Malnati's Frozen: Anything Like the Real Thing?

[Puzzolento]

I have never been to a good Chicago-style place. I once went to an Uno franchise in Kentucky*, and they served me a bowl of pizza crust with canned tomatoes and cheese in it, and I didn't think much of it.

On a whim, I ordered frozen Malnati's cheese and sausage pizzas. I just tried the cheese.

As frozen pizzas go, it was all right. The sauce and cheese were perfect, except for being in the wrong places. No complaints. Not sure about the crust.

I liked the flavor, but it was harder than I expected. I think it would challenge an old person with dentures. It didn't bend at all when I picked slices up. It had a lot of crunch. It had a corny taste, but the label said it was all wheat flour.

Is this pretty much what a Malnati's crust is supposed to be like? If I try a clone recipe, is this what I should expect, only better? It was a lot harder than a biscuit but softer than hardtack.

I tried a clone years ago, and while it was okay, it wasn't good enough to keep making.

I'm thinking that putting the cheese under the sauce could make it easier to get away with grocery store cheese, since most cheese problems are exposed when cheese gets direct heat.

*I am not totally sure where the Uno location was. I know my cousin took me. He spent most of his life in Kentucky, but I don't see an Uno location there when I Google. He also lived in Orlando, so maybe that's where it was.

[Puzzolento]

I should add that while I mention clones, I'm not interested in making exact copies of Malnati's pizza. I would have no idea whether it was correct, since all I've had is one frozen pie. I am just trying to find out whether a successful pie more or less in the style of Malnati's will have a crust pretty much like this frozen pie.

[Puzzolento]

I tried the second frozen pie. Sausage.

It's not good. It seems to have less cheese than the cheese pie, and because the sausage is between the cheese and sauce, it's boiled. Grey boiled sausage with zero Maillard flavor. Is this normal for Chicago pizza? Boiled toppings? It's not even a rookie mistake. A rookie would know better.

My tentative conclusion is that this style works fine for cheese pizza, but a pizza with toppings is no good. Vegetable toppings would be boiled salad.