bar or the pool table, and chances are, you're there for pizza. Bar's pizza may very well be what sparked my passion for food, and since then it has never failed to be the best pizza I've had during any of my travels. My grandfather once described it as "pizza on a potato chip", aptly summing up the composition of their thin crust pizza. Imagine the thinnest crust that the laws of physics will allow, sauce that doesn't overpower, but rather is sweet and complementing, and an array of toppings that outdoes any other pizza place in the city. That's probably why Bar's pizza has become locally famous, and why they are always packed considering that pizza and salad are all they serve. At bar you can order anything from a classic red or white cheese to a mashed potato pizza, and all of them are thin crust pizza at its best, cooked to a perfect consistency using fresh seasonings that make other pizzas seem stale. Bite into one of their margarita pizzas and you'll see what I mean. You'll never think that fresh tomatoes went into a pizza before this. Over all, dinner at Bar is the american pizza experience at it's best. From the new age underground club atmosphere to the pure brilliance of their pizza, Bar is my highest recommended spot for anyone seeking a good time and good food.

Rating: 11/12

Pizza