Chronicling the Virtual Food Travels of AJ, Part One

When people hear about Eat Your Mailbox, one of the first questions they ask is always, “Where can I get a great pizza?” Whether they're from New York, Chicago, or the West Coast, everyone seems to associate pizza with a slice of home. Since that's what the people want, I decided to start my virtual food travels there. I put the many pizza vendors on our site into a hat and pulled out Lou Malnati's pizza.

I decided on a pepperoni pie, ordered it from their easy to use form ($39.93 includes shipping), and was very pleased when it arrived promptly on my doorstep.

The pizza was well packed, and the dry ice had done a great job of keeping it frozen.

The instructions said that I should put it in the freezer if I wanted to eat it later, or the fridge if I wanted to enjoy it the day it arrived. Into the fridge it went!

After a couple hours of thawing it went into the oven for a very long twenty-five minutes. I've been to Chicago. I've had the pizza. If I was going to recreate the Chicago experience with the pie in the oven, I was going to be a very happy man.

Eventually the time passed and I opened the oven to find:

It smelled amazing and looked delicious, but I was a bit skeptical about the size. It was nine inches around, exactly as advertised, but I wasn't sure if it would be enough for both me and my wife. I felt better when I sliced it up and saw its thickness and weight:

After feeling better about the pizza's ability to satisfy two adult appetites, I sunk my teeth into a piping hot bite.

Wow! I can honestly say it was one of the best pizzas I have cooked in my own oven. The crust was flaky and delicious, thick, but not overpowering. The plentiful, high quality mozzarella provided the perfect amount of flavor and chewiness.

Unlike the very chunky sauce I've tried on past Chicago pizzas, Lou Malnati's pizza had a rich, thick sauce that perfectly complimented the other ingredients. Topping off the pie, the pepperoni was evenly distributed for one scrumptious bite after another.

So, is $39.95 more expensive that your average pizza? Absolutely. But it's also cheaper than your average dinner out. Plus the pies become cheaper if you buy several at a time and freeze them, which is what we'll be doing in the future!

Lou Malnati's pizza is a great illustration of the fact that sometimes making exceptional food is as simple as using great ingredients and combining them in just the right way.

Check back soon for another blog entry. In the meantime, remember that we live in a country full of incredible foods and if you can't travel to them, have them sent to you, and Eat Your Mailbox!

If you are a vendor who would like your food reviewed in the Eat Your Mailbox Blog, please contact us for details.
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A.J. Machado is the host of San Diego’s most popular radio show, A.J.’s Playhouse on 93.3 FM.