Oh boy! Disney's Mickey Mouse-inspired pizzas will make your Friends(giving) dreams come true
Thanksgiving might look different this year for many Americans as restrictions around on group gatherings, including festive family dinners, persist amid the coronavirus pandemic. But Disney is making sure that people have the opportunity to celebrate with friends and pizza with a special Mickey & Friends(giving) offering with five favorite pizza shops across the country.
“I can't wait until people hear about this, because I know they're going to lose their mind,” Roy Choi, the award-winning chef behind popular restaurants Kogi BBQ and Best Friend, tells Yahoo Life. “You know, there’s going to be like a cartoon where their head pops off of their head and comes back on right. Pizza and Mickey Mouse together.”
Choi teamed up with Disney and some of his closest pizzeria friends throughout the U.S. to come up with six specialty pizzas to represent Mickey Mouse and his five friends. The Sensational Six-inspired pies will be available on Nov. 21 for one day only, but pizza lovers can pre-order them now. With limited quantities available to pre-order per location, Choi says he’s excited for people to get a chance to taste these flavors and maybe even enjoy them with friends.
“We're going through altogether in this pandemic and the thing we miss the most sometimes are our friends,” he says. “I’m very lucky to have friends that are also the best pizza makers in America. So it was like, all right, how could I share this idea of a Friendsgiving get together?”
The chef worked with his favorites at Jon & Vinny’s in Los Angeles, Roberta’s Pizza in Brooklyn’s Bushwick and Williamsburg, Pizzeria Beddia in Philadelphia, Pizzeria Bianco in Phoenix and Home Slice Pizza in Austin, Texas, to come up with various pies — from those with hot dogs, sandwich toppings and bitter vegetables, to another with Minnie Mouse-inspired polka dot designs. What Choi loved most about the project was allowing his friends to be creative during an otherwise difficult time.
“With the state of restaurants right now, we have to figure out all different ways to find new traffic and new interest and new interaction. And it’s not just the revenue and the money. It’s about spirit and energy,” he says. “Just being able to interact with people, being able to do something creative and have a reason to smile.”
Each pizza, available for local pickup or delivery, costs $36 plus tax and will include a custom souvenir pizza box and Mickey & Friends(giving) stickers. Disney is also offering recipe cards for each of the pizzeria’s creations for those who can’t get their hands on one from the shops.
“I think this year having a Friendsgiving or being able to share a pizza even virtually, it gives us something fun to all be a part of,” Choi says.
For the latest coronavirus news and updates, follow along at https://news.yahoo.com/coronavirus. According to experts, people over 60 and those who are immunocompromised continue to be the most at risk. If you have questions, please reference the CDC’s and WHO’s resource guides.
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