Personally, while I think that pizza is at its best when its fresh and hot, cold leftover pizza is better than reheated leftover pizza.
It was just pointed out to me that you meant reheating fast food French fries. For some reason I thought you meant you were cooking them at home from scratch. My apologies!
I disagree, but it depends on the kind of pizza and the reheating method.
My usual reheating method used to be to microwave the leftover slices to get the toppings hot, and then put them on a hot crepe pan to toast the bottom crust. The microwave produces a hot but soggy pizza, the crepe pan treatment firms it up again. Sounds weird, but it works.
Since I got the air fryer, I find that works just fine for reheating pizza and is simpler because it’s a one-step operation.
No problem, I understand why you made the mistake.
Arby’s roast beef sandwiches microwaved the next day are nearly indistinguishable from Arby’s roast beef sandwiches served fresh from the counter. That doesn’t make them the ‘best fast food to eat the next day’ because they are still just Arby’s roast beef sandwiches, but they’re in the conversation based on their fortitude in this regard. Arby’s used to frequently have a surprisingly good deal on these if you bought five of them, so tossing in them in the fridge for later was something I’ve done more than once.
CLOP (cold left over pizza) … actually turns into its own category of food overnight …
its not yesterday’s FF, its todays “culinary feature”
Sausage McMuffin. It’s the only correct answer.
The OP describes his scenario as:
So while I guess he doesn’t say specifically that it has to be bought in the evening, he seems to be imagining a late-evening purchase.
Since Vegas is a place where they want you to lose track of time, it doesn’t surprise me that you can get any kind of fast food there at any time of day.
Certainly breakfast fast food in general would hold up better than most other kinds of fast food except pizza. (And given the prep time, I’m surprised to see pizza considered as fast food here, but whatever.)
It is true my purchase was in the late evening. However, people should answer the question as they wish without invoking such tchotchkes.
Fast food is a pretty elastic concept. I’m old enough to remember when it was both cheap and fast. My definition includes pizza, though I understand if yours does not. Breakfast pancakes reheat well.
Last two first, I’m in agreement (well, my wife is for pizza, I don’t eat the stuff) with the following:
Both come out with almost no measurable loss in quality - maybe some minor drying out as your biggest issue. Similarly, almost any other breaded, fried fast food comes out well - shrimp, hush puppies, and other Long John Silver fare or the like.
Speaking of sandwiches though, the only ones I found that reheat to my satisfaction are various panini/pressed options, where I’ll use a two part cooking method. A quick blast in the microwaves to heat it fully and then in a hot skillet to warm and crisp the sides. That gives me something that approaches “like new” quality.
And while I agree it’s hard to reheat fries, especially shoestrings to a good point without overcooking them, I’ve had good luck with tater tots and onion rings reheating in the airfryer.
OK, I don’t have an air-fryer, so I’ve never tried reheating pizza (or other leftovers) that way. I have done pizza in a skillet, and that does work reasonably well, but it’s also too much trouble for leftover pizza (part of the appeal of pizza is that it’s quick and easy).
A friend told me he reheats his pizza in a well seasoned cast iron skillet, turning it over so both sides get crispy. I thought that was a great idea and have adopted it - for me, it’s worth the (relatively minor) trouble.
It’s hard to ruin leftover pizza, though, since no matter what you do to it - including just taking it out of the fridge and eating cold - it’s good.
I just reheated some in a toaster oven the other day, and I think they were better than the original, which was a tad undercooked for my taste.
Does rotisserie chicken count as fast food? I know it’s not fast to prepare, but it’s fast to get your order. There’s a Puerto Rican joint that has the BEST in Chicago that I have found so far, and a Colombian joint that runs a close second.
My basic definition of fast food, which others are free to ignore, is that it’s got to be fast (I’d say reliably 5 minutes or less, again others’ MMV) to get your order, and minimal (if any) extra prep for takeout. So I’d say your rotisserie chicken place sounds like fast food to me. I’d never heard of a place that does that with rotisserie chicken, but I’d sure like to try it!
That personal definition of mine is why I wouldn’t regard pizza as fast food. Maybe you can walk into a Domino’s or Papa John’s or Pizza Hut, order a medium pizza with sausage and mushrooms, and be carrying it out of there in ~5 minutes, but it’s something I haven’t experienced. But to each their own.
Pizza by the slice is a common thing.
However, yep, getting a whole pizza made to order is not 'fast food"…
Corn dogs from Sonic are easily brought home and eaten the next day. Nuke for 30-45 sec.
I have frozen them and eaten them at a later time.
They’re basically crap anyway. You can’t do much harm.
But, I love them.
I had never liked corn dogs until my wife insisted I try a Disneyland hand dipped corn dog. Those are pretty damn good.
I think I like cold pizza more than I like it hot, especially if it’s one that is absolutely loaded with cheese.
Leftover Cantonese takeaway (usually comprising chow mein, fried rice and maybe sweet and sour pork) is also pretty good. Cold or reheated.
The corn bread coating is like a suit of armor there’s not much way to ruin it.