A new, fast casual pizza shop called 1000 Degrees Pizza opened in NJ over the summer and I couldn’t help but to get excited, even though I knew they wouldn’t have anything for vegans (you can stuff your cheeseless pie up your nose). It looked really enticing; I’m all about “build your own,” but I mean I knew they wouldn’t have anything for vegans. My vegetarian mom suggested we go in and ask, but the thought of asking a mainstream chain if they had a vegan option, let alone if they knew what vegan meant was daunting; plus I knew they wouldn’t have anything for vegans. So this vegan curmudgeon went home to eat a box of Earth Balance cheddar squares and sulk.
Not long after they fortuitously showed up in my Facebook feed, so I sent a direct message into the void of direct messages and waited for them to either ignore me or tell me they didn’t have anything for vegans. And then this happened:
They answered me within minutes with an obvious and clear understanding of what vegan means. OMGOMGOMGOMG a vegan option in a suburban vegan desert!
I hightailed it right over and was not disappointed. I mean, I was a little scared; it does look a tad like you’ve just stepped into hell…if hell had a fast casual, build-your-own pizzeria.
But, it was a hell with Daiya vegan cheese, a great mainstream option for pizza. 1000 Degrees Pizza keeps the Daiya curiously unmarked over by the veggie section, so while you do have to inquire about it, there is no need to worry that the cow shreds will accidentally contaminate the vegan shreds.
Do I have to say my vegetarian mom was right? She was right! I’m the first to suggest you should always ask about vegan options (and be prepared to patiently explain what they are) as a form of dining activism/spreading the vegan word, but I don’t always take my own advice. What can I say? I’m super lazy and even more curmudgeonly. Let this be a lesson to me.
