Are frozen versions of popular chain restaurant dishes as tasty as the real deal? The answer is "sometimes", according to Consumer Reports' taste-testers.
California Pizza Kitchen's Frozen BBQ Chicken Thin Crust is topped with similar ingredients as the restaurant version, and at $6, it's less than half the price.
"Our tasters found that the frozen version is worth a try, but the strong barbecue sauce overpowered the flavors," said Consumer Reports' Maxine Siegal.
Tasters were pleased with the frozen version of TGI Friday's Cheddar and Bacon Skins. The restaurant dish costs twice as much and has three times the calories and fat.
P.F. Chang's Frozen Shrimp Lo Mein resembles its restaurant counterpart in price and appearance, but not taste, according to testers.
"The shrimp in the frozen version were noticeably small and the tasters found they don't have much flavor," Siegal said.
Boston Market's Frozen Chicken Pot Pie costs a little less than in the restaurant. But, it's much different. The restaurant version has large chunks of rotisserie chicken, with the frozen dish has cubes of spongy chicken, testers said.