Vegan Pizza

March 2, 12:53 PMVegan ExaminerAdam Kochanowicz

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I always find myself saying "I have severe dairy and egg allergies" to establishments in fear that being a vegan doesn't prompt a truthful warning of animal products in my food.  There is probably good reason for this when vendors assume certain products like margarine and soy cheese are milk-free.

By reading my ingredients, I've found gelatin in my sunflower seeds, fish in my oatmeal cookies, and beef extract in Frosted Flakes.  So last night at Don Carmelo's Pizzeria in Rockbrook, I pulled out the whole "I'm allergic" excuse.  This came right after walking in and asking "Does your crust have milk or eggs in it?"  The server walked back to talk with the cook.  She returned not with a "yes" or "no", but "do you have food allergies?" 

This makes me wonder, what does it matter?  This further proved to me that vendors sometimes honestly don't care enough about suiting vegans to read a few ingredients.  We ended up having a half mushroom, half black olive cheeseless pizza with Sam Adams Winter Ale.  You may also want to check out Papa Johns for vegan delivery.  You won't have to lie about your allergies as long as you avoid cheese, garlic dip, or meat, of course.

The unknown pleasure of cheeseless pizza

A pizza lover new to veganism may think skipping cheese would be missing out but the reverse is true.  We tend to accept cheese as a necessary base for making pizza even though the modern cheese-drowned pizza is likely an American modification.  Try a cheeseless pizza with optimism.  Your typical cheese pizza hinders on the sharp flavors of the sauce and hearty grains of the crust.  Instead of thick layers of fat and cholesterol, try fresh broccoli, asparagus, artichoke, sundried tomatoes, and peppers.

Vegan soy cheeses

As mentioned earlier, most soy cheeses are not vegan!  Popular soy cheese brands have casein, a milk protein to help make the cheese stretch.  Honestly, there aren't many good soy cheeses available in Omaha, so I recommend going cheeseless, but if you must supplement your nostalgia, try Night Flight Pizza's "Very Vegan" with "Follow your Heart" brand vegan cheese.  It's expensive but you also have the option of adding vegan hamburger, sausage, or pepperoni as well as typical vegetable toppings.