I found Durham’s most epic cheese pull, where Fried Mozzarella dreams come true
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Dino's Pizza in Durham serves Fried Mozzarella with exceptionally long cheese pulls.
- Orders come two per $8, dusted with parmesan and topped with whole basil leaves.
- The dish fuels social media's cheese-pull trend and evokes nostalgic pizzeria memories.
In the afternoon sunlight of New Year’s Day, the mozzarella stretched beyond belief.
When I think of food joys, fried logs of mozzarella dunked in tomato sauce often comes to mind. So on a January 1st visit to Dino’s Pizza in Durham, I may have stumbled onto the pinnacle of fried cheese.
Dino’s is the nostalgic pizza parlor of chefs Tom Cuomo and Matt Kelly, devoted to the wood-paneled dreams of pizzerias in the New York/New Jersey area. Dino’s aims to match the memories of childhood pizza parties and no party is complete without mozzarella sticks.
On the menu the baskets of cheese sticks go by another name: Fried Mozzarella. They aren’t sticks at all, but rather golden brown rafts of lava-like ecstasy.
Coming as two per $8 order, the Fried Mozzarella is dusted with parmesan cheese and adorned with whole basil leaves, quickly wilting from the heat of the fryer, filling the air with an herby punch.
Cheese pulls are so hot on social media, fueling the resurgence of brands like Chili’s as influencers and fans post videos of ever more epic strings of mozzarella. The cheese at Dino’s would have Olympic-level pullability, if cheese pulling happened to be an Olympic sport.
The Fried Mozzarella at Dino’s is creamier and lighter than the cheese of my youth, and still molten just moments out of the fryer. With the first bite my hand, steadied and determined, moved away from me — the cheese pull was on. And on. And on. Soon my arm was fully outstretched, a tight rope of mozzarella swinging between my mouth and arm.
Focused as I was on the cheese, I can only assume that other diners stared on in amazement. Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure played on a large projector screen. New Year’s Day bowl games trudged on. My wife snapped a photo of my triumph, where my baby daughter, having never had a cheese stick herself, appears puzzled. I’m sure there was pride in there too.
If you go
Dino’s Pizza
3109 Shannon Rd., Suite 100, Durham
919-908-0184 or dinospizzadurham.com
This story was originally published January 9, 2026 at 2:15 PM with the headline "I found Durham’s most epic cheese pull, where Fried Mozzarella dreams come true."
