Is there anything more American than pizza? Well, specifically, Pizza Hut’s version of the Italian dish? Maybe the only way Pizza Hut could make the famous food more American is make it in a “fun size.” Well, this year, they’ve done just that. Pizza Hut recently introduced Big Pizza Sliders. So what’s the deal? Are they a better option? Or just another fast-food gimmick?
Well, let’s start with the stats. The Big Pizza Sliders are sold as three sliders for $5 or up to 9 sliders for $10. Consumers can mix and match and get up to three combinations of up to three toppings each. They end up being about 3.5 inches in diameter and can range from 230 calories for a plain cheese slider, up to 350 calories for a beef or sausage slider. The fat content ranges from 8-19 grams depending on toppings.
The Pizza Hut website says they use wheat from the heartland, 100% real cheese, vine-ripened tomatoes, premium meat, and fresh vegetables. All this comes together to create the discs they refer to as, “the circle is the new slice.”
Critics from Zagat tried out the sliders and said they were small, hard to eat without cutting, and really heavy on dough. In fact, the critics said the sliders were “mostly” dough. While some weren’t complaining, it was noted that the dough was very greasy, too. And from a preparation stand point, a Pizza Hut employee in one of their Midwest stores told us they’re a bit of a nightmare to prepare.
So a 300+ calorie, grease puck of dough is what you may be looking at if you order the sliders. Is this the worst option? Not if you’re accustomed to eating slice-style pizza. A single slice of Pizza Hut’s large cheese hand-tossed is 260 calories; that’s 30 more than a slider. Their menu didn’t show beef or sausage, but a slice of supreme for the same pizza yields 350 calories; equivalent to a single beef or sausage slider.
A three-inch pizza with that many calories may not do the trick to fill up one’s hungry appetite, making the 2-3 slider serving make sense. Eating a 1,000 calories meal, however, doesn’t make sense. You do the math and see if this new fast food gimmick is really worth it.
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