Pizza King on the Lake

 Average Joe is a pizza connoisseur.  He won't eat pizza just anywhere, he has a few favorites.  And when I met him, he was delighted to introduce me to a place he'd been coming to since the beginning of time, Pizza King in East Killingly, CT.  He said "You're not going to believe this place, the pizza is slammin'! And it's in the middle of the woods, in the middle of NOWHERE!  And it looks just like something out of a Coors silver bullet commercial!"  And he was not lying.  He was not lying about the pizza, either. 

The view from the back deck in the fall

I had heard about this place since I was a teenager.  But growing up in South County, a lot of people get...well, stuck in South County.  There's a weird sort of mentality that precludes you driving more than 10 miles in any direction.  You have to drive all the way out Rt. 6, take a right down a narrow winding road, take a left onto a REALLY narrow road, and up a long dirt driveway to get there. So I'd never been.   The place has apparently been through a lot of changes over the years, but now you can go in anytime Thursday through Sunday and find Buddy holding court and making you feel like you're part of the family.  There's plenty of room for dining; in the winter you can huddle up next to the fireplace if you like (I do), and in the summer you can eat on the deck and marvel at the quiet beauty of the lake in back.

There are loads of options on the menu, but what we usually go with are spinach, feta, tomatoes and mushrooms.  Joe likes chicken on his half.  The pizza is thick and loaded with cheese, they are not shy with their toppings. Absolutely delicious.

Wings are one of the Pizza King specialties.  There are various degrees of hot sauce you can select, and I'm told that if you choose the XXX sauce, it comes with a personal visit to your table from Buddy, who will explain just HOW hot it is and try to talk you out of it.  A full selection of burgers, salads, pasta, grinders and Starlets' famous pies are also available if pizza is not your thing. 

Pizza King seems to be a very popular place for birthday parties.  A lot of the times we've been there on a weekend, there's been a party going on, and Joe says he had his 50th birthday there. 

One of the items on the menu is "a bowl of junk".  In one of my earlier visits, I got a big kick out of this and posted a photo of that menu listing on my facebook page as we were waiting for our pizza.  About 2 minutes later, Buddy came over to our table and explained what a bowl of junk was.  So he clearly pays attention to his facebook page!

So, what's a bowl of junk?  You just have to go to Pizza King and find out for yourself.  It's worth the trip, even from South County.  430 Ledge Road, East Killingly, CT.