Restaurants
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ByTaylor Huang/
Chicagoans might raise their eyebrows at the fact that Michigan-based pizza chain, Little Caesars, has a deep dish pizza worth bragging about. The national pizza chain calls their dish the Deep! Deep! Dish Pizza, which comes in a variety of different customizations. At one point, it even had a stuffed crust version.
Chicago deep dish pizza is something that the inhabitants of this Midwestern city are very passionate about, and the fact that a pizza chain is able to pull it off so well surprised many. Little Caesars' dish also combines Detroit's specialty "square" pizza with the Chicago classic. Therefore, it isn't too much of a stretch to say that the chain wanted the menu item to appeal to a diverse audience.
According to Reddit, this dish has been doing exactly that. The original poster attached a picture from Evansville's News 4 U Magazine, which declared Little Caesars' deep dish pizza as the best in the Tri-State area. Even though pizza may speak for itself, there's still plenty to learn about this deep dish marvel.
What is Little Caesars Deep Dish Pizza?
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Little Caesars Deep Dish Pizza is the chain's own spin on the iconic Chicago-style pizza. This dish is highly contested between natives of the Windy City and other pizza capitals of the world that question whether it should really be labeled as "pizza" to begin with.
According to Mashed.com, a good deep dish pizza is cooked inversely, with the cheese on its bottom, toppings in the middle, and tomato sauce on top. After being in the oven for a long period of time, the dish is then flipped to the "right" side, so that the cheese isn't burned.
The article describes deep dish pizza as thick, gooey, and sometimes even eaten with a fork and knife. Little Caesars Deep! Deep! Dish Pizzas deliver exactly that, but they are slightly more manageable to eat with only your hands, as it's in a square shape — an homage to its Detroit roots.
How much does a Little Caesars Deep Dish pizza cost?
Depending on your location and according to Little Caesars' website, there are typically four different varieties of Deep! Deep! Dish Pizzas, all coming in at different prices. The cheapest option is the cheese variety, which is only $8. This is followed by the pepperoni, which costs $9; the Italian sausage, which costs $11; and the 3 Meat Treat, which costs $12. At other locations, there are options like the Deep! Deep! Dish Veggie and Deep! Deep! Dish Ultimate Supreme, which are $14 and $13, respectively.
All of the deep dish pizzas come in servings of eight, making them a great deal for parties or family dinners. However, if you are eating in your own company, you can also get the $5 Lunch Combo, which comes with four slices of deep dish pizza with pepperoni and a PEPSI-COLA product.
You can also opt to create your own pizza, which is also a great option if you want to try deep dish pizza with all your favorite ingredients.
What's it made out of and how does it taste?
Depending on the type of pizza you order, the toppings will differ, but for the most part, the ingredients are the same between varieties. A Brand Eating writer had the opportunity to visit Little Caesars' headquarters in Detroit, and revealed that the crust is a blend of sugar, salt, yeast, flour, soybean oil, and water. It is then mixed and beaten out, before shaped and proofed. Unlike traditional deep dish pizzas, the toppings were added linearly, with the sauce at the bottom, followed by the cheese and other ingredients.
Reviewers give the Deep! Deep! Dish Pizza pretty favorable remarks. Another Brand Eating writer described the pepperoni variety's crust as spongy soft and satisfyingly chewy, though they weren't really impressed with the overall flavor. Another review of the pepperoni deep dish from The Trips declared that the meal was, in fact, "worth the trip," commenting on how much better this version was than the chain's regular pizza.
When was it released and is it a permanent staple?
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Little Caesars debuted its Deep! Deep! Dish Pizzas in 2013. According to QSR Web, it was the first national chain to offer Detroit-style deep dish pizza. Detroit-style pizza was coined by Buddy's Pizza, a local pizza chain in the city (via PR Newswire). They put out a pizza in 1946 that is known for being crispy and chewy, and beloved by celebrities like Barstool Sports founder and major pizza fan, David Portnoy. His review of a Detroit-style pizza had sales tripling at a particular pizzeria overnight (via The Detroit News). Therefore, Little Caesars combined what was most sentimental in boththe Chicago Deep Dish and Detroit-style pizza, and made it better in its Deep! Deep! Dish Pizzas.
Because its deep dish pizza has so many fans, Little Caesars doesn't appear to have any intent to remove it from its menu. The same QSR Web article says that the Detroit-chain celebrates National Detroit-Style Pizza Day, which takes place every June.
Nutritional Information
Pizza is a dish made for sharing, and we'd advise you to do the same with your Deep! Deep! Dish Pizza. As stated before, each dish serves eight, and range from 2,500 to 3,480 calories for an entire "pie." Split between friends or family, this meal is very satisfying and filling, and the meat dishes contain a bit more protein.
However, this dish isn't really for everyday consumption, as it contains rather high sodium levels, with the Deep! Deep! Dish 3 Meat Treat containing 7,180 milligrams of sodium for one entire pie. In addition, there is a good bit of fat in this meal, with 175 grams total in a whole pie.
Furthermore, if you are vegan or gluten-free, this dish is not for you, as all varieties contain milk and gluten. However, if you want to try this Little Caesars' specialty, don't let those nutritional facts scare you away.
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