OpalCat:
I worked there in 2002 in Baton Rouge. Oddly enough, the other doughs were made on-site, but the ‘hand-tossed’ came frozen in Pizza Hut boxes, so it was presumably not the case that the franchise owner was doing anything shifty by using an unauthorized product. Why some places might be set up use frozen and not others, who knows?
Well I think the 10-odd year difference might be part of it as well.
It would seem that’s the obvious, most probable answer I overlooked in my quest to complicate things, yes.
I grew up in a largely Italian neighborhood in Queens, New York. I had a LOT of great, family-owned pizza places within a few blocks of my house, all of which were MUCH better than Pizza Hut or any of the big pizza chains.
So, I SHOULD be a pizza snob. But now and then, I’ll have lunch at Pizza Hut. And if someone orders Domino’s and offers me a slice, I’ll take it gratefully. And if friends order a big Costco pizza for a kids’ birthday party, I won’t turn my nose up at it.
Even “bad” pizza is usually pretty good.
There’s a difference. Costco pizza is actually pretty damned good.
Okay, true to my word and in the interests of research, the wife and I went to Pizza Hut today and tried the new Cheesy Lava crust. The Siam Square branch. As expected, the reality fell far short of the picture. The picture showed golden cheese “lava” oozing out of slits all along the crust. The reality was a bunch of “dimples” where the cheese must have bubbled out and then fell flat. A different-colored cheese, too, from the usual stuffed-crust cheese, although that was in there, too. For the lava, it’s a very golden color. It’s basically just the stuffed crust with slits all around the crust and a second type of cheese thrown in. It was not bad, but not really an improvement over the regular stuffed crust.
Pizza Hut pizza is still pizza and so I have no porblem eating it and enjoying it.
I’m surprised at all the hate for Domino’s. To my tastes, Pizza Hut is nasty and nearly inedible, while Domino’s is delicious. I won’t claim that it’s the greatest kind of pizza there is available, but a pepperoni pizza from Domino’s a few times of year is a nice treat. Maybe I’m just lucky and the Baton Rouge and Port Allen, LA Domino’s are better than average.
If my options are Domino’s or waiting to eat until later, I’ll wait to eat until later.
It sounds like I didn’t miss much by not being able to try it, but I still would like to. Do you think it would be an “every pizza hut” thing or a “select pizza huts that aren’t near Brendon” thing? Just curious.
Any idea what kind of cheese it was? Every now and then I can talk them into making me something random…
Brendon Small
It’s not as good when it’s cold…
Well, I’m getting the impression that this is not found yet in the US. At least, no one else on the board has chimed in about it. We just happen to know someone in Pizza Hut Thailand’s Marketing Department, so I’ll see what she she knows the next time we talk to her.
As for what type of cheese it was, it was a very orange color. The regular light-yellow cheese was still inside the crust, but the “lava” was an orange cheese mixed in. I’ll ask about that, too.
Oh, and I noticed on the menu that Pizza Hut’s Cheesy Bites crust is actually a Cheesy Sausage Bites; apparently they don’t have that here with just the cheese alone.
Then I shudder to think what it’s like when it’s cold, as it’s inedible when it’s hot. 
I just got done with some Domino’s cold-slice…it wasn’t horrible, considering it was free (thank you co-workers…) Definitely not something I would save to eat though.
I have never heard of the cheesy bites with sausage. We went to Pizza hut the other day (I never realized they sold beer there until then) but my wife wanted plain pan pizza with sausage and extra cheese. Could have been much worse, but I crave the cheesy crust. I’m looking forward to hearing about what cheese it was and if it will be coming here. Of course, it may come to America long before it makes it to Southern Ohio…(not that it’s always a horrible thing, but it can suck in some situations)
Also, looking for Flying Pizza will happen tonight at work - I had forgotten about it. Should we start an SDMB Pizza club (like the wine club?) - it would never catch on, but I’d join. heh.
Brendon Small
Okay, so I asked the lady we know who works for Pizza Hut’s Marketing Department here. She does not know what types of cheese are involved. But she does not think the Cheesy Lava crust is available in the US, but it IS all around this part of the world – Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, maybe even Australia.
Funny, but the other day at a Gloria Jean’s coffee outlet, there was some sort of Lava Frappe on offer. Toffee oozing out of chunks in the coffee or something like that. Did not try it, but looks like lava stuff seems to be getting popular over here now. (Wonder how well it would go over on, say, Indonesia’s Java Island.)