Just to add…think also of the percentage of roaches and mouse droppings allowed in processed foods bought from your local supermarket.
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Domino’s went hard at mobile experience design earlier than any other major brand. And unlike the drab ‘we need an app’ bullshit, they actually built the things people mostly wanted, with a generous portion of addiction-tech slathered on top. Seems to work.
They are currently taking well-targeted shots at food delivery apps (Uber, Grubhub, etc), which I am 100% ok with.
The pizza is OK. Not as good as the foodie places, but a zero friction dinner that most people can enjoy. If they could make a decent salad, I’d order from them a lot.
Wait, there are still Pizza Huts???
I think of Pizza Huts for two reasons:
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All their veggie toppings were finely chopped, which left me unimpressed as a kid.
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Their distinctive buildings are almost as conspicuously weird looking when hosting other businesses as classic Taco Bell buildings are.
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Though I gave up on Pizza Hut years ago, I’m still trying to figure out how they uniformly always burned the pepperoni, no matter what location I went to, in and out of the continental US.
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I vaguely recall eating at a Pizza Hut once, probably circa 1990 around Mendocino / Ft Bragg, CA. Not near as good as pizzas from Amalfi / Naples, Italy, but not as far a drive for us.
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If I remember, the pepperoni was always the final topping, and closest to the heating element?
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I think that was an intentionally ironic statement. That said, as a kid, Pizza Hut in the 80s and 90s DID seem classy. And if you’re young enough that you’ve only experienced it in the post 2000s, you have no idea. they had a jukebox and a pac man table And a salad bar. And they served beer. And had nice mood lighting and decor and wait staff. It really was a whole thing that it hasn’t been in 20 years. The take out garbage pizza that it has become now is a pale imitation of the experience it once was. And I say that as someone who lived in NYC for 17 years and have had much better pizza. i am still nostalgic for the atmosphere of 1980s Pizza Hut in the Midwest.
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I think everybody here is over 40
I wouldn’t expect the young-uns to be interested in a “BBS” attached to a “zine”
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This is actually a good point. For those of us who grew up in “flyover country,” Pizza Hut often was the best pizza available back in the day.
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Yes, that’s from over a decade ago. I really wish my memory was anywhere near as good for anything useful.
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As a kid in the 80’s, this resonates very much with me, though one thing I had bonded into my taste-memory bond was a taste for taco pizza that we would get from our local Hut.
No idea if it was a thing in all of the Hits but my young taste buds fondly long for some.
There was a recent company man about Pizza Hut. I guess things are so bad that everyone is telling notice at once.
For those discussing local spots over chains, I grew up in Michigan, the birthplace of both Little Caesars and Domino’s. The chains had heavy coverage in the suburbs.
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I don’t recall the wait staff, but rather you placed your order at the counter, and the order would be brought to your table when ready. I do recall the lighting and the decor, and I want to say they also had red and white checkered table cloth, but I’m probably misremembering because it was ages ago.
The decor and subdued lighting was also the thing at Round Table pizza restaurants (I guess that’s not a national, or international, thing since RT hasn’t been mentioned here). They’re shtick was that somehow, King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table enjoyed pizza in their medieval times; it was their theme, complete with dragons. It was darker in their restaurants with little alcoves with the dining tables with a beer and wine bar where you’d order drinks separate from the food. Now, they are like all the other (probably) private equity -owned franchised places where they turn up the lights because they want you in and out as quickly as possible. RT nailed the flavor of the sauce, though. The pizza is good, but stupid expensive. Luckily, thar be coupons aplenty.
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Checkered tablecloths. Red vinyl booths. Classic Atari tabletop video game console. And those dark red plastic cups that could hold about a quart of whatever Pepsi product you desired.
Polyester leisure suits were optional.
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Huh.
I never realized before how true this all rings: as a kid, going to Pizza Hut was a joy. As a young adult, their all-you-can-eat pizza lunch buffets were legendary ways to fill up on the cheap, and (at least in Canada?) their “five-bucks five-bucks five-bucks” deal (where every pizza beyond the first was $5) had. Y friends making Pizza Hut a weekly outing.
Then, the dine-in Pizza hits closed, and that was it. That, along with actual good pizza hitting Toronto at the same time, and I think it really did Pizza Hut in.
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You like it when you’re young because they experimented on their pies quite a bit and they did a great job marketing to kids at that time in the 90’s but these days it’s pretty bland compared to all of the great indie places throughout western ny. But gas station pizza is still the worst in these parts, so you’re better of with dominoes and then pizza hut compared to that.
Don’t forget the votive candles, and Pizza Pete paper placemats with games on the reverse for the kids. And the smell of pizza baking. Few chain restaurants smelled better than a Pizza Hut up to the early 70s (except perhaps KFC).
The candles were always fun for lighting your menu paper placemat on fire.
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We have not eaten out since February of 2020, no sit down, no drive thru, no carry out. I’m tempted to to treat eating out like my not drinking and go for the long haul but I do miss pizza and one or two favorite burger joints.
We get our pizza fix with a stone on the gas grill with home made dough.
If we do eventually head out it will be to the original Buddy’s Pizza in Detroit. It’s the pizza that everyone is currently trying to duplicate as Detroit Style.
Carry out pizza would be Jet’s, their pizza is awesome.
Those days when we work late and are too tired to cook anything or stop and sit down, Little Caesars hot and ready, while not an excellent pizza, it is good enough for a lazy meal with zero effort. But that ain’t happening anytime soon.
As far as Pizza Hut, blech, but their commercial with that drawer box thingy looks tempting.
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