Seward Co-op, Minneapolis, MN
Seward Co-op Organic Frozen Pizza, originally uploaded by Aaron Landry.
I normally don't cover frozen pizza because there usually isn't much to say: it's generally cheaper ingredients and, well, it's frozen. There's a few exceptions that can be found co-ops and speciality markets for premium frozen pizzas but they are generally shipped from other time zones and cost upwards of ten bucks. And sometimes, they are almost worth the price. High-end frozen pizza a strange niche market though: if you really need to serve quality pizza at home you'd either make it yourself or buy one fresh, right?
When I saw that the Seward Co-op recently started making and selling their own organic pizzas in the frozen section (as well as not frozen and fresh for take-away), I was intrigued: the co-op has a fairly good cheese selection and they even make sausage in-house. The pepperoni must be good! I bought two: a cheese pizza ($9.49) and a pepperoni ($11.49). I tried the cheese first and then shared the pepperoni over a meeting with Heavy Table's James Norton and Becca Dilley one afternoon. The general consensus was that it was not notable. While the ingredients might be organic and of good quality, there wasn't much flavor. In fact, we were surprised as to how unnoticeable the pepperoni was. The pepperoni pizza tasted just like the cheese I had days before. The cheese seemed rather plain and the crust, while crunch on the edges was rather dry. James ended up leaving his plate with a bunch of bones from the crust. The sauce was a highlight, mostly because it was more noticeable, not that it was much to write home about. Comparing to regular grocery store frozen pizza, Seward Co-op's organic frozen pizzas are on the higher end, but being I'm buying quality ingredients, paying more for a premium pizza, and knowing how good the Seward Co-op deli is, I expected a bit more than what I'd describe as a "decent plain frozen pizza." Again, it's not bad and I'd certainly recommend it over a national grocery brand. Sometimes you need a frozen pizza and this certainly fits the bill. Next time I'm going to buy one fresh and top it with a few other ingredients from the co-op myself and see what happens. Seward Co-op2823 Franklin Ave E
Minneapolis, MN 55406
612-338-2465
