Caesar Caesar
A few weeks ago I was having a weekend outing which included a stop at the retail store known as K-Mart. Most people, including myself, are either Wal-Mart or Target people these days. K-Mart has gone to the wayside, and the one in this strip mall is about as dilapidated as they get. However, there's two very amazing aspects about this particular K-Mart. One is that since there's such a lack of interest, there's always 5,000 tons of seasonal items on clearance. The other.... is the treasure trove.
Behind the baby clothes is a blast from the past known as Little Caesars, which is widely believed to be extinct. Commercials for this pizza joint were a towering carnival of cheese and puppetry in the 80's, but the ride stalled in the 90's. Little Caesar is no longer partying in the Viper Room with A list mascots like the Trix Rabbit and the Snuggle bear, but he's still out there, shoveling slices of the good stuff past his pointy Roman nose.
It's been a long time since I've had Little Caesars, so I had absolutely 0 expectations because frankly, I had no recollection of what their pizza was like. I ordered a slice and an ICEE, while admiring the new additions to the menu like Cookies (pictured on the right) and a curious breakfast selection that I don't think I have a desire to sample. I sat down in the cafeteria, which hasn't even changed the decor since it opened, wondering if there's actually people that call in orders and have to lug their pizza past the grit mongers trying to sell family photo packages at the front door.
Having to walk through a K-Mart for Pizza Pizza would be worth it, because their pies are phenomenal. What really impressed me was the cheese. First off, you can tell it's real cheese because it's not pooled in oil and had the correct melty mozzerella texture. Secondly, there was plenty-o-cheese layered on top, but not so much to make it sickening. Thirdly, it had the perfect amount of toasty baked brown spots on the top. Given the choice of all the major pizza chains, I think Little Caesars has now made it's way to my #1. I will not only be seen in K-Mart to eat pizza, but I would gladly do so wrapped in a white bed sheet with leaves around my head, gorge myself, and then proceed to the nearest vomitorium.
Having to walk through a K-Mart for Pizza Pizza would be worth it, because their pies are phenomenal. What really impressed me was the cheese. First off, you can tell it's real cheese because it's not pooled in oil and had the correct melty mozzerella texture. Secondly, there was plenty-o-cheese layered on top, but not so much to make it sickening. Thirdly, it had the perfect amount of toasty baked brown spots on the top. Given the choice of all the major pizza chains, I think Little Caesars has now made it's way to my #1. I will not only be seen in K-Mart to eat pizza, but I would gladly do so wrapped in a white bed sheet with leaves around my head, gorge myself, and then proceed to the nearest vomitorium.
Oh yeah, remember that ICEE I mentioned? It just to happens this location happens to be one of the few left that sells Mountain Dew Blue Shock! I don't know what's up with the "caffeine free" bit, but there was certainly enough sugar to keep me buzzed for the duration of my shopping trips. Any blue frozen treat is a blue frozen friend of mine. Mister Caesar must be amused by green poop as well.
Wow, Little Caesar's is practically extinct in the States? It's pretty prevalent in Canada, I think it's partly the whole "$5 pizza ready when you come in" and "we don't put half a foot of fake cheese on our pizza like Pizza Pizza does".
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*grr* I haven't posted on here in forever, dang for not letting me use ~Plu~ anymore. I'll just go for my late high school Yahoo ID.
Wow, I didn't know they were so dead out East. We still have quite a few Caesars out here... seriously there are NEW stand alone ones opening out here! The coolest Little Caesar's related thing I know about was this greasy kid in Oceanside (San Diego area) that was a sign twirler. He was insane and would headbang like crazy, just absolutely wild to watch... I always wanted to buy pizza from him, dude was amazing!
I certainly don't remember the 80's commercials since we didn't have them out here. The first time I found out about them was in 91 on a road trip. We were in Vernal, UT near Dinosaur National Monument... Vernal was a trip. Dinosaur themed town with a Little Caesars and this funky ice cream shop that put little plastic animal figurines on top of your ice cream. I am so going to look up some of those in a few minutes. Another discovery on that trip was Taco John's. If you want to see some messed commercials highly recommended watching. The newer ones with the monkey in full cowboy gear riding a dog are pretty fun. Potato Oles forever! Sadly none in CA. Boo!
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Oh my goodness... I can't believe my eyes. Although I too once thought Little Caesars was nearly extinct, they've recently opened quite a few stores in the Seattle area, mostly in strip malls, they were everywhere in the 80s and 90s, but then they dwindled down to one or two and I couldn't remember the last time I'd seen one. Then all of a sudden they start opening up in strip malls everywhere around here. Enough of that though...
I ate a lot of Little Caesars pizza as a kid, and one of my favorite memories was the Little Caesars pizza they had inside my local K-mart, sporting the exact same signage you posted above. I'm freaking out excited right now. They ripped ours out at least a decade and a half ago, now the alcove in the back of the store that once housed it is now the dressing room area. So its amazing for me to see this. So cool!! I'm glad that one still exists out there.
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LC seems to be making a minor comeback here in Iowa, also. Mostly in strip malls, like Laura said, but the one nearest to me shares space with a Family Video. We used to eat their pizza all the time, but like you said, they all seemed to vanish all at once. I remember those commercials with the puppet mascots and the "Pizza Pizza" slogan. But I've always thought their best item was their bread/cheeseticks. In fact, I still think they made the best ones compared to other pizza chains. I wonder what happened.
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Two things I cannot find, K-Mart and Little Caesars. Both remind me of elementary school.
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At my old high school, there is a Kmart across the street. Also it has a Little Caesar Express the last time I checked. I went there once, and it tasted like a light bulb. I was warned of the light bulb taste but went anyway.
Last year a Little Caesars opened in town walking distance from here. The last time I went was the beginning of this month. I had two coupons. 1.99 crazy bread (they have that available online all the time) and a BOGO for a large pizza. I just think they are alright, a step up from a frozen pizza. But a good promotion is good enough for me.
I really like the crazy bread, and the available dipping sauces. Once an employee was nice and let me have a free one, I told her I didn't know which one to choose, ranch or garlic butter. She said go ahead and try both and buy your favorite next time. It was really cool and I was so happy I was thinking out loud!! I bought one and got the other one free.
They do not have an icee machine or cookies. Just a soda display machine for drinks, benches and a counter. It's a take out only type of thing. I make sure to get soda from the grocery store out of principal because I don't want to pay at least a dollar more out of convenience. Wow I am cheap lol.
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I used to love Little Ceasars and then they dissappeared. Recently they came back, but now they are starting to dissappear again! Oh no! They still have the same prices as the 80's. A large pizza for $5. But they don't have those great commercials anymore. I love driving home from work and seeing Little Ceaser out waving me in to buy a hot pepperoni for $5. It works everytime!
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