Next to the railroad track on South Colony Road sits a 1920’s Philadelphia subway car that houses Trackside Brick Oven Pizzeria. From the outside, the Pizzeria appears to be a vacant subway car – you would never think that it is home to some of the best pizza in Wallingford. Serving New Haven-style classics from mashed potatoes and crispy bacon pizza to chicken pesto pizza, Trackside is bound to impress.
One of the most popular pizza dishes at Trackside is the sizzling shrimp scampi pizza. This white pie is topped with parmesan cheese, parsley, oregano, and shrimp covered with lemon juice. All the pizzas at Trackside are cooked in brick ovens that produce a rustic char on each pie.
In addition to its savory pizza dishes, Trackside also serves a variety of Italian dishes, including chicken parmesan grinders and stuffed breads filled with ham, broccolini, and buffalo chicken. Customers can also enjoy more traditional entrees such as zuppa di pesce, a soup made with shrimp, calamari, scallops, fresh clams, and linguine, as well as chicken piccata, a dish of sautéed chicken cooked with capers in lemon-butter sauce.
Ed Naclerio, the owner of Trackside, opened the pizzeria 18 years ago. On his unique choice for the location of the restaurant, Mr. Naclerio said, “The subway was just sitting here. One guy rented it for a year in the 1990s, and we have been here ever since. Yep, that’s the story.”
Mr. Naclerio loves to chat with customers while he prepares and bakes pizza dough. It’s the unique experience that keeps customers coming back for more.
