Happy Pi(e) Day – the only day where math and Mozzarella collide! 🍕

March 14th, also known as Pi Day (3.14), is the only day of the year where it’s socially acceptable to calculate the circumference of your pizza before eating it. Because let’s be real, the only thing better than infinite digits is infinite slices!

For many of us, pizza is the perfect food group because it checks every nutritional (and emotional) box acting as its own food pyramid:

 Carbs? Check! It’s the foundation. Every worthy pie starts with tasty carbs.

 Dairy? Oh yeah. Cheese is the liquid gold that holds everything together—emotionally and physically. Bonus: it stretches, just like your stomach after too much pizza.

 Vegetables? Absolutely. Tomato sauce is made from tomatoes, and tomatoes are a vegetable—wait, fruit? Whatever. It’s healthy. Let’s move on.

 Protein? If you throw on some pepperoni, sausage, or chicken, congratulations! You’ve made it a high-protein meal. Gains and cheese, all in one.

 Greens? Throw on some spinach, peppers, or mushrooms, and boom—your pizza is now a salad. Self-care never tasted so good.

 Fruit? Pineapple counts. And before anyone says anything—yes, it belongs on pizza, because pizza is a judgment-free zone.

 Customizable? 100%. You can make it fancy (artisanal wood-fired Neapolitan) or fast (microwave leftover slices at 2 AM). Pizza does not discriminate.

 Universal appeal? Name a person who doesn’t like pizza. I’ll wait.

 Emotionally supportive? Had a bad day? Pizza. Had a great day? Pizza. Existential crisis? Pizza.

Let’s face it, pizza is not just food—it’s a lifestyle, a comfort, and a masterpiece and many of our local restaurants are well aware of this with menus that celebrate this magical, beloved, much celebrated dish that dates back to ancient civilizations like the Romans, Greeks and Egyptians.

Above: Cassanos

The beautiful thing about pizza is it comes in a huge variety of styles — New York, Detroit, St. Louis, California, Sicilian, Neapolitan, Chicago Deep Dish and the Dayton-style we are known for with small square slices and toppings that maximize the real estate by going to the very edge.

Cassano’s Pizza King is one of the classic spots to grab a Dayton-style offering, serving up pies since June 4, 1953, when it first opened in a small shop in Kettering. It features a thin, crispy, and slightly salty crust with those small, rectangular “party cut” pieces. Over the years, Cassano’s has expanded its menu to include subs, calzones, and other Italian-inspired dishes, but its signature pizza remains its most iconic offering. Right now you can’t beat the lunch special — with three meal options for $5.99 and $2 off any small pizza available Monday through Friday from Noon until 3 p.m.

Eight years after Cassano’s came on the scene another cherished pizzeria made its entrance quickly solidifying itself as a Dayton icon when Marion Glass opened Marion’s Pizza on August 19, 1965. This thin, crispy crust icon is topped edge-to-edge with heaps of cheese and toppings and cut into small square slices that are guilt-free bites to pack away. The most popular options include the Marion’s Deluxe and Marion’s Super Cheese.

Above: Pies and Pints

Locally Pies & Pints is all about the pie — it’s in the name after all. With a location at the Greene and another in southwest Ohio at Liberty Center, this chain excels at finding new ways to deliver flavor to hungry diners. Right now they are featuring a brunch pie which is available from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays that marries all of the things you want in a brunch over a pizza pie crust, baking in scrambled eggs, bacon, cheese and drizzled with chipotle crema and scallions. The char-grilled wing pie takes marinated chicken thighs with a sriracha drizzle and gorgonzola cheese with some lime, crème fraîche and cilantro for a wonderful explosion of flavor. Other specialty pies include a Nashville hot chicken, peppadew, Italian, veggie street corn, siracha shrimp, Cuban pork and Thai pies. This is a spot that is looking to take you to the next level with pizza options with a beer list to go with.

Although it has an entire menu of quesadillas, burgers, chicken and sandwiches, you can’t beat the price of pizza at Bunkers Sports Bar & Grill in Vandalia with an 8-inch cheese pizza going for $8 with each topping an additional .65 cents. It’s also one of the most affordable upharges for gluten free at just $1 more.

And you have to give it to all the restaurants out there that are getting creative with their pies.

• Nick’s in Xenia has a vegetarian’s dream with the Greekful Dead that features spinach, mozzarella cheese, red onion, Kalamata olives, tomatoes, banana peppers and feta cheese. (Figlio’s has a pear and brie pizza with blue cheese, prosciutto, arugula and a spicy drizzle.
• Mr Boro’s Tavern in Springboro has a line of impressive flatbreads including the over the top taste sensation, the “heavenly hog” topped with mozzarella and provolone cheese, pepperoni, sausage, shredded pork and peppered bacon.
• Wheat Penny has the Chimi Picante, made with a chimichurri sauce with braised pork, smoked provolone and peppadews and their classic Taylor Street pie with Italian pork sausage, spinach and garlic-braised mushrooms. It’s always a hard choice when I’m searching for pizza at this Oregon District staple with its expansive, flavorful menu.

Isn’t it a wonder to consider that these are just a few of Pi Day and every day options in our neck of the woods to tempt you? There is truly something for everyone when it comes to pizza.

And before this day ends, let’s take a moment to appreciate the real irrational number—the idea that one slice is ever enough. Just like Pi, our love for pizza never ends—it just keeps going and going in a never-ending deep dish of happiness.

So go forth today, and remember: the limit of pizza as hunger approaches infinity is… more pizza.