Wetzel's Pretzels Frozen Pepperoni & Cheese Pretzels

We don't have Wetzel's Pretzels restaurants in the Pittsburgh area, but I got to try them once on a trip to Florida. I saw they had Pepperoni Twist pretzels with Pizza Dipping Sauce, and so of course I wanted to try one. Sadly, they were out of them. They were also out of Pretzel Dogs. And actual pretzels. I think the only thing they had were Pretzel Bites.

So I was rather pleasantly surprised when a friend pointed these out to me yesterday at our local grocery store. Now I have to say, the frozen pretzel pizza offerings to date have been less than stellar; SuperPretzel's Pretzelfils are okay but I burned out on them quick, and Kim & Scott's Gourmet Pizza Pretzels never grabbed me. But hey, I'm not going to let any new pizza product pass me by without trying it.

They didn't look too impressive coming out of the box. The pizza pretzel on the box is all nice and big and full, and the actual pretzel was kind of smooshed and much smaller.

I generally don't like to microwave food; I usually feel it taste better when cooked in an oven. But these are soft pretzels, and I figured microwaving them would make them softer than baking them. So I microwaved them. I had to microwave them twice as long as the recommended time on the box, but my microwave is at least 30 years old so I don't blame them for that.

I was very impressed that it wasn't just pepperoni and a little cheese, but actually had sauce too. That was a good sign.  And they looked a little better once they were warmed up.

And I have to say, while they're not outstanding, these are probably the best frozen pizza pretzels I've ever had. The real reason they beat out SuperPretzel and Kim & Scott's is that the pretzel itself tastes better. The crust you use is a crucial part of any good pizza, and if you're going to do a pizza on a pretzel then the pretzel itself needs to really stand out. And this pretzel does stand out over the other pretzels-- it has a softness and butteryness that come close to the restaurant taste. (Well, they come close to Auntie Anne's, which is the equivalent we have here in Pittsburgh.)

The absolute best pizza pretzels I ever had in my life were from a now-defunct pretzel place in the King of Prussia mall. The pretzel itself was so warm and soft, the sauce so rich, the cheese layered just right... I miss them to this day. And to be fair, I probably compare all other pizza pretzels to them. If they actually serve these at Wetzel Pretzel stores they might come close. But the frozen Wetzel's Pretzels Pepperoni & Cheese Pretzels still come closest to anything else I've had since, so I'll definitely be getting these on a regular basis.

A Change for Villa Pizza

So I went to the mall the other day and went for my usual slice of pizza at Villa Pizza, and discovered that they've now changed their name to Villa Fresh Italian Kitchen.

While I'm disappointed to see the word "pizza" disappear from any store name, I can't say I'm surprised.  They've been expanding their pasta menu for a long time now, and with the demise of Sbarro's it helps them stake their claim on the Italian mall-fast-food scene.

And the pizza tastes the same, which is to say I like their plain pizza. So you know, all in all, no harm no foul. It's just one of life's little changes.