Saucy billboards touting out-of-state pizza as ‘nation’s best’ get NYers coal-fired up

Connecticut is taking a bite out of the Big Apple.

The Constitution State is trolling New York pizza in a series billboards that have popped up in Manhattan and Brooklyn this month — leaving locals wondering if someone out there has pepperoni for brains.

Messages in the “rage bait” marketing campaign from the Connecticut Office of State Marketing and Tourism have run in Brooklyn and Manhattan with messages like “Connecticut Pizza Wins. NYC Takes The L” and “The Nation’s Best Pizza. Not You, New York.”

“This is the kind of playful rivalry that brings people together around a bigger table and puts our pizza culture front and center,” Anthony M. Anthony, chief marketing officer for the state of Connecticut, said in a statement.

But locals in the Big Apple Wednesday said Connecticut can fuggedabout playing nice when it comes to which state is the slice king.

“Bull—t! You wanna get good pizza? Go to Staten Island,” Ceasar Castelo, 65, told The Post while munching on a slice from 2 Bros Pizza in Midtown Manhattan. 

“Go to Arthur Avenue: Half Moon Pizza,” another patron, George Gracia, 57, offered as proof of the Big Apple’s superior slice.

Joey Schirripa, 43, who manages John’s of Bleeker in Greenwich Village, argued that while pizza from both states are very similar — coal-fired and sold by the pie — a New York slice is a step above because it focuses more on cheese than sauce in each bite.

“It’s good but I don’t think it’s better than ours,” Schirripa said. “We feel like our pizza is much more flavorful.”

Similar campaigns were launched in rival destinations in Chicago, Detroit and New Jersey, the Connecticut’s tourism office said.

The signs prompt people to visit www.betterpizzainCT.com or call 1-844-CTPIZZA to share “why you think New York pizza is second best — or, if you’re feeling bold, admit that Connecticut might just be No. 1.”

“This isn’t about being subtle—we’re telling the world we’re the best,” Anthony added. 

“Connecticut’s pizza legacy doesn’t need a spotlight. We just turned it on so everyone else could see it. The quality, the taste, the diversity—our pizza speaks for itself—has for generations—and we invite the world to experience it for themselves.”

But many New Yorkers said they aren’t traveling up north for a pizza any way you slice it.

Kevin Juarez, 21, busses at Lombardi’s in Little Italy and thinks it’s too much to trek to New Haven and risk eating a lousy slice.

“I mean, for it to be two hours from here is a bit risky,” Juarez said. “You never know, you could go and it could be a waste of money.” 

Julian Kurhajec, 21, said Connecticut should promote travel to the state with something besides pizza.

“I’ll drive there and I’ll see New York-style pizza. That says it all,” Kurhajec said.

But one person having lunch in the city Wednesday afternoon sprinted to the defense of the Nutmeg State’s pizza: a Connecticut resident.

“Just everything about [our pizza] is perfect,” said Connecticut resident LG Glaspey, 19. “It’s nice and crispy. It has a nice little smoky flavor, but it’s still fresh.”

But Glaspey’s fellow out-of-towner, Jack Carew, 27, wasn’t as enthusiastic.

“Coffee, pizza: to me they’re all the same,” Carew said.

You can visit the saucy billboards at the following locations: 

• 9th Avenue & 40th Street (Hudson Yards)
• 260 Moore St. (East Williamsburg)
• 202 Mott St. (NoLita)
• 200 W 50th St. (Times Square)
• 445 6th Ave. (Greenwich Village)

Subway ‘liveboards’ of the NYC pizza roast can be found here:  

• 34th Street-Herald Square Station
• 14th Street-Union Square Station
• 59th Street-Columbus Circle Station
• Fulton Street (Financial District)
• Nevins Street (Downtown Brooklyn)
• Times Square-42nd Street