Billy Zureikat’s ‘Tripping Billy’ pizza raises tens of thousands for MDA
9A corn and shishito pepper-topped pizza called the 'Tripping Billy’ is turning heads and raising tens of thousands for the Muscular Dystrophy Association thanks to its creator, Billy Zureikat. The multi-restaurant fundraiser dubbed the "Tripping Billy Chicago Tour," makes use of Zureikat’s special recipe ingredients featured on thin-crust, pan, and other pizza varieties.
"You’ll get my toppings and it’s reinvented to a different style which is kind of a metaphor for what I’ve had to do," said Zureikat. "And I don’t even think I’ve scratched the surface of what I can do."
After 8 years of unexplained falling and muscle mass loss in his legs, Zureikat was diagnosed with limb-girdle muscular dystrophy 2L in March of 2021. An avid basketball player, he traded his jersey in for an apron when his condition prevented him from active play.
"When I lost the ability to run, jump, and play sports, I needed a new outlet," said Zureikat. "I turned to the kitchen."
Soon Zureikat became a competent cook and started to experiment with recipes, including a shishito pepper cream sauce he used as the base of a pizza topped with corn. It got the attention of restaurateur Derrick Tung of Paulie Gee’s in Logan Square, who added it as a special to his menu after featuring Zureikat in a home pizza maker event.
"Two weeks before the event I was walking my little dog Einstein; my leg gave out and I fell," said Zureikat. "There was a woman walking behind me who witnessed me fall who looked down on me and just kept walking."
The encounter led Zureikat to dub his signature pizza the "Tripping Billy" and to use the pie to raise money and awareness for muscular dystrophy. Since then, Zureikat has raised over $42,000 through dozens of restaurant partnerships where a portion of proceeds from sales of his pizza and other Tripping Billy-inspired creations goes to the Muscular Dystrophy Association, the nation’s largest volunteer organization advocating for muscular dystrophy, ALS, and other neuromuscular disease patients.
"I believe I can truly become the voice of the voiceless," said Zureikat. "Not only for the muscular dystrophy community and not only for the rare disease community, but for the community of people who’ve had to go through change."
Paulie Gee’s, Spinning J, JP Graziano, Pizza Friendly Pizza, Spit-Rail, Middlebrow, Pizzeria Lobo, Pizza Fried Chicken Ice Cream, Monteverde, JT’s Genuine, Table Donkey and Stick, Tempesta Market, Big Kids, Piece Pizza, Robert’s Pizza, Milly’s Pizza In The Pan, Bang Bang Pie, and All Together Now are just some of the restaurants that have helped Zureikat in his mission. He’s also begun conducting cooking classes through the website Kittch, creating sandwich recipes each Sunday for his Instagram page, and has even returned to the basketball court where he now shoots stationary shots.
"You’re just getting a person who right now is having the time of his life during the hardest time of his life," said Zureikat. "The marathon continues so stick around for my run."
For more information about Billy Zureikat, find him on Instagram and Twitter @therealbillyz
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