- Villa Italian Kitchen introduced the fall-flavored favorite on the first day of autumn, September 22
- Reaction has been mixed on social media
- Talk show host Jimmy Kimmel has taken a stand against the food mashup asking, "Is nothing sacred?"
Every fall, we expect a certain number of things to occur—the start of the school year, a change in hue on tree leaves from green to a multitude of colors, and pumpkin spice everything on store shelves.
But have we reached peak pumpkin spice? Some think we have, based on the latest news from New Jersey-based pizza chain Villa Italian Kitchen.
Yes, Virginia, there is now a pumpkin spice pizza. On Friday, September 22—the official first day of fall—the chain announced the puzzling pie. Its hand-stretched pizza dough is topped with pumpkin pie filling and mozzarella cheese. After it’s baked, additional pumpkin pie filling is added on top. (We don’t know just how to feel.)
Brian Lowe, a spokesperson for Villa Italian Kitchen, said that the company believes the seasonal pizza will be hit with customers. “Pumpkin Spice is undeniably the most popular flavor of fall. As such, we wanted to slice up our piece of the pie. We thought, what could be better than combining the popularity of Pumpkin Spice with pizza? So, after a few R&D sessions, we landed on the perfect Pumpkin Spice Pizza balance. It’s a magical place where all the deliciousness of pizza meets the flavors of pumpkin spice.”
Not everyone is convinced, however. Vice called the pie “the definition of crimes against carbohydrates,” and Twitterers weren’t fond of the possibility either:
Can't we just protest against pumpkin spice pizza instead?
— WhatserName™ (@IamEveryDayPpl) September 25, 2017
I just saw something on the news about pumpkin spice pizza. So fall is cancelled until y'all learn how to act.
— suga honey (@sidneyaleda) September 15, 2017
Pumpkin Spice pizza? What is wrong with people?!
— Jayme (@_jaymearielle) September 22, 2017
Pumpkin spice pizza also has its famous detractors—on Tuesday night’s episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live! the host used his monologue to preach about this culinary evil, saying two things went together “like peanut butter and snow tires.” Seth Meyers, host of Late Night With Seth Meyers agreed, comparing the pizza to a “linguine mocha.”
We don’t yet know how this latest food mashup tastes. The company describes the flavor as “classic Villa Italian Kitchen cheese pizza and all the cozy, seasonal flavors of fall,” which could mean several things, so we’ll have to rely on you to tell us. Is pumpkin spice pizza worth a try or is it the “jump the shark” moment of this fall flavor? Let us know in the comments below!