In celebration of National Pizza Day, two East Vancouver mainstays are rejoining forces to revive a favourite that made for one of the few bright spots during the pandemic. 

Pepino’s Spaghetti House and DL Chicken combined two classics during the time of lockdowns and home isolation to come up with what it dubbed the Hot Chicken Pizza. 

The comfort-food creation sees Pepino’s house-made dough smothered in tomato sauce and three cheeses— Pecorino Romano, mozzarella, and Grana Padano—for a riff on Detroit deep-dish pizza. That’s topped with DL’s spice-dusted chicken nuggets, special pickles, and special sauce. 

The Hot Chicken Pizza collab will be available starting February 9 (National Pizza Day) to February 16, and can be ordered in advance at pepinos.ca. For those who prefer to leave the house for longer than it takes to pick up takeout, there’s also the option to make a reservation for one of the seven days at Pepino’s, located at 631 Commercial Drive.