Roseland Apizza

"In bread we trust.  A bread basket is a sure sign of a restaurant's personality; at Roseland Apizza (pronounce that second word the Neapolitan way, “ah-Beets”), you get honest bread with old-time character. Hard-crusted, with tender insides that pull into supple shreds, it comes to the table by the hemisphere, cut from a round loaf.  Bread is the beginning of every meal at Roseland -- a kind of pre-appetizer that's hard not to devour. But don't eat it all, we warn you! Roseland has so many other things you'll want to eat, from a broad menu of hand-cut ravioli, lasagna, various parmigianas, and the occasional pasatelli and cappeletti in broth from the proprietors’ homeland in Le Marche. Hot and cold antipasti are spectacular; and whatever else you eat, you must eat pizza when you come to Roseland, for this is one of the great pizzerias in Connecticut, ergo one of the best on earth. The crust is what connoisseurs know as New Haven style: thin but not brittle, with enough brawn to support all but the weightiest combinations of ingredients and to allay the pizza-eater's primal fears: slice collapse and topping slippage.  Baker Gary Lucarelli makes some spectacularly lavish pies, such as a shrimp casino topped with bacon, mozzarella, fresh garlic, and jumbo shrimp, and this is a good place to sample the relatively uncomplicated Connecticut classic, white clam pizza. Recommended configuration: no mozzarella, no tomato sauce, just a crowd of freshly-shucked Rhode Island clams strewn across a crust frosted with olive oil and scattered with bits of basil, parsley, and oregano, thin-sliced garlic, a twist of cracked black pepper, and a scattering of grated Parmigiano Reggiano. The nectar of the clams insinuates itself into the surface of the crust, giving every crunch exhilarating marine zest.  Roseland is known for serving huge portions. No one leaves without a handful of Styrofoam containers holding leftovers. Gary Lucarelli likes to see diners carry home his food. "They take it to their grandmother or aunt who can't get out," he beams, thinking of all the nice old ladies who have the opportunity to enjoy a Roseland meal at home. "Being in the [Naugatuck] Valley, we get people with good appetites,” he explains. “They come in and knock off a 'hot anti' then have their sauteed escarole and a sausage pie or a plate of ravioli." As he thinks of these good neighbors enjoying their big meals, he raises a wine glass in a one-word toast to all of them: "'Eat!' I say." He inhales the bouquet of the wine (which he makes himself), takes a sip, and repeats the toast that is his family's way of life and the soul of Roseland: "Eat!"" --http://roadfood.com/Restaurant/Review/241-241/roseland-apizza