• breaking news for vegan pizza lovers in los angeles!

    17
    March 20th, 2009quarrygirlLA restaurants, purgatory pizza

    yeah, yeah, yeah…if you are a vegan in los angeles who loves pizza, you probably know all about purgatory pizza. the ny-style pizza joint gained vegan fame in february when they added teese cheese from chicago soy dairy to their lineup, making authentic delicious VEGAN PIZZA available to the masses. as if that wasn’t enough, about a week ago they stepped it up a notch and started offering field roast artisan vegan sausage as a topping.

    well just when i thought the best vegan pizza in la couldn’t get any better, they went ahead and upped the topping selection. the field roast was amazing enough, but now just one week later, they are offering a delicious option of vegan gardein chicken STARTING TODAY. i was fortunate enough to attend a sampling party and taste three different gardein chicken pizzas, all of which were unique and insanely tasty. purgatory pizza is really making a conscious effort to embrace the los angeles vegan community and accommodate us at every turn. they even veganized their pesto recipe for good. that’s right, purgatatory pizza has omitted the cheese from their pesto permanently…so you can safely order the basil/pine nut concoction from now on.

    now for the three pizzas. i must admit, i was a little skeptical at first…i am usually a mushroom and tomato toppings kind of girl and the thought of fake chicken on a pizza didn’t seem that great. but with a little magic in the kitchen, two talented chefs used the gardein chicken to make 3 of the best pizzas i’ve ever had. vegan cook extraordinaire jennshaggy was on hand to prepare and season the chicken, while purgatory’s own chef ricky made the sauces and crust. the first pizza, which was my favorite, was pesto pizza topped with mushrooms, olives and gardein chicken.

    vegan purgatory pizza with teese cheese, gardein chicken, pesto, mushrooms and (1/2) olives

    vegan purgatory pizza with teese cheese, gardein chicken, pesto, mushrooms and (1/2) olives

    the vegan pesto was absolutely perfect. why anyone would need cheese thrown into this delicious blend of basil, pine nuts, garlic and olive oil is completely beyond me. the pesto was spread lightly all over the pizza, so although it was a bit oily, the pie didn’t taste heavy. the gardein chicken was extremely well prepared, tender and flavorful and not one bit dry. i seriously loved it. not to mention the melty teese cheese. this pizza was so fucking good, really, i swear, it tasted like the real thing.

    purgatory-gardein-cu

    the next pizza was a standard purgatory pizza with their normal tomato sauce topped with teese cheese, gardein chicken and fresh basil. simple and excellent. while my favorite pizza was the pesto one pictured above, a few of the pizza testers argued that this was the best one and i can totally see where they were coming from. again, the gardein came out very well and tasted great on the pizza…plump little chunks of italian-seasoned soy chicken that were crispy on top and moist in the center.

    vegan purgatory pizza with teese cheese, gardein chicken and fresh basil

    vegan purgatory pizza with teese cheese, gardein chicken and fresh basil

    the third pizza was an amazing concoction from chef ricky himself which came with no sauce…just olive oil and garlic covered with teese cheese, gardein chicken, tomatoes and oregano. this was my husband’s favorite of the three pizzas, and it was definitely unique and like nothing i’ve ever tasted before.

    vegan purgatory pizza with olive oil, garlic, teese cheese, gardein chicken, tomatoes and oregano

    vegan purgatory pizza with olive oil, garlic, teese cheese, gardein chicken, tomatoes and oregano

    the olive oil and garlic mixed with the teese and made for a creamy base, so the sauce wasn’t even missed. again, the gardein chicken was excellent was the perfect compliment to the italian-style sauces and toppings. in fact, with all the olive oil, garlic, oregano and tomatoes, this tasted like a pizza version of a pasta dish. everything went so well together, i really suggest you give this exceptional pizza a try…i’ve never had anything quite like it.

    purgatory-gardein-cu-2

    so there you have it, get over to purgatory pizza and try the new gardein topping which will be available starting today. extra special thanks to jennshaggy and chef ricky for coming up with the way to make these extremely tasty vegan pizzas. the vegan pizza scene in la just keeps getting better and better.

    chef ricky, the master of the pizza

    chef ricky, the master of the pizza

    purgatory pizza
    1326 east 1st street
    los angeles, ca 90033
    323 262 5310
    open everyday 6pm – 11pm

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15 responses to “breaking news for vegan pizza lovers in los angeles!” RSS icon

  • Amazing. I have a poker game tonight in Silverlake – what are the chances they’d deliver?! I’ll be the only vegan, and want to blow away the crappy Domino’s that will be ordered.

    Help me Obi Wan Kenobi… you’re my only hope.

  • Omg so going to purgatory this weekend. Idk which to try though! All I normally put/get on my pizzas are onions and mushrooms! Its so hard to choose what I want for my ~first experience~! 😀

  • Woot! Wow, that sounds so good! I followed @quarrygirl on twitter for a couple days but you overloaded my page. I should start following @PurgatoryPizza to get in on these taste tests!

    I make vegan pesto for myself sometimes but it’s very cool to hear about a restaurant with it.

    Whatever kickback you’re getting, you’ve earned it! I’m going to Purgatory for my next pizza, as soon as I can afford to go out to eat again. 🙁

  • Get them to Calzonify those vegan pizzas!

  • So you we’re either the girl with polka dots or with shorter bleached hair. I first heard about Purgatory Pizza through your blog. My girlfriend and I are leaving LA in May so we made a “bucket list.”. Trying this pizza was on the list so Wednesday we tried it out, we were told there was a special tasting going on for a new vegan chicken option. As we ate our field roast pizza, I sat trying to figure out which girl was you because I knew you HAD to be there. I was a little worried because I’ve seen some mixed reviews. The pizza was amazing! So far from our bucket list we’re tried Pure Luck, Rahel’s and Purgatory Pizza. We both agreed that our meal at purgatory was the best option from the three restaurants!

  • Wow, just another reason to return to Purgatory Pizza ASAP. MMMMM…gardein chicken pizza.
    LOL @ Lori- so we’re not the only ones trying to discover quarrygirl’s alter identity. One of these days….lol 😉

  • they’re only open 5 hours a day? they must get alot of business during those hours.

  • Hmm. Maybe I’ll have to give them another try but after last night’s delivery … I’m not so into it. We got three pizzas and the total was about $50 bucks. That was the first bummer. My friends had a medium pepperoni and a large cheese, and I had a large vegan cheese with basil and mushroom – it was so thin and soggy that everything fell off! I’m all about some thin crust NY pizza but it just wasn’t filling … or good at all! I ordered it because of your reviews – maybe they were having a bad night or something? Still – if I’m going to pay that much for pizza it better be good!!!

  • order it well done. Traditional NY pizza can be folded so is soggier than I like, but it is the way it should be. I make mine and order mine WELL. It comes out perfect for my tastes, maybe yours too…. 🙂

  • Finally went to check this place out last night. I can’t imagine they get a lot of foot traffic in that location, but there were 2 other couples there while I was waiting for my pizza and both ordered vegan pizzas! The guy working the counter (I didn’t get his name, but was probably Ricky) was so friendly and nice – he even offered to give someone their slices on the honor system, because they didn’t have the cash.

    As for the pizza, while it didn’t exactly hold up to the pizzas of my childhood in NY, it was pretty darn close. I’m looking forward to those two leftover slices in my fridge! And the field roast sausage is out of this world. Thanks for talking Purgatory up so much that I forced myself to get in the car and go.

  • I have not been able to get there yet which has been so disappointing for me! My hubby’s been really stubborn about heading downtown and I can’t drive myself there because I could go into labor any day/time now =(.

  • I am a vegan. I just have to say that looks disgusting.

  • Went here today after reading your reviews of this place and it was definitely as advertised. Pizza was served in a timely manner and came as ordered (‘sausage’ and mushrooms). Tasted great and went down great as well. Only bad part is we didn’t have any leftovers.

  • Oregano is a gread addition to everyday meals, i put them on soups and salads..:-


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