Although it might seem to outsiders, based on my reviews, that my food life simply consists of pizza and energy drinks, I can assure you that isn’t the case. Well, I certainly enjoy both of those things, and I do consume them quite often, but outside of Aldi, we rarely partake in pizza. For starters, the pizza chains (and, for what it’s worth, even the mom and pop shops) are generally overpriced for what you get, so we tend to avoid those. There are a couple of “upscale” pizza shops nearby, that offer excellent pies for a decent price, but those tend to be more of an occasional splurge.
When I saw Aldi would be offering a stuffed crust pizza, I was immediately on board. The main reason, besides the fact I’d never seen Aldi offer them before, is because I’ve never had a stuffed crust pizza in my life. The main nationwide chain that offers them (with the initials PH) is absolute junk, and I vowed never to eat at one again after a terrible experience at one on vacation (and having been unimpressed in my rare visits in town prior to that). This gave me a chance to try a stuffed crust, without supporting a place with food that isn’t even fit to be delivered to a homeless shelter.
First things first, the pizza itself; it was a little underwhelming. I love Mama Cozzi’s regular pepperoni take and bake, and was hoping it would essentially taste like that, only with a stuffed cheese crust. The pepperoni part itself just tastes a little bit different, and not nearly as good as it normally does. I thought this part was definitely underwhelming. Even though it was fully cooked, the crust also seemed a little doughy to me, which is a big turn off–I like my crust to be nice and crispy.
The actual “stuffed” crust was actually pretty decent…I was thinking that I’d have to dip it in something to give it some flavor, but it functioned as those stuffed breadsticks you can get in the high school cafeteria. Again, this part was relatively doughy, too, but the white cheese inside was pretty delicious. That being said, while I tend to have a poor diet, this pizza was still rather rough on my stomach. I didn’t eat any sides with it (something I usually do), and went in having eaten only a small bowl of cereal early in the day, and I could only down four slices before starting to feel sick. Just on account of that, I don’t think I’d get it again; the taste certainly doesn’t outweigh the disgusting feeling afterwards.
Overall: 4/10. A pretty unsatisfying pizza. The stuffed crust part is actually pretty good, but everything was too soft and doughy (and I actually left it in the oven for a little longer than the requested time). The actual pizza part isn’t up to Mama Cozzi’s typical standards, and I felt sick after downing only four slices on a pretty much empty stomach. I forget the price, but I’m pretty sure it was $5-something; while this is great value when compared to the chains, $5 for a bad pizza is still a waste of money. Maybe it’s just not my cup of tea, but I would never get this again.
