SUPER BOWL OF FROZEN PIZZA I

Frozen Pizza Playoffs: You Make The Call

By JEFF HOUCK The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 3, 2006

When the Pittsburgh Steelers line up against the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XL, more than football will be at stake. Super Sunday is second only to Thanksgiving in food consumption.

Domino's expects to deliver 300,000 pizzas per quarter, 42 percent more than an average Sunday. Pizza Hut is using Jessica Simpson and The Muppets in a series of ads this weekend to promote their new Cheesy Bites Pizza, which will have 28 cheese-filled pockets with sauce and toppings piled on top.

But why wait for pizza when you can make your own version at home? It's more convenient, less expensive and you can make the pies as crispy as you like. Plus, you don't have to tip the driver during the busiest pizza delivery day of the year.

Toward that goal, we assembled a panel of judges and held our own Super Bowl of Frozen Pizza, a competition that pitted eight brands in a clash of grocery store titans for the Boyardee Trophy. To drive the football point home, we invited celebrity Tampa Bay Bucs fan Albert Owens, better known as Bucified Bert. (Lucky for us, he works in the building.) And we sliced the pizzas into two divisions, the NPC (National Pizza Conference) and APC (American Pizza Conference).

The job was more difficult than it sounds. After your eighth slice of pizza, you pretty much want nothing to do with it ever again. But we dug down deep, gave 110 percent, got down in the trenches, dominated the line of scrimmage, marched down the field, showed great second effort and left nothing on the field. We were slow in getting up, but we made it to the culinary sidelines under our own power.

We worked our way down to two finalists for SBFP I and determined a winner, but we want to hear from you about which of the two pizzas you prefer.

AMERICAN PIZZA CONFERENCE PLAYOFF NO. 1
Totino's Party Pizza Supreme vs. Tony's Original Crust Supreme Pizza
Totino's
Price: four pizzas for $5
Weight: 10.9 ounces
Toppings: Sausage, pepperoni, green peppers, onions
Cooking time: 10 to 12 minutes at 450 degrees
The box says: Ingredients include "Mozzarella Cheese Substitute."
Judges' comments: "I like the thin crust." "I like the onions."
Bucified Bert says: "That tastes scrumptious. Might just have to have this."
Tony's
Price: two for $5
Weight: 17.2 ounces
Toppings: Sausage, green peppers, onions
Cooking time: 18 to 20 minutes at 425 degrees
The box says: Another pizza with "mozzarella cheese substitute." Oh, and it's "A good source of calcium." Which is important, because that's why you eat pizza.
Judges' comments: "Good, but not great."
Bucified Bert says: "This one has more Buccaneers colors."
WINNER: TOTINO'S

AMERICAN PIZZA CONFERENCE PLAYOFF NO. 2
Tombstone Original Supreme vs. Red Baron Classic Special Deluxe
Tombstone Original Supreme
Price: two for $4
Weight: 19.2 ounces
Toppings: pepperoni, sausage, green peppers, onions
Cooking time: 14 minutes
The box says: 1,280 calories per pizza
Judges' comments: "Crust isn't crisp, but it isn't soft. Just sort of mushy."
Bucified Bert says: "I could eat this.''
Red Baron Classic Special Deluxe Pizza
Price: $4.49
Weight: 23.6 ounces
Toppings: two cheeses, sausage, mushrooms, pepperoni, black olives, green and red peppers, onions
Cooking time: 19 to 23 minutes at 425 degrees
The box says: "Sausage made with pork and chicken - pepperoni made with pork, chicken and beef."
Judges' comments: "I can taste the Cheddar." "Baron has more flavor.' "The crust is similar to Tombstone's; kinda mushy."
Bucified Bert says: "I thought it would be close, but it was a blowout. Red Baron."
WINNER: RED BARON

NATIONAL PIZZA CONFERENCE PLAYOFF NO. 1
Stouffer's French Bread Deluxe Pizza vs. Freschetta Brick Oven 3 Cheese and Bacon
Stouffer's French Bread Deluxe Pizza
Price: $2.49
Weight: 12.37 ounces
Toppings: sausage, pepperoni, mushrooms, red and green peppers, onions
Cooking time: 23 to 25 minutes at 350 degrees
The box says: "Made with 100 percent real cheese."
Judges' comments: "Crispy crust. This is the Stouffer's I remember from my college dormitory."
Bucified Bert says: "I like this. It's nice and crunchy."
Freschetta Brick Oven 3 Cheese and Bacon
Price: $4.49
Weight: 17.05 ounces
Toppings: mozzarella, fontina and smoked Gouda cheeses, bacon, white cream sauce
Cooking time: 15 to 19 minutes at 425 degrees
The box says: There's a photo of the Freschetta Culinary Council, a five-member pizza dream team of chefs.
Judges' comments: "This would be perfect for breakfast. This is a breakfast pizza."
Bucified Bert says: "I could see that. I could eat this for breakfast, too. And lunch. And dinner."
WINNER: FRESCHETTA

NATIONAL PIZZA CONFERENCE PLAYOFF NO. 2
Digiorno Rising Crust Supreme Pizza vs. Celeste Deluxe Pizza For One
Digiorno Rising Crust Supreme Pizza
Price: $4.99
Weight: 32.7 ounces
Toppings: sausage, pepperoni, red and green peppers, onions, black olives
Cooking time: 23 to 26 minutes at 400 degrees
The box says: "It's not delivery, it's ..." Oh, never mind. You fill in the rest.
Judges' comments: "Tastes like real ingredients. That [Celeste, the competition] tastes like the box."
Bucified Bert says: "I'm no culinary expert, but this is something I could cook."
Celeste Deluxe Pizza For One
Price: three for $4
Weight: 6.65 ounces
Toppings: sausage, red and green peppers, mushrooms
Cooking time: 23 to 35 minutes at 350 degrees
The box says: "Made with 100 percent real cheese."
Judges' comments: "I didn't know Ritz made a pizza." "Pretty ordinary. Tastes like a Krystal burger."
Bucified Bert says: "Nothing I'd run a marathon for."
WINNER: DIGIORNO

AMERICAN PIZZA CONFERENCE FINALS
Totino's versus Red Baron
Wisdom comes from unexpected places. We found ours in a judge's comment.
After noting that the female judges and male judges split on this grouping, a female judge remarked that even a cold slice of Red Baron would wipe the floor with a fresh, hot Totino's.
"Totino's is like the Three Stooges," replied one of our male judges. "Chicks just don't get it."
That sexist remark aside, the women judges did show some appreciation for the Totino's crust. They just liked the Baron more. "The Red Baron flavor "has a lot of different spices. Totino's all blends together," a female judge announced.
Bucified Bert used football terms, comparing Totino's hype to Atlanta Falcons phenom Michael Vick, while Red Baron was all business, like Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Ryan Nece.
WINNER: RED BARON

NATIONAL PIZZA CONFERENCE FINALS
Freschetta versus DiGiorno
For this contest we had to use the Freschetta Sauce Stuffed Supreme Pizza With Grilled Vegetables, since the store was sold out of the 3 Cheese & Bacon.
That worked to its advantage in this round, since the judges noted the fresh taste of the grilled vegetables. The sauce stuffed inside the crust also caught their attention.
"You can taste the uniqueness," Bucified Bert remarked. "You bite down and, whoa, there's something down there. This satisfies my taste buds."
As for the DiGiorno, one judge said, "DiGiorno had its day. New times call for a new pizza."
WINNER: FRESCHETTA

SUPER BOWL OF FROZEN PIZZA
Freschetta versus Red Baron
Who won this battle? It was almost too close to call. Half of our judges liked Red Baron's meaty flavors. The other half preferred Freschetta's grilled veggies and stuffed crust. It took a tiebreaking call by food writer Jeff Houck in favor of Freschetta to declare a winner. Disagree with that call? Want to throw the challenge flag for further review? Cast your own ballot in the poll on this page.