NEW UPDATE 07/25/09: ZPIZZA is replacing their non-vegan soy cheese with DAIYA VEGAN CHEESE! the NEW VEGAN CHEESE is AVAILABLE AT THE WEST HOLLYWOOD LOCATION. soon, it should be available at all zpizzas!
UPDATE: VEGANS, DON’T EAT SOY CHEESE AT ZPIZZA 
this truly is a sad day because i have to recommend that my fellow vegans refrain from feeding their mock-mozzarella fix with zpizza soy cheese. i am sorry to announce that sources have confirmed the soy cheese at zpizza lacks total veganocity. i’ve gotten many mixed messages from both fellow vegans, and the corporate office of fransmart (the company behind the zpizza franchises) regarding the casein content of their soy cheese…to the point that i definitely don’t feel comfortable eating it! details to follow. and many thanks to scvegan for bringing this issue and new information to my attention.
now, all you awesome vegans can resume eating at damiano’s.
it is with great pleasure and relief that i can finally announce to the world, vegan zpizza in west hollywood is back!
for 3 weeks there was a huge gaping hole in my life, when zpizza mysteriously stopped carrying their amazing soy cheese. this was seriously life-altering cheese that made it possible for me to be a vegan. i’ve never found anything like it, follow your heart came nowhere near. it melted almost like REAL cheese, and i’d grown addicted to it, needing zpizza once a week at the very least!
that being said, you can imagine how my dreams were crushed one friday night when i called in an order after a peroni session at the formosa cafe only to find they were out of soy cheese! damn…surely it will be back tomorrow, i thought. but when i tried again the next day, still nothing—and it didn’t stop there! weeks passed as i called and called the restaurant and each time they assured me the cheese would be back soon. i was beginning to believe i would never taste this beautiful zpizza again.
luckily, when i tried again on friday (expecting nothing after being beaten down by weeks of rejection) i was told the soy cheese had finally arrived from the manufacturer! yay! naturally, i hurried over right away to pick up my usual order: a large pizza with soy cheese, tomatoes, mushrooms, and chopped garlic. all was well in the world.
now, while i’m on the topic of zpizza, i’d like to take this opportunity to address some rumors that their soy cheese contains casein. after reading claims that our beloved cheese was not vegan, we at quarrygirl.com took matters in to our own hands and called The Man at zpizza headquarters, who assured us that there are absolutely no dairy products in zpizza’s soy cheese. phew. maybe that’s why it took so long to get the cheese back when there was a problem at the manufacturer. maybe this pizza really is that special. i‘d sure like to think so.
(if you have any information regarding zpizza’s soy cheese, please feel free to contact us or leave a comment!)
Check out the new quarrygirl.com FORUMS!
9:42 am on April 14th, 2008
Thank you for clearing up that nasty rumor. I haven’t had zpizza since I heard those rumblings and now I know I can go back!
2:39 pm on April 17th, 2008
Vegyogini, dont eat it!!! i have obtained new information! i will do a full on post about it later!
8:29 pm on April 17th, 2008
great post!
no fakes allowed!
thanks SCVEGAN<<<<
/F/T/
8:29 pm on April 17th, 2008
thanks quarrygirl!
5:42 am on April 18th, 2008
Hey if you dig casein/gluten free vegan pizza, you should check out Pizza Fusion. Our menu is 75% organic and what’s not organic is all natural. Our San Diego location is the first of many opening up in CA. We also have awesome vegan/ gluten free brownies. Did I mention we’ll deliver to you in hybrid cars!
7:17 am on April 18th, 2008
michelle, i checked out your site and it looks great! i will definitely try pizza fusion next time i’m in san diego…and do a post on it as well. it looks like you guys are opening soon in santa monica too? if so, that’s great news….!
9:30 am on April 18th, 2008
Good post, I’ll try Zpizza again but omit the dairy-containing-dairy-free cheese.
I want a Pizza Fusion in Santa Clarita!
6:13 pm on April 20th, 2008
[...] vegan cheese alternative, though, but make sure it doesn’t have Casein in it or you’ll have a whole mess on your hands. If you use the cheese from Follow Your Heart, it will refrigerate for at least a week, and up to [...]
9:39 pm on April 23rd, 2008
[...] Berkley Soy Cheese Veggie”. Customers of various Zpizza locations have gotten mixed information on whether or not the soy cheese was vegan. I don’t believe Zpizza was purposely trying to [...]
6:37 pm on October 1st, 2008
[...] vegan cheese alternative, though, but make sure it doesn’t have Casein in it or you’ll have a whole mess on your hands. If you use the cheese from Follow Your Heart, it will refrigerate for at least a week, and up to [...]
7:53 am on November 14th, 2008
[...] vegan friendly, i have been pretty much avoiding that part of town. what can i say, it brings back bad memories. well now, i have a whole new reason to go back to weho. you see, an awesome burger joint called [...]
8:08 pm on February 22nd, 2009
I heard it “depends on the restaurant…” some joints do have non-vegan soy cheese, some do not — and its always changing… you have to ask the workers to check the ingredients
7:21 pm on May 22nd, 2009
Hi! Alas, alas, I just two weeks ago offered to do a paid audit of the ZPizza in Santa Clarita, California. That meant I had to go through their refrigerators and shelves to check on every single product they carry. Was I bummed out to learn that their so-called vegan items had soy cheese that is NOT vegan! Absolutely 100% not vegan.
I had a long talk with the owner of this particular location, and he made me up a pizza with the “meat” crumbles, and other great veggies, but left out the cheese altogether (of course). It was surprisingly delicious, stayed hot, and satisfied my major hunger urge.
HOWEVER, the very best thing is not just to check with the employees but, instead, ask (nicely) to see the actual packaging, so you can read for yourself exactly what the ingredients are. Never trust a non-vegan restaurant employee. It’s not that they’re mean; they’re simply uneducated and careless, and sometimes disrespectful, too.
The only reason I was able to luck out was because I was doing the company’s audit at this particular location.
Nonetheless, I was grateful the owner was there, that he was extraordinarily accommodating, and very proud of what he served me.
9:59 pm on July 7th, 2009
[...] take you back. in july of 2008 we were just coming off the fact that zpizza’s soy cheese was not vegan. the only place to get a huge vegan take-out pie was at damiano mr. pizza pizza on fairfax. [...]
6:40 pm on July 15th, 2009
I just had a delicious vegan cheese pizza at Whole Foods Fairfax. It was YUMMY. They made it fresh for me in the deli section where they carry freshly prepared pizzas.
7:43 pm on July 25th, 2009
[...] up organic and healthy style pizza that tastes like authentic delivery. they have been serving a non-vegan soy cheese as a healthy alternative to regular dairy, but are swiftly replacing it. [...]
5:09 pm on May 19th, 2010
i already upgraded my family car to Hybrid to help the environment.~”"
9:10 pm on July 22nd, 2010
hybrid cars are energy efficient compared to diesel or gas powered cars.~’,