Tuesday, February 9th is National Pizza Day. Close your eyes and imagine a pizza fresh out of the oven. The aroma is calling you. You grab a slice and the crust is crispy but not too thin, and is topped with a home made tomato sauce that has been simmering for hours with fresh herbs and spices, and the fresh grated cheese that just melts in your mouth.
Pizza dates back to the 10th century in Naples, Italy. The original recipe for pizza contained just tomato sauce, basil, and cheese, representing the three colors of the Italian flag. On our escorted Italy tour a few years ago, we stopped at Antica Pizzeria in Naples, which is thought to be the world’s first pizza place. They started as street vendors in 1738 and opened the pizzeria around 1830. It was in a very touristy area and pretty crowded. I wouldn’t say the pizza was the best I’ve ever had, as a matter of fact, it was a bit bland and light on the sauce, but it was still great to read about their history and how long they have been in business.
Pizza made its way to the U.S. in 1905. Lombardi’s in NY City was the first to open and they are still there today. Lombardi is credited with developing New York Style pizza. The first Pizza Hut opened in the 1930’s.
Let’s celebrate with one of America’s all-time favorite foods. The most popular types of pizza include Neopolitan, NY thin crust, Chicago deep dish, Sicilian, California style & Greek pizza.
Some interesting facts about pizza:
- Pepperoni is the most popular pizza
- Halloween is the biggest night for pizza orders followed by Super Bowl & the day before Thanksgiving
- Over three billion pizzas are sold in the USA each year with another one billion frozen pizzas
- 17% of all US restaurants are pizzerias
- Gennaro Pizzeria is the first Pizzeria opened in the US in 1985 in New York City
- Approximately 350 slices of pizza are eaten every minute in the U.S.
Celebrate #NationalPizzaDay with one of these special offers:
Blaze Pizza – Two large 1 topping pizzas for $20. They also have a “Take Three” deal…choose a pizza, side salad and bottled drink for $10.
CiCi’s – With coupon, carry out three one-topping pizzas @$5 each
Dominos – Carry out pizza with up to 3 toppings for $7.99 You can also Mix & Match menu items for $5.99 including oven baked sandwiches, a medium 2 topping pizza, 8 piece chicken wings and more.
Little Caesars – Pepperoni pizza & 2-liter of Pepsi for just $10.
Marco’s Pizza – free medium cheese pizza with the purchase of any large pizza – promo code BOGOCHZ
Round Table Pizza – One free personal cheese or 1-topping pizza with any dine-in purchase
Einstein Bro – 2 slices for $3
Papa Johns – Try their new EPIC Stuffed Crust and get a one-topping Stuffed Crust Pizza for just $12.
Patxi’s Pizza – Buy one get any 10-inch specialty thin crust for $9
Pizza Hut – Tastemaker Deal…large pizza with up to three toppings for only $10
Caulipower – Visit BornOnPizzaDay.com to send a year’s supply of Caulipower pizza to a lucky family
Slice of the Burg – Buy any 18 inch and get a regular 14 inch two regular topping pizzas for $5
For some family fun buy a pizza crust at your local grocery store and try some different recipes.
