back in the day when i was a teenager, my friends and i used to have epic pizza parties. we’d order way more than we could eat from the nearest delivery place and stay up all night chowing on pizza, guzzling soda, and watching movies. when i turned vegan, i assumed that avenue of pleasure was forever closed off to me. i mean, i could always make own vegan pizza, but there was no way i could eat pie from my closest delivery joint.

well now many years later, zpizza has re-opened that door. the chain has several locations all over the nation, and offers delicious vegan pizza covered with daiya cheese. recently my friend hosted a good old fashioned pizza party that reminded me of the early days…except everything was vegan, there was no movie watching, and i was drinking beer instead of soda. just have a look at the spread:

vegan california: organic tomato sauce, daiya mozzarella, fresh rounds of tomatoes, red onions, bell peppers, mushrooms, black olives.

vegan greek: daiya mozzarella, red onions, greek olives, fresh rounds of tomatoes, oregano.

vegan napoli: homemade roasted garlic sauce, daiya mozzarella, fresh rounds of tomatoes, fresh basil.

vegan provence: organic tomato sauce, homemade roasted garlic sauce, daiya mozzarella, artichoke hearts, capers, tomatoes, fresh basil.

vegan tuscan: roasted garlic sauce, daiya mozzarella, cremini, shiitake and button mushrooms, caramelized onions, truffle oil and thyme.

vegan cheese pizza with daiya mozzarella

our haul was amazing, and i can’t even believe we are at a day in age where we can get this much VEGAN PIZZA from a NATIONAL CHAIN. how FUCKING AWESOME IS THAT?! i could die happy.

one thing to note: when ordering from zpizza, you must specify that you want vegan cheese, and ask that they leave off non-vegan ingredients. for example, a lot of these pizzas come with extra feta by default…so just be sure to read the menu description before ordering. also, zpizza offers a “berkeley vegan” pizza that isn’t always vegan. some locations are still using morningstar farms crumbles, which contain milk and egg, so be sure to ask.

anyways, if you need some more plans for this 3 day weekend, i suggest you round up some friends and have an epic vegan zpizza party. a splendid time is guaranteed for all!

check out zpizza’s website for all their locations.

PS: i’d like to thank brittany from sick of lettuce for all this pizza. i am still full.

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ever since zpizza (my favorite pizza chain ever) started carrying daiya cheese, i have been on a mission to try everything they offer that’s veganize-able. from the vegan sausage pizza, to the tuscan, to the provence, i have been working my way through their menu.

vegan california: organic tomato sauce, daiya cheese, fresh rounds of tomatoes, red onions, jalapenos, mushrooms, zucchini, black olives

over the weekend i tried out the california pizza with daiya rather than mozzarella cheese, and jalapenos instead of bell peppers. almost every time i try something new at zpizza, i instantly have a new favorite. the same was true of the california pizza, this thing was fucking awesome!

covered in a generous amount of fresh vegetables and topped with perfectly-melted daiya cheese, i really can’t think of a better pizza.

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UPDATE 11/12: apparently some zpizza locations are now carrying non-vegan crumbles. so be sure to check ingredients before eating.

UPDATE 11/11: i have been talking to zpizza, and the veggie crumbles are STILL VEGAN, and they are lining up a new supplier!

UPDATE 10/15: zpizza corporate has contacted me, and they still have the OLD (vegan) morningstar crumbles in stock…and that stock should last for about 2 months. zpizza is scrambling right now to find new replacement crumbles that are still vegan. i’m sure with all the great faux meats out there, they will be successful. we will keep you updated! THANKS FOR BEING SO AWESOME, ZPIZZA. you make my vegan heart and tummy happy!

UPDATE 10/10: since the time of this post, i have learned that zpizza’s veggie crumbles are NO LONGER VEGAN. this isn’t zpizza’s fault…unfortunately, they use morningstar farms meal starters which used to be vegan but now CONTAIN MILK AND EGGS! GAH! why did morningstar farms have to go and ruin a good thing. SHAME ON THEM. you should still totally go to zpizza though, just avoid the crumbles.

…and that means vegan zpizza with daiya cheese!

i seriously can’t believe how the vegan pizza scene in los angeles has exploded over the past few months. we went from having almost no pizza options to having several, with tons of pizzerias offering daiya vegan cheese (a product so convincing and amazing, it changed my life). and of all the vegan pizza options in this town, one of the tastiest (and by far the most convenient) is zpizza, a national pizza chain with several LA locations. we have been working our way through the the zpizza menu, veganizing different pizzas to find which one is the best. recently we tried out the tuscan, which was amazing, and since then we have tried two more delicious creations.

vegan sausage and mushroom pizza with soy crumbles and daiya cheese

the first was from the “pizza standards” menu, a veganized version of the sausage and mushroom. we ordered the pizza and substituted daiya for real cheese, and soy crumbles for sausage. we also got it with roasted garlic sauce, because that sauce is the best sauce on the planet. this may sound like a pretty typical combo, but i can tell you this pizza was nothing short of spectacular. it was right up there in with the tuscan in awesomeness…perfectly garlicky and creamy with succulent mushrooms and fennel-seasoned crumbles. i highly recommend you try this one out.

the next pizza we tried was the provence (veganized) from the zpizza creations menu…

vegan provence pizza with daiya cheese. hold the capers, add mushrooms.

this pizza normally comes with capers, which we replaced with mushrooms….so our provence was covered with tomato sauce, roasted garlic sauce, daiya cheese, artichoke hearts, mushrooms, tomatoes and fresh basil. this pizza was also really damn tasty, i loved the two sauce combination! the ingredients were all super fresh, and the thing was packed with flavor from the garlic sauce and basil. while i didn’t like this quite as much as the tuscan or sausage and mushroom, i’d highly suggest you try it if you are in an italian-y pizza kind of mood.

so what are you gonna order on your pizza tonight?! remember, friday night is PIZZA NIGHT!!!! hit up zpizza and go wild. here is a list of their vegan options!

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one of the best pizzas i've ever had.

i’m sure you’ve heard by now that zpizza, an awesome organic chain with locations all over the country, is offering vegan pizza with daiya cheese. they have a few locations in los angeles, and many throughout southern california. while most of the zpizzas in socal are already offering vegan cheese, every location across the united states should have daiya within the next couple months. if you haven’t stopped by and tried one of their vegan pies yet, well i don’t know what the hell you’re waiting for.

i have been going to zpizza for ages, and until last night i always ordered the same thing: a build-your-own pizza with tomatoes, mushrooms and garlic. recently, on their facebook page, zpizza took the time to create a list of all their vegan-friendly pizzas and which substitutions need to be made to veganize them, as well as a list of which sauces and toppings are vegan. i was shocked by how many items off the “zpizza creations” menu were easily made vegan, and i was inspired to try something new.

i went with the tuscan, which is easily veganized by omitting the feta and ordering it with daiya cheese instead of mozzarella.

tuscan pizza (veganized): homemade roasted garlic sauce, daiya cheese, cremini, shiitake and button mushrooms, caramelized onions, truffle oil and thyme.

the vegan tuscan pizza came with a delicious mix of cremini, shiitake and button mushrooms as well as caramelized onions, truffle oil and thyme—all atop melty daiya cheese and homemade roasted garlic sauce. now i was already a huge fan of zpizza, and i can tell you this pizza blew my mind. i can’t believe a pizza chain could make something that tastes so unique and high-quality, and be VEGAN at the same time. i have heard people rave about the roasted garlic sauce, and they were absolutely right—no description could possibly do it justice. and the amazing sauce mixed in with truffle oil, sweet onions, and a variety of mushrooms was an absolutely heavenly combination. i cannot believe that i have been going to zpizza for so long and missing out on this bliss.

another thing to note about this pizza is how perfectly distributed and melted the daiya was. they’ve gotten even better with the vegan cheese since my first vegan pie at zpizza a few weeks ago. with vegan cheese this good available, there is absolutely no excuse to be a vegetarian.

really guys, i can’t speak highly enough of this thing. go to your nearest zpizza and get yourself a vegan tuscan pizza ASAP. oh and for a limited time, you can fill out this survey to $5 off your purchase at zpizza. i suggest you take advantage of this, as money off pizza is never a bad thing.

in los angeles, daiya vegan pizza is available at both the west hollywood, burbank and larcmont zpizza locations. if you are going to any of the other zpizzas, i would call and check to be sure they have vegan cheese.

truly amazing vegan pizza from a national chain. oh my friends, i never thought i’d see the day.

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zpizza with vegan daiya cheese

it’s finally happened. zpizza, a national pizza chain, has decided to get rid of their casein-laden soy cheese and roll out pies covered in daiya, making vegan pizza available to the masses. from LA, to manhattan…from santa clarita to montana, zillions of vegans across the united states will be able to dig into that familiar box of home-delivered goodness. zpizza has started serving vegan pizza at their west hollywood outlet, and over the next several weeks should be selling it in all 68 locations throughout the country.

in case you were wondering, daiya is a vegan cheese that has been taking los angeles (and the rest of the country) by storm. it stretches and melts almost exactly like real cheese, and it doesn’t contain soy. it has even gotten the attention of whole foods, who have started using it on pizzas in their prepared foods section. …and zpizza is a national chain serving 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. yes!

since hearing about zpizza’s plan to offer daiya, we have been regularly tracking their status (almost daily if you can believe it!). we didn’t expect it to hit LA so soon, but today we called the west hollywood location and found out they had “the new vegan cheese” in stock. we headed over and skeptically asked to see the new cheese. they brought a large bag from behind the counter of daiya italian shreds, and we were in business. we specified NOT to use any of the old non-vegan soy cheese on our pizza, and they assured us that they would be using the vegan cheese from now on. for safety though, even at the weho zpizza, you should confirm that what you are getting on your pizza is indeed daiya.

make sure you get a receipt that says you are vegan, y'all!

large pizza with daiya cheese, mushroom, tomato, and chopped garlic. $19.48

after eating this for dinner, i can tell you that the marriage of zpizza and daiya is a fucking beautiful thing. zpizza has a 650 degree oven that melts the cheese like none other. the crust and sauce at zpizza have always been a favorite of mine, and the toppings are as fresh as they come. the fact that a national chain is offering vegan pizza this good is absolutely mind-blowing. it’s fast, it’s convenient, it’s consistent, and it’s VEGAN. seriously, i never thought i’d see the day!

after flipping out and doing a happy dance over my vegan pizza, i called the other local zpizza locations to see if they had the goods as well. larchmont village, burbank, woodland hills, and santa clarita are still serving non-vegan soy cheese for now…although most of the locations assured me that they would have the new vegan cheese next week. zpizza claims that all of their locations will be serving a 100% vegan option within the next 6-8 weeks. until then, head over to the weho location and ask them for some vegan pizza. you won’t be sorry.

zpizza
8869 Santa Monica Blvd
West Hollywood, CA 90069
(310) 360-1414

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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.

Read the rest of this entry »

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