Knuckledragger Pizza Company is another one of those businesses in our county that you might miss if you blink when you drive by. It is located at 6395 Pony Express Trail in Pollock Pines, which is just west of 50 Grand, on the opposite side of Willow Street.
Russ Salazar and I stopped by a week ago last Thursday and were greeted by the owner, chief cook, pizza and sandwich maker, Shannon Robertson. Helping her that day was her daughter, Hailee.
Shannon’s brother started the business in 2015. She was living in Arizona at the time, so they brought her here and gave it to her as a Christmas present.
We knew her restaurant specializes in “Take-N-Bake” pizza that receives outstanding reviews, but we were there to try something else, the sandwiches.
I had been told that the Philly Cheesesteak sandwich was especially delicious, and that was what I was after.
Since we usually order two items and split them, I looked over the menu and immediately spotted another of my favorites, a Meatball sandwich. Then Shannon mentioned to me that she also makes a Pulled Pork sandwich that was quite popular.
I asked if she cooked here own pork shoulder and she pointed to the two crock pots on the counter and said, “Yes, and it is really good.” That was enough, That would be our second one.
She made our Philly Cheesesteak first, so we could enjoy it without worrying about the second sandwich becoming cold.
The Philly is made on an Amarosa (Hoagie) roll, the proper roll for it. Filling it is sliced Angus beef, shipped in from Philly, along with bell peppers, onions, mushrooms and white American cheese. In addition to being delicious, it was moist and tender. It took me three napkins to happily get through it.
The Pulled Pork sandwich, which must have weighed close to a pound, was on a sweet French roll. Inside it was around three quarters of an inch or more of delicious pulled pork along with pepper-jack cheese. She would normally put barbecue sauce on it, be we asked for that on the side so we could taste the pork itself.
There was so much meat on it that Russ got a fork so he could first eat some of the meat out to make the sandwich thinner and more easy to eat that way.
After tasting it, I went back and had some thin-sliced fresh onion added. It needed that.
We both experimented with the amount of barbecue sauce and decided that having it on the side was the way to go. It took me five napkins for this one and still I got some barbecue sauce on my shirt.
As I mentioned at the start, their main business is “Take-N-Bake” pizza and they can make just about any kind you want. Of course, there is the “Build Your Own,” with a long list of toppings and sauces from which to choose, along with several uniquely named and built speciality pizzas.
They have The Hunter, with pepperoni, salami, sausage and Canadian bacon; The Gatherer, with spinach, sun dried tomatoes, black olives and Feta cheese (my archaeology minded friends will catch that); The Mammoth, with pepperoni, sausage, Canadian bacon, salami, bell peppers, onion, black olives and fresh garlic; the Knuckle Combo with pepperoni, sausage, bell pepper, onion, black olives and mushrooms; The Beast with BBQ sauce, pulled pork, onions, jalapeños and pineapple, and their Signature Stuffed Pizza, The Knuckle Dragger, with pepperoni, Canadian bacon, salami sausage, bacon, olives, mushrooms all topped with a cheese pizza.
Quite a list, but that’s not all the pizzas. There are more self explanatory ones like the BBQ Chicken, Buffalo Chicken, Ultimate Veggie, Pulled Pork and something really different, the Enchilada Pizza. It is covered with enchilada sauce, sour cream mix, chicken, black olives, green onions and crushed corn chips.
They also serve a personal size pizza that they can actually bake on site.
The list of Knuckle Sandwiches includes the two we loved, along with Meatball, Pastrami, Road Beef, Reuben, Italian, Black Forest Ham, Smoked Turkey, Tuna, Egg Salad, Pizza Bread (with two toppings), Veggie, Grilled Cheese and, yes, Peanut Butter and Jelly (strawberry or grape).
We had Shannon make our sandwiches the way she thought they should be, but you can pick your bread, cheese, toppings and condiments yourself.
00Not up for a sandwich or pizza? You can build your own salad. They come with one meat, whatever veggies you fancy and your choice of dressing,
If that isn’t enough, you might like to try her Enchiladas, made with cheese, chicken or a chicken/green chile/onion/olives combination (call ahead two hours for these). Oh, I almost forgot the Breakfast Enchiladas with one meat, scrambled eggs, Mozzarella, onions, bell peppers and green sauce.
To accompany your meal they serve soft drinks and Blue Bunny ice cream.
Knuckledragger Pizza Company is open Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m. until 7 p.m., Friday from 10 a.m. until 8 p.m., Saturday from 9 a.m. until 8 p.m. and on Sunday from 9 a.m. until 6 p.m. For more information, give them a call at (530) 644-9914.
Oh, Birthday Kits for the kiddos, Sandwich Platters and Homemade Cakes for all occasions. Call or stop in for details.