Fabio Viviani wants to give you free pizza, bellissima!

Photo l Michael Persico Dr. Oetker's Funghi pizza From 3-6 p.m. this Monday, Oct. 19, former Top Chef contestant and Cali-Italian Fabio Viviani will hand out 5,000 free Dr. Oetker's Ristorante frozen pizzas to commuters at 30th St. Station.ï¿½ The pizza promo kicks off the debut of Dr. Oetker's line of freezer pizza in Philadelphia, Boston and New York.ï¿½ The German company's thin-crust pies come in Spinaci, Vegetale, Mozzarella, Funghi and Pizza Generosa, a pepperoni and bell pepper version, and run $4.99 to $5.99 for a 12-incher. Dr. Oetker's is Italy's number-one selling frozen pizza product, which Fabio undoubtedly munched as a suave Italiano teenager before zooming around on his hopped-up Vespa to seduce gullible American tourists.ï¿½ Anyway, Dr. Oetker's sent Team Meal Ticket a nifty dry-ice package of frozen pizza to sample and pass judgement upon.ï¿½ Find out if Dr. Oetker's delivers, after the jump. Dr. Oetker's Ristorante pizza, Funghi As instructed by the box, the frozen Dr. Oetker's pizza goes straight onto the rack of a preheated 425 degree Fahrenheit oven for a recommended 10-12 minutes.ï¿½ At 12 minutes we removed the pie for sampling.ï¿½ I immediately discerned that though the super-thin crust was crispy on the bottom and edges, the pizza could have used another 3-4 minutes to heat the toppings further and color the cheese and crust slightly. Even slightly underdone, the texture was crisp without being dry, and did not suffer the cheap cheese overload of typical frozen pizzas.ï¿½ Sliced button mushrooms were erratically distributed over the surface of the pie, but did deliver a nice earthy flavor and surprisingly good texture.ï¿½ The sauce was slightly tangy with a real tomato flavor, and benefited from a light sprinkle of red pepper flakes to add some heat.ï¿½ One taster announced, "This is the best frozen pizza I've ever eaten." Overall, Dr. Oetker's Funghi pizza was tasty and satisfying.ï¿½ Two people got a nice meal out of one 12-inch pie, though the box states that the pie equals three 290-calorie servings.ï¿½ For $4.99 or $5.99, this pizza was damn good.ï¿½ The super-thin crust was authentically Italian, but needed longer (in our home oven) than 12 minutes to heat the cheese and toppings sufficiently.ï¿½ Fourteen to 15 minutes would be ideal. Dr. Oetker's Ristorante pizza is available in the freezers of Weis Markets, Giant Carlisle, and ShopRite stores in Pennsylvania.

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Fabio Viviani wants to give you free pizza, bellissima!

POSTED: Thursday, October 15, 2009, 8:15 PM

Filed Under: Dealage | Top Chef

Photo l Michael Persico

Dr. Oetker's Funghi pizza

From 3-6 p.m. this Monday, Oct. 19, former Top Chef contestant and Cali-Italian Fabio Viviani will hand out 5,000 free Dr. Oetker's Ristorante frozen pizzas to commuters at 30th St. Station.ï¿½ The pizza promo kicks off the debut of Dr. Oetker's line of freezer pizza in Philadelphia, Boston and New York.ï¿½ The German company's thin-crust pies come in Spinaci, Vegetale, Mozzarella, Funghi and Pizza Generosa, a pepperoni and bell pepper version, and run $4.99 to $5.99 for a 12-incher. Dr. Oetker's is Italy's number-one selling frozen pizza product, which Fabio undoubtedly munched as a suave Italiano teenager before zooming around on his hopped-up Vespa to seduce gullible American tourists.ï¿½ Anyway, Dr. Oetker's sent Team Meal Ticket a nifty dry-ice package of frozen pizza to sample and pass judgement upon.ï¿½ Find out if Dr. Oetker's delivers, after the jump. Dr. Oetker's Ristorante pizza, Funghi As instructed by the box, the frozen Dr. Oetker's pizza goes straight onto the rack of a preheated 425 degree Fahrenheit oven for a recommended 10-12 minutes.ï¿½ At 12 minutes we removed the pie for sampling.ï¿½ I immediately discerned that though the super-thin crust was crispy on the bottom and edges, the pizza could have used another 3-4 minutes to heat the toppings further and color the cheese and crust slightly. Even slightly underdone, the texture was crisp without being dry, and did not suffer the cheap cheese overload of typical frozen pizzas.ï¿½ Sliced button mushrooms were erratically distributed over the surface of the pie, but did deliver a nice earthy flavor and surprisingly good texture.ï¿½ The sauce was slightly tangy with a real tomato flavor, and benefited from a light sprinkle of red pepper flakes to add some heat.ï¿½ One taster announced, "This is the best frozen pizza I've ever eaten." Overall, Dr. Oetker's Funghi pizza was tasty and satisfying.ï¿½ Two people got a nice meal out of one 12-inch pie, though the box states that the pie equals three 290-calorie servings.ï¿½ For $4.99 or $5.99, this pizza was damn good.ï¿½ The super-thin crust was authentically Italian, but needed longer (in our home oven) than 12 minutes to heat the cheese and toppings sufficiently.ï¿½ Fourteen to 15 minutes would be ideal. Dr. Oetker's Ristorante pizza is available in the freezers of Weis Markets, Giant Carlisle, and ShopRite stores in Pennsylvania.

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