Willington Pizza House, 58/64 Pizza Place

I decided I'd start my blog out with one of my favorite restaurants of all time: Willington Pizza House. Having went to school with the owner's oldest daughter Megan I knew about Willington Pizza from a young age. There would often be pizza parties for the class who won a canned food drive, or read the most books catered by Willington Pizza. They are open at 11am 7 days a week and close between 9pm and 11pm depending on the day and time of year. They are located at 25 River Road Willington, CT and the phone number is 860-429-7433. The building might appear to be that of just another pizza shop. But I promise that you will be pleased with what they serve up.

The building is over two hundred years old and has been converted from an old farm house into a spacious dining room. Whether you sit in a booth or a table you don't feel crowded or secluded from the rest of the room. The tables can be moved together to accommodate larger parties while the booths hold four to six people depending on their size. The walls are adorned with various oddities from past decades as well as local papers or fliers. The areas where the servers make coffee and put in the orders are walled off so this can lead to some problems if your trying to get their attention. But the wait staff is generally very friendly and attentive. I rate the layout and design of the dining are a 13 /16.

The menu is a very simple design and it works well with the style of the restaurant and the food. They don't need fancy pictures and designs to lure you to a particular dish. Meals are priced fairly reasonably and are described well enough to let you know what the item is. They avoid a lot of the buzz words many chains over-use. They offer a wide variety of items, though their main staple is their pizzas and sandwiches. They offer more than just the usual selections as well as a wide variety of toppings to customize your own. Personally I prefer their Red Potato, Cheeseburger and Taco pizzas. But all of them are made exceptionally well. For vegetarians they do offer plenty of non-meat items as well. I give the menu design and content a 15/16.

I stopped one day after getting out of work early and had not eaten. I ordered a crock of Onion Soup and a Large Red Potato Pizza with no broccoli. (I hate the stuff, seriously can we just make it extinct?) Despite the odd look from the waitress over ordering a large pizza for myself she quickly put in the order and within five minutes I was enjoying a flavor and onionful bowl of soup. I had just about finished my soup when she brought out my pizza. While the waitress wasn't hovering constantly around my table she did seem to materialize every time I needed a refill or a plate taken away. I give the execution and performance of the meal a 14/16.

The cheese was more than plentiful and the bread had nearly melted into the soup itself. It looked just like a crock of onion soup should always look. I was drooling just from the smell and the look of it. The potatoes were sliced just right and cooked to be tender but not mushy. Along with my all time favorite crust. I consumed nearly three-quarters of the pizza before throwing in the towel. I give the taste and quality my first 16/16. (Don't expect many of these to be given out, this was truly one of the better meals I'd had in a long time. You may argue also that they put more time into this particular pizza because they are known for it. But If you don't believe me go give another pizza a try for yourself. I have NEVER in over twenty years of patronage had a bad pizza here.)

As some of you may or may not know in 1994 they took home two first place awards in Las Vegas at the National Pizza Championships for their Red Potato Pizza in the Best Exotic category and Best Seafood Pizza for their Seafood Casino Pizza. I feel that the thing that stands out, and draws people in time and again is the care and hard work they put into their food. It almost feels like having a loved one cooking for you and I would recommend Willington Pizza to any one who asked me where they should go for pizza or for any meal.

My overall Ranking for Willington Pizza House is 58 points out of a possible 64 points.

My format... subject to change cuz I can.

Before I get into reviewing the places that make the grub I think it's best I lay out what makes a place or breaks a place. I may not follow this to a tee but I will do my best to work within these parameters. I will have four different categories that I talk about and award between 1 and 16 points. I know that seems like random numbers but 64 is my lucky number and 4 times 16 is 64. So a perfect restaurant in my mind will score 64 points. I will state this will be a rarity. In the title I will list the name of the place, my final rating and the type of restaurant. I will break them down into Pizza Place, Fine Dining, Diner, Fast Food, Ethnic, Chain and Family Restaurant. It may fit into more than one but for the title I will list the major one.

I will describe the place, my past experience or where I learned of the place. I will detail where it's located, it's rough hours of operation and it's style or type as well as my initial expectations.

First I will describe and analyze the layout of the dining room as well as the building. Things I will be looking for are the set up of the tables, how many can they seat, the set up of the tables, cleanliness of the room, decorations as well as any other unique problems or qualities I find.

The second thing I will run through is the design and contents of the menu. This will be a look at the heart and soul of the establishment. From here they draw you in and lay out their wares. I will be especially picky on this section. I am very picky with what I like but I will take into account others may have different dietary needs then myself.

The third part will cover the execution and performance of the staff both servers in the chefs. How quickly the food came out, did the order come out properly, was it in a timely manner, how the food looks. I will be covering a lot in this part.

Fourth in my review will cover the foods taste and it's quality. This may seem redundant to the last to some, and if it does I'm sorry but my blog may not be for you. How good the food is can make a restaurant or break it. You may go to a place dreading it for every reason other than the food, or you may go to a place but never touch the food.

Fifth I will cover the miscellaneous tidbits that make places unique. Does it have a really impressive collection of liquors? Does the waitstaff sing an utterly embarrassing song for your birthday? Or anything else I deem necessary to point out. This section I will not rate as some places may have nothing to say and it wouldn't be fair to penalize them.

In Progress

This blog will be about food.

Food is good.