Catching up with Little Caesar's

I had Little Caesar's pizza last night for the first time in 15+ years. A new one opened up in my neighborhood, and with the hot air balloons, people in costumes on the street, and coupons for $5 large pizzas and crazy bread hitting my mailbox, I finally caved. Just a couple of years ago I was convinced that pizza restaurant was no more. Was I missing anything?

Now I used to love Little Caesar's. Okay love is too strong of a word, but I sure got a kick out of their advertising of the 80's and 90's (Cliff Freeman and Partners), which at least subliminally played a part in my getting into the industry. And the pizza was good too. Hell, you got two of them. Pizza! Pizza!

Their menu is a little strange these days. It's the (non-slice) pizza version of fast food and is dominated by their "Hot-N-Ready" pizzas, which they claim to get into your hands in 30 seconds. They seem to only come in two varieties, cheese and pepperoni, so I went with the cheese and presented my coupon for the free breadsticks. On the way home I kept thinking of the economics of it. A large cheese pizza plus breadsticks for something like $5.35? Pretty crazy. You can't even get a decent frozen pizza for that.

My enthusiasm changed after the first bite. It was hot with a pretty thick crust. A little shabby on the cheese, but I thought the sauce would make up for it. Instead I could hardly taste it, and the toppings seemed as bland as the crust. This was pizza at its most unadventurous, and so bereft of flavor that I'm hard pressed to think of anything to compare it to. Maybe I'll try Dominos next week.

The breadsticks were better. Parmesan and garlic provided some much needed seasoning, and besides the rubbery interior, these weren't half bad. They could pass for bar food, which really isn't saying much. The best part was the "thank you thank you" on the inside of the box. It was a nice nod to the past. It's just too bad that's all they remember.

Fortunately for us there's You Tube: