Ode to Dion’s

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Our team was so excited to be invited by Dions for a tour and get behind the scene action for this review. Although this post is sponsored, all opinions are of our own.

Dion’s, Dion’s I adore thee. Cheesy goodness on a plate!

Online orders, never late

Thy ranch, chile, subs, and drive thru

My children agree are all great!

Dion’s, Dion’s, never leave us.

Without you, we’d all be blue.

ABQ Moms Blog Dion's Tour

I remember the first night my family and I slept in our new home in Albuquerque. We had finished a long cross-country journey in a dirty minivan complete with a talkative pre-schooler, a whining toddler, and a meowing cat. Yeah, that was fun. All I wanted to do after we pulled into our new driveway was find my sheets in one of the zillions of moving boxes, sleep for a long time, and eat some pizza. (But this was before I knew of the existence of Dion’s.)

So I ordered pizza from the closest place to our new house. But sadly, it tasted like greasy cardboard. No go.

Soon after someone recommended Dion’s, and my life has never been the same. Perhaps you think this is hyperbole, but I would never exaggerate about something as important as pizza.

So without further ado, here are a few things about Dion’s that prompt me to write poetry about a restaurant.

Dion’s prices.

I have 3 kids, so going out to eat as a family sometimes requires us to take out a second mortgage, but not at Dion’s. I can feed my people without breaking the bank. (one of them the being a 12-year-old boy who can seriously put it away. Please, please, please, can I have the metabolism of a pre-teen boy?)

Drive thru pick-up window.

Mamas of littles, need I say more? You can pick up your dinner without unbuckling anyone or finding anyone’s shoes that they’ve thrown across the car. Praise hands! The drive thru has saved my tail many a night when I just couldn’t get dinner made. All hail, Dion’s.

Dion’s Online ordering.

Am I the only one who hates talking on the phone? You don’t even have to pick up the phone to call your order in. Let your fingers do the talking, and order online. Introverts, this is a special gift from Dion’s to you.

Dion’s pizza.

I love the pizza. My favorite is the Special. It comes with all kinds of goodness on it, including green chile because Dion’s knows their audience. For real, their chile is always on fleek. (There we go. I’ve single-handedly made that phrase uncool. You can count on me, internet.)

Dion’s subs.

Oh yes, Dion’s is not only pizza. Their subs are delish. I hail from South Florida a.k.a. the land of delis. There’s a sandwich shop or deli on practically every corner. Albuquerque, I love you, but your submarine sandwich game leaves something to be desired. Dion’s saves the city in this regard because their toasted subs with Greek dressing will make all right with the world again.

Dion’s salads.

Alrighty, health-conscious mamas. Dion’s has something for you too. Their original salads with the perfectly chopped Dion’s mix provide a nice treat even when we are watching what we eat.

Dion’s ranch dressing.

You may try to argue with me here, but you will be wrong. There is no better ranch than Dion’s ranch. That is all.

Allergy-friendly

Dion’s has pizza crust that is egg-free, dairy-free, and nut-free. You can ask for toppings without cheese to get a dairy-free pizza. Dion’s does not serve gluten-free pizza, but you can bring in your own gluten-free dough, and they will bake it for you with their toppings. They’ll also toast sub toppings without the bread or provide a salad with no croutons for the gluten-free crowd. Check out Dion’s Special Diet Wizard for more specifics regarding to how Dion’s caters to those with food allergies or sensitivities.

Fun tours!

If you’ve eaten at Dion’s 100 times, but have never been on a tour, you’re missing out. The Albuquerque Moms Blog contributors and their kiddos went on a tour together over winter break and had a great time! Read on to find all about a Dion’s tour for your littles and their friends.

ABQ moms blog Dion's pizza tour
Me! Me! Me! I wanna make pizza!
  1. Dion’s tours are for kids ages 3-5th grade.
  2. Tours begin at 9:30am before the restaurant opens.
  3. The cost is $4 per child, which includes up to 3 slices of pizza, a workbook, a T-shirt, juice, a Dion’s pencil, and crayons.
  4. Tours need to consist of at least 8 children but fewer than 60.
  5. You’ll need to book your tour at least three weeks in advance.
  6. When we first arrived, workbooks were sitting on tables. Kids colored and did word searches while they waited for the tour to begin. I do not know what it is about this workbook, but it is a hot commodity at my house. They are big and have lots of activities (i.e. they will provide you with at least 20 minutes of quiet later that day).

    ABQ moms blog Dion's pizza tour
    Coloring time while we patiently wait for our pizza.
  7. The tour guide gave a brief presentation about Dion’s and their fresh ingredients. Our tour guide was Spike. You had better go book your tour with Spike quickly because I am confident he will soon have his own stand-up career. Spike was engaging with the kids and parents alike. We were all laughing throughout the presentation and the tour. Mark my words. You will see him on America’s Got Talent. Then you can say that you knew him back when he worked for Dion’s.

    ABQ moms blog Dion's pizza tour
    Yes, we washed our hands before making pizza.
  8. Our tour began in the Dion’s kitchen where the kids got to see all the big equipment and the behind the scenes stuff that happens in a restaurant kitchen. We made our way to the pizza making station, where the kids got to watch an employee make a pizza, of course, complete with some spinning dough in the air. (This is the highlight of the tour if you happen to be 8 years old.) Then each child gets to add their own pepperoni to the pizza.

    ABQ moms blog Dion's pizza tour
    Learning the ins and outs of pizza.
  9. While the pizza baked, we colored, drank some juice, and were entertained by Spike’s incredibly realistic animal sounds.
  10. The kitchen officially opens at 10:30, so at that point the parents ordered their own food. Everybody eats! Win win!

We really enjoyed our tour of Dion’s. Consider booking your own tour as a fun outing. Maybe you just found your first Spring Break activity!

This post is sponsored by Dion’s, but all thoughts and feelings belong to the writer.