We'll See Your Lasagna Pizza And Raise You A Popcorn Shrimp Pie

Little Caesars, not usually known for its innovation, announced this week that it has unfurled a lasagna pizza in select locations in West Virginia, Ohio, and Georgia. Brand Eating announces that said pizza will feature a toasted Parmesan breadcrumb crust, a meaty marina sauce, Italian sausage, some ricotta added to LC's usual blend of mozzarella and Muenster cheeses, and—here's the kicker—mini-ribbon pasta.

Little Caesars is combining pizza with LASAGNA. https://t.co/ubom7Lbtir pic.twitter.com/cWzVRvBOfX

— foodbeast (@foodbeast) December 4, 2018

Yes, pasta on pizza. Since pizza already has a starchy element with the crust, not sure what the purpose is here, except to get us to write about it, of course. Still, the concept of "lasagna pizza" got the Takeout staff to thinking: What dish would we like to see transposed onto a pizza that's not currently available in pie form?

Not sure how long ago this was, but Leona's pizza chain here in Chicago once had a taco pizza that was divine. Taco meat, giardiniera peppers, some cheddar cheese, and maybe a few tomatoes? I loved it, especially on sick days, as the peppers did wonderful things to my sinuses. But apparently I was in the minority, because it is no longer on the Leona's menu.

Since then, I have searched for a replacement, but no luck. I ordered a taco pizza after spying it on the menu of one of my local favorites, and it was disappointing, namely because it arrived covered with lettuce. Hot lettuce! It was disgusting, and not at all what I was looking for. So if someone out there knows of a delicious, spicy, lettuce-less taco pizza, please, let me know. Carne asada? Al pastor? Charred cebollitas? I feel certain that it's out there somewhere, and I also feel a cold coming on. [Gwen Ihnat]

I love briny toppings on pizza, namely anchovies or olives, neither of which are ever very popular among the friends I'm ordering with. It's a bummer. But I started thinking about other briny foods that could work as toppings... Pickles? Too sweet. Sauerkraut? I may be German, but I'm not that German. Some sort of seafood maybe? Shrimp? Shrimp!

Fried-to-golden, bite-sized pieces of sweet-salty shrimp seem like they'd be a textural gem sprinkled on pizza. In my dream pizza scenario, they'd retain a bit of their oceanic salinity as well as their sweetness, but mostly they'd just be crunchy-fried gems in every other bite or so. Anyone with me? [Kate Bernot]

One of the best vacations I've ever taken was to New Orleans, arguably the finest food town in these United States. And on our first day in the Crescent City, we paid our respects at Domilise's, perhaps the most beloved of po'boy shop in town. The sandwich I was ordered to get was a fried shrimp po'boy doused with roast beef gravy. And GotDang if it didn't curl my toes into a foot fist. With all apologies to Kate's popcorn shrimp pizza suggestion above, I'm taking her idea and adding a savory and beefy gravy over top. [Kevin Pang]