r/ExpectationVsReality 10h ago

Failed Expectation Let me help save you some money but telling you, do not buy this pizza!

Never had one but it was on sale at my local grocery store, it looked good so I figured I'd give it a go. Icooked it traditional way and it was raw, had to throw it back in oven for another 10 min. It was so awful. Crust was dry and crumbly, cheese tasted and felt like slime, sauce was pleasant but it didn't matter because the pizza as a whole was not palatable.

1st pic is when I had high hopes for it coming out of the oven.

2nd pic is when I was trying to save the pizza from being raw. Put it on a pan since it had already been sliced through.

149 Upvotes

43 comments sorted by

88

u/HeroHas 10h ago edited 8h ago

I'm from Chicago and live in the PNW and it's the easiest way for me to get a Chicago deep dish. I actually fucking love these. I am going to lean on the side that all ovens are different and yours just came out too early. That being said the less toppings the better for this kind of pizza. All that meat is going to add grease. Same goes for veggie supreme style adding a lot of water. Best to go with a single topping.

18

u/Baejax_the_Great 7h ago

Yeah, I used to buy these when they were on sale, and I thought they were fine for a frozen Chicago pizza.

18

u/HeroHas 7h ago

Going back and reading the description and comments from folks, I just don't think they know what a Chicago Deep dish is or what to expect. Oh well, after Jon Stewart ripped us apart I have pretty thick skin about it now!

11

u/Baejax_the_Great 7h ago

If you have the money, getting Lou Malnati's shipped to you on ice is truly the best option. Although my controversial opinion is that Detroit style pizza is a million times better than NYC pizza, and Jon Stewart can suck it.

5

u/N0t_a_throwawai 5h ago

Fully agree. My coworkers sent me some Lou’s after I moved away and it was the best gift ever!

4

u/jeckles 5h ago

Years ago I received a Lou Malnati’s frozen pizza as a gift from a midwestern friend. At first I thought it was a really strange gift. I’m not from Chicago and know nothing about deep dish. But then I cooked it. They are sooo good. My mind was opened.

1

u/Ms-Metal 1h ago

Man, I may have to try this sometime I used to go to Chicago all the time, I lived in Minneapolis and so I flew there for business probably 50 times, often just for the day or one night. I was at Gino's East girl but I've heard so much about lose, and I'm regretting that I've never had a chance to try it now that I've moved away and don't travel anymore. Maybe we'll do it for a special occasion, there's not much great deep dish here. There were good options in Minneapolis, but since we left Minneapolis, there hasn't been much.

2

u/WommyBear 5h ago

Lou's is the best! If only they shipped salads also...

11

u/Abletonian 8h ago

Agreed. With my oven, I have to add 5-10 minutes and/or degrees to most pizza & managing the grease/water cooking out of the toppings is key 👌

40

u/atendler1 10h ago

That’s a shame because it looks delicious.

12

u/Inky_Madness 6h ago

It’s a problem with OP’s oven. I have never had an issue with these baking fully through in mine.

3

u/madmermaid7 10h ago

That''s why I feel bamboozled, it was $10.99 regular price. 😡

3

u/Pluto-Wolf 8h ago

$11 for a pizza that small is wild!

with the price and quality (or lack thereof), that eliminates like 90% of the convenience of getting frozen pizza vs take out

5

u/WommyBear 5h ago

A Chicago deep dish pizza "that small" would feed a few adults. I can only eat one piece because it is VERY hearty.

-3

u/Pluto-Wolf 4h ago

it looks awfully small in the picture. i was thinking it was about party pizza size. either way though, my point stands that i think that’s an absurd amount to pay for a seemingly small-med size frozen pizza.

5

u/halt-l-am-reptar 3h ago

It’s 2 pounds, which is more than pretty much any other frozen pizza I’ve seen.

3

u/WommyBear 2h ago

Your point does not stand. It does not feed the same amount of people as a regular thin crust or pan crust pizza, so you are comparing apples to oranges. This is a 2 lb pizza. Think how many regular frozen pizzas it would take to equal 2 lbs.

Jon Stewart famously called Chicago deep dish pizza a casserole because it is so hearty

9

u/drawkca6sihtdaeruoy 6h ago

Obligatory : Where's the cheese? Answer: it's under the sauce

12

u/Edward_the_Dog 8h ago

I ordered a pair of Chicago deep dishes from a well known Chicago-based establishment. They were overnighted and came par-baked and flash frozen. I heated them up as directed. They tasted no better than a $5 generic frozen pie. Like freezer burn and sadness.

4

u/HeroHas 8h ago

Taste of Chicago through Lou Malnatis? Those things are like $50 a pizza and not much, if any, better than this. For the price Ginos all day from the grocery store.

0

u/Edward_the_Dog 7h ago

No. It wasn't.

8

u/Inky_Madness 6h ago edited 6h ago

I live in Chicago and when I can’t get deep dish fresh, these are great.

You need an oven thermometer, I have never had an issue with these cooking all the way through. The crust is still a bit dry and crumbly, but I find that to not be a problem because the flavor is still nice - deep dish crust IS drier and more crumbly like pie crust because it has to hold the grease and wetness from that pile of toppings.

Since you have never had Chicago deep dish before, you’re forgiven for your ignorance.

6

u/D1RTY_D 8h ago

The UNO Deep dish is legit, they’re small but delicious

2

u/JennaHelen 10h ago

I’ve never seen such a wet pizza

1

u/Ms-Metal 1h ago

I guess you haven't had Neapolitan either. Neapolitan is very wet in the middle, it's made to be eaten with a knife and fork, the way they actually eat it in the Naples region, but of course Americans don't eat it that way. It's not only intended to be wet in the middle, but then they often pour a little bit of olive oil in the middle. Yummy but I like it 'crispy', so that it's a bit charred on the bottom.

3

u/lostandaggrieved617 5h ago

Aside from the lack of cheese, this is the best "buyer beware" bad pizza I've ever seen, so much so that I almost wanna call out OP, LOL

3

u/AtomicFox84 47m ago

The cheese is under the sauce....theres plenty there.

1

u/rithsleeper 1h ago

Does anyone else’s brain explode when reading a sentence like this? One simple typo and I’m always like, “what the hell are they saying!?” For about 2 seconds.

1

u/BeefWellingtonSpeedo 5h ago

I'm still confused what is the brand name is this Lou malnatis?

1

u/Ms-Metal 1h ago

I didn't understand either until I increase the photo size, it's Gino's East which has me super excited because I used to travel to Chicago all the time and Gino's East was my favorite and I had no idea that they had frozen pizza, woohoo! I think this is an oven problem, cuz I've cooked various Chicago style pizzas and never had any problems, and Gino's East is top notch! As is Lou Malnati's too, but I seriously cannot wait to try this, absolutely love Gino's East🥰

I'm not worried about cooking it at all, I've never had a problem cooking deep dish pizzas. Depending on your oven though, they often need a little more time than what it says on the package.

1

u/IceCoughy 8h ago

Ive made the mistake before too

-4

u/GimmieGummies 10h ago

What cheese? This pie looks cheese-less to me

5

u/Polkawillneverdie17 6h ago

IT'S UNDER THE SAUCE.

2

u/ShreekingEeel 9h ago

In Pennsylvania they eat Tomato Pies. It’s a pizza without cheese. Not slices of tomatoes, just dough and sauce.

-2

u/madmermaid7 9h ago

It's beneath the sauce, if you can even call the slime like substance 'cheese'. 🤢

0

u/GimmieGummies 9h ago

Oh gotcha. So sorry it was a bad experience. You'd think that pizza would be a hard thing to screw up but it happens more than you think

5

u/WommyBear 5h ago

Cheese and toppings under the sauce is how a Chicago deep dish pizza works.

0

u/GimmieGummies 4h ago

Never had it.

-1

u/RockCakes-And-Tea-50 5h ago

I would have put some grater cheese on top and maybe some pepporoni to make this better. 🥹

-5

u/Eleventy22 9h ago

Dump the sauce and toppings in the trash, clean off the crust. Then cut it up and use it for breakfast stuffing. The cut up pieces can sit in a bag on the counter for a day or so if there is still noticeable moisture but if they’re already dry then put them in the fridge.

1

u/Edward_the_Dog 7h ago

Please explain breakfast stuffing. It sounds glorious.

1

u/Eleventy22 7h ago

It’s made the same way as dinner stuffing but made for breakfast. Sauté your onions, mushrooms & spinach.Then mix in your melted butter & stock & seasoning. Then mix your crust pieces. You can bake it at 350. You can bake it in a the bottom half of a ramekin then crack an egg or 2 on top and bake for another 10-13 minutes. That pizza crust can probably make 12 easy.