I mentioned last week that I would be traveling to Lubbock, Texas to watch my dear friend Casey Witherspoon graduate from Texas Tech University. Casey and I have been best friends since my Sophomore year of high school when we met though the DECA business and marketing program. I definitely had a "proud mom" moment watching her walk across the stage to be recognized. I know how hard she's worked to achieve her degree and I wish her all the luck in her new career and life in Houston, Texas.
While I was in Lubbock I definitely took advantage of the foods I cannot get in Raleigh, North Carolina. One of which was Dion's Pizza.
Dion's is nostalgic for any kid who grew up in Albuquerque: not only did your kindergarten class take a field trip there to learn to make pizza, but it was a popular destination for school project meetings, informal family gatherings and their pizza was often sold during high school lunches and their ranch dressing is LEGENDARY.
Thankfully for me Dion's has recently expanded to Colorado and Texas, and even more luckily, Lubbock just opened a new location just a few minutes from Casey's apartment at 6410 82nd St, Lubbock, TX 79424.
Decor: good. This location has updated Dion's classic look. Other Dion's-of-old have wooden booths and a green and red color motif. However, this particular location had a lot of chrome and modern-looking fixtures. It kinda made me miss the classic Dion's style but I must admit that it did look nice.
Food appearance: poor. I was relieved to learn that they still serve their pizzas on paper trays, salads in plastic bowls and subs in wooden baskets. Their pizzas look absolutely scrumptious and you can watch them make them if you want (a nice activity to keep young children at bay while they wait for food). While there is little attention to serving methods here, everything is drenched in nostalgia. I half expected the new location to serve your food to you as opposed to calling orders by name for pickup.
Food taste: Excellent! Casey and I split a small cheese toast - a sliced baguette buttered and topped with melted provolone cheese with ranch; I ordered a small tossed salad - lettuce, tomato, cucumber, red onion with croutons and ranch; and we split the newly named 505 pizza. I'm not sure who created the green chile and pepperoni combination but it is available all around Albuquerque, from Papa Murphy's take-and-bake pizza to the local places like Dion's. I remember ordering slices of Pepperoni with Green Chile slices as a kid so kudos to Dion's for finally making it into a "specialty" pizza option. Oh and of course with ranch. I don't know how Dion's makes their ranch but it's addicting. Ask anyone who's ever tried it. It is creamy, tangy and definitely delicious.
Service: good. Dion's is a popular first job for high school kids due to it's proximity to high schools so as such, the service is just ok. The kids aren't super friendly but they're not rude either. They're...apathetic? But as I've said before, it's kinda part of the whole experience.
Cleanliness: good. Every five minutes or so an employee will walk around the living room picking up empty trays, baskets, etc. and sweep the floors so the dining room stays pretty clean and tidy. The bathrooms are usually clean as well.
Total: 10/15
While it was difficult to not let my ache for anything Albuquerquean cloud my judgment, I believe this to be the most accurate ranking for Dion's Pizza.
Everything there is fantastic and in the 15+ years I've eaten there I've yet to have anything I didn't absolutely love so if you're in New Mexico, Texas or Colorado check to see if there's a Dion's anywhere near you.
In addition to Dion's, I bought a pound of frozen Bueno green chile, which I used to make breakfast burritos. Nothing compares to tasting real New Mexican green chile. It makes me miss Albuquerque dearly.
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