Fazoli’s the night before
After moving an RV to Florida, I was home for Thanksgiving week. Dinner one night was takeout from Fazoli’s: Loaded Fettuccine, a salad, and cheesecake. Jarrell “Pyro” Johnson was in the kitchen with baking supplies. Southern Comfort eggnog and Kraken rum were part of the evening too, and the conversation kept circling the holiday cooking: pie, greens, or both.
I had not had much Fazoli’s before this, and I do not think I had even heard of it until I moved to Ohio. I love pasta, though I do not eat a lot of it, and wherever I can I add chicken, shrimp, and broccoli. For fast food, this stood up proudly, and loudly. I did not expect it to be as good or as high in quality as it is. The sauce is creamy and substantial, and the chicken bites are hearty.
The pies
I have been baking sweet potato pies for years, and this is the batch I made for Thanksgiving 2025. I always add lemon, and I love the tartness it brings. Cinnamon and nutmeg are the spices I reach for. I whip the filling by hand, so the pie comes out lumpy, and that is part of what it is.
The Short is Pyro trying the pie. He said he liked the spice. He also said he does not even like pumpkin pie, and that this was the best pumpkin pie he has ever had. I corrected him, loudly, that it is sweet potato. He said that was even better, and that the potatoes were “extra potatoery.”
At the end I try a bite myself and congratulate myself: “Good job, Cue.”
It is a labor of love, and I think the taste and the texture both show it. I love my pies and I love this Thanksgiving tradition, whether I ever give a pie to anyone or not.
Yesterday I spent about five hours baking pies for no one. Five slow hours in a quiet kitchen where the only sound was the oven humming like it was trying to keep me company. I even recorded the whole thing, hoping the camera might give the moment a little meaning. One of the pies might have a destination. The rest feel like offerings without an altar.
From my essay Thanksgiving Morning
I wrote about that day in a separate essay: Thanksgiving Morning.
This review was written and paid for like every other one on this site: with my own money, no sponsorships, no comped meals. If it helped you decide where to eat, a coffee helps keep it that way.
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