Deep Ellum pizza joint Cane Rosso is famous for its sign: "Side of Delicious Ranch Dressing: $1,000.00." There's even a wooden case mounted on the wall, holding the oversized bottle of salad dressing hostage to show diners that, here, we don't do ranch.
But on March 21, a few guys from the food delivery company Caviar paid the thousand bucks during a fundraiser for the Humane Society of Southeast Texas, Eater reports. In all, Cane Rosso raised $20,000 that will go toward the dog rescue group.
That means the no-ranch policy is over, right? Nope, says owner Jay Jerrier.
"We will restock!" the owner promised. So no, you still can't ask for a side of ranch at Cane Rosso.
If you bring your own, they won't stop you. But they'll "probably make fun of you on social media," Jerrier says.
Cane Rosso's no-ranch rule went viral in 2014. After all, ranch dressing and pizza are like peanut butter and jelly. Like salt and pepper. Like mac and cheese. But Jerrier doesn't believe his Neapolitan-style pizzas need it. (In a cunning marketing move, however, Jerrier later opened a Dallas restaurant called Zoli's New York Pizza Tavern, where ranch was very much allowed and even served for free via a giant squirt bottle placed next to the register. So he gets the allure.)
But Zoli's closed, so now there's no more ranch at Jerrier joints -- unless you shell out the thousand bucks to buy the restocked bottle of expensive ranch dressing. Sure, fine: "If anyone pays [$1,000] for the ranch, they can use it," Jerrier says.
Cane Rosso's original restaurant is in Deep Ellum but it's since expanded to Lakewood, Fort Worth, Carrollton and Fairview. Seems like they're doing just fine without ranch.
