To craft a New Haven-style pizza — or apizza, as it is known in the Connecticut city of its birth — you need a thin, coal-fired, charred crust made from dough that has been fermented for longer than a traditional pie to ensure a chewy texture. Add to that plenty of tomato sauce, oregano, optional mozzarella and the ire of New Yorkers.

Created at Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana in 1925, this Neapolitan variant is a close relative of the New York-style pizza but tends to be drier and thinner than its southern cousin.

If you’re looking to scratch a particular culinary itch, visit these pizza parlors serving up New Haven-style in the D.C. area.

Pete’s New Haven Style Apizza

“What’s apizza?” you may ask. Properly pronounced ah-beetz, the affectionate term is slang for New Haven-style pizza. Refer to mozzarella as “mootz” if you want to immerse yourself further in the New Haven culture.

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Pete’s serves up pizza, pasta and sandwiches in a casual setting. It even has the classic New Haven specialty: a white pizza with clams, garlic, oregano, olive oil and pecorino Romano cheese. This Friendship Heights establishment only sells traditional New Haven-style pizza (gluten-free option available), so look for your deep-dish fix elsewhere.

While the Arlington, Silver Spring and flagship Columbia Heights locations have shuttered their doors in recent years, the remaining location remains a neighborhood staple.

Pete’s New Haven Style Apizza, 4940 Wisconsin Ave. petesapizza.com. $9-$37.

Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana

This is the place that started it all. Okay, not this specific location: Westfield Montgomery Mall next to a Cheesecake Factory. And yet the spirit remains.

Frank Pepe’s is a powerhouse in the world of New Haven pizza, so its two area locations (including one in Alexandria) could not be left off this list.

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Washington Post food critic Tim Carman wrote, of the Bethesda location, “All the hallmarks of a Pepe’s pie are there at the mall: the thin, blistered crust that’s crispier and chewier than the soft, 00-flour versions of Neapolitan pizza that the D.C. area has grown accustomed to; the sprinkles of blackened farina on the underside of the crust, as if your slice were dragged through the ash of an open hearth; the unmistakable interplay between the salty, crackerlike crust and the bubbles of bitter char that form around the edges; the sweet-tart flavors of freshly milled Italian plum tomatoes cooked in a 600-degree oven.”

Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana, 7101 Democracy Blvd., Bethesda, and 3232 Duke St., Alexandria. pepespizzeria.com. $10.75-$39.25

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