Cape Cod Cafe Pizza.
Last night I was at my local supermarket and, on a whim, decided to have frozen pizza for dinner. Looking for something different, I went for the Cape Cod Café Pepperoni Pizza which, according to the label, is made by the founder’s grandsons who “carry on the tradition of hard work and the mentality of never cutting corners to make sure the pizzas today are the same as Papa made them over 80 years ago.”
I cooked the pie according to the package directions and it was just awful. Unpleasant to eat, unpleasant again when it haunted me in the middle of the night. And it made me realize how unsatisfactory frozen pizzas are in general because of a Hobbesian choice: the producer can use a prebaked crust, in which the pie is dry and cracker-y, or a “rising crust” which bakes in the oven and is doughy and bready. In both cases the crust insults and overwhelms the toppings.
Have I ever had a frozen pizza I would eat again? Vicolo’s is a brand with a thick cornmeal crust you can buy on the west coast. In this case the crust becomes a benefit, but the frozen pizza can’t hold a candle to the fresh pies that were sold in Vicolo’s now-closed restaurant. Actually, turns out we did a frozen pizza taste test back in 2017 in which we tried 3 different brands and found them all woeful. If anyone has a frozen pizza they would recommend, I would like to hear about it!
This picture is from the Cape Cod Cafe website and also appears on the Goldbelly page. Now that looks like something I might eat…
Getting back to Cape Cod pizza, the claim that my frozen hockey puck was made the same as 80 years ago is probably not true; a third party processing plant is likely involved though it is not identified on the package. Goldbelly will ship you 4 actual pies from the pizza shop for $99; they look quite different on the website from my supermarket product.
And according to a Google search result“[Cape Cod style is] a specific kind of pizza — a 10-inch pie with a flaky, buttery crust that has sauce and cheese to the edges. They’re usually topped with a combination of mozzarella and cheddar cheese and can have “laced” — or burnt — edges.” Sounds interesting. If I get to Cape Cod I just might try one.
well that’s disappointing….and now know I won’t be buying that brand…but I too have not found a frozen pizza that is satisfactory….
Why is most pizza terrible? There’s nearly 50 pizzerias in the greater Saratoga area. How many would you eat? I buy All-Trumps, Alta Cucina, and mozzarella from By George. My oven accommodates 20″ pies. Life is too short for crap pizza.
I am unfamiliar with these. Can you provide details including how to buy?
I never had a good frozen pizza. Like many other things, if you don’t expect too much, you won’t be too disappointed. Cape Cod Pizza? Dave Portnoy liked it.
He did a lotta frozen pizza reviews during high covid. Overrated the ones I’d tried. Entertainment. But knows his pizza. Sometimes buried by the entertainment.
Saratoga pizza.
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=dave+portnoy++saratoga+pizza
Oh man, don’t get me started on Dave Portnoy. If he likes Cape Cod Cafe pizza in its frozen form, then I rest my case.
There’s a few from Trader Joe’s that are pretty good and recently I’ve been parsing through the Aldi pizzas and they weren’t too bad either. You obviously need to temper your expectations but for under $5 they’re decently satisfying.
Had a giant pizza from the Aldi refrigerator section (so less demands on preservability) for under $10 and it was ok.
Any of the fridge ones were simply that – ok. Strangely the frozen ones seem to be much tastier. But they’re also often a very thin cracker style crust which heats up better.
now you’ve got me curious about Aldi’s frozen pizzas, dammit.
I’ve had the hot honey, Carolina BBQ, Tuscan Chicken, and jalapeno popper ones all in the past 2 months and all were good enough to buy again in the future. As for TJs the pizza parlano was always solid and they have a roasted garlic and pesto one on a deep fried crust that is amazing. I wish they sold that crust plain so I could top it myself, it’s that good.
By George route 50. I recently paid $2.16/lb for their house mozz. Made by Saputo. It’s not Grande, but close enough.
Did not know about By George. Will have to check them out!
I’ve never had good frozen pizza, but I’ve had Acceptable. Going with the compromise of a flatbread crust helps. Aldi has some decent ones.
You are crazy
You are crazy. Nutzo lmao
Cape Cod Cafe changed my idea of frozen pizza. By far the closest thing to a fresh pizza. Greatest thing that ever happened.
Possibly you live in a place that has delivery of the pies actually produced at the pizza store. Otherwise, I have no words.