Cincinnati Chili Week is in full swing in the Tri-State, with deals at more than 30 restaurants.
The chili-centered celebrations run until March 1.
Several restaurants have served up unique offerings all week, but a local partnership between Strong's Pizza and Gold Star Chili created several chili-themed pizzas. The two businesses partnered up in December 2024 to create one limited-time "Gold Star Chili Pie" but this time, they've expanded the options.
Christian Strong, owner of Strong's Pizza, said the collaboration has been years in the making.
"We've always done a Cincinnati chili pizza for the last 12, 13 years but last year I decided to reach out to the Gold Star people and asked if they'd like to do a campaign together for Chili Week and they were all for it right away," Strong said. "This year, we decided to add a couple more, which was the chili dip pizza, the pie-rito and then the OG. So now we have three of them."
Lauren Minor and I stopped by the Union location yesterday.
We both agree the pie-rito is the most unique and has a little kick. The pizza is covered in a Gold Star Chili base with shredded cheese, Fritos corn chips and chipotle ranch. Strong's said it's their best seller.
The OG is also a crowd pleaser because, just like Gold Star Chili, you can add what you want to make it your own. Otherwise, it comes with chili, mustard, onions and cheddar cheese with optional hot sauce and crackers.
The third pizza in the collaboration is themed around Cincinnati's favorite chili-based dip. It's topped with a ricotta and cream cheese blended base, chili, cheddar cheese, tomatoes, onions and comes with sour cream on the side.
Strong said they will continue to offer the pizzas at all of its locations after Chili Week ends.
