I wonder what toppings go on that outfit’s pizzas.
A beagle pizza is any pizza that has fallen on the floor:
Stranger
Anchovies? 
Not sausage, that’s for sure!
Is naming a frozen pizza brand after the Red Baron any worse than naming a fast-food fish-and-chips franchise after a pirate (even if he is fictional)?
Anchovies…
And you just know that King of Burgers was a malevolent despot who executed serfs on a whim…pretty sure I learned that in high school history.
The parent company also produces Tony’s Pizza, Freschetta, and Sabatasso’s (single-serve pizzas, sold through CostCo). I’m guessing Tony’s is the bargain line, Red Baron is the mid-level, and Freschetta the high-end.
There’s that old company King Arthur’s Flour, so there’s always been somewhat of a connection with bread and Arthur. Also pizza is round, and putting a pizza on a round table makes perfect sense. That’s all I got.
Either that or the first restaurant in the chain used line spools as tables in their early days.
Back to the OP, sorta: The only frozen pizzas I’ll have in the freezer are Red Baron, CPK and of all things, the Albertson’s store brand (Signature). Most of the small label, boutique brands of frozen pizza suck worse than you think.
There was (not sure if it’s there anymore) a Dallas restaurant called Campesi’s Egyptian (may have misspelled it) that had the best pizza - one of those dark places with checkered tablecloths and bottles of Chianti (sp?) on the tables. Great atmosphere, there was some rumor a local Don played poker in a back room.
The Red Baron still has some brand recognition even now, more than a century after his death, possibly kept alive by Snoopy. General Tso, on the other hand, is quite unknown in the west, so why does he have a type of chicken dish named after him? Meanwhile in China, people probably recognize General Tso especially in his home province of Hunan. General Tso’s chicken on the other hand is unknown.
You can say that again. There was a line of frozen pizza (name forgotten) that my local grocery store was closing out, marked down to $6 from $9. On most of the back of the box was a brag in tiny type about how “they” started as a restaurant in Chicago (I think) and worked on putting “the same great taste” into a line of frozen pizzas.
I took a flyer and it was gawdawful – while a bit bigger it was not nearly as good as the $2.50 pepperoni pizzas from CostCo.
Yeah, I’ve found the same. Every time I’ve tried one one of those pizzas with the hip looking packaging and cool backstory, I’ve been disappointed. Around here, there’s one called “Screaming Sicilian” that seems to be in every grocery and looks like it should be good, but I gave it a couple of shots and it’s just over-priced frozen pizza.
Oddly, the frozen ones I like are ones that I actually am indifferent to in their restaurant versions: Home Run Inn (sausage) and California Pizza Kitchen. Those are about the only two frozen pizzas I could say I get any enjoyment from. Oh, and Palermo’s Ultra Thin crust. Even those take-home-and-bake pizzas that everyone raves about from Aldi or wherever. Those don’t do it for me.
I tried the “Screaming Sicilian.” Once.
California Pizza Kitchen does a pretty damn good BBQ Chicken & Red Onion frozen pizza. Needs minimal juicing, just some red pepper flake.
The best frozen pizza I ever had in my life was a Signature pizza from a local Safeway (formerly an Albertson’s). Damn, that thing was delicious. I’ve been back to that store several times looking for the same pizza but they never seem to have it. 
Pancho Steinberg? Are you from Platteville, WI? The is (or at least was) one there. I don’t think I ever ate there when I was at UW-Platteville, but I certainly remember it.
Brian
I think I can top some of you guys on the “mob pizza restaurant” thing. (Though it’s more of a sit-down Italian place than a pizza place.)
In Collingswood, NJ, near me (great little town), there’s a restaurant called The Kitchen Consigliere. As you can see, the logo used The Godfather’s title font. Its owner, Angelo Lutz, was formerly known as “Fat Ange”…a professional chef and mobster who formerly served a jail term, and cooked for his own going-away party before prison.
It looks good, but a friend of mine who lives in Collingswood says she’s reluctant to eat there because the fact the guy’s blatantly trading on his mob connections doesn’t sit right with her. I haven’t eaten there yet, but for a different reason…the prices. Twenty-five bucks for a plate of spaghetti carbonara?! I could understand if it was veal or seafood, but carbonara sauce is eggs, bacon, and cheese! I could make two nights’ worth of it for five bucks!
Red Baron funding decision:
Great Product, Great Packaging
take your pick
Hmm… I’ll have to try it. Back in the 80s to early 90s or so, Jewel (an Albertson company) had great store brand pizza (I believe under their own name) but then it changed to something not quite as good in the 90s. I’ll have to give it another shot — I have a feeling Signature is the brand there as well (makes sense, given they’re Albertsons), but I’m no a regular at Jewel anymore.
For me Red Baron falls into a sort of uncanny valley. It’s not as good as fresh, and it doesn’t have the “hot snack” quality of a frozen pizza.