• June 17th, 2011recipes

    Hello, people! Sexy Vegan, here. I didn’t really eat that many vegetables as a kid, unless you count pizza sauce. My mom didn’t really like to cook, so the majority of my childhood diet consisted mainly of pizza, and pizza related items. Cheese pizza, pepperoni pizza, cheesesteak pizza, garlic knots, and don’t even get me started on stromboli. We had all the local pizza joints on speed dial. Remember when home phones had that list of buttons you could program? Remember home phones? I’m glad we never had any type of emergency requiring us to hit the 911 speed dial button, because we would have heard, “Claudio’s, what can I getcha?” on the other end.

    There is one pizza, however, that has managed to elude me during my first 33 years of existence: Deep Dish. Having never been to Chicago, I’ve not had the delight of indulging in a true deep-dish pizza. And I suppose if I went to Chicago now, coming by a vegan one, would be a herculean task. So I thought I’d take a stab at making my own…and if Chicago’s is half as good as this one, then I think they’ve got a future in the deep-dish pizza industry. All you need for this recipe is a 6 inch cast iron skillet, some vegan cheese, and a Trader Joe’s. The cheeze I used here is my own “Not-zzarella Cheeze” which consists mainly of cashews and silken tofu, and is a recipe you will find in my book. Yes, I have written a cookbook, but there is no release date yet. All I know is that the world is supposed to end TWICE before it comes out.

    O.k. on to the recipe:

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  • January 28th, 2011quarrygirlbj's brewhouse, LA restaurants

    UPDATED 2/01/11: we tracked down the makers of the buttery “phase oil” that bj’s uses on their pizza, and the stuff is 100% vegan! we are good to go. as long as you order your pizza w/o cheese, you should be safe.

    UPDATED 01/28/2011: HUGE UPDATE, people! mr. wishbone got on the case and found out some new info. you need to SPECIFY THAT YOU ARE VEGAN when you order this pizza and ask for it NOT to be brushed with butter. the pizza crust comes butter brushed by default, but BJ’s can sub olive oil instead. so be careful!

    we’ve blogged about cheeseless vegan pizza at restaurant chains—from cpk here at home, to pizza express across the pond—and i can say without a doubt that the deep dish at bj’s brewhouse takes it to a whole new level. they’ve got locations scattered all over the country, so even if you live in a town where pizzerias don’t carry vegan cheese, you can still celebrate vegan pizza day at bj’s!

    we have been going to bj’s for ages just to drink (did i mention they also brew amazing vegan-friendly beer on site?), but never thought to ask about food options until recently when we attended a celebration there for my mom’s 65th birthday. i emailed the restaurant in advance to suss out the vegan situation, and a very nice man named david got back to me with a handy allergen PDF. he also assured me that both the normal crust and gluten-free crust, as well as the sauce at bj’s contain no animal products…so we should be safe ordering cheeseless pizza. and that’s exactly what we did.

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  • November 24th, 2010quarrygirlbay area, more restaurants (not LA), san francisco

    on a recent trip to san francisco, the place i was most excited about visiting was patxi’s chicago pizza. three words, people: VEGAN DEEP DISH.

    there are a few paxti’s scattered around the bay area, and we hit up the hayes street location for our vegan pie. we got a great table by the window, and i was immediately pleased with the comfy atmosphere. dim lighting, warm colors, and an exposed brick wall decorated with pretty paintings.

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  • August 31st, 2010quarrygirlLA restaurants, masa of echo park

    guys, i cannot get enough of the vegan deep dish pizza at masa of echo park.

    vegan chicago deep dish pizza with teese, spinach, and mushrooms.

    since they first started serving up vegan chicago-style deep dish with the new teese a couple months ago, i’ve been addicted. and it seems like the pizza just keeps getting better and better. i went recently with a friend and we got a build-your-own large with spinach and mushrooms that was to die for. i couldn’t believe how big it was—enough to feed 4 people probably—but that’s the way to go at masa, because then you have tons of leftovers.

    i’ve never had a “real,” dairy-filled chicago deep dish, but people i know who have swear that masa’s vegan version tastes authentic…and better than all the others. the delicate crispy cornmeal crust is topped with a layer of stretchy teese and thick sauce filled with garlic and whole tomatoes. you have to eat it with a fork and knife, like a piece of pie, and one or two slices is enough to fill you up.

    one fun tip, since the pizza takes 50 minutes to bake (it’s worth the wait!), is to start your evening off across the street at el prado. the small bar always has good stuff on tap, and it opens daily at 6pm. so you can pop in, have a few beers, order your deep dish over the phone, then arrive at masa to eat shortly before it comes out of the oven. good times!

    beer at el prado

    if you haven’t been to masa yet for a vegan deep dish, stop messing around, and get over there! honestly, it’s by far the best vegan pizza in LA, and one the most special vegan dishes i’ve ever eaten. there’s no excuse not to try it!

    masa of echo park
    1800 West Sunset Blvd.
    Los Angeles, CA 90026
    (213) 989-1558

    oh and here is the el prado info, should you take my advice!

    el prado
    1805 West Sunset Boulevard
    Los Angeles, CA 90026-3226
    (213) 484-6079

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  • July 19th, 2010quarrygirlLA restaurants, masa of echo park

    FINALLY it’s here! if you want authentic, vegan, amazingly delicious chicago-style deep dish pizza in los angeles…look no further than masa of echo park. the restaurant has offered vegan pizza for awhile, but as of a few days ago, they have perfected the art of the animal-free deep dish using the new and improved stretchy teese from chicago soydairy.

    i want to start by saying, this pizza is a million times better than any other deep dish we’ve covered on this blog. when i say it’s “authentic” chicago-style, i mean it…and that’s something that masa takes very seriously. in a letter on the restaurant’s website, owner rob rowe explains that he was born and raised in chicago, has worked in chicago pizzerias, and is passionate about making chicago pizza. each pie consists of a 2 inch deep cornmeal crust, filled with whole pear tomatoes, chunky garlic, and cheese underneath the sauce.

    to say this pizza is incredible would be a gross understatement. it’s perfect in every way from the extremely flavorful sauce, to the melty-ness of the teese, to the soft cornmeal crust that basically melts in your mouth. the crust is the most amazing pizza crust i’ve ever tasted, in fact.

    masa also serves tap beer and wine, which is good news, because their authentic deep dish pizzas take about 40 minutes to bake. this is definitely a great place to come and unwind, have a few drinks, and wait patiently for pizza perfection to emerge from the oven. if you don’t want to wait though, you can always call and order your pizza ahead of time.

    please take my advice, and check out masa as soon as you possibly can. order the deep dish with the new stretchy teese, and enjoy what will be without a doubt some of the best vegan pizza you’ve ever eaten.

    Masa of Echo Park
    1800 West Sunset Blvd.
    Los Angeles, CA 90026
    (213) 989-1558

    PS: masa butters the crust of their deep dish pizzas, but when you order vegan cheese they instead use olive oil. i’m just letting you know, because you may wanna remind them NOT to butter your crust…even though it’s policy not to. i’m just paranoid like that.

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  • July 14th, 2010mr meanerdinner pies, other, products, recipes

    Back when I was a vegetarian living in London, I used to visit Chicago frequently. On my trips I would only eat two kinds of food: Mexican (as there is no Mexican food to speak of in the UK) and Chicago Pizza (same issue). Now that I’m a vegan living in LA there’s an abundance of incredible Mexican food to satiate my love of things from south of the border, but I really do miss the tastes and textures of a thick, cheese filled Chicago pizza that’s so humongously large that it has to be eaten with a knife and fork.

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