Mr. FvF and I were lucky enough to be invited to the pre-opening friends & family event at the new Dewey's Pizza at Austin Landing. For you suburbanites that tend not to venture too close to downtown Dayton - I can sum Dewey's up pretty easily by just telling you it's killer pizza. Perfectly chewy crust from a Hades-hot brick oven, high quality (and several locally sourced) toppings, a few calzones and a handful of good salads. They keep the focus where it should be - on the pies. With some quirky names (like the Dr. Dre) and nicely profiled flavor combination, even the pickiest eaters would be hard pressed not to find something they love. While Dewey's pies appeal to people like me who would order something way of the pizza map like their seasonal Porky Fig (fig jam sauce, prosciutto and gorgonzola) - you can also pacify the less adventurous 'za eaters with the X-Pepperoni or just build your own.

I can get pretty wonky when it comes to pizza toppings, but the mister likes to keep it basic. Their special was The Don - all of the good Italian meats and plenty of cheese. We did that one half, and on the other half, the Meatball (pretty self-explanatory).



One of the things I love is that they're not dicks about doing half & half pies, as long as the sauce base is the same. So, if you have wildly different taste than your dining partner, no sweat. Both sides tasted amazing, but I stopped just short of hating myself...or so I thought. Did you guys even know Dewey's had dessert? I'm betting a lot of people don't, because who can suffer dessert after eating their pizza?

• Can't recall the name of the maker, but Dewey's sausage is made by a Cincy-area purveyor and can only be found on their pies.
• While the dough is fresh, it's aged 2-3 days, which gives it the chewiness that their customers love.
• Their current stores are in the major Ohio markets, and St. Louis. Never would have guessed, but apparently Dewey has family there.
• Dewey is a real guy! 
• In all of their markets, beers are also locally sourced and some are exclusive to their restaurants.
• An eatery after my own heart - they love wine so much, they made their own. I didn't get to try this because I was busy sampling beers and turning into Violet Beauregarde, but it's on my to-do list. 
• There's a good chance they're working on a gluten-free pizza dough. According to the head honchos, they won't put anything on their menu that they don't love themselves, so I'm guessing it will be more than passable.
• Those dudes in the kitchen can spin some serious dough. 

As I mentioned last week, Frisch's Big Boy has a clever promo going where you can nominate deserving folks to receive one of their award-winning pumpkin pies for free. When you're a really-big-deal internet personality like me, the brass at Frisch's give you one guaranteed nomination*. In other words - play your cards right and I'll make sure that you, dear eater, get that free pie.
I know some of you are thinking, "How do I win, Vizz?!" and the rest of you are wondering, "We're playing cards?"



I hate coming up with legitimate contests, so here's how you enter:
Tell me why you deserve a pumpkin pie in the comments section (here, not FB) before midnight on Sunday October 19, and I will choose a winner at random based on email addresses linked in the comment. Each email address only gets one entry, unless you up your chances by liking FvF on Facebook. If that seems unfair because you already like FvF on Facebook, send a friend to like our Facebook page and I'll enter the sender's name/email (again) along with the new fan. And while you're on Facebook, why not give Frisch's a like, too?


*They also give you a free pie and $25 gift card to help promote other aforementioned free pies. 

Not only does this contest have a great title, it's sweet, sincere and relevant to the Thanksgiving season that will be upon us before we know it. If you're living right, you've probably had a good handful of moments in your life that someone did something so nice for you that it floored you. Or maybe there's someone in your life everyday that's so supportive of you that they just deserve a special treat for putting up with what a giant pain in the ass you can be sometimes. I mean, hypothetically.


Well, here's your chance. No catch, no purchase required. All you have to do is think of someone who is awesome and deserves a free pumpkin pie, and (nom, nom) nominate them on Frisch's Facebook page or here.

Chances are, you're going to eat a sub between now and the end of November anyway, so why not get one from Penn Station and up your chances of winning some free stuff?  I don't mean an oversized t-shirt you'll only end up cleaning the house in (or with) or a free beverage with purchase - the lowest prize on the totem pole here is a sammich party for 20. Twenty! Or you could just invite ten people and really get Brando-fat. Every PS receipt between 10/1 and 11/30 will have a code on the bottom that you can enter via text message.