Move over, tomato-mushroom-olive pizza. Hello, eggplant and pine nuts. Z Pizza is remarkably creative with their pizza creations, and it shows in their incredible variety of vegetarian options.
Rusticas are personal-sized pizzas; three of the five choices are vegetarian. They include the Moroccan (eggplant, pesto, caramelized onions, veta and pine nuts), Pear and Gorgonzola (with mozzarella and herbs) and Mediterranean (artichoke hearts, olives, roasted peppers, herbs and oil). All delicious.
Then there are the full-sized pizzas, which you can also order by the slice. Twelve Z Pizza Creations, seven are vegetarian. (I'm so excited by how many options there are, the geek in me wants to calculate the percentage.) They range from the Berkeley Soy Cheese (soy cheese, of course, with veggie crumbles, zucchini, tomatoes and more) to the Tuscan (three kinds of mushrooms, caramelized onions, herbs, oil and garlic sauce). There's also the Provence (capers? on a pizza? yes!) and the California (fresh tomato slices, red onions, black olives, organic sauce). Plus three other kinds of vegetarian pizza.
They also have a few salad and sandwich choices that continue the theme of fresh, healthy and creative. Avocado, arugula, artichoke hearts, caramelized onions... even a salad here is a treat.
If you're not drooling yet, head to their web site for pictures. That'll get the salivary glands going. Brick-fired pizza with creative, fresh, healthy choices... and they deliver!
There are seven locations around town so look for one near you. Skip the $5 deal every now and then and give yourself a treat - Z Pizza!