Defunct Major Brand Frozen Pizzas I Remember

Re:Defunct Major Brand Frozen Pizzas I Remember (Robertttt)

Tue, 02 Oct 2012 22:27:51 GMT

Wow, this is cool, I haven't read everything, but I haven't heard Lizio Brothers frozen pizza mentioned. They came in a box, & I gobbled many of them around '75-'78 or so. Anyone remember these? They were quite tasty!

RE: Defunct Major Brand Frozen Pizzas I Remember (hiphopmom)

Tue, 25 Nov 2008 22:53:25 GMT

I fondly remember those Big Al's pizzas and I'm craving one right now! My friend Karen & I would make, and eat, an entire one! Not bad for two skinny girls from Pgh suburbs! I think I'd pay a good sum to have one right now! If anyone knows if they are still in business, POST IT LOUD AND PROUD! Nobody comes close to Big Al's[^

quote:
Originally posted by tkitna

I still have nostalgia for a frozen pizza called 'Big Al Lucioni's'. It was the bare two crusts in a box that you had to apply the sauce, cheeze, and pepperoni to yourself. The sauce and cheese came in the plastic baggies that you had to tear open and clean up afterwards. I can remember the sauce having a nice spice to it though. I havent seen one around in 20 to 25 years. There was always a picture of a bald chef that looked like Mel from the TV show Alice on the box. Thats all I can remember.

RE: Defunct Major Brand Frozen Pizzas I Remember (hiphopmom)

Tue, 25 Nov 2008 22:51:17 GMT

quote:
Originally posted by tkitna

I still have nostalgia for a frozen pizza called 'Big Al Lucioni's'. It was the bare two crusts in a box that you had to apply the sauce, cheeze, and pepperoni to yourself. The sauce and cheese came in the plastic baggies that you had to tear open and clean up afterwards. I can remember the sauce having a nice spice to it though. I havent seen one around in 20 to 25 years. There was always a picture of a bald chef that looked like Mel from the TV show Alice on the box. Thats all I can remember.

RE: Defunct Major Brand Frozen Pizzas I Remember (Dca414)

Tue, 21 Oct 2008 21:37:35 GMT

My sister and I grew up on Butoni's toaster pizza! I wish someone would make them again. They were great for when we came home for lunch during school time.

RE: Defunct Major Brand Frozen Pizzas I Remember (Dca414)

Tue, 21 Oct 2008 21:31:27 GMT

quote:
Originally posted by andrea573

quote:
Originally posted by avk2

quote:
Originally posted by Tony Bad

Anybody remember those toaster pizzas from the mid 60's that you heated in the toaster? I think they were called Geno's or Gino's? My sister seems to remember they were called Buitoni? Anyone??

Buitoni Instant Pizza c. 1972. I believe "Roman" also made frozen\toaster Pizza

RE: Defunct Major Brand Frozen Pizzas I Remember (KB2IYS)

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 21:20:05 GMT

quote:
Originally posted by collinf

Does anybody remember a frozen pizza called (I think) Saluto's? It was a frozen scilian (thick crust), rectangular shaped pizza that came I think in a green box. The last time I remember seeing one was in northern Illinois in the late 1970's.

I remember! My ex-wife's uncle started the company and then sold it to General Foods (General Mills?) in the early 80's. I was living in WV (where I could purchase Saluto's) at the time and moved back to NJ and went back to my beloved Tree Tavern!

RE: Defunct Major Brand Frozen Pizzas I Remember (CCinNJ)

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 20:41:19 GMT

quote:
Originally posted by KB2IYS

Tree Tavern Pizza really meant one thing to me growing up in south Jersey, "Hot Damn, Mom and Dad are going out!!!"

Yes, probably close to 95% of the time we'd have Tree Tavern pizza was when mom and dad were going out for the evening. This took on a much different meaning as a teen as you could imagine!

Jim

So true, so true. A box of Tree Tavern in the freezer meant Mom & Dad would not be home for dinner, and most likely be in another type of tavern, enjoying their evening out.

It was good. I could cook a TT pizza, and jump on their bed, while I ate it. The following morning, I knew to be very quiet, until they woke up. Ah, memories!!!

RE: Defunct Major Brand Frozen Pizzas I Remember (collinf)

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 17:31:41 GMT

Does anybody remember a frozen pizza called (I think) Saluto's? It was a frozen scilian (thick crust), rectangular shaped pizza that came I think in a green box. The last time I remember seeing one was in northern Illinois in the late 1970's.

RE: Defunct Major Brand Frozen Pizzas I Remember (David_NYC)

Sun, 18 May 2008 20:56:52 GMT

If you are referring to the pizzas made by Roman Products Corp. and sold in PA, NJ, NY, CT, and MA, there are many comments on the previous four pages of this thread. There is also a 2007 obituary on one of the founders of Roman Products which gives a little history of the company:
http://archives.frozenfoodage.com/publication/article.jsp?id=326&pubId=1
There are also references that HP Hood opened a Roman plant in South Holland, Illinois.

If you want to find something similar to Roman, you may wish to look at the Ellio's and Betzios web sites and also the section of the Betzios site that list the brands they contract manufacture. While you may have to add cheese and otherwise augment the pizza, they remain pretty close to the formula from the 50's.

RE: Defunct Major Brand Frozen Pizzas I Remember (sparkie53)

Sun, 18 May 2008 18:30:51 GMT

Does anyone out there remember a frozen pizza that was round and it came 10 in a box. The company that made it qwas called "Roman". It was the best frozen pizza. They were a little bit bigger than a personal pan pizza size. They were a .99 a box.

I wish they were around again.

RE: Defunct Major Brand Frozen Pizzas I Remember (leethebard)

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 14:09:05 GMT

joisy,
You know, that's a very good point...there were lots of different tastes to the pizzas then...but thinking about it...I think you see that today in many of our products...a generic sameness...maybe that's the safe way to go in this era of expensive product start-ups and such...but many products suffer from that sameness...slight variations...but nearly all the same!!! Oh I can hear some out there disagreeing already...but taste generic white breads...and countless other products...sameness...my God, even old brands don't taste the same as they once did..cruise the forum topics..countless members testify to that...we live in a commercial world of sameness!

RE: Defunct Major Brand Frozen Pizzas I Remember (Joisey)

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 11:56:10 GMT

lee--Celentano's was good also-spicier sauce. I used to also love the buitoni regular pizza & their instant pizza. that's the one thing with the frozen pizza of old--they were all different & identifiable.

RE: Defunct Major Brand Frozen Pizzas I Remember (leethebard)

Wed, 09 Apr 2008 19:16:46 GMT

True in our family...a quicky(that means when mom didn't make her homemade pizza) was Tree Tavern or Celentano's...Celentano's was i remember,more like a sicilian pizza....both were better than some fast food pizza today....not good...but not toooobad, either.

RE: Defunct Major Brand Frozen Pizzas I Remember (KB2IYS)

Wed, 09 Apr 2008 15:56:52 GMT

Tree Tavern Pizza really meant one thing to me growing up in south Jersey, "Hot Damn, Mom and Dad are going out!!!"

Yes, probably close to 95% of the time we'd have Tree Tavern pizza was when mom and dad were going out for the evening. This took on a much different meaning as a teen as you could imagine!

Jim

RE: Defunct Major Brand Frozen Pizzas I Remember (Clarisse)

Thu, 31 Jan 2008 14:37:40 GMT

quote:
Originally posted by efuery

quote:
Inside are three rectangle shrinkwrapped pizzas that can be broken into thirds

That sounds like Elio's pizza.

Is Totinos still around? I can't find it here in CT.

Oh, yea!! Elio's!! I just love how this site reminds me of things I totally had forgotten about! Fun!!!

RE: Defunct Major Brand Frozen Pizzas I Remember (David_NYC)

Wed, 30 Jan 2008 23:44:30 GMT

Mick:

I stand behind my statement that Tree Tavern is still available. The title of this thread is "Defunct Major Brand Frozen Pizzas I Remember". Most of the brands you see in this thread are not sold under that brand name anymore, by anyone, using a formula that may or not be the same as that used on day 1 of sales. Furthermore, what is sold under the Tree Tavern name today is closer to what I remember to the Tree Tavern from 35 years ago than Mister P's, Totino Party Pizza, Tombstone, Jeno, and all formulations of Red Baron. Also, many prepared foods have changed their formulas over the years. I invite you to look at these two threads, and also to read the previous four pages of this thread.
http://www.roadfood.com/Forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=17222
http://www.roadfood.com/Forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=18737

I am taking present brand-owner Provision Foods word at face value that they believe they are using the original formula. But, there are too many people that have commented here that the formula is not the same. Provision Foods almost certainly got a recipe when they bought the brand. But, was this the formula current in use at the time of sale, or the one people fondly remember? In one of the threads I cited above, I wrote the following:

"Maybe the folks who really remember what Tree Tavern was like should state what years they first bought the product, and how they think today's product is lacking. Then we invite the management of Provision Foods to comment."

I am hoping that someone can produce a smoking gun, such as a cardboard box from the old days, with the ingredients list. This may be information that Provision Foods does not even have. If it differs from what is on Tree Tavern's current box, Intenet bloggers and message boards may be able to get the current formula changed to a previous version due to the negative publicity.

One of the things we discussed on other threads is the fact that people can add ingredients such as mozzarella chese to get a pizza closer to what they remember of Tree Tavern in the old days. The biggest issue I have with the current formulation is that Tree Tavern uses cheddar cheese. Old timers claim it used to use mozzarella cheese. But the same contract manufacturer that makes Tree Tavern also makes Krasdale (C-Town Supermarkets, etc.) square pizza and makes that pizza with part skim mozzarella cheese.

By the way, I did send an email to Mike Ryan of Provision Foods last spring inviting him to look at these threads. He never did reply to my email.

Edited to reflect that Mike Ryan is associated with Provision Foods and not Pinnacle Foods.

RE: Defunct Major Brand Frozen Pizzas I Remember (MickT)

Wed, 30 Jan 2008 13:04:51 GMT

The current tree tavern pizza marketed is not even close to the original recipe which was much better than the current one which simply tastes like repackaged Ellios. They relied on the name to fool us.

The original had fresher tastier it is ashame they destroyed the original recipe from a tavern in NJ.

This reply sounded straight from corporate marketing 101 monitoring this website. I wish we could buy back the original recipe and put it back on the market sales would skyrocket!!!

RE: Defunct Major Brand Frozen Pizzas I Remember (MickT)

Wed, 30 Jan 2008 12:59:32 GMT

quote:
Originally posted by David_NYC

Tree Tavern is still readily available in most New Jersey supermarkets, and in many supermarkets in the NYC metro area. Here is the manufacturer's store locator:
http://treetavernpizza.com/storelocations.html

We had a few discussions about Tree Tavern on this forum. The consensus is that the product sold now is not as originally made in Paterson, but better than it was for a spell a while back.

RE: Defunct Major Brand Frozen Pizzas I Remember (David_NYC)

Thu, 24 Jan 2008 17:42:45 GMT

Tree Tavern is still readily available in most New Jersey supermarkets, and in many supermarkets in the NYC metro area. Here is the manufacturer's store locator:
http://treetavernpizza.com/storelocations.html

We had a few discussions about Tree Tavern on this forum. The consensus is that the product sold now is not as originally made in Paterson, but better than it was for a spell a while back.

RE: Defunct Major Brand Frozen Pizzas I Remember (leethebard)

Thu, 24 Jan 2008 16:31:05 GMT

I remember Tree Tavern Pizza in the 60's...not good pizza...but good frozen pizza. I don't think it's around anymore,either.
leethebard

RE: Defunct Major Brand Frozen Pizzas I Remember (jolt12)

Thu, 24 Jan 2008 16:08:54 GMT

Well, I'm jones'ing for Buitoni Toaster Pizza and Google leads me here. Yes yes and yes on all the comments---burnt mouth, frozen insides and charred outsides. I don't know if anyone has commented on the fact that they weren't really....good. But not only were they a part of my childhood (early-mid 60's) but when one day I found them in a supermarket as an adult some 20 years ago and brought them home, after I downed the first two I ended up killing the box (all 6) in the same sitting. There wasn't much about them that one would find in nature and here in NYC I'm no stranger to seriously good pizza. But damn, I dug them. I would make short work of a box right now. I always assumed that there was somewhere in the USA that still sold them---that their disappearance was a regional thing so it saddens me to see them on the list of extinct species.

RE: Defunct Major Brand Frozen Pizzas I Remember (SublimeTwilight)

Mon, 15 Oct 2007 17:10:10 GMT

quote:
Originally posted by Kristi S.

Do you remember back in the 80s, I think it was Pepperidge Farm maybe,that came out with "Croissant Pizza"....Ewwwwww.....Needless to say it didn't last long...

And that's a shame, b/c PF hardly ever strikes out with their products...

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh yes. I miss that croissant pizza. It was my most favorite!

RE: Defunct Major Brand Frozen Pizzas I Remember (ScreamingChicken)

Fri, 05 Oct 2007 15:56:18 GMT

quote:
Originally posted by Dave in DCJeno's was founded by Jeno Paulucci, a Hibbing, MN native (like Bob Dylan)

So was his real name Jeno Zimmerman?

Brad

RE: Defunct Major Brand Frozen Pizzas I Remember (Dave in DC)

Thu, 04 Oct 2007 17:27:50 GMT

quote:
Originally posted by Lindseyup67

Does anyone remember a frozen pizza back in the 70's-80's that was just like the Totinos pizza? I think it may have been Genos, or maybe it was Totinos, but it came with a little clear packet of spices that you dumped on it before you baked it! Delish!!!

Jeno's had the small packet of Italian seasonings. My dad worked for them when I was a kid, and we had a freezer full of Jeno's pizza. Some of the short-lived products included a pizza that came pre-sliced in a tray with individual compartments for the slices (how lazy to you have to be to get that?); a rectangular pizza that had a concrete-like crust; tiny little snack pizzas that came 12 to a tray, which were really good. Re: johno's post above, I believe Jeno's also made the pizzas sold under the Kraft label, we had a lot of those in the freezer also. The tray with the tiny holes was a nice touch.

Jeno's introduced a terrific deluxe pizza in the late '70s with a crispy, air-bubbly crust, but was then sued by Pillsbury, who claimed he'd stolen their crust recipe. Pillsbury -- which owns the Totino's brand -- ultimately bought out the Jeno's pizza empire.

Jeno's was founded by Jeno Paulucci, a Hibbing, MN native (like Bob Dylan) who first made his fortune with the procesed Chinese food brand Chun King. Still active in the frozen food business, his greatest contribution to American cuisine is, IMO, the pizza roll.

RE: Defunct Major Brand Frozen Pizzas I Remember (KOK)

Thu, 27 Sep 2007 12:15:05 GMT

quote:
Originally posted by johno
1) Hungry-Man from Swanson. This had a weird sour-and-sweet taste, and when I wanted one, I wanted one. It was about 9x12, 1/2" thick crust, some weird sauce and cheese. The cheese was like thin slices of cheese before baking. It lived up to its name. Pete Rose did a TV commercial for this, I wish I had a tape of it, he said/mumbled something like "The only things I hate are striking out and skimpy pizzas." They had a mail-in offer for a "Hungry Man" pizza cutter, and I still have it and use it. It'll outlast me--and to remind me forever, it has the original "Hungry-Man" logo on the blade.

2) Chef Boy-Ar-Dee frozen pizza. I remember a yellow box (cheese) and a red box (pepperoni?). Thin lousy crust, Boy-Ar-Dee sauce, and about the smallest amount of cheese they could get away with. But it was cheap and OK for that.

3) Kraft Frozen Pizza. Blue Box. This came on a very thin, non-reusable, aluminum pan with holes in it. Middle thickness crust, great cheese, mediocre sauce.

I wish, oh how I wish, all three would be brought back. Hungry-Man the most.

I remember the pizza and the Pete Rose commercial I think he said "you know what gets my goat?", but he definitely said "striking out and skimpy pizzas"

Thanks for a memory and a smile!

Kevin

RE: Defunct Major Brand Frozen Pizzas I Remember (Lindseyup67)

Thu, 27 Sep 2007 12:04:58 GMT

Does anyone remember a frozen pizza back in the 70's-80's that was just like the Totinos pizza? I think it may have been Genos, or maybe it was Totinos, but it came with a little clear packet of spices that you dumped on it before you baked it! Delish!!!

RE: Defunct Major Brand Frozen Pizzas I Remember (Pdasilva0324)

Thu, 27 Sep 2007 10:26:54 GMT

I remember commercials for "Celeste" pizza in he early to mid 1980s. It disappeared then and hadn't seen it in years..then about 4-5 years ago it reappeared. I also remember Ellio's pizza.

RE: Defunct Major Brand Frozen Pizzas I Remember (adm22)

Mon, 03 Sep 2007 01:13:58 GMT

Johns pizza made its way into central IL. They were around in the 70s. I never liked them much. I much prefered Armatos ones. Armatos disappeared sometime in the mid 1980s. I recall finding a bunch of those in an out of town grocery store I had never been to before a year after they disappeared from all the places I frequented. I bought them. But they had been in the freezer a long time and had freezer burn.

A couple years ago discovered a frozen pizza only to be found in the Quad Cities. They are called Mama Boso and are all hand made. Need to pick through them when you are buying them. Seen a few packages where the crust is mutnat crust and is folded over the edge fo the cardboard. I also bought one that had a small hole in the crust in the middle. The toppings dripped through the hole and made a big mess in my oven.

RE: Defunct Major Brand Frozen Pizzas I Remember (Rando)

Fri, 31 Aug 2007 17:46:21 GMT

a little web research shows that Fox DeLuxe pizza is still being made by Frozen Specialties, Inc in Archbold, Ohio.

RE: Defunct Major Brand Frozen Pizzas I Remember (David_NYC)

Fri, 31 Aug 2007 16:48:33 GMT

Rando,
Totino's is still sold, though is no longer in all the supermakrets in my area. WalMart sells them in all the stores around here, not just the Supercenters.
http://www.pillsbury.com/view/pizza/totinos.aspx
http://www.generalmills.com/corporate/brands/brand.aspx?catID=76

The General Mills site even has a product locator.