Pizza Joint Wings? Yes or No?

You wouldn’t order a burger from a Chinese restaurant. You wouldn’t go for pizza at a Mexican restaurant. You wouldn’t call Subway ask for barbecued brisket, and you wouldn’t go to a barbecue joint for a Caesar salad. So what about wings at a pizza joint?

I personally order all my pizza from pizza joints. Always.

Now let’s think this one through. First off, buffalo wings were invented in an Italian Restaurant. And not all, but most pizza places have wings on their menu (at least one flavor; buffalo).

Before Wingaddicts I would have told you to get your wings from a wing joint. But again, my eyes have been opened. Some of our favorite wings have come from pizza joints thus far. We don’t tend to go to a pizza place with just one wing on their menu, but we have made a few exceptions. And here are a rundown of our favorite pizza joint wings, so far!

(Click on the restaurant name for their website. Click on the photo for our Wingaddicts episode there!)

Daveluy’s (Watertown, CT) Their website says Daveluy’s Tavern, the sign out front says Daveluy’s Restaurant, and when he opened the place in 1932 Joseph Daveluy (pronounced dav-ah-lee) transformed this building into a “place to eat, drink, and relax.” Sounds like a bar. To the onlooker, Daveluy’s might be classified as a tavern, an Italian restaurant or, yes, a pizza joint. Most Fridays you have to call in your pizza orders up to two hours in advance. They do over 25 toppings and also have 17 insane-looking specialty calzones on the menu! But don’t let any of that fool you. Daveluy’s has 20 wing flavors and is without any question one of the very best wing spots in the entire state of Connecticut. Full disclosure, we’ve never tried their pizza. But those wings!!

My Place Pizza Restaurant (Newtown) Back in the 80’s, the Tambascio family ran an amazing little breakfast diner in Newtown called My Place Luncheonette. When the Newtown Post office moved and the Big Y grocery store came to town, My Place moved over to the opposite end of the parking lot and became a full-service restaurant, My Place Pizza & Restaurant. For years, they’ve served some of the best pizza and Italian food in Newtown (there’s even a “sister” restaurant on the other end of town called Tambasico’s which is also excellent). My Place soon opened up an attached Tap Room and guess what’s on the menu. Yep. Wings. While they only have one wing you can order, it’s Buffalo Soldier Wings are as unique and distinctive as you’ll ever find. And well worth the trip!

Hometown Pizza (Southbury) Now this spot really threw us a sweeping curveball. Both Doni and I have lived in Southbury for many years and neither one of us knew about this spot. It’s easy to drive right by on South Main Street if you’re not looking for it. There are a few small tables inside, but it’s mostly takeout AND it’s mostly pizza. In fact they have over 40 types of brick oven pizza along with calzones, soups, salads, hot & cold grinders and dozens and dozens of entrees. But you know why we went. Under the heading “Appetizers” you’ll see “Buffalo Wings.” When you click on it you’ll see some of the flavors you might expect from a pizza place like buffalo, bbq, teriyaki, garlic parm (and they’re all good), but the Mango Habanero wings at Hometown are some of the best we’ve had anywhere, and Vinny (the owner) makes up his once secret recipe, “Vinny’s Special” which is now on the menu. I don’t know what’s in it. But you need to eat it! By the way, Hometown Pizza has locations in Prospect, Thomaston, Terryville, Bristol, Litchfield, and Wallingford as well - all run by the family.

MAG’s Pizza (Seymour) Full disclosure, none of us (the Wingaddicts) has experienced this place at it’s full capacity. We discovered it during 2020 and it’s so big that it always looks like its closed. In the parking lot next to Ocean City Job Lot in Seymour on Rt 67, this place is a solid gold strike!With over 20 toppings to select from and another 24 “Specialty Pizzas” on the menu, this place is also an expansive bar with a stage which hosts live bands (during normal times). The menu also includes burgers, grinders, wraps, salads, and all the appetizers you’d expect to see at a pub or tavern. But don’t let the word “pizza” in the name fool you. This place has 30 different wing flavors!! And some of these flavors, like  Cherry Pepper Twist, General Tso, and Parm Butter Bacon had us drooling through an entire episode last summer. It’s a family owned and run restaurant, they’re super friendly, and you MUST put this on your wing list!

The Hub Wood Burning Pizza Bar (Ansonia/Naugatuck) OK, so poor Doni the Cleaner wasn’t feeling up to snuff one day so Wingchef Ryan and I went to Naugatuck and hit The Hub on our own. With a mother-ship restaurant in Ansonia, this place has a very unique style of wings that they cook in the wood-fired oven. When we went, they had four wing flavors and couldn’t decide which one we liked more. As I look on their menu today, they’re up to ten flavors which means we’re going back! Next time we bring Doni.This is another place that looks like it’s crazy fun in the summertime, without restrictions, but in the meantime they do have some tables and a bar you can sit at and, of course, there’s takeout! We couldn’t give this place a higher rating! We love it. (Shhh, the pizza rocks too!)

Mad Greek Pizzeria (Southbury) Another spot right on the main drag in Southbury where my family has been ordering wood-fired pizzas for years. And another spot who’s menu has other things besides pizza like grinders and sandwiches and burgers and appetizers. You can almost always see the owner Saki smiling and flipping pizzas in the front window and you can smell that fireplace burning as you drive past any night of the week. But guess what else you can do there? You can order at least 20 flavors of wings and even watch them toss them in house. To be clear, while they wood fire all their pizza there the wings are actually deep fried. They also have a specials board with interesting wing flavors from time to time . . . like Wasabi Ranch! Give this place a try and don’t let the name fool ya! 

Mulberry Street Pizza (Manchester) So we went to this place strictly on a recommendation. We heard it was the number-one pizza joint in Manchester and also the number-one wing spot as well. Let’s be clear. It’s a restaurant in every way. While it opened in the 80’s as a small takeout pizza place, it has blossomed over the years into the most-popular full service restaurant in the city. And it’s all done with a “Cheers syle” family and friends vibe. With a ridiculous pizza menu (don’t take my word for it, look on the website), appetizers, sandwiches, grinders, and entrees like Braised Short Ribs, Salmon, and anything Italian, they also have a dozen wing flavors to live for (as opposed to “to die for”). You’ll probably get owner Bob Sulick visiting you at your table. What a special place this truly is.

Notch 8 Wood Fired Bar & Grill (Bethel) They’re the only one on our list that doesn’t actually have the word “pizza” in their name and you almost wouldn’t call this place a pizza joint. Except for the fact they have the most bad ass wood oven I have ever seen, thirty-some pizza toppings, and some crazy stupid menu list of pizzas that would even make a true Wingaddict question his intentions. (Again, look at their online menu!). Considering that the kitchen is run by an award-winning chef who actually won the Food Network show “Chopped,” you’d expect some classic things to eat there and you’d get your wish. However, lets talk wings. Of course, we ate ALL of them and were all very impressed. The one that stood out for me was the Scotch Bonnet wings. Oh, and the Jamacian Jerk. And the Rosemary Brown Suger. Oh, just go there! And eat in. It’s a really cool place!

8fifty Wood Fired Pizza (Middlebury) We were invited to visit this place, under new ownership, and it kept slipping down our list. One, it’s a pizza joint. Two, there’s only one wing on the menu. On the positive side, it’s not a run-of-the-mill buffalo wing, and secondly I drive past this place all the time (it’s only a few miles from my house). I’m not going to lie. We had low expectations when we finally made our way there. And damn did we get our minds blown! Awesome owners, awesome staff, awesome pizza, awesome bar, and yes the one wing - “Sweet Heat Buffalo” is unique and is a winner!! Give them a try for sure!

Tipsy Tomato Pizzeria (Derby) I heard about this place on an actual pizza group on social media. I went in there all by myself just to have a look around and noticed they had wings on that menu. So, all by myself, I sat down and ordered some. I’ve been meaning to order pizza from there ever since (but takeout is kind of far from me) because their menu and reviews are cuckoo! The wings seem to be just an afterthought. They’re even called “Bar Wings” on the menu, and they have five flavors. I ordered their traditional buffalo and it was on point. Sadly, I can only give this place an honorable mention because I need my other Wingaddicts to go back with me. And we will! It’s that good. And I REALLY want to try their pizza! (Shhhh)

Pies & Pub (Middlebury) Another place that I winged out all by myself, this place used to be called Pies & Pints (pies meaning pizza pies). Full disclosure, I always thought pies and pints was a bakery and ice cream joint. But it’s not. Their pizza is outstanding and they do an amazing takeout business near where we live. They also have a great bar and a full menu with appetizers, salads, sandwiches, and entrees. Their wing selection includes about a dozen and they do something that we don’t often see - offering a variety different wing dipping sauces. I had my first sweet wing there, the Cinnamon Chipotle, last summer but again we can only offer them honorable mention for now until I get my other Wingaddicts in there. However, they are personally approved by mwa (that’s “me" in spanish or something)!

We've had several recommendations for pizza joint wings and have a few more spots on our Connecituct "must try" list including:

Sasso's Coal Fired Pizza in Torrington

Cheshire Pizza and Ale in Cheshire

Wise Guys in Meriden

GG's Wood Fired Pizza in Milford

Fire Engine Pizza Co in Shelton/Bridgeport

Rose's in Oxford

Vincenzo's Pizzeria in Waterbury

Woodfella's in Mystic

Rocco's Pizza in Manchester

What say you? Any pizza joints we're missing out on? Or do you tend to stay away altogether? Wings up!