JAYPLAY
August 31,2000
entertainment news
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For late-night pizza cravings, grab FROZEN PIE
By Amanda Kaschube and Amber Stuever Kansan food critics
n a late-night rampage (drunken or sober) every college student has reached into the freezer for an end to their cravings: the dependable frozen pizza. But with so many to choose from, college students often are left clueless at the grocery store frozen-foods aisle. We surveyed a panel of 15 (sober) KU students to find the best pie for the price, judged by sauce, crust, cheese and overall craving satisfaction. Here's what we found.
Red Baron Four Cheese Pizza $5.19
22 fat grams, 420 calories for 1/4 pizza With mozzarella, cheddar, provolone and Parmesan cheeses sprinkled with basil, the Red Baron pizza is inviting to the eyes as well as to the stomach. This pizza was the most popular among tasteesters.
Brian Cooper, Overland Park senior, said the cheesy pizza went down smooth and looked enticing on a plate. He wasn't impressed with the thin crust, but said the proportional amounts of cheese and zesty sauce made up for the defect.
Freschetta Four Cheese Pizza $4.09
14 fat grams, 390 calories for 1/2 pizza This pie got the award for the Most Misleading Pizza. It looked good frozen, but taste-tasters were highly disappointed with the baked product. The folks at Freschetta couldn't combine four cheeses proportionately to the inadequate amount of sauce. Joel Worthington, Overland Park freshman, said the sauce simply wasn't as zesty as the box claimed. Worthington also said the pizza's aftertaste made Natural Light beer taste like an expensive import.
Totino's Party Pizza 61.50
14 fat grams, 320 calories for 1/2 pizza What do you expect for $1.59? While it's easy on the checkbook, Totino's leaves the stomach growling, tasters said. Marissa Fagan, Overland Park senior, declared the pizza "unfinishable" and compared the pie's taste to the cardboard it came on. With plastic-like cheese and bland sauce, most of the Totino's ended up in the garbage can.
DiGiorno's Four Cheese Pizza with rising
crust
$3.99
9 fat grams, 280 calories for
1/3 pizza
As the commercial promises, DiGiomo's pizza looks like it came from the delivery man, not the frozen-food aisle, and it tastes almost as good. The ladies dug the thick crust, while the guys enjoyed the tangy sauce. For once, the people in advertising were telling the truth.
Tombstone Pizza
Photo illustration by Salena Jabara/KANSAN
$4.99
15 fat grams, 350 calories for 1/4 pizza What do want on your tombstone? How about a glass of water to follow the spicy sauce. Tasters liked the thin crispy crust but thought the sauce had too much of a kick. For the tree huggers in the group, the environmentally friendly, non-cardboard packaging was a plus. Although the price is a little steep, a Tombstone pizza wouldn't be a bad last meal.
5 fat grams, 330 calories for one pizza
For a low-fat pizza, even the doubters, particularly the guys, changed their minds after a taste. The
Healthy Choice Supreme French Bread Pizza
$2.29
gles, sausage and pepperoni were supported by a boat of bread that never got soggy. If you don't grab the carton of Ben & Jerry's while you're waiting the 30 plus minutes to bake the pizza, a tasty Healthy Choice complements your diet well.
Toaster Breaks Pizza Pockets
$2.79 for six pockets
8 fat grams, 170 calories for one pocket A Pop-Tart with cheese and sauce rather than icing and fruit filling, the Toaster Breaks pizza pockets were the biggest surprise of the test. For a meal-on-the-go, the pockets are a nice choice at a cooking time of under two minutes in the toaster. However, Heather Budig, Great Bend junior, said she wouldn't substitute the pockets for a traditional pie. Tasters did enjoy the flaky coarsen-like pocket crust but were a bit put off by the sweet sauce. Maybe it's not unlike a Pop-Tart after all.
- Edited by Clay McCuistion
sauce crust cheese overall
Red Baron
Freshcheta
Totinos
Diglornos
Tombstone
Healthy Choice
Toaster Breaks
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