We were about to give up on eating at a Retro Roadmap -worthy restaurant in CT – all the diners we saw as we got off of 95 onto Route 1 were either closed or too Jersey (stainless and stone) for me. As we were pulling over to look up directions to a possible destination in NJ I saw the light from our car reflecting off of big brushed stainless sign letters and got a quick glimpse through wide venetian blinds of folks sitting at tables basking in the glow of a neon pizza sign. By staying on the back roads just a few moments more, we lucked out and discovered Salerno’s Apizza in Stratford CT.
We turned the car around (spying a duckpin bowling alley in the process) and hooray, the place looked pretty busy for that stretch of Route 1, especially on a Sunday night. As we walked in we saw folks leaving with pizzas ( Apizza is a uniquely Connecticut term) and the dining room was nicely bustling with couples, folks with grandkids, and families. We were offered a booth and sat down to peruse the newspaper style menu.
Seems as if Salerno’s is a local institution, since 1947 when it was located in the East End of Bridgeport CT and was called C & C Pizzeria. The big sign you see you see outside is not Salerno’s but rather for Cutrufello’s Creamery, also local institution of sorts, famous for their cheese and pasta. It appears as if the Cutrufello’s company store next door has closed, but Salerno’s carries some of their cheese and raviolis in their case, along with Salerno’s home made sauce.
I could go on about the new decor trying to look old, and how the playing of hits from the 40’s and 50’s in the background added to the old school ambiance. But instead I will spend a bit of time on the food, which was a very nice surprise. We were presented with a basked with a warm fluffy mini loaf of bread and our waitress was incredibly attentive as far as drink levels go. Salad was bright and crisp, with a very tangy balsamic vinaigrette dressing.
Since we had walked past a number of tables that had ordered pizza, Retro Roadhusband was ready to order that. When I read that Salerno’s made their own pasta I knew I had to order it and got the chicken parm, which was tender and tasty. Food was plentiful with enough left over for a couple of meals and the ambiance was warm and relaxed. Reading about their plum tomato pizza ( onions, scamozza, plum tomatoes and parmesean, with basil pesto added before it’s cut) is getting me pretty hungry right now, bit then again so is this picture:
(lucky for me some of this pizza awaits as my lunch tomorrow!)
Salerno’s definitely harkens back to the olden days with it’s “new meaning to look old” even becoming the meeting place of the East-End Alumni Association, a collection of folks who grew up in the area from the 1940’s – 1960’s. The first Sunday of every month is East Enders’ Sunday at Salernos, and I just think it’s great that folks get together and relive that sense of community that I just don’t think us busy “youngsters” have.
So pull yourself off the highway and get yourself an Apizza with scamozza at Salerno’s and enjoy a Connecticut step back in time.
Salerno’s Apizza
1398 Barnum Ave
Stratford, CT
(203) 377-2436
