if there is one food on this whole planet i miss from when i was a vegetarian, that food is definitely pizza. a huge slab of dough covered with fresh vegetables and melted mozzarella was my all-time favorite meal and until very recently there was just no vegan substitute. plus, you can’t beat the convenience of picking up one huge plate, enough to feed several people, and ripping into it slice by slice without any utensils.

for ages, the only way to get a vegan pizza in los angeles was to order one with no cheese (boring) or wait hours for a mediocre pizza from damiano’s (blech). however, over the past year three amazing pizza joints within driving distance have started offering pizza with both vegan cheese and vegan meaty toppings. over the weekend we made the thirty minute drive all they way out to santa clarita to test out the new vegan pepperoni at tomato joe’s and i can safely say it was worth the trip.

tomato joe's pizza on micro-brew crust with vegan mozzarella, vegan pepperoni, mushrooms, tomatoes and fresh garlic. $23.39

i first read about tomato joe’s offering vegan pepperoni on scvegan.com, and couldn’t wait to try it out. i was already a huge fan of tomato joe’s…i mean, their fluffy vegan beer crust is absolutely amazing and they work wonders with follow your heart cheese. the vegan pepperoni was no different…this stuff was insanely delicious. i’m not sure what brand of pepperoni they use, but it has tons of spicy flavor and a pretty decent texture. it’s definitely not quite up there with the artisan field roast meat that purgatory pizza uses, but as far as vegan pepperoni goes it’s definitely the best i’ve ever had.

vegan stuff aside, tomato joe’s really makes damn good pizza by anyone’s standards. the beer crust is some of the best tasting bread i’ve ever tasted, and is a welcome change from the ny-style pizza i am used to eating. it’s just oozing with hefeweizen flavor from the beer brewed right next door, and has a really fluffy texture with slightly crispy edges. plus, the toppings are fresh and the follow your heart cheese is melted just perfectly…i have no clue how they accomplish it.

tomato joe’s is so good it actually kind of pisses me off. they have two vegan crusts, vegan cheese, two vegan meat options (they were out of the second one when we went!), and loads of creative toppings from bird seed to tortilla strips. seriously there must be like 8 vegans in santa clarita and 80 billion vegans in los angeles…can’t tomato joe’s move to LA? it’s not fair that i should have to drive 30 miles for a vegan pizza with beer crust and these spoiled santa clarita people can get it delivered to their house. wtf. the ONLY good vegan pizza in los angeles is at purgatory pizza, which is a crime. we should have at least 20 good pizza places around here. you hear that pizza parlor owners? stop fucking around and start carrying vegan cheese! AGJHGHGHGHGHGHGAHAHGh.

so anyways, the pizza pictured above was absolutely amazing. i would eat it every single day if it wasn’t located so far away. if you haven’t tried tomato joe’s yet, you NEED to drive to santa clarita and check it out. granted, there is nowhere to eat inside because it is a take-out/delivery place…but who is gonna stop you from eating a whole pizza in your car? i’m not.

tomato joe’s
27732 McBean Pkwy
Valencia, CA 91354
(661) 263-8646

if you are a vegan in los angeles, i sure hope you’ve hit up purgatory pizza by now. the already-popular new york-style pizzeria started selling awesome vegan pizzas using teese cheese from chicago soy dairy in february, and now just one month later, they are known throughout town for having the best vegan pizza around. the quality of the crust, sauce and now vegan cheese is above and beyond all competition. as far as i know, they are the only pizza joint in los angeles using teese, which is fairly hard to come by, but by far the best brand in the united states.

imagine my excitement when i learned that in just a few weeks purgatory pizza has been so successful with the vegan cheese that they have also decided to start offering fake meat toppings as well. i was even lucky enough to attend a limited tasting-party to try out the new stuff…oh what a treat! the result: tons of new fake meats atop delicious teese pizzas, ending in a food coma of epic proportions.

vegan toppings of the night included field roast sausage, lightlife pepperoni, lightlife bacon, lightlife ham, and tofurky sausage.

all the pizzas we tried are pictured below. results were varied, but my favorite was by far the field roast sausage. it had a really meaty texture and tasted surprisingly like real pizza sausage that i remember from when i was a little kid…right down to the crispy edges and embedded fennel seeds, this stuff was unreal.

vegan purgatory pizza: field roast sausage and teese cheese.

the pepperoni was decent, but in my opinion it didn’t have the wow factor of the field roast sausage. lightlife products tend to be great for what i want to make at home, but just don’t do it for me when they are offered at restaurants.

vegan purgatory pizza: lightlife pepperoni and teese cheese.

same again with the lightlife bacon…it was tasty, but not something i would splurge on for a pizza topping.

vegan purgatory pizza: lightlife bacon and teese cheese.

purgatory also tried out the tofurky sausage as a pizza topping, which was definitely a worthy field roast opponent. this stuff was really good…but it sliced up into little disks, not globby clumps like the field roast sausage. something about this wasn’t as authentic to me, although i would definitely order it if i saw it on a menu.

vegan purgatory pizza: tofurky sausage and teese cheese.

lastly, was the ham and pineapple which, i won’t lie, i didn’t even taste. pineapple on pizza has never gone down well with me…but the other folks tonight seemed to enjoy it. the ham was the lightlife brand of meat, so i assume it was similar to the pepperoni and bacon.

vegan purgatory pizza: lightlife ham, pineapple and teese cheese.

again, in my mind, the clear winner was the field roast sausage. i honestly usually don’t like fake meat on pizza, but this stuff was so good, i think i’d order it every time.

vegan pizza with teese and field roast sausage! YUM.

sorry, readers. i don’t mean to get your hopes up too early or anything…because for right now the vegan meats aren’t available at purgatory pizza just yet. whatever scored best at tonight’s tasting test will hopefully be available soon though, and i will let you know as soon as it is. i’m hoping they at least go with the field roast sausage because that was my absolute favorite!

until then, you will have to suffer through with just vegetable toppings on the best vegan pizza in los angeles. speaking of which…i brought home some teese pizza with mushrooms, tomatoes and chopped garlic for my husband, who missed out on tonight’s festivities, and the stuff warmed up and melted like a charm. turns out vegan pizza is just as good leftover as normal pizza.

vegan pizza to go! teese, mushrooms, tomato and chopped garlic. YUM.

so whether you eat in or takeaway, purgatory pizza is the place to go for vegan pizza in la. they have the meltiest cheese and a load of vegetable toppings. once they get the fake meats come, they will be UNSTOPPABLE. vegans, if you haven’t been to purgatory pizza yet, you are fucking CRAZY. put it at the top of your list.

purgatory pizza
1326 east 1st street
los angeles, ca 90033
323 262 5310

open everyday 6pm – 11pm