If you could celebrate any holiday other than Christmas and Thanksgiving, of course, you know it would be National Pizza Day (February 9th)! Seriously, there is no other whimsical obscure holiday that got more attention than National Pizza Day so far in 2021! My Instagram feed was littered with every kind of pizza post you can imagine. I know, Im a food blogger- what do I expect!? And I absolutely loved seeing all the pizza love yesterday! In fact – next week is Tampa Bay’s Pizza Week hosted by Creative Loafing Magazine and I am excited to offer a pizza giveaway to commemorate the event! But keep reading, loyal friend – details further down after I introduce you to my new favorite pizza spot here in Brandon!

I recently teamed up with Hawk ‘n Hog’s owner, Jon Urso to try out his newest location in Brandon, FL. He also owns 2 other locations by the same name and Fishhawk Pizza. He had a partnership in Holy Hog BBQ as well. If you are following along and a smarty pants (I already know you are because you are reading my blog- good taste BTW!) then you realized where the name Hawk ‘n Hog derived – Fishhawk and Holy Hog BBQ. I was honored to share in this partnership on National Pizza Day! And he rolled out the red carpet, but I later learned that he does that for all his customers. You can’t help but feel special when you sit down in his bright, clean, updated and newly renovated pizza location in Brandon – yes it was the OLD Brandon Pizza spot next to the Army Navy store but has ZERO affiliation with the former owner/ management and product! The only similarity is the plot of land it sits on – trust me! Even the potty is new 😉

On to the important part – the FOOD!

We started out with the (8) garlic knots- because you CAN NOT go to a pizza joint and NOT nibble on those garlic buttery pillows from heaven while you await your other carbs! You just cant! Naturally, since this a shared cuisine restaurant, we ordered the BBQ Brisket Pizza. This is also H’nH’s most popular pizza and was recommended to us by Mr. Urso himself. Fantastic recommendation and I’m glad I listened and ordered it- it did not disappoint. Tangy BBQ sauce, tender BBQ brisket and tons of cheese- all pluses in my book. Besides, you have to order a BBQ fusion pizza at a BBQ and pizza joint! It would be unAmerican not too! My husband and I also ordered a large 1/2 cheese – 1/2 pepperoni pizza, our family favorite and since we were trying H’nH for the first time we needed to test the waters with what we would take home as our staple pizza. We also ordered a large in the err of being gluttonous, to bring the left overs home for our 20 & 18 yr olds that were still at work. My husband said – after his second bite- that we finally found a new pizza spot in Brandon! And folks- when I say that is a compliment, that is the highest compliment that you will pull from that man! He is the toughest pizza critic I know! Come on- his last name is Lombardo and he grew up in the NY restaurant business- that counts for something! My husband is a man of little words but made sure to tell me he thought this place was a hidden gem. I agreed with him and was excited to hear him complete my thought on finding a really good NY style pizza spot in our own backyard!

Fun fact, our 14 yr old DOES NOT like bread, including pizza. This aversion makes family pizza night impossible to enjoy hot take away pizza since we always have to stop off at a fast food place so he can eat too. BUT he loves pulled pork so to say this place is answer to our pizza night road block is an understatement! He got a pulled pork platter with the freshly made and well seasoned fries. He really enjoyed his meal and left a clean tray when he was done! It made my heart so happy to see he was able to enjoy something he liked eating while hubby and I enjoyed our pizza!

Jon, my husband John and I enjoyed an in-depth conversation about his restaurants concept and his future plans for the location (nope- I can’t tell you right now!). We talked about various food items and began a discussion about chicken wings. To be honest, we were so focused on the pizza and ‘que, we didn’t notice the wings on the menu! Talk about being laser focused! Hey, it was National Pizza Day after all! He said that he smokes his wings as well as dresses them in a variety of popular sauces- you can order them either way. All I know is I need to get back there ASAP to snatch up an order of smoked wings!!! You can also order traditional Italian dinner plates and pastas from the menu as well as items from the BBQ Pit, calzones, strombolis, BBQ sandwiches, salads, appetizers and kids meals. H’nH has a vast menu but not too lengthy where you are completely confused when you go to order your meal!

Now to announce our giveaway (good from 2/10/2021 through 2/18/2021)…. Jon and Hawk’n Hog Brandon generously offered one of my blog readers/ Instagram followers one large pizza of their choosing (at the Brandon location only) just for following H’nH and TampaFoodMoms Instagram accounts! I will be checking both accounts so make sure you follow the rules! Tag your friends and share our giveaway to your story for extra chances to win!!! No purchase necessary to enter or redeem. I will announce the contest winner at 8pm on Thursday – 2/18/21- evening. Im super excited to share our new pizza discovery with all my friends for Tampa Bay Pizza Week!

Hawk ‘n Hog Brandon is located at 140 N. Parsons Ave, just a block North of Hwy 60 in Brandon. They offer a variety of delivery services- Grub Hub, Door Dash, Uber Eats, EZ cater and MobileMeals (a local company). Make sure you tell them TampaFoodMom sent you and as always – TIP WELL!

Bon Appetit!

Rachel