Tag: Little Caesars

REVIEW: Little Caesars Stuffed Crazy Bread

Louis 3 Comments

Little Caesars Stuffed Crazy Bread

With Little Caesars’ latest cheesy concoction, it came, it saw, and, probably a little too much, it conquered the market on pizza side-items with the recently released Stuffed Crazy Bread, wherein the middle of its dream-worthy breadsticks are absolutely filled with a river of “gooey cheese.”

And I only say “a little too much” because, if I’m being honest, after sampling these crazy champions of cheesy-bread, I have to ask, “Why even bother ordering the pizza when you can have this instead?”

We can all agree that Little Caesars’ Crazy Bread is already a much-loved and much-needed foodstuff. With their buttery outside covered in a dusting of garlic salt and Parmesan cheese, they are a side-piece that, most days, beats Little Caesars’ pizza as far as pure taste goes, especially when paired that tangy marinara dipping sauce, also filled with secret herbs and spices.

Little Caesars Stuffed Crazy Bread 2

But this newest incarnation takes things to a whole other level of high-caloric snacking. While the outside is still that lovingly baked bread we all know and care for, it’s when you tear a stick into two that the warm cheese stretches in a dull yellow string, steaming from the inside.

Little Caesars Stuffed Crazy Bread 3

And while Little Caesars’ press release calls this product “gooey cheese,” it works for me. It’s a dairy flavor unbeknownst to my dumbfounded hunger, but it’s a texture I’m more than settled with, combining wonderfully with the said Crazy Bread. The marinara dipping sauce that comes with the bread gives it that little extra oomph that I always crave.

Perhaps the only flaw in this, I feel, is for those people with big families with big hungers. Compared to old school Crazy Bread’s eight-pieces per bag, the Stuffed Crazy Bread is stuffed crazily into a bag with only three thick pieces. While this trio definitely suits me, I can see why this low count would ruffle certain thickly-thrifty feathers.

Regardless, more competition than a complement, Little Caesars’ Stuffed Crazy Bread is a filling meal that, though extensively carbo-loaded and thoroughly cheese-heavy, makes for a great taste itself. It’s worthy of being a heavy lunch or a light dinner or, if you can handle it, possibly both.

Purchased Price: $3.49
Size: 3 pieces
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 980 calories, 38 grams of fat, 13 grams of saturated fat, 1 gram of trans fat, 60 milligrams of cholesterol, 1960 milligrams of sodium, 126 grams of carbohydrates, 6 grams of fiber, 7 grams of sugar, and 36 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Little Caesars Pepperoni Cheeser! Cheeser! Pizza

Denis 13 Comments

Little Caesars Pepperoni Cheeser Cheeser Pizza

What is Little Caesars’ Pepperoni Cheeser! Cheeser! Pizza?

From the undisputed world champion of excessive and flamboyant monikers for pizza, like the ExtraMostBestest, comes perhaps Little Caesars’ most fanciest freshtastic pizza ever. This pie includes three luxury accoutrements —- fresh mozzarella, sweet basil, and a toasted asiago-parmesan crust.

How is it?

Amazingly, Little Caesars might have undersold this one on the name. Yes, the unnecessary use of exclamation points is there, and “cheeser” is non-sensical, but the taste of this one actually surpasses the name.

A wise man named Meatloaf once opined, two out of three ain’t bad. With apologies to Mr. Loaf, when it comes to pizza enhancements, I would argue that two out of three is really good.

Little Caesars Pepperoni Cheeser Cheeser Pizza Cheese

The fresh mozzarella is the star of this pizza show. It has a pleasant, mild flavor and much firmer consistency than regular chain pizza cheese. It also delivers that satisfying “snap” when you bite through it.

Little Caesars Pepperoni Cheeser Cheeser Pizza Crust

As for the crust, there is quite a bit of it, and if it were just plain old crust, it would definitely be too much. But this has a bold cheese flavor (mostly from the asiago and not so much from the parmesan) and a crunchiness not normally found with Little Caesars’ round pizza. I liked this crust a lot.

While the fresh mozzarella and crust are both excellent, the sweet basil is like sprinkles on a cupcake. It makes it look better but does not add much to the taste. But like I said, two out of three is really good, and the basil does nothing to detract from the success of its cheese and crust friends.

Is there anything else you need to know?

Little Caesars Pepperoni Cheeser Cheeser Pizza Slice

Select your slice with care if you want some of the fresh mozzarella. As best I could tell, there were seven slabs of the delicious chewiness on my pizza, but they were put on a bit haphazardly and not every slice was graced with one. I’m no mathematician, but if you have seven pieces of cheese with eight slices, someone is getting screwed. Even some of the promotional photos from Little Caesars seem to show a slice or two being deprived of fresh mozzarella, so if you are sharing with friends or family, make sure you are not last in line.

Conclusion:

Is this the best pizza I’ve ever had? No, of course not. It’s from Little Caesars. That’s a silly question to ask. But is it the best whole pizza you can buy for $7? Yeah, it probably is. The only thing that might make it better is to stuff the crust with cheese…and wrap it in bacon. I don’t even want to think about how Little Caesars would name something like that.

With many of its pies costing just $5, Little Caesars has never been known for great pizza, but if you want something decent using only the change you could dig out of the couch, its pizza gets the job done. Now, if you can scrounge up another $2, you can get something that’s really good and a great value for your money.

Purchased Price: $7.00
Size: Large
Rating: 9 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (full pizza, 8 slices) 2,400 calories, 980 calories from fat, 111 grams of fat, 46 grams of saturated fat, 235 grams of cholesterol, 4,620 grams of sodium, 244 grams of carbohydrates, 11 grams of fiber, 13 grams of sugar, and 109 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Little Caesars Smokehouse Pizza

James 19 Comments

Little Caesars Smokehouse Pizza

It’s surprisingly easy comparing the big four of American pizza chains to the big four of 1980s thrash metal bands. Pizza Hut is Metallica, so that makes Domino’s Megadeth by default. And since Papa John’s is Anthrax (because when both go wrong, they go horribly wrong), that must make Little Caesars the fast food equivalent of Slayer.

And much the same way Slayer has consistently been the heaviest and fastest of those bands, so has Little Caesars been the heaviest and fastest of the pizza pie big four. Seriously, what’s heavier and faster than a HOT-N-READY bacon-wrapped DEEP! DEEP! Dish pizza, anyway?

Well, the newfangled Smokehouse Pizza is pretty much the musical equivalent of Slayer releasing a bluegrass album. On the surface, it doesn’t sound even remotely feasible, but then you realize, “Hey, the instruments may be different, but this stuff is STILL really heavy and fast. Just the way I like it.”

Little Caesars Smokehouse Pizza 2

And yes, this super savory meat-a-palooza pie is pretty spectacular. Little Caesars did not skimp out on the fix-ins, as the cacophony of brisket, bacon, and pulled pork gels incredibly well. The high-quality meat is certainly smoky and savory, and you get an absolute ton of it piled atop your pizza.

While each variety of meat maintains a distinct taste and texture, the medley of flavors blends together nicely. No one meat becomes too dominant on your tastebuds – thanks in no small part to the delicious barbecue sauce base, which does a bang-up job tying everything together.

The mozzarella and Muenster mix, however, was a bit underwhelming. With so much meat on the pie, there really needs to be an extra handful of cheese on this thing, lest the dairy flavorings literally be buried.

Little Caesars Smokehouse Pizza 4

The biggest problem with the pizza, however, has to be the superfluous mesquite seasonings on the crust. Basically, it tastes like BBQ potato chip dust, and moving from a very authentic barbecue flavor to a very synthetic tasting one definitely lessens the experience. It’s also an extremely messy pizza, so be mindful if you decide to tackle this bad boy while wearing your Sunday best.

Still, the Smokehouse Pizza is unique and flavorful enough to warrant at least one taste test. For just $9 you are getting a colossal amount of food, and the overall quality of the meat is likely to surprise you.

Little Caesars Smokehouse Pizza 3

Be forewarned, though: as any veteran BBQ enthusiast will tell you, ingesting enough BBQ sauce-slathered pork and beef in quick intervals CAN put you in nap-mode out of the blue. So just to be on the safe side of things? If you order this pizza, make sure to have a pillow or two handy.

(Nutrition Facts – Not listed on website.)

Purchased Price: $9
Size: Large pizza (8 slices)
Rating: 8 out of 10
Pros: A very rich and robust smoked barbecue taste. A nice and savory BBQ sauce base. Being so full of brisket you come *this close* to reaching beef enlightenment.
Cons: Nowhere near enough cheese. The artificial BBQ seasonings on the crust are a little off-putting. Trying to ward off the food coma effects about a half hour after eating your last slice.

REVIEW: Little Caesars Premium Stuffed Crust DEEP! DEEP! Dish Pizza

Tiffany 11 Comments

Little Caesars Premium Stuffed Crust DEEP! DEEP! Dish Pizza

Over the years, competitors have come out swinging – stuffing crusts with hot dogs, creating delivery cars with pizza ovens, and paying Peyton Manning.

Last year, Little Caesars tried to play ball with the Bacon Wrapped Crust DEEP! DEEP! Dish Pizza. Dialing it back, Little Caesars’ latest contribution to realm of ridiculous pizza innovation is their new Premium Stuffed Crust DEEP!DEEP! Dish Pizza. I’ve learned from my day job that if you throw the adjective “premium” in front of your product or offering, it’s a sure win!

Continuing to sip on my haterade, I conclude from the rectangular box that my pizza isn’t round. What! Choquée! The box does proudly tout that Little Caesars is America’s Favorite Detroit-Style Deep Dish Pizza. Detroit is home to a lot of great things like the Detroit Lions, so what could go wrong here? Kidding.

Because Little Caesars is carry-out only, the eau d’pizza had about 20 minutes to permeate my car. I’ll give Little Caesars this – if they bottled the tantalizing pepperoni aroma, I’d buy it. When I got home, I expect it to look as glorious as it smells but the squares look really plain, small, and sad. Product description reads: “Four corners of perfection weren’t enough, so we gave you eight!” Honestly Little Caesars, I would’ve been fine with one, good round pizza.

Little Caesars Premium Stuffed Crust DEEP! DEEP! Dish Pizza 3

While I can look past size, the pepperoni pieces were clearly just haphazardly thrown on. It looks like the one time I tried to play ring toss inebriated. I do appreciate that the pepperoni wasn’t marinating in a puddle of oil like competitors’ pepperoni pizzas.

While the overall pizza is hardly as ooey-gooey as it is in the ads, two slices down and I’m heavy breathing. I find myself feeling relieved that the cheese isn’t molten lava because it’s as if an entire cheese wheel was melted down and stuffed into the contents of this square dough. It’s like the dough and cheese have fused into one; I’m not quite sure where one begins and the other ends – there’s cheese on top, cheese in the middle, cheese in the crust. Alls I know is that my stomach is stuffed like this pizza.

Little Caesars Premium Stuffed Crust DEEP! DEEP! Dish Pizza 4

I’m amazed that a single square slice somehow holds everything with such grace – no collapsing soggy crust whatsoever like other competitors’ stuffed crusts and not dry and hard like some Sicilian-style pizza I’ve had. Conclusion: Stuffed Crust DEEP!DEEP! Dish Pizza is the Spanx of pizzas. Like Spanx, it’s somehow containing and holding in all the cheese. The little muffin top forming over my jeans is a stark contrast to the pizza’s remarkable composure. Damn, I knew I should’ve worn my stretchy pants.  

This really does remind me of elementary school cafeteria pizza. But, this conjures fond memories for me like a square pizza patronus (where my Gryffindors at?!). Like all elementary school meals, it looks unappetizing and has way too much sodium; but if you count the pepperoni as your daily serving protein and tomato sauce as your daily serving of vegetables, you have a square meal. Get it? *buh dum tss*

Square pizza = square meal. Ha! No? Okay, fine. Fair.

Dad jokes aside, I will admit it’s not the best pizza I’ve ever had, but it’s definitely one of the better fast food chain pizzas. I still think that pizza shouldn’t be square but the this one can be the exception.

(Nutrition Facts – Not available on website.)

Purchased Price: $10
Size: N/A
Purchased at: Little Caesars
Rating: 6 out of 10
Pros: Eau d’pizza could be bottled and sold. Spanx of pizzas – will induce heavy breathing. Square pizza patronus.
Cons: Deceptive – doesn’t look as good as it smells and cheese isn’t ooey-gooey as advertised. Square.

REVIEW: Little Caesars Cheese-N-Pretzel Dippers

Dan 3 Comments

Little Caesars Cheese-N-Pretzel Dippers

It’s baaaaack!

Like Pennywise the Clown in Stephen King’s “It” or the McDonald’s McRib (which one is truly scarier?), Little Caesar Soft Pretzel Crust Pizza made a big scene last year before stealthily going into hibernation shortly after. But now it’s back. And unlike the periodic resurrections of King’s killer clown and McD’s mysterious meat, the cult-favorite pizza’s return is much more “glory” than it is “gory.”

But it didn’t come alone. Looking like the illegitimate child from a Pretzel Crust Pizza/Crazy Bread love affair, Lil C’s also debuted their new Cheese-N-Pretzel Dippers, which come with a cute little tub of “Aged Cheddar Cheese” (oh jeez, I just described a cheese tub as cute; are you proud of me now, Mom?).

Little Caesars Cheese-N-Pretzel Dippers 2

I opened my bag and marveled at the doughy chaos within. Unlike the neat rows of Crazy Bread, the 16 or so Dippers are unceremoniously dumped into a pile. They say the pretzel was invented by a monk who shaped dough into the shape of children’s crossed arms during prayer. If that’s true, then he must have shaped these after Sister Agnes was finished “disciplining” the children’s arms with a yardstick.

Other than that, they do look like Crazy Bread, just firmer, browner, and dotted with translucent salt granules rather than parmesan. And the buttery-ness of my pretzels made the bag as translucent as the salt: even before opening it, the Dippers were tunneling through the paper like Andy Dufresne behind a poster of Rita Hayworth.

Little Caesars Cheese-N-Pretzel Dippers 3

Evaluating these Dippers is tricky, because their quality is very much dependent on their temperature. Eaten hot, the experience is largely pleasant. The rich, golden-baked pretzel shell has enough structural integrity to resist tearing (it’s denser than the pizza’s pretzel crust), but the uneven butter coating makes it lighter, softer, and more oily-tasting in select clusters. Biting through gives way to the same fluffy, aerated center in Crazy Bread.

It’s a recognizable “pretzel flavor” that is reminiscent of those microwaveable Super Pretzels, just with a more hearty chew. This is because the thin Dippers have a “crust to bread” ratio that highly favors the former.

Unfortunately, the haphazard salt sprinkling dampens the experience, as some bites are purely bland butter-dough, while others are overwhelmingly salty enough that’ll you’ll be channeling your inner George Costanza: “These pretzels are making me thirsty!” The few bites that are well balanced, though, make me smile contently and whisper, “That’ll do, Dipper. That’ll do.”

Little Caesars Cheese-N-Pretzel Dippers 4

And the cheese. Oh, the cheese. The only thing aged about this cheddar is how it tastes like the orange goo on boardwalk nachos that a carny left out too long. Overwhelmingly oily and slightly too coagulated, it takes away from the pretzel goodness by plastering a tangy, slightly zippy taste in the back of your mouth.

But that’s when it’s all hot. If left too long (and it reached this point even after my short ride home from Little Caesars), room temperature or cold Dippers turn into insanely chewy lengths of flavorless rope as the salt begins to fall off. Biting into any remaining salt clusters tastes like you’re munching on a pirate’s doormat. And room temperature cheese? Like a repulsive cube of Cheez Whiz someone tried passing off as post-modern art.

Little Caesars’ new Cheese-N-Pretzel Dippers are certainly an enjoyable alternative pizza side dish, but only under two stipulations: eat them immediately (or keep a microwave on hand), and send the cheese dip directly to Hell, where it belongs the trash.

(Nutrition Facts – Not available.)

Item: Little Caesars Cheese-N-Pretzel Dippers
Purchased Price: $3.49
Size: 16 pieces
Purchased at: Little Caesars
Rating: 6 out of 10 (Dippers)
Rating: 2 out of 10 (Cheese)
Pros: Authentic pretzel taste when salt and butter are balanced. Charming patchwork of crispy and light sections. Adorable cheese receptacles. Seinfeld reruns.
Cons: Rare balanced sections. Temperature-based devolution into cardboard. Semisolid satanic cheese. Sister Agnes’ painful wrath.