Thanks, BEANO® +DAIRY DEFENSE™, for sponsoring this post and helping me put dairy back on the menu!

Two lactose intolerant people walk into a pizza shop…

Sounds like the beginning of a really bad date night, right? It didn’t turn out that way for Terrence and me, on a visit to Build Pizzeria in Berkeley the other week, though. Build is a really cool spot on Shattuck Ave. where you can create your own pie. I’ve passed by a few times, determined to get Terrence to take me. He’s not as obsessed, I mean, enchanted with pizza as I am, but he finally gave in and we headed there one Sunday after church while Ayva hung out with my in-laws. We’ve been trying BEANO® +DAIRY DEFENSE™, and decided that Build would be the perfect place to really put the over the counter digestion aid to the test. I mean, if we can eat pizza with every single one of our favorite toppings and still be able to enjoy each other’s company afterwards, we’d know that Beano® +Dairy Defense™ is the real deal!

Build has two sides. The bar was pretty packed for a Sunday afternoon because of World Cup games, so Terrence and I sat in the dining room where there was less of a crowd. Our server was incredibly helpful, and talked us into macaroni and cheese for a starter. Of course, we would have ordered mac & cheese anyway because, mac & cheese, duh, but knowing that we wouldn’t have to deal with stomach discomfort later made the decision a lot easier to make.

Terrence ordered buffalo chicken pizza with pineapple from the menu, but I was much more daring and went to the Building Department. I mean, I had been lusting after this pizza for months! I was definitely going to get the true Build experience. The ingredients on the Build bar were top shelf. Some of the delicious choices included wood-fired mushrooms drizzled with truffle oil, local pepperoni, and hand pulled mozzarella cheese. I put my little Raspberry Sorbet flavored Beano® +Dairy Defense™ to work having to deal with my choice of pizza with fresh mushrooms, pepperoni, and cheese, topped with lots and lots of greens. A drizzle of olive oil over the top brought all of the flavors together.

The pizza was the bomb. The crust, wood-fired and crunchy, was delicate but hearty enough to hold all of the toppings. The pepperoni melted in my mouth, and the sauce was light and fresh, and didn’t overpower the rest of the pizza at all. The best part of the whole meal was eating one piece and—nothing. I ate another slice, and still no stomach pains. In fact, I felt so good after eating nearly the entire pizza that I ordered the outrageous tiramisu. It was so good, y’all! I ate way too much, and was so grateful that I popped the tiny Beano® before I started.

So what is this BEANO® +DAIRY DEFENSE™ that’s making my pizza eating experience more enjoyable?  Well, here’s how it works:

Each Beano® +Dairy Defense™ tablet contains two natural food enzymes that break down complex carbohydrates and lactose found in dairy products which can cause bloating, discomfort and diarrhea. Take just one tasty, chewable, raspberry sorbet-flavored tablet before your meal so that foods will be easier to digest—giving you much needed relief from these uncomfortable symptoms.

So far the Beano® +Dairy Defense™ Back On The Menu Challenge is going really well. We’ve mastered pizza, which is really all that matters, right?  We have one more challenge, the ice cream challenge. If Beano® +Dairy Defense™ can make ice cream more enjoyable for Terrence and me, it’ll be like Christmas in July! Ha! Stay tuned!