Written by Recently, the future hubsters recommended we take date night to a pizza place. I laughed and nearly choked on my water. Wasn’t he there for the whole “I’m foregoing cheese and wheat for the foreseeable future” conversation? I’m pretty sure I remember him being present.
In his defense, I’ve been known to fall off this no-cheese, no-wheat wagon a time or two (or twenty). But we are currently in a place where we’re roughly 200 days away from the wedding and I’m being forced to go to dress fittings, so for now, we’re (read: I’m) really trying to stay on top of that constantly wobbly wagon. Also in his defense, he was super on top of things (as always) and he thought ahead.
Did you know Blaze Pizza serves a gluten-free crust (cool!) and vegan cheese (super cool!)? I’m apparently quite late to this party, but… after a quick glance at their website, I was stoked to find a build-your-own pizza option that offers both (P.S. all of their crust is also vegan). And because I am suspiciously intrigued by taste testing “faux” cheese, I eagerly agreed to the date (let’s be real, I would have agreed regardless, but this news made it extra sweet).
The “fast-casual” dining experience is a Chipotle for pizza. It has a ton of amazing pre-built options for the wheat-eating, cheese-consuming among us (jealous) and a BYO option for those of a more food-sensitive persuasion. Kris ordered a delicious looking pesto pie (not dairy-free FYI) while I set my sights on the assortment of fresh veggies they had on display behind the counter. After piling marinara sauce, vegan cheese, spinach, banana peppers, minced garlic, roasted red peppers, and a pinch of salt on top of a gluten-free crust, they threw it into the large pizza oven and we waited.
And… waited.
My pizza took far longer than others. Like, Kris’s pizza was close to getting cold before my name was called. I’m assuming the vegan cheese threw them. As many of you well know, faux cheese can be difficult to melt. Depending on the brand, you can blast it with a blowtorch and it stays perfectly proportioned into straight little shreds.
But melt it they did, my friends! They burned the edges of the crust just a weeeee bit too much for my liking, but all was forgiven as soon as I bit into it, because OH-EM-GEE this pizza was amazing. I don’t know if it was the minced garlic or that extra pinch of salt, or if Blaze really is that skilled at making gluten-free crust, but this pizza seriously rocked. The crust lacked that chalky, often dry texture that usually comes from a gluten free dough. And the cheese was melted to perfection and had that delicious balance of creaminess and saltiness that you expect from the real thing. My only regret? Not adding the artichoke hearts and, like, the thousand other toppings they had.
As luck would have it, there was a soft-serve place in the same shopping center that served vegan ice cream (we spotted it while standing in line!). So we each only ate half of our pizzas, boxed up the rest, and took our date-night over to Swirl. This very simple ice cream spot is small, but serves up a heck of a lot of charm. The vegan ice cream is limited – one rotating item per day – but what they lack in options, they surely make up for in super cute decor. The vegan item of the day was Pistachio Coconut. I was hesitant at first (coconut and I are super cool, pistachio has never been a flavor I get the feels for), but I am so glad that I went for it anyway.
The flavor was rich and seemed to get more complex with every bite. Kris layered his non-vegan lemon flavor with a ton of fruit flavored cereal, which looked (and smelled) delicious. He assured me it was.
All-in-all, it was a sweetly successful FriYAY date-night (thanks, babe!) and super fun checking out not one but TWO local eateries that cater to the food sensitive and vegan among us! See the location deets below for more info if you’re L.A. local and want to check these super awesome options out for yourself!
Swirl Soft Serve:
5263 Rosecrans Ave
Hawthorne, CA 90250
Blaze Pizza:
5221 Rosecrans Ave.
Hawthorne, CA 90250
Not local to L.A.? Find Blaze in your area.
Ashley Okimoto 