vegan pizza lovers in los angeles, i have some AMAZING news for you. for the first time ever on the west coast, a local pizzeria is offering daiya as a vegan alternative to cheese on their pizzas. if you aren’t familiar with daiya, it’s a completely revolutionary product that melts AND stretches just like real cheese, i’ve tried it before and was completely blown away by how much it tasted like the real thing. starting today, at cruzer pizza in los feliz, you can order any pie with daiya cheese, and have a the pizza experience that you’ve been missing since turning vegan. you have gotta go try it asap, because i don’t see how dairy-free cheese this good could stay in supply very long.
i hit up cruzer pizza recently to sample their goods with fellow vegan blogger brittany from sick of lettuce. the two of us are known pizza addicts and huge cheese mourners, and both of us were blown away by what cruzer had to offer. in addition to melty-stretchy vegan cheese, cruzer is also serving up meat analogs such as pepperoni, canadian bacon, and sausage.
we tried out the wild mushroom pizza with sausage….
cruzer vegan sausage and mushroom pizza with fresh basil and daiya cheese
the margherita pizza with yellow & red tomatoes…
cruzer vegan margherita pizza with red and yellow tomatoes and daiya cheese
and the hawaiian pizza with bacon, pineapple and olives…
cruzer vegan hawaiian pizza with canadian bacon, pineapple, olives and daiya cheese
all of the pizzas were insanely delicious, and cruzer did a great job with the toppings. the vegetables were fresh, the mock meats were perfectly cooked & seasoned, but of course the real star was the oh-so-melty daiya cheese. it did stuff that i haven’t seen cheese do on a pizza since i was a vegetarian:
it stretched when we pulled the slices apart…
it even melted and fell off the pizza as we picked the slices up, but still managed to stay attached…
seriously, i’m not lying when i say this cheese changes everything. it gives a true pizza experience like i never dreamed possible. and how lucky are we to live so near to the very first place on the west coast to have daiya in stock?! dude! this fucking rules!
i also found out that the reason cruzer even started carrying vegan cheese is because of this outreach program called veg for life, a farm sanctuary campaign, that’s dedicated to getting more vegan options in restaurants. apparently they have been working with cruzer to develop these amazing, daiya covered pizzas, and will soon be adding even more vegan menu items including but not limited to spaghetti and “meat” balls, lasagna, macaroni and cheese, and calzones. i seriously can’t wait to see what they come up with. oh and it gets better…veg for life also convinced cruzer to remove veal from their menu entirely. out with the veal, in with the vegan! if you get your hands on one of the old menus, don’t be alarmed, the veal is no longer available.
i urge you to get over to cruzer and get this pizza the minute you get a chance. vegans everywhere are talking about daiya, and it’s barely available yet—almost no restaurants carry it and it sells out very quickly online. this stuff is in pretty high demand, so you should probably call cruzer before heading over, to make sure they still have daiya in stock. also, please note: cruzer pizza is pick up/take out and delivery- they only have a limited amount of seating for about 3-4 people.
here is a copy of the new vegan menu cruzer is offering, although the bbq chicken is not yet available:
cruzer pizza's vegan menu (click to enlarge_
seriously, let’s get out there and show this place support for offering such a wonderful vegan cheese alternative. they seem pretty open to adding more and more vegan options if this stuff does well, so let’s make sure IT DOES.
Cruzer Pizza
4449 Prospect Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90027
(323) 666-0600
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4:25 pm on May 29th, 2009
I’m heading there right now. The pizzas look small, so I’ll probably pick myself up two or three. I fucking love you quarrygirl. best damn blog ever.
4:41 pm on May 29th, 2009
i ate some the other night. was freaking incredible.
4:53 pm on May 29th, 2009
AWESOME, I can’t wait to get over there!!!
4:57 pm on May 29th, 2009
[...] LA vegans forget about whatever you had planned this weekend, because QuarryGirl and I are about to tag-team you again about a MAJOR development in the LA vegan [...]
5:02 pm on May 29th, 2009
OMG i totally want a calzone! they were holding out on us!
6:19 pm on May 29th, 2009
OH MY GOD! i’m going to harass them for a gluten free crust every day or convince them to slap stuff on my own! oh please lovely cruzer, have pity on the allergy-laden vegan!!! i’m starving out here with all the soy/wheat crap in silverlake!
thanks as always qg! xoxo!
8:04 pm on May 29th, 2009
Hey- the gluten-free question: we’ve been talking about that and to a distributor to get the gluten-free pizza dough… we’re on it but feel free to call and let them know you will buy it if it’s available: (323) 666-0600
Michelle Sass
Farm Sanctuary
9:18 pm on May 29th, 2009
I WILL BE THERE EVERYDAY!!!
(sorry for the caps…just excited)
9:49 pm on May 29th, 2009
Holy Blanking Blank.
That was incredible.
The guy at the counter was really excited about the new vegan cheese and insisted that I call him to let him know what I thought about it.
10:46 pm on May 29th, 2009
WOW!!! Is it tomorrow yet???
9:29 am on May 30th, 2009
holy cow! LA gets cooler by the minute!
11:08 am on May 30th, 2009
On your recommendation I just drove by there to try it out. I’m actually a vegetarian with an active eye on the pizza emulation front such that I can make more of a transition towards vegan. So having access to real cheese pizza I was not planning on being all that impressed. But everything in the review is true. Had I been handed this not knowing it was vegan I would have thought that it was a decent if not my favorite slice of pizza. I’m going back. And I’m ordering up some Daiya cheese. Thanks Quarrygirl!
5:38 pm on May 30th, 2009
we tasted daiya at the expo west. all they had were buckets of cheese, mini pizzas, and basic contact info… AND WE KNEW THAT IT WOULD CHANGE EVERYTHING!!!!! they were super nice, and incredible thrilled that some people (me and probably a bunch of other happy vegans) came back for seconds, thirds… and fourths! it may be worth the drive from santa barbara to eat it again
7:00 pm on May 30th, 2009
I keep passing this place and thought it looked silly … Cruzer? BUT DAMN! I AM SO EXCITED!! This is like walking distance from me!!!!
9:12 pm on May 30th, 2009
Calzone?! I WANT ONE! Are they mixing the two flavors of Daiya on top? I’ll take a pineapple, jalapeno, black olive, please!
8:29 am on May 31st, 2009
We tried Cruzer pizza last night – we got a large
portobello mushroom/sausage and a medium with
pepperoni, mushrooms and onions just for the 2 of
us, expecting that it would be amazing.
We thought the flavor was great but both agreed that
they put way too much of the cheese. It was kind
of creamy and reminded me of the cheaper mozzarella
that some restaurants use (back from when I ate cheese).
It grossed my partner out and I don’t think she’s going to eat any of the leftovers (more than 1/2 of each pizza) which would normally make me very happy, but I don’t think I can eat much more of it myself.
We will definitely go back but next time ask for
EASY cheese!
1:16 pm on May 31st, 2009
Went there Saturday night and ordered an XL with mushrooms, sausage and onion.
Cheese was pretty good, but some slices had too much cheese on them.
My experience sounds similar to Cecelia’s: Good, but a bit too heavy handed with the Daiya.
And the creaminess of it reminded me of Velveeta ‘cheese’ from when I was a kid.
This stuff would be amazing in mac & cheese.
But ups to Cruzer for taking on this challenge…I really appreciate their efforts and I’ll be back for sure.
2:27 pm on May 31st, 2009
Yep, this stuff is good. Just polished off a few slices. We were a little concerned when we went in to get our vegan pizza, because the menus don’t say, “vegan” anywhere, but after speaking with the gentleman behind the counter, who confirmed the cheese and sausage are vegan, we ordered a pie and took it home for lunch. The Daiya cheese is metly and tasty, but it tends to stick to your teeth a little. Also, I would suggest sprinkling some nutritional yeast and/or some of that vegan faux parmesan shaker topping on your pizza. There isn’t much cheese flavor to the Daiya, but the melt factor is great and over all the pizza was very good. BTW, while we were waiting for the pizza, someone called asking for the vegan menu and the Cruzer guy referred the caller to this website.
6:35 am on June 1st, 2009
Dude. Can’t wait to try this place. I have been making my own Daiya pizzas and I love them, but it’s never the same in your own oven as it is in a restaurant. Fabulous news! I need to start telling Nashville pizza places about Daiya.
9:22 pm on June 1st, 2009
[...] vegan 0 Comments Tags: Cruzer Pizza, Daiya Vegan Cheese, vegan, vegan pizza So thanks to quarrygirl, I had one of the best vegan pizzas ever! After reading her post I headed over to Cruzer Pizza to [...]
9:02 am on June 2nd, 2009
Tried the Margarita last night with the Daiya. I must say, I thought it tasted very good, except the consistency was a little toooooo gooey for pizza. I thought it would make a better grilled cheese. It also seemed more like a cheddar than a mozz.
I’m certainly going to try other varieties of their pizza, but I’m certainly glad that there is an option super-close to where I live. I am a big fan of the Masa vegan pizza. yummmmz
10:02 pm on June 4th, 2009
Hey Veg*ns!
Soon to come to Cruzers: more vegan options including more specialty pizzas, lasagna to go, amazing Mac and “Cheese”, gluten-free dough and my all time favorite (just tried it today)…drum roll please… nachos with jalapenos!!!
FYI: Cruzer Pizza gives you the option of thin, medium or thick crust- wheat or regular. If you’re like me you like a juicy pizza: ask for a little extra sauce.
The man that makes your pizzas has an ethical vegan daughter and granddaughter who has been raised vegan her entire 6 years. He takes extra care.
Michelle Sass
Farm Sanctuary
1:33 am on June 6th, 2009
Finally made it to this place tonight. The daiya was great, as advertised. Definitely my favorite vegan pizza cheese-replacement, and I do believe I’ve tried all or nearly all of them. The fake meat toppings on the “meat” pizza were also pretty damn good.
On the other hand, I don’t think you could fool too many people with the stuff–the improvement is much more in the mouthfeel area than the taste area. Still, the taste is at least marginally better than teese in my opinion, and far better than FYH.
7:06 am on June 10th, 2009
blessed be!
6:30 am on June 12th, 2009
[...] the amazing product that stretches and melts just like real cheese, is already at 2 awesome pizza joints, and now you can find it on sandwiches at chango, echo park’s vegan-friendly coffee [...]
6:28 pm on June 14th, 2009
I just ordered 3 pizzas for 70 bucks! yikes My husband is on his way there now to pick them up. It’s a bummer that they wouldn’t let me order vegan sausage with regular cheese. I am vegan but my family is vegetarian. It seems very anti-vegetarian. I just read all these comments and desperately want to call and ask for easy cheese but after the difficult ordering I am just going to take my chances! Great site!
10:40 am on June 15th, 2009
so, so sad.
i ate veggie pizza with daiya from cruzer last night and am sick this morning. stomach is cramping and i can’t seem to keep my ass off the toilet for more than a few minutes.
the pizza was just okay to be honest but the cheese was great. i was excited about the cheese but now i’m worried my belly doesn’t like it
has anyone else had a hard time with this cheese? maybe i had some bad veggies?
HAS ANYONE ELSE GOT SICK FROM THIS CHEESE OR CRUZER’S?
7:47 am on June 16th, 2009
[...] i brought you the news that cruzer pizza in los feliz was offering pizzas topped with daiya cheese. now just a couple weeks later, i am happy to say they have not just expanded their menu and added [...]
7:25 pm on June 22nd, 2009
Stopped by Cruzer’s, someone said something about a vegan event (with Michelle from FS) at the restaurant next door on Sat Night (27th). Is this true?
7:29 pm on June 22nd, 2009
lynn, it’s true! that’s the night of the LA vegan drinks meetup. it should be a blast!
http://www.meetup.com/vegandrinks/calendar/10498163/
10:02 am on July 3rd, 2009
[...] separate animal-free menu with everything from bar snacks to pasta & sandwiches…and even cruzer pizzas with daiya [...]
4:38 pm on July 3rd, 2009
I’m another one of those poor vegans with gluten issues…I called Cruzer to ask about the availability of a gluten-free crust (which you can now get at a ton of places around LA these days) but the guy on the phone really did not understand what I was talking about at all…He seemed to think gluten-free meant vegan. Oh well…I’ll keep trying. Cruzer’s pizza with that Daiya cheese looks MINDBLOWING!
8:48 pm on July 16th, 2009
hey, quarrygirl!
I tried them out a few weeks ago. Loved it!
I also tried the calzone.
I almost wept, my fellow cheese mourner. Was definitely sniffly.
Great review!
8:55 pm on July 16th, 2009
Patricia: I did not have a problem with the cheese. As for the pie itself, I preferred the one from Lucifer’s Pizza…but liked the Daiya better than the Teese that Lucifer’s uses. Actually, the pie at the Pizza Kiln was pretty good (Veganrella)…if only they all used Daiya!
Grack: I did not find the staff as helpful with regards to their info on the vegan cheese etc as I did at Lucifer’s and at the Pizza Kiln. As a matter of fact, my best experience with staff was at the Pizza Kiln.
11:59 pm on December 8th, 2009
Patricia,
I have the same problem with Daiya. I know that’s what it is because I keep trying it and almost exactly 8 hours later, stomach cramps. I can’t figure out what it is that’s messing up my stomach so bad, and I haven’t heard of it happening to anybody else. It’s weird and I don’t have a sensitive stomach usually.
3:24 pm on December 11th, 2009
[...] breaking los angeles vegan news, so listen up! lucky for us, cruzer pizza and pasta in los feliz (the first place in LA to start carrying daiya cheese) has made the decision to turn into a 100% vegan establishment. they are using up their remaining [...]
8:25 pm on January 8th, 2010
[...] feliz pizzeria went from actually offering the dreaded veal on their menu less than a year ago, to being the first place in the western U.S. to serve daiya, and now just months later to being california’s only 100% vegan pizzeria! can you believe [...]