vegansaurus!

Quarrygirl presents Masa of Echo Park!  »

quarrygirl:

i’m so excited about today’s video with masa of echo park! as you probably know, i’m a huge pizza fan, and masa makes my all time favorite vegan version—an authentic chicago deep dish with teese soy cheese. we caught up with owner rob rowe and learned what makes the deep dish special, why it takes so long to bake, and which menu items everyone can enjoy at masa. check it: 

check out more vegan videos and subscribe to me on youtube! 

Every week QG puts a video up, we’re going to bring it to you, until she’s convinced us that LA rules the vegan scene and we all move there together, like a family.

San Jose now has a Veggie Grill and an all vegan pizza joint!  »

The South Bay is popping off, my friends! Let’s all move to San Jose! JKJKJKJK. But on the real, let’s visit. 

First up, THE WORLD FAMOUS VEGGIE GRILL! Opened in San Jose a couple weeks ago, it’s the tasty bomb. Veggie Grill is a hit down in the Los Angeles area and recently made a move to Portland, too. This is our SF Bay Area first outpost of this relatively healthy and extremely delicious mini-chain! It’s on Santana Row which means nothing to me, but there you have it. I CANNOT WAIT TO EAT THERE. Until then, let’s stare at a picture of a Chicken Caesar Wrap from my last visit down South:

And there’s also a FULLY VEGAN PIZZA JOINT in San Jose! Plant Based Pizza looks to be the most delicious, and I want to eat everything on their menu. Calzones, stromboli, hamburgers, hot dogs, a million kinds of pizza! It sounds like paradise!

It’s in the Willow Glen area of San Jose, which, again, means nothing to me, but might mean everything to you. People on Yelp are all about the Hawaiian and Indian pizzas, and while this pic from their site looks like they’re not using Daiya, the Yelp photos tell a different story. Maybe they’re still ironing out who they’re going to be?! Either way, let’s check this shit out and support a vegan pizza joint, OK!?

ROAD TRIP YALL.

Eating vegan at chain restaurants: BJ’s Brewhouse has vegan options! Vegan pizza options!  »

I love hanging out with my family and getting away from the city for a few days. The only bummer can be going out to eat with everyone, as I usually end up getting a side of vegetables and a salad with half the ingredients taken out (cheese). I’ve made my peace with the Cheesecake Factory, but that is not the place to go every time I’m visiting. I mean, you gotta wait at least, AT LEAST, a half-hour to get a table, and it’s kinda fancy. What about casual? I just want to eat lunch with my mom somewhere, where we’ll both enjoy our food. IS THAT TOO MUCH TO ASK?

No it is not! BJ’s Brewhouse just opened up near my parents’ house and guess what? They have a few vegan options! Not only vegan, but some gluten-free options too! Plus tons of beer, including a gluten-free one (shudder), and delicious cocktails (I’m thinking of you, margarita). When my mom mentioned BJ’s for lunch, I figured I’d be eating a salad, yandet took to the internet to see what the vegan word was. You know what? QUARRYGIRL LOVES BJ’S BREWHOUSE.

Now, I do too! When Quarrygirl said BJ’s pizza was one of her all-time faves, I was excited, but skeptical. Silly me. That Quarrygirl knows her pizza! It is pretty epic stuff. 

I got their Portobello Mushroom pizza, with caramelized onions, balsamic vinegar, oven-roasted mushrooms, and fresh herbs. I just left off the cheese, obviously! They let me get my pizza on a gluten-free crust instead of deep dish, too. I’m one of those people who tells themselves gluten-free is healthier for me, because I love lying to myself! The gluten-free crust was spectacular, by far the best I’ve ever had. It was light and flaky, with herbs baked into it. As for the toppings—taste party! They were the perfect balance of sweet and savory! I saved half my pizza, just so I could enjoy it when my mom and I got back home too. I told her I want to go to BJ’s every time I come visit!

Oh, Portobello mushroom pizza, I wish I could eat you again today (accompanied by another refreshing Piranha pale ale).

Guest Recipe: Sliced Potatoes from Vegan Miam!  »

Back in Rome, Italy, I instantly fell in love with potato pizza, where pizzas do not necessarily need cheese or meat. And I’m also a massive fan of potatoes and much more potatoes [Ed. note: Who isn’t?! Loonies!]. So instead, we’ve decided to make our own potato pizza from scratch.

Directions:

You will need a mandoline slicer to slice these potatoes paper thin (be careful not to slice your finger). These potato rounds have to be very thin. We used Yukon potatoes (a waxier and less starchy potato) or you can use red potatoes (they are kind of waxy).

In a large bowl, dress the potato slices with olive oil, rosemary and a handful of sea salt and pepper. You can also try to oil them, then sprinkle salt, pepper and rosemary over the top once on the pan if you want more distribution. Place potato slices (separate from each other) on baking non-stick silicone mat such as SILPAT® [Ed. note: I have this mat, it’s freaking amazing—great for chocolate covered stuff!]. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour at 350 degrees F. Make sure they don’t burn quickly, keep an eye out.

These baked potato slices are great for anything from snacking to pizza topping. For instance, I used them on my pizza as a topping along with shredded red onions, peperoncini and shiitake mushrooms/button mushrooms as well as Daiya cheddar style shreds. Yum to all potatoes!

Based both in Oregon and worldwide, Taiwanese vegan Rika runs an international and travel vegan blog since July 2011. She documents and photographs vegan cuisine, airports/lounges, groceries, products and home cooking. She also spends her time abroad caring for and feeding feral cats and dogs. You can find her on Twitter and Pinterest. 

Vegan Pizza Day is coming! Let’s get fat and awesome!  »

Quarrygirl and Chicago Vegan Foods are at it again, this time with another genius VEGAN PIZZA DAY on Sat, June 30. Of course, all us fatties gotta represent and get down on some g-d pizza LEZ GO:

Here’s a list of places to get vegan pizza in the SF Bay Area (and beyond!), do you know of any other places to eat delicious vegan pizza? I know there are lots of places not listed here, but we’re not perfect! For example, I had a BOMB vegan STUFFED CRUST pizza delivered from Red Tomato Pizza in Berkeley the other day that I plan on blogging. Here’s some pics to get you all psyched for PIZZA PIZZA:

If you know any pizza joints that might want to offer a discount for VPD, holler at your girl!

Hot tip: Escape From New York Pizza in the Mission has vegan slices!  »

Pizza party, all the time! Well, at least on Sundays in the Mission. We got a tip from an Escape From New York Pizza employee that their Mission location serves vegan slices from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sundays. Get on it, their pizza is yum!

I live next to the Escape From New York in the Upper Haight and I would love to see this happen there, because when I want their Daiya cheese pie, I have to order a WHOLE ONE. The vegan slices at Whole Foods across the street always look kind of nasty, so I end up making a vegan pizza myself, or breaking down and ordering one from EFNY. Then I eat the entire thing because will power is not something I apply to in my life!

When I say “I live next to,” I mean “when I open my bedroom window, the breeze is pizza-scented.” This must be what heaven smells like.

Jo from EFNY in the Mission tells us that she is vegan, so she makes sure the vegan slices are made separately! Thanks for looking out Jo! You just made my life a little brighter. Let’s go get some slices! And beer! See you in Dolores park, hipsters.

Remember, it’s only on Sundays, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., at the Mission Escape From New York at 3242 22nd St. (between Mission and Valencia).

How to, yo: Mold the best pizza crust!   »

I just had a pizza party with my family! And I broke my mom’s pizza stone, the night before Mother’s Day. I’m a terrible person! I’m not sure the iTunes gift certificate, coconut wax candle and cock blocker I gave her will make up for slamming her stone in the oven and demolishing it. It was an accident! But since she is a great person, she didn’t even get mad at me. My mom is the best.

I want to give props to Chef Mitch at Source for giving me the inside scoop on molding pizza crust. I was a pretty good home cook before; however, working side by side with him every day has taught me so much. If you come into Source, tell him you love the hints on Vegansaurus. It might render him speechless, which is no easy feat—that guy loves to talk! But I love listening, so it is a match made in restaurant heaven.

Now, whether it’s homemade or store-bought pizza dough you are working with, it is the easiest and best to handle at room temperature, so let your dough sit out for an hour or so. That way when you stretch it, it will stay where you put it. Also, play with the outside edge, which will be the uncovered crust, as little as possible. If you can get away with not touching it at all, that is great: It will make for a wonderful, light, “eggshell” crust that will rise beautifully and impress everyone. Shape and stretch your crust from the inside out. However you do this, DON’T TOUCH THE VERY OUTSIDE PART! That’s it. That’s all I’m trying to say.

This outside crust here is a little extreme, as in, it’s HUGE. But the dough was cold and I had a hard time stretching it. You don’t have to go this big, but you know what they say: Go big or go home! The outside crust was so light and fluffy, I felt like a pro. Do you like how I made myself a half-cheese, half-veggie combo? I need options! And remember when some of you were like “Daiya is gross, it tastes like glue”? Well, I really like it. Follow Your Heart soy mozzarella is my numero uno, but Daiya is my mistress! They better not make me choose, because I love them both so much.

Divino, the restaurant that replaced Fellini, posts menu  »

So, we loved Berkeley’s Fellini but it’s long gone so we just have to go get used to that and get over it—which is very hard for us as WE HATE CHANGE. Anyway, the replacement, Divino, has posted their menu and it looks like a bunch of slow food hoo-hah but I’m thankful they’ll still have some vegan options, and the brunch looks especially good.

I don’t know, I love that they still have vegan pizza but I’m bummed that it’s all made with fancy grilled vegetables and not ten pounds of vegan meat. I loved that Smiling Cow pizza—that stuff was ridic! But maybe I’m getting ahead of myself, maybe the roasted kumquat and tutti di frutti will be delicious?? I’m willing to give it a shot! Maybe this will finally be the amazingly authentic vegan Italian food that we’re missing in this area? Maybe they’ll make a gnocchi to rival Portland’s Portobello? Maybe I’ll win the lottery and ditch you all to yacht around the world with Jay-Z, Beyonce, and little Jay-Z-Beyonce? THE POSSIBILITIES ARE ENDLESS.

I don’t think they’re open yet but people have been seen inside doing tastings but we don’t care about them because they’re not us. Anyone tried anything yet?? Anyone excited about them opening?? WHAT’S THE WORD LET’S EAT!

Thanks Jennifer Chen for the heads-up!