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Wilson
Pizza Palace is a landmark restaurant in Windsor, Connecticut,
distinguished by its distinctive giant letter W for Wilson. The owners
made this W by simply inverting the old M left over from when the
location was a McDonald’s fast-food restaurant. Easily accessible from
the nearby highway, Wilson Pizza Palace has operated for 41 years. A
family-owned business, it serves up delicious pizzas, calzones, pasta
dishes, and giant salads daily in a friendly, no-frills, welcoming
environment where the owners know their regulars and greet them by name.
Wilson Pizza Palace uses only the freshest ingredients for its dishes,
and meatballs and mixed cold cuts are trademark grinder favorites from
this venerable establishment. Sheet pizzas are available when ordered 24
hours in advance, the sauces are from a homemade recipe, and if you
don’t see your favorite type of pizza or calzone on the menu, just ask;
the kitchen staff can probably make one up to order. Wilson Pizza Palace
offers its traditional pizzas in three customary sizes of small,
medium, and large. Toppings are generous, and a pepperoni pizza is
distinguished by a carpet of slices covering the pizza. The owner
prepares pizza dough every day early in the morning to ensure freshness,
and the dressing for the signature Greek salad is rumored to be from a
secret recipe, made from scratch by the wife of one of the owners.
Wilson Pizza Palace features plenty of parking and closes only three
days a year. One of the owners can always be found inside this bustling
Windsor eatery, making sure that pizzas are being made up, baked, and
handed to hungry customers.
Locations
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340 Windsor Ave
Windsor, Connecticut 06095
Documents
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The Development of the Modern Pizza
By Wilson Pizza Palace
Located in Windsor, Connecticut, Wilson Pizza Palace has offered customers fresh pizzas, grinders, pastas, and salads for over four decades. Our most popular menu item is the classic pepperoni pizza, and we also offer white pizzas made with ricotta, garlic, and mozzarella. Pizzas have a long and varied history that stretches back to flatbreads eaten in ancient cultures from Egypt to India. With the discovery of the Americas and introduction of tomatoes into Italian cuisine, it was only a matter of time before tomatoes found their way onto Italian flatbread.
Pizzas featuring mozzarella di bufala Campana and San Marzano tomatoes emerged in Naples in the 19th century. The first true pizzeria is thought to be Antica Pizzeria Port’ Alba in Naples. Established in 1830, it still offers authentic Neapolitan pies to this day. The first modern pizza, the Margherita, is attributed to the baker Raffaele Esposito, who ran the restaurant Pizzeria di Pietro. He baked a special pizza pie in commemoration of the 1889 visit to Naples by Italian King Umberto I and Queen Margherita. One of his creations featured a classic marinara, mozzarella, and basil combination known as the Margherita ever since. Pizza historians recount that this particular pie was much appreciated by Queen Margherita for its patriotism, as its primary colors were the same as those in the Italian flag.
With a large number of Italian immigrants passing through Ellis Island in the early 20th century, it was not long before pizza became established in New York City. Gennaro Lombardi founded the first known North American pizzeria in 1905. Interestingly, in recent years the original location on 53 1/3 Spring Street has been reestablished as a thriving New York pizzeria.
Today the abundance of pizza in the United States is truly staggering, with many restaurants serving pies that Italians of the 19th century would not recognize as pizza at all. At Wilson Pizza Palace we combine pizza authenticity and gastronomic pleasure. Our pizzas are made the old-fashioned way, with dough rolled out and prepared fresh by the owner each morning. Wilson Pizza Palace stands as the Connecticut restaurant where pizza memories are truly made.
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