Welcome to our first #DeathRowDish feature starring Meribo Pizza! It’s been a while, but I’m back at writing about food here on iHeartnola.com. It’s been a long time for sure, and I’m thrilled to offer this inspired type of feature.

One of my all-time favorite people in the world was Anthony Bourdain. He was a special dude, and truly allowed us to live vicariously through him during the many years he was on the air producing content.

During his many years with the Travel Channel and CNN, his idea of “death row meal” sank deep into my heart. It’s one of the best questions to ask someone on a first date, as well a great equalizing question in a room of strangers. It’s meant to really make you think about what’s the one meal you’d ultimately die to eat.

So that bring us to our first #DeathRowDish feature that highlights one dish on the menu of a restaurant that I would possibly consider it as my death row meal. It goes beyond just their signature dish, but the one thing that I’ll continue to come back for again and again.

With that said, Meribo Pizza (PRONOUNCED LIKE MARIE-BEAU) recently opened their 2nd location inside the brand new Pythian Market downtown on Loyola Avenue (directly across from the New Orleans Public Library). Founded originally in Covington (326 Lee Ln, Covington, LA 70433), Meribo Pizza wanted to bring their greatest hits to Nola in a cool and refreshing way.

Posted up inside such a diverse concept driven market like The Pythian, Meribo is offering up some of their greatest hit pies, side dishes, and some more experimental offerings to more people around town.

Ok, so now that we have that out of the way, let’s get to the ridiculously fucking awesome pizza pie I had there, their version of a “Ham & Cheese” pie.

“Chisesi VIP Ham, Smoked Mozzarella, Truffle Thyme Honey, Toasted Pecans, and White Sauce”

I know what you’re thinking! Pecans on a pizza? I was thinking the same thing when the owners Gavin and Kasidy persuaded me to give it a shot. Of course every proud parent is going to say their child is the best of the lot, but both of their eyes lit up Requiem for a Dream style when they told me about it. So I had to try it.

To be honest, the title of this feature may actually eliminate the need for hyperbole, but the combination of all of the flavors were everything but thrown together. It was absolutely mind-glowingly good. The wood burning oven produced a fantastic char around the edge of the pizza all the while crisping up the heavenly pig shavings (sliced ham). It was honestly a bonfire of the vanities in my mouth. The pecans and the honey worked well together and the white sauce was a great choice.

I had such a great time chatting with Gavin & Kasidy, and even though I had also tried several other items from their stellar menu, it’s the Ham & Cheese pizza that I continue to pine for as if it were my bail money.