GOING DOWN IN FLAMES

WHY DOES MIKEY’S LATE NIGHT SLICE (LNS) KEEP MURDERING CUSTOMERS’ TASTE BUDS with “the hottest pizza in the world”?

“Part of it is because I must be some kind of sadist,” says Jason Biundo, co-owner of LNS, with five restaurants in Columbus, Ohio, and one in Cincinnati. “But I’m also proud of how [the Fiery Death pizza] has gained a life of its own in the 10-plus years since we started it. Folks ask about it all year long. When it finally comes around, people travel from all over to feel the burn.” The pizza comes laden with ghost, scorpion and reaper peppers and a Puree Scorpion Pepper Pizza Sauce. LNS revived it in October for an eating contest in which competitors raced to finish three slices and a raw Carolina reaper pepper. But the pie’s not quite as awful as it sounds. “I made sure that, underneath the flames, it was as tasty as anything else we put out there,” Biundo says.

GUY FIERI, ARE YOU READING THIS?

Paul Rizas might own the smallest pizza shop in Baltimore, but slices don’t get much larger than his One Pound Maryland Crab Dip slice. “We make a 20” pizza that weighs about 10 pounds,” says the owner of Slice On the Avenue, which celebrated its 10-year anniversary in October. “Once cut into eight slices, each slice weighs well over one pound.” The pie is topped exactly as you’d expect: a whole lot of Maryland crab dip, made with a mix of lump and backfin crab, Philadelphia Cream Cheese, shredded sharp cheddar cheese, Old Bay Seasoning, Worcestershire sauce and lemon juice. Since it’s his dream to be featured on the Food Network, Rizas, who calls himself Pauly Slice, pitched the pie to Guy Fieri at a Barnes & Noble book signing in Paramus, New Jersey, several years ago. “I put a generator on my pickup truck, purchased an electric oven and took a few one-pound slices with me,” he recalls. “I was first in line…I gave $50 to the person behind me to hold my spot while I went to heat up the pizza before the book signing began. I handed them to Guy Fieri…[and] he was very surprised—I’m sure he wasn’t expecting it. We had a good laugh. I took my shot! And I’ve been waiting to hear from them ever since!” Guy, are you reading this?

The Creepiest Calzone Ever

Frank Sabatino started out at Dunwoodie Pizzeria as a kid scooping Italian ices. In 2009, he bought the Yonkers, New York, landmark, which opened in 1970, and has kept its standards as high as ever. Dave Portnoy reviewed Sabatino’s cheese pie in 2022 and gave it a score of 8.2, noting, “This is as good as you can make a pizza [without] the coal-fired ovens I like. You can’t make it better than this.” Sabatino is also known for his fried calzones, but he has another trick (or treat) up his sleeve during Halloween season: the Skullzone, the creepiest calzone ever to claw its way out of the crypt. Available in cheese, pepperoni, meatball, veggie and Nutella varieties, the Skullzones make for attentiongrabbing social media content and must be ordered in advance. “I’m always looking for new ideas and different ways to market my business toward a new clientele,” Sabatino says. “You never want to go stale, because, like bread, this industry will turn you into breadcrumbs!”

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