Can’t decide between fried chicken or pizza? Now you can enjoy both simultaneously.
After stopping hearts around the globe, KFC’s “Chizza” — a mashup of these two iconic fast foods — has finally made its much-anticipated US debut.
From February 26, stateside KFC outlets will offer this high-octane hybrid for a limited time only, promising an artery-clogging crossover for the ages.
For KFC diehards, this marks a coming-out party for the Chizza, which debuted in the Philippines in 2015, before regularly appearing at KFC outlets in China, Thailand, Germany, Spain and other countries.
“The fan-favorite mashup is finally available in the U.S. after making its way around the
world – try it while you can!” said KFC US’ CMO Chavez.
As advertised, the Chizza — which showed up at a free “Chizzeria” pop-up on 14th Street in NYC on Friday – entails two extra crispy KFC chicken filets slathered with marinara sauce.
These are then topped with mozzarella cheese and pepperoni slices to make the pizza-fication complete.
Despite the familiar constituents, I was initially hesitant to try the Chizza. As this former China expat can attest, the Far East’s Frankenfood creations from fast food chains — like Pizza Hut’s shrimp, mayo, hotdog and wasabi-mayonnaise monstrosity from 2013 — don’t cater to all tastes.
Fortunately, the Chizza is light years more palatable, even if it does skew a bit more chicken than pizza.
Its flavor profile rings closer to that of a chicken parmigiana, and the chicken managed to maintain its herbal essence despite being thoroughly baptized in marinara.
Having previously tried this dish in Shanghai in 2017, I can safely say that the quality is fairly consistent from country to country.
The Chizza comes in two sizes, small or large.
Customers can also get it as part of a combo meal with coleslaw, beans and other sides for $14.
However, they’re a tad chintzy with the cheese, so don’t expect to be doing any record-breaking “pulls” with this one.
All told, the Chizza might not be able to replace either fried chicken or pizza. However, this pie-in-the-sky creation can definitely be used to sop up the suds after an all-night bender.
