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Pizza Hut Tuscani Pastas receive ‘good’ rating

Lorie Hutson

Sorry, Pizza Hut. No one on The Spokesman-Review’s volunteer food panel was fooled by the Tuscani Pastas.

No one asked whether they were from a high-end Italian restaurant. No one asked for a second helping.

However, the delivery pastas held their own with our tasters, each landing a three-star rating, or a “good” on our five-star scale.

“Not like authentic restaurant food, but pretty tasty,” Larry Inman said of the Meaty Marinara version.

Tina Johnson raved about the Chicken Alfredo: “Pasta delicioso. This is so good it’s probably horrible for our arteries.”

Others were less enthusiastic about the dishes. The biggest complaint among our tasters was that the pastas were too greasy.

“Only fair … the chicken was OK. There is plenty of grease and salt,” Andy Hoye said of the Chicken Alfredo.

Many said the Bacon Mac ’n’ Cheese was bland and greasy.

“Holy bacon flavor, Batman,” said Skip Hubbard. “Other than that, there’s not much else worth talking about.”

The delivery dishes cost $12.99 for four generous servings, and come with breadsticks, which tasters loved.

Panel members didn’t mind the price tag, giving each of the dishes three stars for value.

Pizza Hut Tuscani Pasta, Meaty Marinara

Price: $12.99 per order, 4 servings (323 grams each)

Nutrition per serving (about 1/4 of an order): 510 calories, 24 grams fat (10 grams saturated, 43 percent fat calories), 25 grams protein, 48 grams carbohydrate, 80 milligrams cholesterol, 5 grams dietary fiber, 1,310 milligrams sodium.

Taste: •••

Value: •••

Comments: “Pizza curly pasta casserole. Just put it in a classy serving dish.” – Marilyn Moore

“Mediocre at best. The breadstick was excellent.” – Andy Hoye

“Very greasy and salty. Maybe if I’m very hungry.” – Nancy Robinson

Pizza Hut Tuscani Pasta, Chicken Alfredo

Price: $12.99 per order, 4 servings (323 grams each)

Nutrition per serving (about 1/4 of an order): 630 calories, 33 grams fat (11 grams saturated, 48 percent fat calories), 26 grams protein, 56 grams carbohydrate, 70 milligrams cholesterol, 4 grams dietary fiber, 1,250 milligrams sodium.

Taste: •••

Value: •••

Comments: “Much better than average taste for prepared food.” – Larry Inman

“Salty and bland all at the same time. The chicken’s not bad.” – Skip Hubbard

“Best part of the mixture is the chicken. Too greasy. (It’s) missing flavor.” – Jenny Whittaker

Pizza Hut Tuscani Pasta, Bacon Mac ’n’ Cheese

Price: $12.99 per order, 4 servings (323 grams each)

Nutrition per serving (about 1/4 of an order): 520 calories, 22 grams fat (12 grams saturated, 38 percent fat calories), 24 grams protein, 54 grams carbohydrate, 60 milligrams cholesterol, 4 grams dietary fiber, 1,170 milligrams sodium.

Taste: •••

Value: •••

Comments: “Very average taste compared to the other two pasta dishes. No pizzazz.” – Larry Inman

“Satisfactory, but not inspiring.” – Andy Hoye

“An above average mac and cheese because of the tasty, though small, bacon bits.” – Tina Johnson

Products sampled by The Spokesman-Review’s reader food panel are prepared according to package directions. Panelists are not aware of a product’s brand name or price until after they have tasted it. Products are rated from one to five stars for taste and for value, based on quality compared to price.