vegan pizza day 2013
Vegan pizza day was this past Saturday and as usual we went all out. Joined by Jenn and Scott, we trekked out to Woodland Hills to visit the original Pizza Cookery. We’re huge fans of this restaurant. Not only do they have an old school family atmosphere, they’re also one of the last hold outs serving Follow Your Heart cheese (which I prefer over Daiya). They also have the most amazing cheesy garlic knots. I dream about these damn things. Which is all to say, it’s worth the drive out there, even if it’s 100 degrees out. We all split a southwestern pizza, which had a bbq pizza sauce and vegan bbq chicken. Good stuff. Great way to start the day.
Next stop was Mowhawk Bend where we met up with a few more friends. They had a bunch of specials for the occasion including the infamous macaroni & cheese calzone. Unfortunately, the specials were all kind of a let down. I was super excited about the new trinity pizza topped with cashew cheese but it was severely lacking with no sauce and just a thin layer of cheese. The peach pizza was the biggest hit of the bunch, but more of a dessert than anything. Mostly we just enjoyed the drinks and good company.
No vegan pizza day is complete without a trip to Masa of Echo Park where we’ve visited for vegan pizza day last year and the year before. I can’t get enough of their deep dish pizza, which really means I can eat about two slices before feeling like I’m going to explode but they’re so good.
It was quite a pizza adventure. Maybe next year we’ll have our own pizza party.
New England Vegan
A few weeks ago we visited New England for a dear friend’s wedding (have I mentioned this already? I think perhaps I have). It was so nice to be out in the country and around trees and quiet. Mostly it was nice to spend time celebrating with old friends. We were able to drive around in the days following and explore a few states I’d never been to. I wasn’t too sure what the vegan choices would be like in more secluded areas, but we managed to find some great restaurants all over. Here’s a little round up of where we went:
First, we found the lovely Riverbend Cafe, conveniently located across the street from the motel we stayed at in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. We were surprised to find a spot with vegan french toast, not to mention bagels and tofu cream cheese. I had some super tasty oatmeal with peaches and brown sugar. The setting here was idyllic and the food was great. Plus we got to spend the morning catching up with Agatha which made the whole thing extra awesome.
Randomly, we stumbled upon a farmers market where there happened to be some goats hanging out. I love goats!
As our travels continued, Shawn once again proved he is the vegan pizza finding master. I had us routed to a spot in Northampton, Massachusetts which ended up being closed. He tracked down Pizzeria Paradiso which not only had vegan pizza, they used Follow Your Heart, which made me extra happy.
In Keene, New Hampshire we stopped in at Country Life, a Seventh Day Adventist buffet spot. Even though it was sort of vegan 1.0, it was really good, and felt really fulfilling. They also had a cute little market.
Concord, New Hampshire had some great vegan spots. First we stopped in at Hermanos Cocina Mexicana which, while not a vegan restaurant, had some superb vegan options. They had some spicy seitan for their burritos, plus all the fun stuff like soy sour cream and vegan cheese. I had some truly amazing enchiladas.
Also in Concord was Cafe Indigo. We stopped here for a great lunch and picked up a ton of sweets. A giant box of cookies, blondies and more for about $10. It was awesome. I had a wonderful ToFishy sandwich and Shawn had their infamous Rachael, a vegan reuben, both of which we loved.
Our last stop was in Boston. We ran into the Clover food truck and picked up some chickpea fritters and a soy BLT. It was a pretty good snack for a hot afternoon in the park.
Last but not least, we hit up a double whammy of vegan pizza and ice cream. First, Piece o’ Pie served us a fantastic margarita pizza with tofu ricotta, which kept me fed for our entire flight home. I think if we could have stayed longer, Shawn would have tried all the pizzas here.
Right next door was FoMu, a decadent vegan ice cream shop. It took forever for me to choose a flavor (I went with espresso) while Shawn went all out with a sundae. They had some really neat flavors and I wish I could have tried more.
Okay so there were a few more spots along the way, but this post is too long already! And yet there were still places we missed. I guess we’ll just have to go back.
pizza love
This past Saturday was Shawn’s birthday. To celebrate, we ate lots and lots of pizza (and made ice cream sundaes, but that’s for later). We had pizza with cashew cheese, with teese, with follow your heart and pizza with daiya. There was buffalo chicken pizza with ranch dressing, pear and truffle oil pizza, pepperoni pizza, avocado pizza and many variations in between. Though there were many kinds, we kept each pizza simple by using only a few topping on each one. I think there were also about 3 pizza ideas that never made it to the table, but we’ll just have to make those next time.
So much pizza. So much delicious pizza.
What’s your favorite kind of pizza?
fancy pizza
I saw a cherry arugula pizza in a magazine recently and couldn’t stop thinking about making one. So here it is. It was all I had hoped it would be. Slightly sweet and with a touch of bitterness to balance it. The crust was freshly made and perfectly fluffy. Pizza can be gourmet too.
We’ve been sorely lacking in the pizza dinners recently. Time to bring them back on a more frequent basis. Eating vegan pizza at restaurants is fun, but I’ve always preferred our homemade versions.
vegan pizza day
I’m not sure if you were aware, but this past Saturday was vegan pizza day. Shawn celebrated with pizza for every meal, including a breakfast pizza.
For dinner, we attended the Vegan Drinks get together at Masa of Echo Park. They make an amazing deep dish pizza and use probably my favorite vegan cheese, Teese, from Chicago Soy Dairy.
The pizza takes about 40 minutes to make since it is piled so thick with toppings, so we started out with some garlic bread.
There she is in all her glory. Lots of tomato goodness and stuffed in the center with some tasty, melty mozzarella Teese. We added some spinach and mushrooms for good measure.
And then we rode off into the night.
