Vegan Pizza Wars 🍕
Rochester, New York

Swan Dive is a hip bar that happens to have some pretty outstanding vegan options. I appreciate a completely cheeseless, or marinara pie–especially when each component hits with simple perfection.

Pillowy crust dreamy enough to make this a filling pie despite no hearty toppings. If I had to make a criticism, it might have been too salty by one grain of salt … but this is a bar… and they have got great cocktails to wash it all down with.

Huge chunks of oily garlic litter about. Lots or oregano, though I prefer basil.

Accompanied by a tremendous Caesar salad, the Kale Caesar! has like a whole bushel of Bolton’s farms kale, a vegan tahini caesar and toasted seeds. With the pizza, perfect for sharing with the one you love.

My veggie-centric cocktail: my Eat Your Veggies with tequila, green chartreuse, green apple, lime,
aloe, kale, pineapple and a salted rim

Pizza Wizard is a quirky pizza space with Detroit-style pizza… a deep-dished pillowy landscape of dough holds its own with some imaginative pies. Graphics and vibe are cute, including the box. Style points!

So I made my own… so perhaps I have to be critical of my own choices as overall the pie read as too… wet. With big dollops of red sauce, banana peppers, basil, Numu cheese, and a vegan aioli, moisture level be high which makes for a sloppy eat. But hey, I’m from New York and I suppose I am partial to New York style pizza. Taste was great.

Eating at the skateshop

They also have vegan seitan wings! This was a visit to the pizzeria…

Jerk rub was super spicy. Should have pushed for a cooling dip but menu board wasn’t very organize and I already sensed the cashier subtle resentment that I didn’t just order with a device like everyone else had. Sorry, I’m an old lady.

New Ethic Pizzeria must have the worse hours I’ve ever seen in an eatery. Because of this, I ordered in advance to pick up hours later…

Buuuut it seemed like they had made it when I ordered as it had no trace of heat left. And that is with me picking it up as soon as the pick-up window opened! I ordered the white pizza because I had such fond memories of eating white pizza at my local pizza parlor when I was a kid… but this didn’t really satisfy the nostalgic pang.

There was a strange sweetness to the tofu ricotta that was off-putting… mostly because it was really the only strong taste it had. The artichoke was straight out of the can and not the marinated type can. Crust was good but cold as a Rochester winter. Overall, a disappointment.

👑 Pizza Winner of this Mini-bout

Lastly, the crowned King of this 4-pizzeria showdown… Create-A-Pizza, just down the block on Monroe Avenue. We just happened to pass it and I wondered if they had vegan options. To my surprise, they did! And totally not on my radar.

My creation–a basic New York-style pizza… marinara, Numu, tofu ricotta and basil, along with some of that delicious regional Country Sweet sauce I fell in love with for dipping the crust.

Ah, so pretty looking. This is the style pizza I adore: easy to fold and hold triangles, thinner crust with nice bubbles at the edge. It looks and feels the part… now the taste. Really darn good. This hits all the parts of a pizza craving.

Oh, I forgot I also put on caramelized onion. To increase the dreaminess…

Nice work, Create-A-Pizza! But there is plenty more vegan pizza to try, Rochester.