One of the best things about running a food blog is getting the chance to sample foods from around the world. Mail order food has risen beyond the substandard, less than appetizing Omaha Steaks and other over-commercialized options. These days you can get just about anything and some of it arrives tasting better than you could ever imagine.
I love pizza. It’s one of my favorite foods. It’s also great because it’s one of those things where you really can’t go wrong. That being said, I can be skeptical about my toppings and picky about my crust. And if the sauce is not to my liking then the whole pizza is a wash. Mail order pizza is fun, because pizza ships fairly well and it gives you the chance to taste authentic styles from around the country.
This leads into my review of Lou Malnati’s authentic deep dish Chicago Pizza. Whenever I get the chance to sample regionally famous foods I am there. When it is pizza that I’m sampling I get even more excited. So, I was more than ready for a bite when this pizza arrived on my doorstep.
We received all four of the available Lou Malnati’s pizza options. In an effort to not repeat myself constantly I am grouping the pizzas into two reviews; one for the meat pizzas (pepperoni and sausage) and one for the no-meat pizzas (cheese and spinach). In addition to my reviews, make sure to look for picky eater reviews, as he will be writing his own spin on things, as well.
Delivery Specs
The pizzas arrived in a standard box with a cooler inside. The pizzas were placed in the cooler with dry ice to ensure that they were perfect and ready to either be cooked or frozen when they arrived at our doorstep. The order was shipped via UPS and it came the very next day after we ordered it, so there was no question about quality or freshness. The pizzas go from being hand-prepared to being frozen, placed in a box, and shipped to your doorstep. It doesn’t get more worry free than that.
Packaging: 
Prep
There isn’t much to the preparation for a Lou Malnati’s pizza. You just remove the pizza from the plastic encasing the pie tin and then you have two main options. You can choose to let the pizza thaw some or you can cook it straight out. If you’re going to let it thaw they recommend you remove the pizza from the pan, wipe the pan down to remove any condensation and then thaw it in the fridge for 2 hours. Once that’s been done you can pop it in the oven at 425 for around 35 minutes (a little more or less depending on the pizza). If you opt to cook it frozen you will need to add an additional ten minutes of cooking time. I tried it both ways and didn’t find a major difference one way or the other (minus the extra cook time).
Once it’s done and you’ve taken it out of the oven all you need to do is slice it and serve. It really couldn’t be any easier. It’s just like making any other frozen pizza you’ve cooked in the past.
Ease of Prep:
Taste and Visual Appeal
Naturally, the two most important things here are going to be how the pizza looked and tasted. When you think conventional pizza you think layers of sauce then cheese and finally whatever toppings have been added. Lou Malnati’s changes this strategy by adding the layer of cheese on the bottom, then toppings, and finally a gorgeous chunky tomato sauce on top. Of course when you first see the pizza covered in sauce, with sprinkles of parmesan over it you wonder where all the goodies are. Don’t worry, because once you cut into the pizza you will definitely find the goodies, which include fresh toppings and mounds of luscious cheese!
I absolutely love cheese, so any pizza that has plenty of it is definitely pulling at my heart strings. While the loads of cheese were excellent I loved the sauce even more. The chunky tomatoes come out tasting fresh, offering this beautiful burst of flavor when you take a bite. This not only set the pizza apart from other pizza makers, it left me wondering how I was ever going to look at a commercial pizza in the same way.
The sausage pizza was definitely one of the better that I have tasted. It differs from the traditional pizza because instead of crumbling the sausage it remained in a consistent layer between cheese and sauce. I’m not a huge sausage fan all on its own, but this definitely won me over. While the website states that each nine inch pie serves two comfortably, we were able to get three fed with nice salads to go with it. I suppose two could eat this and nix the sides. Even then these pies are packed, so you may just end up stuffed if you eat half of one of these.
Like so many people, I am a traditionalist when it comes to my pizza. While it may seem dull, pepperoni is my favorite pizza topping. So, the pepperoni pizza was the one that I was the most excited about. I loved it even more than I did the sausage. Looking back I think there was only one thing that I would change on this particular pizza. The pizza is made in the same way as I mentioned previously. On a normal made pizza the pepperoni are on top and they have a chance to brown up and get slightly crisp during cooking time. With the pepperoni being underneath the chunky tomato sauce the pepperoni cooked, but they are considerably softer than on a regular pizza. This didn’t affect my enjoyment level too much, but I think I would have enjoyed it just a little bit more had the pepperoni been on top.
In both cases, the crust was light and firm. It is important to let the pizza sit for a few minutes before cutting and serving. With the pepperoni, I cut it fairly soon after it was out of the oven. A good portion of the cheese oozed in between the pieces and while it tasted great it suddenly became a knife and fork pizza as opposed to something you could pick up. I waited a little longer to cut and serve the sausage and did not have the same problem.
This will definitely be a hit with most pizza loving adults. Some kids will be a little skeptical with the sauce being on top. The visual kids will question where the cheese and toppings are. Even when they find out they will likely want to know why this is different than other pizzas.
Look:
Taste/Flavor: 
Kid Friendly: 
What’s this going to cost me?
The cost is going to depend on what you decide to buy. We received four pizzas, which would have come to $74.95 for the pizzas. Of course, you don’t need to buy four if you don’t want four. You can also purchase 2 pizzas for $52.95 or a single pizza for $39.95. Lou Malnati’s also has some other things for sale like pizza pans and salad dressing. You can buy all of these items separately or you can purchase them in packs based on what you are interested in buying.
One of the best things about the price of these pizzas is that the shipping is free. So many mail order companies will charge you what seems like a high amount for your food and then add another $20 or $30 on top of that for shipping. This can be quite off-putting, especially when the food is as expensive as it is. However, that is not anything you have to worry about here. All prices include shipping so what you see on the site is what you pay.
Price:
Shipping Price:
Is it worth it overall?
Lou Malnati’s offers authentic deep dish Chicago style pizza. If you don’t live in Chicago and want a taste of the city, this is one of your best options. The price may seem steep, but if ordered as a treat it shouldn’t break your bank. Free shipping is offered on all orders, no matter what the price is, so that is a definite plus when compared to other mail order options. The sausage and pepperoni pizzas come highly recommended. While I would have changed one or two small things, I can definitely see myself ordering more of these in the future.
Overall Rating:
Technorati Tags: Taste of Chicago, Chicago Deep Dish, Authentic, Pizza, Pie, Pepperoni, Sausage, Four, Cheese, Oozing, Mail Order, Mail Order Food, Food Review, Pizza Review
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