Price: $4.79
Serving: 1/6 pizza, 4.7oz.
Calories: 330
Fat: 20%, 13g
Cholesterol: 8%, 25mg
Sodium: 38%, 920mg
Protein: 15g
Carbs: 13%, 39g
Fiber: 8%, 2g
Weight Watchers Points: 7 Points

DiGiorno says: Whether you are looking for a soft, delicious RISING CRUST or a thin, crispy crust, there is a DIGIORNO pizza for you. And all of them come with mouth-watering toppings - crisp vegetables, wholesome meats and delicious cheeses!

Abi says: DiGiorno will always be a third place pizza for me, firmly behind Freschetta and Amy’s Kitchen and way, way ahead of Domino’s. Domino’s wasn’t always in third place in our house. Instead, we’d take advantage of the 5-5-5 offer and get three medium, one-topping pizzas for five dollars: pepperoni, onion, and bell pepper or sausage. Have you ever had an onion pizza? It doesn’t sound that great, but it is delicious!

Anyways, the 5-5-5 deal from Domino’s is dead here in Palo Alto. I first learned of this about two weeks after moving here. There were no frozen pizzas in the apartment and we wanted pizza but we didn’t want to go out. Calling Domino’s yielded a new, startling price on a medium pepperoni pizza: $15.00.

Sure, that includes taxes and delivery charges. But Domino’s has not yet produced a pizza that I’m willing to pay that much money to enjoy. For me, Domino’s is a way to stock up on a bunch of pizza and eat pizza for multiple meals in a row until 36 hours later I am pronouncing that don’t want any more pizza for a month.

Since realizing that I’d have to pay an arm and a leg for otherwise cheap pizza, I’ve made sure that there is some form of frozen pizza in the house at all times. I just buy whatever is on sale or at Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart is always cheap, but they only stock two types of pizza: Stouffer’s French Bread Pizza and DiGiorno’s (this is not a Super Wal-Mart is it just a Wal-Mart this a freezer case).

You can tell that the folks at DiGiorno really care about their pizza crust. This pepperoni pizza rose up beautifully, with a crust that was perfectly crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. They must have a lab full of crust scientists continually experimenting in an effort to create the most perfect crust in existence. Unfortunately, that degree of care that is taken with the crust doesn’t quite make it to the toppings (except for the pepperoni count, which is a precise 18, meaning there are exactly three slices of pepperoni per serving).

There’s a ton of sauce (a bonus for all of you sauce-lovers out there), and lots of single-note mozzarella cheese, and plenty of pepperoni rounds. It is just too bad that the pepperoni is so greasy I go through multiple paper towels when blotting each slice of pizza. Let’s face it, some people can deal with pools of orange oil on their pizza and some cannot. I cannot.

But, for all of the people like me who think that DiGiorno pizza is too greasy (the entire pizza is 42 Weight Watchers Points) and lacks a full flavor pallette, there are people like Sylvia, who write to me thinking that HeatEatReview.com actually produces DiGiorno pizzas:

Tried your new DiGiorno Ultimate Pizza for the second time. Will no longer be ordering delivery-style pizza. Deelicious! Keep up the good work.
PS: Packaging is superb! Thanx. Sylvia

I have to agree that the packaging is superb. It was super-easy to remove this pizza from the plastic wrap. Really, where did pizza producers get the idea that a plastic-based set of swaddling clothes was necessary for each pizza? It is a freaking pizza, not the baby Jesus. Sadly, not every DiGiorno pizza produces a success story:

I got the DiGiorno Ultimate and the directions for a “crisper crust, said to place the pizza right on the rack of the oven.” So I followed the directions and about ten minutes later my house was smoked out, because the cheese had melted off of the pizza onto the rack and started to burn. I suggest that instead of putting the pizza directly onto the rack that you put the pizza onto a cookie sheet or pizza stone. Thank you. J Swackhamer.

It also seems that I’m doing a poor job of supplying California grocery stores with their needed pizzas:

I cannot find your digorno wheat pizza anywhere. I used to always get it at the store. Is it discontinued? If not where can I get it? I live in Valencia Ca. Mindy

Dear Mindy: I have no idea. And finally, has anyone out there tried the DiGiorno Garlic Bread Pizza? Linda seems to like it . . . . . and ellipses.

I would just like to make a comment on your new “GARLIC BREAD PIZZA” it is excellent-thanks for your scrumptous [sic] product……It’s the best pizza I have purchased ever……………… Linda

So, what’s your favorite brand of frozen pizza?

Price: $2.50/box ($1.50 on sale)
Serving: 1/2 pizza, 5.4 oz.
Calories: 390
Fat: 25%, 16g
Sodium: 37%, 880mg
Protein: 17g

DiGiorno says: We only use our own natural and pure artesian well water, and never add any preservatives, artificial ingredients, or MSG. Oh, just kidding! This is a pizza made with cheese, pepperoni, sausage, onions and green bell peppers.

Abi says: Today a coworker heated up calimari and broccoli (together!) in the microwave. I no longer have any remorse over making my coworkers suffer through the Stouffer’s Fish Fillet and the Simply Asia Soy Noodles.

DiGiorno’s Rising Crust Pizza is not for those of you at risk of a heart attack. Eating a whole mini-pizza means consuming 770 calories and half of your daily fat. I had to do some serious blotting before eating this pizza. Is there any way they can make the cheese or meat or whatever it is less fatty? Really, there are millions of women out there taking precious time to blot pizza with a napkin.

While I enjoyed the technical flair of the microwavable rising crust, I found that crisping circles and cheese are not friends. You can see instances of this long battle between cheese and crisping circle in the pictures above. Is there a remedy? Yes, do not eat this pizza. DiGiorno Rising Crust Microwavable Supreme Pizza is mediocre, expensive and the crust is inedible (meaning hard as rocks). This is what I get for buying food at 7-11 on my way home from Mai Thai. Also, it was one a.m. and the 7-11 was swarming with cops. They were just hanging out eating taquitos and reading magazines.