• January 10th, 2011quarrygirlvegan cheese

    i haven’t seen anything this awesome in awhile. apparently this chicago-based missed connections ad was inspired by one of our favorite vegan products and sponsors of vegan pizza day, teese by chicago soydairy.

    heyo!

    “If you want to get together sometime before Monday and drink PBR and make vegan grilled cheese, we’re in if you are.”

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  • January 6th, 2011quarrygirlLA restaurants, vegan bakers, vegan cheese, zpizza

    in celebration of the upcoming vegan pizza day (which you should all be spreading the word and blogging about), i’m gonna make an effort to post more about pizza on the blog throughout january…which shouldn’t be hard, because we eat a lot of it!

    berkeley vegan: marinara sauce, vegan cheese, veggie burger crumbles, zucchini, tomatoes, mushrooms, red onions. (no bell peppers)

    there are TONS of vegan-friendly pizza joints in los angeles, and we think zpizza is one of the best. we even added their amazing tuscan pizza to our vegan bucket list, it’s that damn good. another awesome thing about zpizza is, they’re a national chain and every location offers vegan pizza! so even if you aren’t in LA, you may very well have a zpizza near you.

    recently we had a little zpizza shindig with us and the team from clara’s cakes, which meant not only was tasty pizza involved, but also mouthwatering desserts…

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  • January 5th, 2011quarrygirlvegan cheese, vegan events

    vegans, mark your calendars because vegan pizza day is less than a month away!

    mark your calendars! vegan pizza day 1/29!

    what is vegan pizza day, you ask? it’s a national celebration sponsored by chicago soydairy and quarrygirl.com of the greatest food on the planet: vegan pizza. we are trying to get vegan pizza parties going down all over the country on saturday, january 29th…so get involved. we’ve already got a list going of places to get vegan pizza…it’s easy to update, so get in there and fill out any missing information for your area. also, help us spread the word for the chance to win THREE POUNDS of teese from chicago soydairy. here’s what you gotta do…

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  • January 2nd, 2011quarrygirlLA restaurants, vegan cheese

    how do quarrygirl.com readers celebrate new year’s?! this is how. thanks to everyone who sent in pix!

    bess from i dream of greenie threw an epic new year’s eve/birthday party (she was born on 12/31), and had all kinds of crazy treats on hand including teese mozzarella sticks

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  • December 17th, 2010quarrygirlvegan cheese

    UPDATE 12/22: as of today, these things are back in stock! get ’em while they last!

    UPDATE 12/17: they sold out of vegan mozzarella sticks! we will let you know when they are available again!

    oh man, back when i was a vegetarian i used to love MOZ sticks. that’s why i’m so excited that today chicago soydairy has launched frozen VEGAN MOZZARELLA STICKS available at veganessentials.com!


    photo credit: mercy for animals

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  • December 14th, 2010quarrygirlvegan cheese

    i have some pretty awful news for vegans in the united states: our beloved cheezly is no longer available here.

    bye bye for now

    we have been fans of the marvelous UK vegan cheese for years, and back in march after the natural products expo, we thought they were poised to take the united states market by storm. unfortunately we were wrong, and cheezly is no longer being distributed in the US at the moment.

    i am really hoping the redwood wholefood company (maker of cheezly) finds distribution soon, because we NEED their delicious vegan cheese stateside. just earlier this month, i was raving about it.

    i will miss you, cheezly.

    please come back, cheezly! in the meantime, if any of my UK readers wanna send me some cheezly as a happy xmas gift, please do! 🙂

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  • December 4th, 2010quarrygirlother, products, vegan cheese

    daiya vs cheezly. cheezly vs daiya. it’s an epic battle, and i don’t know who would win. have you tried both? do you have a favorite?

    daiya pizza on the left, cheezly pizza on the right

    i recently had the chance to eat both a daiya and a cheezly pizza back to back…and choosing between the two would not be an easy task. if only the new teese (which i love) would have been there, my mind would have been blown.

    so which one looks better to you:

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  • July 29th, 2010quarrygirlvegan cheese

    WANT VEGAN PIZZA NEAR YOU?!?! here’s how…

    maybe we are idealists, or maybe we are just crazy…but we think that with your help, we can bring vegan pizza to the masses. and by vegan pizza, i mean pizza with actual VEGAN CHEESE (none of this cheeseless nonsense).

    when we started this blog, vegan pizza in los angeles was a joke. there was damiano’s which was hugely expensive and decent at best…then after a while purgatory pizza popped up, and cruzer (which subsequently turned into an all vegan pizzeria!), followed by national chains like zpizza and pizza fusion, and now tons of little guys including lenzini’s, deano’s, and masa (of chicago deep dish fame).

    this past year has been one huge and incredible vegan pizza explosion—but we aren’t satisfied yet. let’s take this shit to the next level. even though i just named a slew of vegan-friendly places, i bet that most of you have multiple pizzerias more conveniently located near your home or work that don’t have a dairy-free cheese offering. how great would it be if they did? that’s where this nifty form comes in.

    fill it out, sign your name, and drop it off or mail it to all the pizzerias you’d like to be able to eat at. copy the text, and email it as well…let’s hit them up from all sides. SERIOUSLY, this stuff works. LA distributors are already carrying vegan cheese, restaurants just need to know that there’s a demand. and there IS A DEMAND…RIGHT?!?! right!

    CLICK IMAGE to download the vegan pizza PDF

    please note: on this form, i suggested daiya and teese as options for pizzerias to stock, because those are the only vegan cheeses available in LA that i actually like. if you don’t agree, feel free to edit the form to add or delete products as you see fit. hey, here’s a word document to make it super easy.

    are you guys on board?! i seriously think if we do this, the vegan pizza choices in LA could take a massive upturn. supposedly this blog has a lot of readers—i don’t know who you people are, but i think you can help out in making vegan options more prevalent in our fair city. worth a shot? YES!

    please comment below with any stories about your vegan pizza outreach and success. we are curious to see how many people actually take the time to do this…and even more curious to see what the results are as far as vegan pizza options are concerned!

    btw: BY ALL MEANS, PLEASE use this form even if you don’t live in LA. everywhere needs more vegan pizza!

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  • when i tried the new tofurky frozen pizza at natural products expo west a few months ago, it was seriously love at first bite. covered in stretchy daiya cheese and plump pepperoni bits, it was the best frozen pizza i’d ever tasted.

    imagine my excitement then, when i got a letter from tofurky advertising their new pizza line, along with a coupon to get one for free. the only problem is, i couldn’t find a store in LA selling the pizzas yet. i had no choice but to hop on a plane and head up to the cutting edge food fight grocery in portland, oregon.

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  • May 17th, 2010mr meanerLA restaurants, purgatory pizza, vegan cheese

    We’ve probably written more about Purgatory Pizza in Boyle Heights than any other restaurant. Since it became the first pizza joint in California to carry Teese vegan cheese, we’ve been regulars at Purgatory. Add in several other vegan Pizza firsts: First to carry Field Roast sausage, Gardein “Chicken” and one of the first in the country to carry Daiya vegan cheese, and we’ve been visiting Purgatory constantly. It’s no surprise, then, that Purgatory is again ahead of the pack, as one of the first places on the West Coast to offer the brand new Teese vegan mozzarella, which we’ve raved about before.

    A quick grounder and history in vegan cheese is probably worthwhile at this point…

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  • May 9th, 2010quarrygirlproducts, vegan cheese

    we already blogged about how awesome chicago soy dairy’s new stretchy teese is, but you shouldn’t take our word for it.

    for the next week, vegan essentials is having a buy one, get one free sale that is not to be missed. here are the details…

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  • April 16th, 2010mr meanervegan cheese

    We’ve always been fans of Teese, a vegan cheese substitute that took the art of cheesy taste and texture and put it firmly on the vegan map. We started going to pizzerias again, ate paninis for the first time in years and just generally enjoyed ourselves in ways that were hitherto taboo!

    We were delighted, then, when Chicago Soy Dairy sent us a preview of the latest creation they’ve been working on: Tasty, stretchy, vegan MOZZARELLA cheese, that comes as close as you can get to the “real thing”. We set about challenging the new formula, and were, frankly, blown away with the results.

    Most vegan cheeses today aim to emulate the taste and texture of regular, velveeta-style or pizzeria-like cheese but we found something different in the latest offering from Teese—something more flavorful that lends itself to a variety of dishes.

    Points:

    – Streeeetchy. REALLY.

    – Tasty: Like Teese of old, but better. Even when eaten straight out of the package, its flavor is excellent.

    – Awesome in a panini.

    Mozzarella panini with tomato, basil, and new stretchy Teese

    – Pizza works really well. It’s excellent on both a normal pizza (pictured above), as well as an NY style “buffalo mozzarella” pizza.

    NY style vegan buffalo mozzarella pizza with new stretchy Teese

    The buffalo mozzarella pizza was a complete WIN, and the closest I’ve had to vegan NY-style pie yet. This only goes to show how versatile and impressive the new Teese is, even in these early stages.

    Get excited, get very excited. When this product hits the shelves, you are going to LOVE it.

    Here is a letter from Chicago Soy Dairy that came in our sample pack:

    Of course we will keep you posted, and let you know when this Teese is available to the public. Lookout!

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  • March 18th, 2010quarrygirlother, products, vegan cheese

    as i mentioned in my re-cap post of expo west, one of the most exciting companies present at the convention was vbites. already huge in the uk, the company produces some of the best vegan meats and cheeses in the world, and makes everything ranging from deli slices and burgers to fish fingers and frozen dinners. there’s even an entire vbites restaurant in brighton, and it’s pretty much my definition of heaven on earth…so imagine how stoked i was when i heard these amazing products were finally coming to america!!

    animal rights campaigner and owner of vbites, heather mills, was serving up pizzas and spreading excitement about her new products at the booth all weekend.

    the new vbites food i tried at expo west was so fantastic, i decided it needed its very own post. just have a look at what the company has in store for the united states…

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  • March 2nd, 2010quarrygirlother, products, vegan cheese

    have you ever tried teese, the vegan cheese substitute made by chicago soy dairy?! if not, now is your chance.

    the company is having this crazy promotion, where all you need to do is enter your email address…and you get a coupon for free teese! they have mozzarella and cheddar flavors, plus a couple of cheese-style sauces. you’d be crazy not to take take them up on this offer.

    so what am i gonna do with my free teese?! well, make another deep dish pizza of course:

    get your coupon here!

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  • January 30th, 2010mr meanervegan cheese, vegan events

    UPDATE: the surly goat is now open, and it’s awesome!

    Two of the nicest and most talented guys you’d ever wish to meet are Alex Brown and Evan George, a duo of vegetarian chefs, beer experts, writers and god-knows-what-else collectively known as Hot Knives.

    The last time we raved about Hot Knives was after attending some patio sessions at Glassel Park’s Verdugo Bar last summer. We whiled away a couple of warm afternoons drinking from an amazing beer selection while Alex and Evan served up some imaginative and very, very tasty vegan food. We’ve also long been fans of their blog where they wax lyrical about beers of the world and publish recipes to die for.

    Imagine, then, how pleased we were to receive an invite for their book launch party to be catered by Hot Knives themselves at a brand new bar that shares some common ownership with Verdugo Bar. We couldn’t believe our luck with a one-two-three punch of Hot Knives’ food, 27 special beers on tap and a book about one of my favorite subjects: BEER!

    This being January and LA storm season there wasn’t much patio action going on, but West Hollywood’s newest bar, The Surly Goat, couldn’t have been a better setting to munch on some food and learn about Hot Knives’ new beer book, “Greatest Sips”. The new bar (it opens to the public Wednesday February 3rd) is in the former 24K club spot and is a welcome addition to a part of town that doesn’t have many great places to drink, being situated a block west of Fairfax on Santa Monica Blvd. The beer selection pretty much mirrors Verdugo Bar (virtually all of it vegan) and there’s a cool, dark environment that’s a pleasure to be in. I know The Surly goat will be on my list of regular haunts, and I’ll probably be at the bar on a highly regular basis!

    Upon arrival we downed a couple of Blind Pig beers from Russian River, and made our way to the back of the bar where Alex and Evan had laid out the most amazing spread. To call Hot Knives perfectionists would be an understatement.

    They wanted just the right kind of bread to pair with their food so they invented a recipe and made a bunch of crispy baguettes (yes, they do taste as good — or better — than they look).

    First order was to grab a hunk of this unbelievable bread and smear their special vegan cashew ricotta cheese all over it. The cheese was a perfect texture, something like cream cheese, but crumbly and tangy just like ricotta. I could seriously have eaten not only every baguette but also the entire hoard of cheese as well as it was so fucking good!

    Just when I thought that I’d reached a state of sublime existence (due in part, I’m sure, to the Blind Pigs) Evan pointed out the second vegan plate which was a spicy habanero seitan loaf. The seitan reminded me a little of the seitan which they put in the Banh Mi sandwiches but the spiciness here was off the charts. A little crispy on the outside yet soft and chewy on the inside made for the perfect combination of mouth textures, while the delicate flavoring hid that fire in your mouth that only habanero chilies can deliver.

    Balancing the power of the chilies was a smooth, cold and creamy sauerkraut sauce (I think they called it a mustard) which just begged to be splashed all over the food. Of course, we had multiple visits to the food tables and were not surprised to see everything disappear pretty quickly.

    We had a chance to briefly leaf through the book “Greatest Sips”, written by the Hot Knives dudes in their inimitable style. Ours is on order now, at the mercy of USPS and will be an indispensable guide for beer drinking at The Surly Goat and elsewhere. Not only are the guys perceptive experts in beer, but they love to tell you about what food to pair it with and even what music to listen to while drinking it. No, I’m not joking! The insight is hilarious and I’m sure a little tongue in cheek. Here are Alex and Evan to tell you all about the book themselves:

    Greatest Sips from Hot Knivez on Vimeo.

    Hot Knives are vegetarian chefs, so they do use non-vegan ingredients in some of their cooking, and are huge fans of cheese..but we won’t hold that against them, rather we’ll hope that they do one day decide to become vegan so that they will be inspired to make more and more inventive and tasty vegan foods.

    Also, on the beer front, do remember to check out Barnivore, a super site that answers questions about vegetarian and vegan ingredients in just about any beer you’ll ever want to drink.

    Alex and Evan, thanks so much for feeding us today!

    For more info on The Surly Goat, check out Eater and LATimes.

    Oh, and finally, The Surly Goat hasn’t got its food menu together yet so they won’t be serving any of this gorgeous food (and maybe never will). Hopefully, though, the Hot Knives guys will show up from time to time and take care of filling hungry vegan bellies.

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