13 Pizza Hut Menu Items From The 1990s You Probably Forgot About

Back in the 1990s, Pizza Hut was still largely focused on the dine-in experience -- and what an experience it was. Those who lived it might already be recalling the dark wood interiors and stained glass light fixtures. The food, though, was the main draw. The buffet was widespread, desserts came in all-you-can-eat form, and the red pebbled cups arguably made your drink taste better. Sadly, many of the dishes that Pizza Hut offered during this era have since left the menu. Remember the Big New Yorker? What about the Triple Deckeroni? Maybe you do -- but maybe you don't.

This was, after all, the era when Pizza Hut fought Little Caesars and Domino's for the biggest share of the market. Specialty creations were constantly being introduced and retired. Some of them have made a return in the 21st century, but there are plenty more Pizza Hut items that were fully discontinued. Let's take a stroll down memory lane to see what we've forgotten from the '90s Pizza Hut menu.

Read more: The 101 Best Pizzas In America

Bigfoot Pizza

Pizza chains competed to give customers the biggest pizza on the market all throughout the 1990s. Little Caesars, home to many crazy menu items in the 1990s, made the first move with its 24-slice, 4.5-pound Big! Big! Cheese in 1993. Pizza Hut responded with the legendary Bigfoot Pizza. Measuring 2 square feet and comprising 21 slices, it came in at just $10.99. To make things even more '90s-riffic, the commercial featured actor Haley Joel Osment.

Financially, Bigfoot started off on the right foot. The new item comprised an impressive 18% of Pizza Hut's 1993 sales, and made the chain $5.7 billion. But the love began to fade in 1994. There were several reasons why. Firstly, the competition didn't sleep. Domino's made things harder for Pizza Hut by releasing the 30-slice Dominator, and Little Caesars enjoyed a successful run with its Big! Big! Cheese. But the main problem came from the Bigfoot itself: It was just too large and cumbersome to prepare. The need for special pans and extra time to lay the dough evenly, and the complexity of adding ingredients all resulted in Pizza Hut discontinuing the item.

The Edge

Although Pizza Hut is believed to have introduced stuffed crust pizza to the world, The Edge, introduced in 1997, took a completely different approach. In fact, it asked a daring question: Who needs crust, anyway? It was a simple pie, just the chain's Thin 'N Crispy dough with toppings spread all the way from one edge to the other, hence the name. But it rocked people's worlds.

Notably, this pizza had one of the most memorable Pizza Hut marketing campaigns of the '90s. The introductory ad features a boy giving a motivational speech while standing on a classroom table, proclaiming, "I have been to the edge and back." There was another one directed by Edgar Wright (the man who gave us "Baby Driver" and "Shaun of The Dead"), starring a guy enthusiastically talking about the new pizza in an Alcoholics Anonymous-like setting. He, too, has been to the edge.

If you haven't been to Pizza Hut in a while, you might not know that the chain has revived The Edge not once, but three times since the '90s. The item had a limited release in 2009 and 2021. But the most epic reincarnation came in 2022 when Pizza Hut brought The Edge back in four varieties. Each featured the distinct blend of herbs and the overload of toppings that made the '90s version irresistible.

Triple Deckeroni

If you had to choose the most mouthwatering menu item from '90s-era Pizza Hut, you might very well land on the multi-layered and tragically discontinued Triple Deckeroni. This weighty pizza had two crusts on top of each other, and was packed with six cheeses and a load of pepperoni. It was like a calzone on steroids -- a pizza wrapped in another pizza. No wonder, then, that it became a fan-favorite. "My family was addicted to this when it came out! We ate so many of these and were bummed when it got discontinued," wrote one Reddit user in a '90s sub, speaking for us all.

Pizza Hut stopped selling the Triple Deckeroni sometime near the end of the 1990s and never brought it back. Today, its spirit lives on in nostalgic Reddit subs, Facebook groups, and YouTube recipe videos. In 2020, YouTube series Mythical Kitchen put the Triple Decker back in the worldwide spotlight by making a video in which its chefs recreate the recipe. The resulting pizza looked seriously good, and brought comfort to millions: This double-crust deliciousness might be gone, but it can be mimicked at home.

Sunday Buffet

It's not just a menu item, it's a whole vibe. Sunday buffet was a fixture of Pizza Hut restaurants in the '90s, and the ultimate activity for families. The prices were incredible: All you can eat delights for $3.99 for adults and $1.99 for children under 10. And there wasn't just pizza -- a salad bar was part of the experience too. "Back in the 90s going to sit down and eat at Pizza Hut was a treat," remembered one Redditor beneath a vintage buffet photo. People cherish these memories.

Technically, Pizza Hut buffets are still around. According to fans online, you can find buffet lunch deals in selected outlets around the world, usually served Monday to Friday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m, or thereabouts. Sunday buffets don't seem to be a  thing in American Pizza Huts any longer, though. If you're really craving one, your best bet is to head to the United Kingdom. There, Pizza Hut offers an unlimited buffet 7 days a week starting at £10.99 (or $13.70). That's a far cry from $3.99, but still not that bad. Just don't look for the nostalgic interiors from those long-ago '90s Sundays as you chow down -- they're gone forever.

Double Cheeseburger Pizza

While it sounds crazy on paper, the Double Cheeseburger Pizza was a pretty normal '90s Pizza Hut menu item -- it was, after all, a decade of excess. This pizza had a ground beef topping and a very thick layer of cheese. Bacon could also be added for one slim buck. Ads at the time touted the pizza's ability to satisfy everyone, especially picky kids. It probably did -- who doesn't like pizza and cheeseburgers, after all?

Although Double Cheeseburger was discontinued, Pizza Hut did release a spiritual successor. In 2012, the chain introduced the Crown Crust Pizza, a triumph of food mash-up culture that boasted a crust made of tiny cheeseburgers. The item only appeared in Middle Eastern restaurants and created quite a media storm; commentators gawped at its sheer strangeness. In comparison, the good old Double Cheeseburger Pizza looks positively calm. But it deserves respect as the most important antecedent of the out-there Crown Crust.

The Big New Yorker

New York-style pizza is famously delicious. It's no wonder, then, that Pizza Hut created the Big New Yorker. This pizza was released in 1999 and quickly became one of the chain's most beloved menu items. A foldable 16-inch treasure, it was laden with pepperoni and cheese. The marketing was also on point: Pizza Hut employed Spike Lee as a spokesperson and put out commercials featuring everything from 15-year-old farm boys suddenly acquiring New York accents to boasts that the pies covered multiple zip codes. And then, one day, it disappeared.

After living on in fond childhood memories and YouTube-preserved commercials, the Big New Yorker returned to Pizza Hut in 2023. But while the name was the same, the pizza was different. People shared their disappointment on Reddit; one commenter wrote, "Nowhere near as good as I remember, or my memory has just romanticized how good it actually used to be." A petition started in 2015 that urged Pizza Hut to bring the pizza back updated its description to argue that the people wanted the real pie to return, and not this impostor. Let this be a lesson: Dabbling in nostalgia can be dangerous.

Barbecue Pizza

Although you can still enjoy barbecue sauce and several BBQ-centric options at Pizza Hut, diehard fans know there's no replacing the barbecue pizza from the '90s. This pie was characterized by its shredded beef, special BBQ sauce, grilled bacon, chopped onions, green peppers, and seriously gooey cheese. There was also a sister dish in 1991's BBQ Chicken Pizza, which featured slices of chicken in a spicy barbecue sauce.

"The BBQ pizza was everybody's favorite specialty pizza," wrote one Redditor who worked at the restaurant in 1991. Many others chimed in to agree. But even this kind of fervent love couldn't save the barbecue pizza. At some point, it passed into the mists, never to be seen again. At least, that's what we think happened. Forums are filled with alleged sightings of the pizza in various locations across the U.S., some happening as late as 2009. But the fact is, many will never know what that iconic barbecue sauce tasted like.

The Grand Pan Pizza

Pizza Hut in 1990 was all about generous portions and uber-attractive pricing. That year, the chain introduced an updated version of its iconic pan pizza called the Grand Pan. It came with a whopping 10 toppings, yet cost only $9.99. If you craved more, a second pie came in at $4.00 extra. Where's our teleporter?

But that wasn't the only special thing about the Grand Pan. One of the commercials for the item featured the legendary boxer Muhammed Ali. This video is among the greatest Pizza Hut ever produced. It tells the story of a father and son boxer-trainer duo. After an intense training session, they go to Pizza Hut, where Muhammed Ali is dining with his kids. He doesn't say a word, just smiles, eats his slice, and gifts the old man a Grand Pan pizza as a way of thanking him for all the past training -- the son isn't the old man's only apprentice. Now that's an epic way to advertise your pizza.

All-You-Can-Eat Dessert Bar

Kids in the '90s were fortunate to live in a time when Pizza Hut's $1.99 all-you-can-eat dessert bar was a thing. Judging from teary-eyed Reddit comments, those now-grown kids are all too aware of this fact. They experienced sweet tooth paradise, and then were exiled from it forever.

The chain introduced the buffet in 1993; it functioned on weekdays from 4 p.m. until close. Many youngsters rushed there right after school to create towering creations of ice cream, brownies, peanut butter chips, and chocolate mousse. Customization was the name of the game here: You really could do anything you wanted with the assembled elements. Pizza Hut back was a different place, then -- a family-friendly dine-in with a warm, old-school interior. A dessert bar thrived in such an environment, but as the years went by, that approach dimmed, taking the bar with it.

Neapolitan Pizza

"The [Neapolitan] was the greatest pizza in Pizza Hut history," wrote one Redditor in 2022. That's a major declaration, but it might just be true. Introduced in 1993, this item was a delicious take on traditional pizza, distinguished by generous portion of mozzarella cheese and a thin crust. Simple, classy, and very tasty. The price was great too: A large Neapolitan cost only $6.99.

But this Italian delight wasn't made to last. The pizza was discontinued in the '90s, succeeded (in spirit) by the Big New Yorker. Perhaps it was deemed too simplistic for the often sensational Pizza Hut menu -- this was the decade of the Bigfoot Pizza, after all. Or maybe it just didn't perform well financially. In any case, we suspect that the Neapolitan may well have been one of the best pizzas Pizza Hut ever created. We simply haven't found one negative comment about it online. Hopefully, the chain will revive this '90s hit at some point in the future.

Buffalo Wings

In 2004, Pizza Hat cobranded with WingStreet, another company in the Yum! Brands portfolio. But devout fans remember an era of pre-WingStreet chicken came, dazzled, and went. Buffalo wings were added to the Pizza Hut menu in 1995; $4.00 got you 12 juicy morsels. According to Redditors who worked at Pizza Hut in the '90s, these wings were available in mild and hot forms. Ranch and blue cheese dip were also made available. People loved the crisp texture and juicy moisture content of these wing, which worked well as a standalone dish (12 wings is a lot of food) and as a crowd-friendly side for parties.

Fans don't think WingStreet's offerings stack up. "I miss those! So much better," commented one Redditor on a thread about the OG chicken. The good news is, those very first wings might not be totally gone. According to Reddit commenters, you can still find the pre-WingStreet buffalo wings in Pizza Hut Expresses located in Target.

Classic Italian Combo

Between the Neapolitan and The Big New Yorker, Pizza Hut was really invested in giving fans true Italian (or Italian-American) flavor back in the 1990s. Case in point: In 1991, the chain introduced the Classic Italian Combo. This pizza featured Italian sausage, pepperoni, and plenty of cheese. A medium pie cost $8.99.

Notably, the introductory commercial made a smart dig at Domino's. It showed two elderly men playing a game of dominoes and ordering Pizza Hut delivery. One of the players invites the delivery guy to join the game. He refuses. The old man concludes, "People just don't like dominoes anymore." Savage.

While the Classic Italian Combo didn't make it out of the '90s, Pizza Hut did bring back Italian sausage -- albeit in quite a surprising way. In 2020, the company announced a partnership with Beyond Meat and added a plant-based Italian sausage option to its popular pizzas.

Chunky Pizzas

Pizza Hut operates thousands of restaurants all over the world, so memories of its '90s offerings are different in different places. Take Australia, for instance. In 1993, Pizza Hut released not one, not two, but three pizzas in the "Chunky" range. They were the Chunky vegetable pizza, the Chunky meat pizza, and the Chunky combination, which featured ingredients from both. Essentially, Chunky pies were deep-dish pan pizzas with a generous amount of toppings. The large pie was priced at $11.90 Australian dollars (or approximately $8.50, at the time).

The Chunky era is among the more obscure chapters in Pizza Hut Australia's history. All we've really got is a vintage commercial where a narrator presents the three pizzas, each looking about as mouthwatering as it gets. Also, a cute mini chainsaw makes an appearance. Still, we absolutely want the Chunky range to make a comeback in the 21st century -- they just look too good to resist.

Read the original article on Daily Meal