{"id":9454,"date":"2013-07-17T07:57:59","date_gmt":"2013-07-17T14:57:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/burgersdogspizza.com\/?p=9454"},"modified":"2013-07-17T07:57:59","modified_gmt":"2013-07-17T14:57:59","slug":"vito-and-nicks-ii-frozen-pizza","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.peterstromquist.com\/?p=9454","title":{"rendered":"Home Cookin’ – Vito and Nicks II Frozen Pizza"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last in a series of testing out the various local brands of frozen pizza in Chicago<\/a>. \u00a0Vito and Nicks II is an offshoot of a 70 year old business, that started as Vito’s Tavern on the far south side of Chicago. \u00a0They toiled hard, added a few food items, and son Nick joined Vito Barraco in the business in the early 1940s; the tavern moved, became Vito and Nick’s, and Nick’s wife made and sold the first pizza in 1945.<\/p>\n

Business was brisk, the family prospered, and Nick’s son, expanded to other locations, under the name of Vito and Nick’s II, and several locations have popped up around Northern Illinois; \u00a0one is open in Phoenix, and there’s a unit in the pipeline for Florida.<\/p>\n

Customers started asking for frozen pies, and it became a sideline at one of the shops. \u00a0The pies had always been made by hand with the freshest ingedients; \u00a0the style was formulated back in the 40s, one of Chicago’s first “thin crusts”, and on the frozen pie box, they boast about the “cracker thin crust.”<\/p>\n

More sales, a dedicated plant, and today Vito and Nicks II Frozen Pizzas are being sold in a number of states. \u00a0My personal price point for a frozen pie is\u00a0around six bucks, but this one, the sausage and pepperoni pie, clocks in at an even ten bucks, and 30 ounces, or around 33 cents\u00a0per ounce. \u00a0This is a good 30-40% above most brands.<\/p>\n

The package promises that customers call this “The Best Pizza Anywhere,” \u00a0“restaurant quality,” and “hand-made from scratch.” \u00a0 Easily, taken frozen from the box, this is one of the most handsome cook at home pies I have ever seen – it really does look like it’s from a pizzeria.<\/p>\n

\"Vito<\/a><\/p>\n

The instructions call for 450, on the shelf for around 18 – 20 minutes; a second set of instructions is offered for cooking the pie on your barbecue grill. \u00a0I’ve had great results with pizza on the grill, it’s worth a try if you haven’t done it.<\/p>\n

I removed the pie at 16 minutes, and it’s appearance is nearly equal to a hot pie from a Blodgett \u00a0or Baker’s Pride deck.<\/p>\n

\"Vito<\/a><\/p>\n

And the taste? \u00a0I like it. A lot. \u00a0I can’t think of any part of it I’d want changed, except to note I always like larger pieces of sausage. \u00a0But the flavor of the \u00a0meats, cheese, sauce is spot on for pizzeria taste. \u00a0V & N frozen has a noticeable (taste-wise) smattering of herbs, the only other company I can think of where that is evident is California Pizza Kitchen’s frozen pies. I like a strong herb taste on pizza.<\/p>\n

While I complained about the $10 price tag, after eating this pie, I think it’s worth it, especially compared to the $20 -$25 you have to spend at a quality pizza shop. (No, I won’t go for the $5 or $10 specials from the big chains). \u00a0 I’d love to try one of these on a high quality home oven at 500 or 550. \u00a0This has absolutely moved to the head of the pack for me, in favored frozen Chicago area pizza.<\/p>\n

Guy Fieri slid into the original shop \u00a0on one of his outings, and you can check out his stop in this video.<\/p>\n