I’ve been hearing a lot about a fairly new pizza place in Dunlap called Knuckles Pizza. The pizza there is cooked, “Quad City Style,” which I’ve never had, time to correct that today as we head out for our seventh week in a year of pizza.
Off we go into the wild blue yonder. Yikes it’s bright out here!
And here we are, this building used to be, Chef John's Wine Bar and Grill. Tom and Mindy Moore bought the building in 2011 and started a take-out pizza business. It’s now grown into a full-fledged restaurant with a dining room and a full menu that includes appetizers, salads, sandwiches and of course, pizza! Check out this “You Gotta Eat” segment that was recently done on Knuckles for more information on the restaurant and Quad City style pizza.
I like the neon that’s blazing in the windows!
Tina’s the pretty manager here and she’s not nearly as serious as this picture paints her! In fact everyone here is really friendly and there’s a fun atmosphere in here and you’ll see evidence of that in the last photo.
There’s tables in the front area here...
And here’s the spacious main dining room. It’s got a comfortable and rustic feel to it. There’s no bar yet, but Tina told me they’re in the process of building one. Perfect excuse to come back!
I decided to settle in at this table.
Kim, our cute and friendly waitress is quick on the draw with an ice-cold bottle of Budweiser!
The Wilson family was seated behind me enjoying pizza and agreed to pose for the MBIP camera. Sadly they didn’t offer me a slice, but what are you going to do? I thought about setting their table on fire, but decided to just move along.
There’s a sports theme going on in here as you can see by these framed professional basketball jerseys.
This is really cool, these are cutouts that were used on the baseball movie, The Natural, starring Robert Redford.
I love the wooden ceiling in here, it really adds to the character of the place.
I ordered an appetizer to eat before the pizza and here it is: Barbecued meatballs with shavings of cheddar cheese on top. These look and smell like something created in barbecue heaven!
For once, words fail me! These are so tasty, the barbecue is spicy and sweet and the meat is tangy and tasty. They have two other styles of meatballs in addition to barbecue. I’m definitely coming back to try the others!
Okay, I devoured the meatballs and now it’s pizza time. Tina gave me access to the kitchen to see the pie being made by Matt. Here’s Matt spreading out the dough, which is made fresh here daily.
The rolling pin comes into play here...
Up, up and away she goes...
What goes up must come down and Matt successfully catches the dough and now...
It’s time to get sauced...oh shit, I left my beer at my table. Oh well, the pizza has to get sauced alone...makes me think of George Thorogood!
Fresh toppings are now applied to the pizza pie. They certainly don't skimp on toppings here!
And a heaping mound of mozzarella cheese is layered on top.
Into the oven it goes. Let’s get back to our table and quit pestering them in the kitchen here.
Check out the condiment ring, it’s like a twin to last week’s when we were at Davis Bros. Pizza. And just like last week, Frank’s is the only brand available, which is fine, I like Frank’s.
Here’s Matt and Kim presenting this week’s pizza pie.
In addition to being able to build your own pie, there’s also several specialty pizzas to choose from. I got The Knucklehead, which is sausage, onions, green peppers and mushrooms covered in mozzarella cheese. What a great looking pie, let’s dig in.
Wow, this is great pizza! It definitely has a unique taste and the crust is in between thin and thick and has a nice density to it. They use malt in the crust which gives it a nice and different flavor. The sauce is good and the sausage is spicy and chopped up in small bits and it’s really tasty! Between the meatballs and the pizza, this afternoon has been one tasty adventure!
Between the toppings that are generously piled on top and the thicker crust, this pizza is really filling. This is all I could eat without bursting, looks like we’ve got enough here for breakfast and lunch tomorrow!
On the way out I get the official “Knucklehead Salute” from the entire crew at Knuckles Pizza! Thanks to all of you for a great meal and a fun day!
Okay, time to try out a piece the next day for breakfast...
The crust has shrunk a little in thickness, but it’s just as tasty cold as it was warm. Great pizza! We’ll see you all tomorrow!
Pizza Rating
Four Chef Boyardees—really tasty pizza done in a unique way for this area and the meatballs are so good! Can’t wait till they open the bar, it’ll be a great excuse to come back here.
Knuckles Pizza
1719 W. Woodside Dr.
Dunlap, Illinois
309-243-5900
Related Posts: Pizza @ Davis Bros. Pizza, Kenny’s Westside Pub, Dave’s Pizza, Peoria Pizza Works, Sugar and Agatucci’s.